CHAPTER 5
EXCEPTIONS
193B—5.1(544A) Definitions. The following definitions apply as used in Iowa Code chapter 544A and this chapter of the architectural examining board rules.
“Accessory buildings” means a building or structure of an accessory character and miscellaneous structures not classified in any specific occupancy or use. “Accessory buildings” shall be constructed, equipped and maintained to conform to the requirements corresponding to the fire and life hazard incidental to the buildings’ occupancy. “Accessory buildings” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group U of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Agricultural building” means a structure designed to house farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other agricultural products. For the purpose of this definition, this structure shall not contain habitable space or a place of employment where agricultural products are processed or treated or packaged; nor shall it be a place used by the public.
“Alter” or “alteration” means any change, addition or modification to an existing building in its construction or occupancy.
“Church” means a building or portion thereof intended for the performance of religious services.
“Commercial” or “commercial use” means the following:
	1.	The use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional, or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts.
	2.	The use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the display and sale of merchandise, and involves stocks of goods, including wares or merchandise incidental to such purposes and accessible to the public.
“Commercial use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group B and Group M of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Detached” means a structure separated by distance and not connected to another structure.
“Dwelling unit” means a single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
“Educational use” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof used (1) by six or more persons at any one time for education purposes through twelfth grade; or (2) by six or more children for day care purposes. Rooms and spaces within places of religious worship providing such day care during religious functions and day cares serving five or fewer children shall be classified as part of the primary occupancy. “Educational use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group E of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Factory-built buildings” means any structure which is, wholly or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed, or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation, or assembly and installation, on a building site. “Factory-built buildings” includes the terms “mobile home,” “manufactured home,” and “modular home.”
“Family dwelling unit” means the same as “dwelling unit.”
“Gross floor area” means the area included within the surrounding exterior walls of a building. Areas of the building not provided with surrounding walls shall be included in the building area if such areas are included within the horizontal projection of the supporting structure of the roof or floor above.
“Habitable space (room)” means a space in a structure for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space, and similar areas are not considered “habitable space.”
“Hazardous use” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, which involves the manufacturing, processing, generation or storage of materials that constitute a physical or health hazard. “Hazardous use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group H of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Industrial use” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for assembling, disassembling, fabricating, finishing, manufacturing, packaging, repair, or processing operations that are not classified as hazardous use. “Industrial use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group F of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Institutional use” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, in which persons are receiving custodial or medical care, in which persons are detained for penal or correctional purposes or in which the liberty of the occupants is restricted. Day care facilities as defined in educational use are not considered institutional uses. “Institutional use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group I of the 2015 International Building Code®. Facilities with five or fewer persons receiving custodial care may be considered a residential use or be considered part of the primary occupancy as listed in Group I of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“International Building Code” is a model building code developed by the International Code Council. The 2015 International Building Code® is available from the state library of Iowa or the board or online at codes.iccsafe.org.
“Light industrial” means buildings not more than one story in height and not exceeding 10,000 square feet in gross floor area that involve fabrication or manufacturing of noncombustible materials which, during finishing, packing, or processing, are not classified as hazardous use.
“Mixed building use” means a building containing more than one use classification.
“Nonstructural alterations” means modifications to an existing building which do not include any changes to structural members of a building, or do not modify means of egress, handicap accessible routes, fire resistivity or other life safety concerns.
“Occupancy” means a purpose for which a building, or part thereof, is used or intended to be used.
“Outbuildings” means the same as “accessory buildings.”
“Place of assembly of people or public gathering” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the gathering of persons such as for civic, social, or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption; or awaiting transportation. “Place of assembly of people or public gathering” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group A of the 2015 International Building Code®. Places of assembly with occupancy of fewer than 50 people shall be considered part of the primary occupancy.
“Residential use” means the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for sleeping purposes when not classified as an institutional use. “Residential use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group R of the 2015 International Building Code®.
“Story” means that portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above.
“Structural members” consists of building elements which carry an imposed load of weight and forces in addition to their own weight including, but not limited to, loads imposed by forces of gravity, wind, and earthquake. Structural members include, but are not limited to, footings, foundations, columns, load-bearing walls, beams, girders, purlins, rafters, joists, trusses, lintels, and lateral bracing.
