Texas · city · ERRCS / BDA requirements
ERRCS and BDA requirements in Houston, Texas
Houston's construction code requires emergency responder communication coverage in all buildings. A building is exempt only if it has no basement, is three stories or less, and has 50,000 sq ft or less of total area. New buildings, remodels and lease buildouts must document compliance.
Guidance, not engineering advice. Rules on this page come from the documents listed under Sources. Confirm with City of Houston Building Code Enforcement and Houston Fire Department before you design, permit or test a system.
Who must comply
| Rule | Effect | Citation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings without basements, three stories or less in height, and with an aggregate total building area of 50,000 sq ft or less are exempt. | Not required | Houston ERCC Guideline (CE-1350), Exemption | City of Houston, Houston Permitting Center |
| New buildings must comply with the ERCC provisions. Before any BDA is installed, a test (with Form CE-1386) shows whether the building already has the required coverage or needs a signal enhancing system. | Must meet | Houston ERCC Guideline (CE-1350), Purpose and New Construction | City of Houston, Houston Permitting Center |
| Plans for remodels and lease buildouts of existing facilities must document ERCC compliance in the code analysis sheet. Existing facilities with previously authorized wired systems maintain them under the original code of record and Chapter 11. | AHJ may require | Houston ERCC Guideline (CE-1350), Existing Facilities | City of Houston, Houston Permitting Center |
| With prior approval of the building official and fire code official, a wired communication system (Section 907.2.13.2) may be used in new construction instead of radio coverage. | Note | Houston ERCC Guideline (CE-1350), Note | City of Houston, Houston Permitting Center |
| Trigger | Published value |
|---|---|
| Minimum building size | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Minimum stories | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Height trigger | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Below-grade areas | True |
| Building types named | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Existing buildings must retrofit | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Compliance deadline | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
Houston calls it ERCC (Emergency Responder Communication Coverage). The guideline does not set a deadline for existing buildings without remodel work.
Signal and coverage
Not published by the city. Building Code Enforcement, Emergency Responder Communication Coverage (ERCC) Guideline, Form CE-1350 (revised July 2025) is a reference only.
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum downlink signal | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Minimum uplink signal | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Delivered audio quality (DAQ) | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Coverage, general areas | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Coverage, critical areas | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Critical areas named | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Public safety radio bands | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
The guideline does not print signal levels. Frequencies for a specific site come from City of Houston HITS Radio Communication Services and the Harris County Radio Network Operation Center (RNOC); loaner radios are available for testing.
How coverage is tested
One floor, 20 squares, a radio check in each
- 20 test areas per floorEach floor is divided into a grid of 20 roughly equal areas.IFC 2021 510.5.4
- One test spot per areaA spot near the center stands for the whole area. No extra spots after it is chosen.
- One failed area is allowedMore than one failed area fails the floor. With exactly two, the floor may be re-divided into 40 areas, and up to two non-adjacent failures are allowed.IFC 2021 510.5.4
- Critical areas count moreTypical model-code targets: 95 percent of all areas and 99 percent of critical areas such as stairs and elevator lobbies. Your fire marshal sets the numbers that apply to you.IFC 2021 510.4.1
Illustration: 19 of 20 areas pass, so this floor passes. Some fire departments use other numbers; Miami-Dade, for example, stops an acceptance test below 90 percent of general areas.
Testing
| Test | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance test | Before the certificate of occupancy or final inspection, the building is tested by a City of Houston registered ERCC third-party special inspector, who also inspects the installation and completes Form CE-1385. | Houston ERCC Guideline (CE-1350), Post Installation Testing |
| Annual test | Not published in the documents we read; confirm with the fire marshal. | None found |
| Five-year test | Not published in the documents we read; confirm with the fire marshal. | None found |
| Coverage assessment interval | Not published in the documents we read; confirm with the fire marshal. | None found |
Permit and inspection process
- Test the building before installing any BDA and submit the test with Form CE-1386. CE-1350, New Construction: Tests
- If a system is needed, submit ERCC plans designed, sealed, signed and dated by a Texas Professional Engineer, either with the construction documents or as a deferred submittal (Form CE-1086). CE-1350, Plan Review Submittal Process
- Exterior towers or equipment need Texas PE-sealed structural and anchorage details for Houston wind loads. CE-1350, Deferred Submittal ERCC Plan Review
- After installation, a registered ERCC special inspector tests and inspects the system and submits Form CE-1385 to [email protected]. CE-1350, Post Installation Testing; Submittal of Reports
Installation and special inspection testing may be done by a trained Texas PE or by an FCC-licensed General Radio Telephone Operator registered with the City as an ERCC special inspector, with in-building radio system certification.
Codes and standards referenced
Notes
Read in the July 2025 revision of Form CE-1350. The city site blocks automated requests, so we read an Internet Archive copy of the same file; the live link is listed first.
Next step
Take the board a plan, not just a problem
Ask for up to 3 quotes from vetted installers who serve your area, or start with a one-page brief the board can read before the next meeting. Free for owners, boards and managers. No texts, no cold calls.
Questions people ask
Is my Houston building exempt from ERCC?
Only if all three are true: no basement, three stories or less, and 50,000 sq ft or less of total building area (Houston ERCC Guideline, Exemption).
Who must design an ERCC system in Houston?
A Texas Professional Engineer with appropriate training; plans must be sealed, signed and dated (Houston ERCC Guideline, Minimum Qualifications).
Sources
Primary documents we read for this page. Rules change; confirm with your fire marshal (AHJ).
- Building Code Enforcement, Emergency Responder Communication Coverage (ERCC) Guideline, Form CE-1350 (revised July 2025), City of Houston, Houston Permitting Center
- Internet Archive copy of Form CE-1350, captured 2025-08-05 (the city site blocks automated requests), Internet Archive