Education

Certification Maintenance and Renewal Information

Maintaining your professional certifications is essential for staying current in your field, demonstrating your commitment to industry standards, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. For most of our members, holding an active OBBS certification is required to perform their duties within certified building departments. While ICC certification is optional, it adds significant value—helping you stand out in the job market, remain competitive, and expand your career opportunities both within and beyond Ohio. Keeping your certifications up to date also positions you for advancement to higher OBBS levels and increases your professional portability. See below for information regarding OBBS and ICC certification requirements.

Ohio Ethics Law Training

As part of Ohio’s commitment to upholding professional integrity and public trust in government functions, including in the building departments, the state requires all OBBS-certified personnel to complete ethics training. Pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code section 4101:7-3-01(L)(1)(b), a minimum of one hour of ethics coursework must be included with each certification renewal cycle.

OAC 4101:7-3-01(L)(1)(b) Complete at least thirty hours of continuing education prior to the expiration date of the certification for each certification period other than initial certification. Of those thirty hours, education must include at least three hours of continuing education dedicated to the subject of code administration, three hours dedicated to existing buildings, and one hour dedicated to ethics.

Ohio Ethics Law Training is regularly provided at most OBOA and OBOA chapter conferences, and is also available online through the Ohio Ethics Commission at https://ethics.ohio.gov/education/elearning/ecourses.html. Regardless of where you get your training, be sure to retain proof of completion for submission with your renewal application.

Continuing Education Providers

Pursuant to Rule 4101:7‑3‑01(L)(2) of the Ohio Administrative Code, continuing education “provided by or approved by” designated professional organizations—including the Ohio Building Officials Association (OBOA), ICC, NFPA, AIA, and similar groups—is automatically accepted by the Ohio Board of Building Standards for certification renewal, without separate course‑by‑course approval from the Board.

However, each of these organizations independently decides which specific classes it will designate for continuing education credit without separate course-by-course approvals, if any, so not every program or event they offer is automatically eligible for CEUs. For the convenience of our members, we have provided links to these organizations’ education pages.

This list was last updated on 2026‑03‑05. To view the most current list of BBS pre‑approved providers, please visit https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-4101:7-3-01. The providers and courses linked on this page are offered solely by those organizations; they have not been independently reviewed or endorsed by the Ohio Building Officials Association and are shared for informational purposes only.