“Use” means the same as “occupancy.”
“Warehouses” or “warehouse use” means the use of a building or structure, or portion thereof, for storage that is not classified as a hazardous use. “Warehouse use” is intended to encompass the uses listed in Group S of the 2015 International Building Code®.
[ARC 3853C, IAB 6/20/18, effective 7/25/18]
193B—5.2(544A) Exceptions. An architect licensed in this state is required to perform professional architectural services for all buildings except those listed below. Persons who are not licensed architects may perform planning and design services in connection with any of the following:
	5.2(1) Detached residential buildings containing 12 or fewer family dwelling units of not more than three stories and outbuildings in connection with the buildings.
	5.2(2) Buildings used primarily for agricultural purposes including grain elevators and feed mills.
	5.2(3) Nonstructural alterations to existing buildings which do not change the use of a building:
	a. 	From any other use to a place of assembly of people or public gathering.
	b. 	From any other use to a place of residence not exempted by subrule 5.2(1).
	c. 	From an industrial or warehouse use to a commercial or office use not exempted by subrule 5.2(4).
	5.2(4) Warehouses and commercial buildings not more than one story in height, and not exceeding 10,000 square feet in gross floor area; commercial buildings not more than two stories in height and not exceeding 6,000 square feet in gross floor area; and light industrial buildings.
	5.2(5) Factory-built buildings which are not more than two stories in height and not exceeding 20,000 square feet in gross floor area or which are certified by a professional engineer registered under Iowa Code chapter 542B.
	5.2(6) Churches and accessory buildings, whether attached or separate, not more than two stories in height and not exceeding 2,000 square feet in gross floor area.
[ARC 3335C, IAB 9/27/17, effective 11/1/17]
193B—5.3(544A) Building use. The following criteria shall be used when applying the exceptions outlined in Iowa Code section 544A.18 and rule 193B—5.2(544A):
	5.3(1) Building use takes priority over size. In all cases, the use of the building takes priority over the size. For example, a place of assembly is not a commercial use, and would not constitute an exception even if the building is not more than one story in height and does not exceed more than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area.
	5.3(2) Mixed building use. In the case that a building contains more than one use, the most stringent use is applied to the entire building when applying the exceptions. For example, a two-story building containing a 6,000 square foot commercial space as well as 6,000 square feet of residential space on the second floor would be considered a 12,000 square foot, two-story commercial building for the purposes of the exception matrix.
	5.3(3) Agricultural buildings. Activities inherent to housing farm implements, farm inputs, farm products, and livestock or other agricultural products, such as record keeping, sanitation, storage of farm inputs, or equipment preparation, repair, or modifications, shall not be construed as a use in and of itself for the purposes of applying the exceptions. For example, welding operations to repair an implement or grain-handling equipment would not trigger the consideration of an agricultural building or a portion of the building as an industrial use.
	5.3(4) Churches and accessory buildings. When under the height and gross floor area noted in the exception and encompassing uses inherent to a church or an accessory building as defined, these buildings are exempted, even if the use within the building would normally not be exempted. For example, a church used as a place of assembly with occupancy of more than 50 people but still under the height and gross floor area noted would still be exempted even though the occupancy would place the building in the nonexempted category.
[ARC 3853C, IAB 6/20/18, effective 7/25/18]
193B—5.4(544A) Exceptions matrix. The following matrix is compiled to illustrate the exceptions outlined in Iowa Code section 544A.18 and rule 193B—5.2(544A). The laws and rules governing the Practice of Engineering are not illustrated herein.

