National Building Code of India 2005 (NBC 2005)

The National Building Code of India (NBC), a comprehensive building Code, is a national
instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the
country. It serves as a Model Code for adoption by all agencies involved in building
construction works be they Public Works Departments, other government construction
departments, local bodies or private construction agencies. The Code mainly contains
administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements;
fire safety requirements; stipulations regarding materials, structural design and construction
(including safety); and building and plumbing services.
The Code was first published in 1970 at the instance of Planning Commission and then
revised in 1983. Thereafter three major amendments were issued, two in 1987 and the third
in 1997.
Considering a series of further developments in the field of building construction including
the lessons learnt in the aftermath of number of natural calamities like devastating
earthquakes and super cyclones witnessed by the country, a Project for comprehensive
revision of NBC was taken up under the aegis of National Building Code Sectional
Committee, CED 46 of BIS and its 18 expert Panels; involving as many as 400 experts. As
a culmination of the Project, the revised NBC has now been brought out as National
Building Code of India 2005 (NBC 2005).
The comprehensive NBC 2005 contains 11 Parts some of which are further divided into
Sections totalling 26 chapters (see Annex 1). The salient features of the revised NBC (see
Annex 2) include, apart from other changes made, the changes specially in regard to further
enhancing our response to meet the challenges posed by natural calamities and reflecting
the state-of-the-art and contemporary applicable international practices.
The NBC 2005, priced at Rs 8700/-, is available from Sales Counter at BIS
Headquarters as well as various Regional and Branch Offices of BIS.

Sales Offices
BIS sells Indian Standards and other publications through its chain of 18 Sales
Outlets/Offices. International Standards are sold at the Sales Centre in New Delhi only.
The Sales Counters at New Delhi and at Regional/Branch Offices are open from 1000 h to
1630 h, Monday to Friday with lunch hours from 1300 h to 1400 h.

Sr. No.

Sales Outlets
Address

Telephone No./Fax/e-mail

Director (Sales)

91 11 23238821,23233375,23239402

Manak Bhawan

91 23238821, 23239399 (Fax)

9, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg

sales@bis.org.in

New Delhi 110 002

Western Regional Office

Phone 022-28329295

Manakalaya,

Fax 28374231,

Plot No. E9, MIDC,

email saleswro@bis.org.in

Road No. 8,
Behind Telephone Exchange,
Andheri (East),
Mumbai 400 093.

Eastern Regional Office

033-232053243

5, Chowringhee Approach

91 33 23377459 (Fax)

P.O. Princep Street

ero@bis.org.in

Calcutta 700 012

Northern Regional Office

91 0172 2665512,

SCO 335-336, Sector 34-A

91 0172 2602025 (Fax)

Chandigarh 160 022

910172-2609285,2664750,
2624136(PBX)
nro@bis.org.in

Southern Regional Office

91 044 22542315,22541584, 22541470

C.I.T. Campus, IV Cross Road

91 044 22541087 (Fax)

Chennai 600 013

sro@bis.org.in

Ahmedabad Branch Office

91 079 25601348

Pushpak, Nurmohamed Shaikh

91 079 25601440 (Fax)

Marg

abo@bis.org.in

Khanpur,Ahmedabad 380 001

Banglore Branch Office

080-28394955, 28394956 , 28396324

Peenya Industrial Area,

080-28398841 (Fax)

1st Stage, Bangalore - Tumkur

Road,
Bangalore 560 058

bnbo@bis.org.in

Bhopal Branch Office

91 0755 2423449, 2423452

E-5, Bittan Market

91 0755 2423451 (Fax)

Opposite Dushera Maidan

bplbo@bis.org.in

Bhopal 462 0016

Bhubaneswar Branch Office

91 0674 2403627

Plot No. 62-63, Unit VI

91 0674 2403139 (Fax)

Ganga Nagar

bhbo@bis.org.in

Bhubneshwar 751 001

10

0422 2201016, 2210141, 2215622

Coimbatore Branch Office

Fax: 0422-2216705

5th Floor, Kovai Towers

44 Bala Sundaram Road

Email: cbto@bis.org.in

Coimbatore 641 018

Landmark- On RTO Road, Near
Womens Polytechnic

11

12

Guwahati Branch Office

91 0361 2456508, 2454679

R.G. Barua Road, 5th By-lane

91 0361 2456508 (Fax)

Guwahati 781 003

gbo@bis.org.in

Hyderabad Branch Office

91 040 23201052

5-8-56 C, L.N. Gupta Marg

91 040 23201241 (Fax)

