Trump Administration Takes Limited Action to Override Local Permitting Rules
Under the rule, builders and contractors may self-certify that repairs or reconstruction comply with applicable building codes, safety requirements, and other substantive standards, while continuing to comply with all state and local requirements, except for permitting or approval processes the rule permits them to bypass.
To accelerate post-disaster rebuilding, the Trump Administration has taken limited steps to preempt state and local building permitting requirements.
On January 27, the President signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters.” The EO directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to consider revising regulations to preempt or replace state and local permitting requirements when those processes are found to have unduly delayed the use of federal disaster-relief funds for rebuilding homes, businesses or houses of worship.
In response, on January 28, the SBA issued an interim final rule authorizing federal preemption of state and local permitting requirements for projects approved on or after January 1, 2025, that are funded through its Disaster Loan Program (DLP).
Under the rule, builders and contractors may self-certify that repairs or reconstruction comply with applicable building codes, safety requirements and other substantive standards, while continuing to comply with all state and local requirements, except for permitting or approval processes the rule permits them to bypass. The SBA has published additional guidance, including self-certification forms, on its website for DLP recipients and participating builders.
It is important to note that this action applies only to SBA’s Disaster Loan Program. The interim final rule does not establish nationwide federal preemption of state or local permitting requirements.
ICC’s Government Relations team is coordinating with our fellow Standard Development Organizations and other partners to respond to the interim final rule and to educate key decision-makers in the Administration and Congress on the risks to federal preemption of local building departments. We are also in close contact with FEMA officials and will update ICC’s membership should the Agency issue similar guidance for programs under its jurisdiction.
Please feel free to contact ICC’s Deputy Senior Vice President for Federal Relations, Aaron Levy (alevy@iccsafe.org), with a cc to Lisa Berger (lberger@iccsafe.org) if you have any questions. In addition, we would welcome any substantive comments from ICC’s membership to include in our formal response to the SBA interim final rule.
If you wish to submit comments for consideration, please send them to Aaron and Lisa by Friday, February 20, 2026.
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The International Code Council is a nonprofit association that provides a wide range of building safety solutions, including product evaluation, accreditation, certification, codification and training. It develops model codes and standards used worldwide to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.
