July 16th, 2018
by Elizabeth McDonald

Starting Jan. 1, 2020, candidates looking to obtain a Certified Building Official (CBO) or Certified Fire Marshal (CFM) designation will have 18 months to fulfill the exam requirements to achieve those designations.

Exams required to obtain CBO or CFM designations:

Certified Building Official

MM — Management Module
MG — Legal Module
BC — Building Codes and Standards Module

Certified Fire Marshal

MM — Management Module
MG — Legal Module
FC — Fire Codes and Standards Module

Achieving both designations has become much easier than before. Upon completing either the CBO or CFM, there is only one more exam to pass to achieve the other designation. The last exam does not have to be fulfilled within the 18-month timeframe as long as the existing CBO or CFM certification is current. And there are plenty of opportunities to take an exam. The Code Council allows certification exam attempts up to six times in a six-month period.

Designations can be reviewed and renewed through an account on myICC.

About the Author
Elizabeth McDonald
Elizabeth McDonald is the editor for ICC’s Assessment Center working out of the Eastern regional Office in Birmingham, Ala. Previously, Elizabeth worked in higher education administration, academic writing and business data research. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of South Carolina Aiken.