Nampally Station Road

hbo@bis.org.in

Hyderabad 500 001

13

Jaipur Branch Office

91 0141 2223282, 2373879, 2372925

Prithavi Raj Road,

91 0141 2372940 (Fax)

Opposite Bharat Overseas Bank,

jbo@bis.org.in

C-Scheme
Jaipur 302 001

14

Kanpur Branch Office

91 0512 2216876

15

16

17

117/418 B, Sarvodaya Nagar

91 0512 2218774 (Fax)

Kanpur 208 005

kbo@bis.org.in

Nagpur Branch Office

91 0712 2565171

2nd Floor, NIT Complex

91 0712 2554267 (Fax)

Gokulpeth, Nagpur 440010

nbo@bis.org.in

Patna Branch Office

91 0612 2262808

Patliputra Industrial Estate

91 0612 2262305 (Fax)

Patna 800 013

pbo@bis.org.in

Pune Branch Office

91 020 24268594

657-660, MIDC Building,

91 020 24268659 (Fax)

Market Yard,

pnbo@bis.org.in

Gultekdi,
Pune 411 037

18

Thiruvananthapuram Branch

0471 2557914, 2558416

Office

0471 2557917(Fax)

T.C. 2/275(1&2)

tbo@bis.org.in

Near Food Corporation of India

Kesavadasapuram-Ulloor Road
Thiruvananthapuram 695 004

CONTENTS OF NBC 2005

PART 0 INTEGRATED APPROACH - PREREQUISITE FOR APPLYING
PROVISIONS OF THE CODE
PART 1 DEFINITIONS
PART 2 ADMINISTRATION
PART 3 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL RULES AND GENERAL BUILDING

REQUIREMENTS
PART 4 FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY
PART 5 BUILDING MATERIALS
PART 6 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Section 1 Loads, Forces and Effects Section 2 Soils and Foundations
Section 3 Timber and Bamboo
3A Timber
3B Bamboo
Section 4 Masonry Section 5 Concrete
5A Plain and Reinforced Concrete
5B Prestressed Concrete
Section 6 Steel
Section 7 Prefabrication, Systems Building and Mixed/ Composite Construction
7A Prefabricated Concrete
7B Systems Building and Mixed/Composite Construction
PART 7 CONSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES AND SAFETY
PART 8 BUILDING SERVICES
Section 1 Lighting and Ventilation
Section 2 Electrical and Allied Installations
Section 3 Air conditioning, Heating and Mechanical Ventilation
Section 4 Acoustics, Sound Insulation and Noise Control
Section 5 Installation of Lifts and Escalators
PART 9 PLUMBING SERVICES
Section 1 Water Supply, Drainage and Sanitation (including
Solid Waste Management)
Section 2 Gas Supply
PART 10 LANDSCAPING, SIGNS AND OUTDOOR DISPLAY STRUCTURES
Section 1 Landscape Planning and Design
Section 2 Signs and Outdoor Display Structures

Salient Features of National Building Code 2005 (NBC 2005)

Salient Features of NBC 2005

1) Inclusion of a complete philosophy and direction for successfully
accomplishing the building projects through Integrated Multidisciplinary
Approach right through conceptual stage to planning, designing, construction,
operation and maintenance stages
2) A series of reforms in building permit process

3) Provisions to ensure and certification of safety of buildings against natural

disaster by engineer and structural engineer
4) Provision for two stage permit for high rise and special buildings
5) Provision for periodic renewal certificate of occupied buildings from
structural, fire and electrical safety point of view
6) Provision for empowering engineers and architects for sanctioning plans of
residential buildings up to 500 m2
7) Inclusion of detailed town planning norms for various amenities such as
educational facilities, medical facilities, distribution services, police, civil defence
and home guards and fire services
8) Revision of parking requirements for metro and mega cities
9) Up-dation of special requirements for low income housing for urban areas
10) Inclusion of special requirements for low income housing rural habitat
planning
11) Revision of the provisions for buildings and facilities for physically
challenged
12) Fire safety norms completely revamped through detailed provisions on Fire
Prevention, Life Safety and Fire Protection
13) Inclusion of new categories of starred hotels, heritage structures and
archeological monuments for fire safety provisions
14) Substitution of halon based fire/extinguishers fire fighting system
15) Promotion to new/innovative building materials/technologies
16) Inclusion of latest provisions for earthquake resistant design and construction
17) Inclusion of details on mult-disaster prone districts
18) Inclusion of new chapter on design and construction using bamboo
19) Chapter on prefabricated and composite construction for speedier
construction
20) Updation of provision of safety in construction
21) Complete revision of provision on building and plumbing services in line
with applicable international practices
22) Provisions on rain water harvesting

23) Inclusion of new chapter to cover landscaping needs