Current National Codes: Now Live

Instant, Accurate Building Code Intelligence

Construction professionals need answers they can trust, not AI-generated interpretations. CodesWise searches the actual current National Codes and returns the exact clause, article number, and source citation every time.

🔒 Queries are not stored or used for training. Data hosted in Canada.
CodesWise: Building Code Assistant
What is the minimum exit stair width for a residential building?
Exit Stair Width Requirements
For residential occupancy buildings, exit stairs must have a minimum width of 900 mm (35 7/16")1 under standard conditions. Where stairs serve a single dwelling unit, this reduces to 860 mm (33 7/8")2.
1 NBC 2025 · Sentence 9.8.2.1.(1) · pg 412
2 NBC 2025 · Sentence 9.8.2.1.(2) · pg 412
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Everything you need to navigate the codes

Stop flipping through thousands of pages. Whether you are an architect, contractor, building official, or developer, CodesWise finds the exact clause and puts the source right in front of you.

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Plain Language Queries

Ask questions the way you'd ask a colleague. No need to know the exact article number. CodesWise finds it for you.

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Cited Answers

Every answer includes numbered citations linked to the exact sentence in the code. No guessing, no ambiguity.

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Inline PDF Viewer

Click any citation to open the source document directly in the app, with the relevant clause highlighted in yellow.

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Full-Document Search

Search any keyword or article number across all pages of all four national codes simultaneously.

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Dual Unit Display

Every metric measurement is automatically accompanied by its imperial equivalent. No mental math required.

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Conversation Memory

Follow-up questions build on previous answers within your session, just like talking to a knowledgeable colleague.

Built for professionals who cannot afford a wrong answer

General AI tools were not built for building code research. CodesWise is.

General AI Tools
  • Answers from training data, not current code documents
  • No source citations, no way to verify the answer
  • May reference outdated or US-based code editions
  • Will fabricate plausible answers when source data is thin
CodesWise
  • Searches the actual National Code documentation directly
  • Every answer fully cited to the exact article, page, and sentence
  • Built on the most up-to-date editions for your region
  • Answers restricted to the code only. No imagination, no fabrication
Read the full side-by-side comparison with a worked example

When your stamp goes on the drawing, a cited answer is not optional.

From question to clause in seconds

CodesWise uses retrieval-augmented AI to search the actual code text. Not a summary, not a paraphrase. The real thing.

1

Ask Your Question

Type your question in plain language. Occupancy classifications, egress requirements, fire separations, structural loads. Anything in the codes.

2

AI Finds the Clauses

CodesWise searches all four national codes simultaneously, retrieves the most relevant passages, and generates a clear, cited answer.

3

Verify in the Source

Click any citation to open the original PDF document to the exact page, with the clause highlighted so you can verify and document your due diligence.

Simple, transparent pricing

Start with a 24-hour free trial. No credit card required. Cancel anytime.

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Basic
$24 /month

For individual practitioners who need quick, reliable code answers.

  • All current National Codes (NBC, NFC, NPC, NECB 2020)
  • Unlimited questions, no daily cap
  • Cited answers linked to exact clause
  • Inline PDF viewer with yellow highlighting
  • Dual metric/imperial display on every measurement
  • Full-text keyword search across the corpus
  • Persistent conversation history, organised into projects
  • Save answers to bookmarks for retrieval later
  • ✗ Pro features: provincial overlays, branded export, early-access editions
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Enterprise
$149 /month

For firms that need team-wide access and a dedicated onboarding call.

  • Everything in Pro
  • Up to 5 named team seats with email invites
  • Per-seat usage and spend dashboard
  • Major-city building code and bylaw requirements nationwide
  • CSA referenced standards (structural and others)
  • Dedicated 30-minute onboarding call
  • Priority support and roadmap input
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Frequently asked questions

Real answers to the questions construction professionals actually ask before signing up. Don't see yours? Get in touch.

How accurate are the answers?

Every answer is generated only from the actual code text we've ingested, no hallucinations from general training data. Each requirement is followed by a cited [Source: …, Page X] tag that links directly to the page in the source PDF. You can verify the underlying clause in two clicks. We also use a cross-encoder reranker to surface the best-matching passage before the LLM ever sees the question.

Does CodesWise replace a code consultant or stamping engineer?

No. CodesWise is a reference tool, it accelerates code research and citation lookup, the way Westlaw accelerates case-law research for lawyers. It doesn't replace a licensed professional's judgment, project-specific design decisions, or the act of stamping. Always verify against the published source before relying on a clause for compliance.

What codes are covered today?

The 2025 National Building Code, National Fire Code, National Plumbing Code, and National Energy Code for Buildings, plus the 2020 editions where provinces still enforce them. Provincial and municipal overlays loaded: Ontario Building Code 2024, BC Building Code 2024, BC Fire Code, Vancouver Building By-law 2025 (Vol 1 + Vol 2 + Plumbing), NBC Alberta Edition 2023, NFC Alberta, and Code de construction du Québec. We also ingest referenced standards (CSA, ASHRAE, NFPA, ULC) and engineering handbooks (CISC, CAC, Wood Design Manual) to support deeper queries.

What about my province's specific code?

When you set your province in your account, CodesWise scopes answers to the code that province actually enforces. If a provincial overlay isn't loaded yet, the system falls back to the National edition the province bases its code on (e.g. NBC 2020 for Manitoba), and tells you what's missing. You can also widen the search to all available codes from the chat header at any time.

Is my data really in Canada?

Yes. The application and all conversation data are hosted in Canadian regions. Queries are not stored for model training and are not shared with third parties. We process queries through Anthropic's Claude API; that processing is governed by Anthropic's enterprise privacy terms and is logged only for operational debugging.

What's in the free trial?

24 hours of full access, no credit card required, one trial per email. You get the same retrieval, citations, and PDF page-locate as a paying user. After the trial you can pick a plan or walk away, no charge happens unless you actively subscribe.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions are month-to-month (or annual at a discount). Cancel from your account page; access continues until the end of the period you've already paid for, then stops. No retention friction, no "talk to sales to cancel" calls.

What happens when a new code edition releases?

We ingest new model editions as soon as the NRC publishes them, NBC 2025 was indexed shortly after its December 2025 release. Pro and Enterprise users get early access to new editions. We also track adoption status across every province so the system serves the edition your AHJ actually enforces, not just the latest one.

What if CodesWise gives a wrong citation?

It happens, AI can mis-rank a clause. Every citation links straight to the source PDF page so you can verify in seconds. There's also a thumbs-down button on every answer that flags it for review; we monitor downvotes weekly and tune retrieval. If you spot something wrong, the feedback loop is one click, and the source link makes verification fast either way.

How is this different from just asking ChatGPT?

ChatGPT was trained on web-scraped text, not the actual published National Building Code, NPC, NFC, NECB, or any provincial code. When you ask ChatGPT a code question, it generates an answer that sounds plausible based on similar-looking sentences it has seen, then invents a section reference. CodesWise retrieves directly from the actual code PDFs and cites the exact page and section. We wrote a side-by-side comparison with a real worked example: CodesWise vs ChatGPT for Canadian Building Code questions →

Does CodesWise have rights to redistribute the codes?

The official codes remain Crown Copyright (NRC) or provincial property. CodesWise summarizes and indexes content for reference assistance, we don't redistribute the codes themselves. The product points users back to the official published source for any decision that requires the canonical text. Active discussions with NRC on a formal commercial licensing arrangement are in progress.

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