BUILDINGS
NEW CONSTRUCTION	
Building Use Type	Description	Architect Required	Architect May Not Be Required	
Agricultural use	Including grain elevators and feed mills	 	X	
Churches and
accessory buildings
whether attached
or separate	One or two stories in height, up to a maximum of 2,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
	Any number of stories in height, greater than 2,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
	More than two stories in height	X	 	
Commercial use	One story in height, up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
	One story in height, greater than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
	Two stories in height, up to a maximum of 6,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
	Two stories in height, greater than 6,000 square feet of gross floor area	X	 	
	More than two stories in height	X	 	
Detached
residential
use	One, two or three stories in height, containing 12 or fewer family dwelling units	 	X	
	More than 12 family dwelling units	X	 	
	More than three stories in height	X	 	
	Outbuildings in connection with detached residential buildings	 	X	
Educational use	 	X	 	
Hazardous use	 	X	 	
Industrial use	 	X	 	
Institutional use	 	X	 	
Light industrial use	 	 	X	
Places of assembly	 	X	 	
Warehouse use	One story in height, up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
	One story in height, greater than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
	More than one story in height	X	 	
Factory-built buildings	Any height and size, if certified by a professional engineer licensed under Iowa Code chapter 542B	 	X	
	One or two stories in height, up to a maximum of 20,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
	One or two stories in height, greater than 20,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
	More than two stories in height	X	 	
	More than 20,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	

ALTERATIONS
TO EXISTING BUILDINGS	
Alteration Type	Description	Architect
Required	Architect
May
Not Be
Required	
Structural alterations to exempt buildings	Modifications which change the structural members, means of egress, handicap accessible path, fire resistivity or other life safety concerns	 	X	
Structural alterations to nonexempt buildings	Modifications which change the structural members, means of egress, handicap accessible path, fire resistivity or other life safety concerns	X	 	
Nonstructural alteration	Which does not modify means of egress, handicap accessible path, fire resistivity or other life safety concerns	 	X	
	Which maintains the previous type of use	 	X	
Nonstructural alteration which changes the use of the building from any other use to:	A place of assembly of people or public gathering	X	 	
	Educational use	X	 	
	Hazardous use	X	 	
	Residential use exempted	and is one, two or three stories in height and contains not more than 12 family dwelling units	 	X	
	Residential use not exempted otherwise	and is more than three stories in height	X	 	
		and containing more than 12 family dwelling units	X	 	
Nonstructural alterations which change the use of the building from industrial or warehouse to:	Commercial or
office use	and is one story in height and not greater than a maximum of 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		and is one story in height and greater than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		and is two stories in height and not greater than a maximum of 6,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		and is two stories in height and greater than 6,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		and is more than two stories in height	X	 	
		and is greater than 10,000 square feet of gross floor area	X	 	
Nonstructural alterations to:	Agricultural use	Including grain elevators and feed mills	 	X	
	Churches and accessory building uses	One or two stories in height, up to a maximum of 2,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		Any number of stories in height, greater than 2,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		More than two stories in height	X	 	
	Commercial use	One story in height, up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		One story in height, greater than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		Two stories in height, up to a maximum of 6,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		Two stories in height, greater than 6,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		More than two stories in height	X	 	
	Detached residential buildings	One, two or three stories in height, containing 12 or fewer family dwelling units	 	X	
		More than 12 family dwelling units	X	 	
		More than three stories in height	X	 	
		Outbuildings in connection with detached residential buildings	 	X	
	Educational use	 	X	 	
	Hazardous use	 	X	 	
	Industrial use	 	X	 	
	Institutional use	 	X	 	
	Light industrial use	 	 	X	
	Places of assembly	 	X	 	
	Warehouse use	One story in height, up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	 	X	
		One story in height, greater than 10,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		More than one story in height	X	 	
	Factory-built buildings	Any height and size if entire building is certified by a professional engineer licensed under Iowa Code chapter 542B	 	X	
		One or two stories in height, up to a maximum of 20,000 square feet of gross floor area	 	X	
		One or two stories in height, greater than 20,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
		More than two stories in height	X	 	
		More than 20,000 square feet in gross floor area	X	 	
[ARC 3853C, IAB 6/20/18, effective 7/25/18]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code section 544A.18.
[Filed 9/12/01, Notice 6/27/01—published 10/3/01, effective 11/7/01]
[Filed ARC 3335C (Notice ARC 3172C, IAB 7/5/17), IAB 9/27/17, effective 11/1/17]
[Filed ARC 3853C (Notice ARC 3661C, IAB 2/28/18), IAB 6/20/18, effective 7/25/18]