About

Making building codes legible

Building codes and zoning ordinances are public law — they decide what you can build on your own land. But they live in thousands of PDFs and code-publisher portals, written in language that takes professionals years to learn to navigate. GoCodebook exists to close that gap: ask a question about a property, get a plain-English answer with the exact controlling citation, and read the verbatim code section yourself.

What we build

GoCodebook combines three layers that keep each other honest: the Code Library — the verbatim enacted text of 600 California codes and ordinances (256,000+ sections across 540 cities and counties, Title 24, and the state housing laws); plain-English guides for every jurisdiction and topic, each grounded in that city's actual code text; and an AI research assistant that answers property-specific questions with citations back to the controlling sections. How the layers are sourced and checked is documented in our methodology.

Who we are

GoCodebook is built by a small team that spans software and architecture practice. It was co-founded by Sungjoon Nam (CEO) and Sunwoo Kim, an architect with U.S. practice experience — so the product is shaped by people who have actually had to find the controlling code section before a submittal.

Get in touch

GoCodebook, Inc. is based in San Francisco and works with architects, contractors, developers, planners, and homeowners across California. Questions, corrections, or partnerships: contact us — corrections to any page are especially welcome (see how we handle them). You can also find us on X and LinkedIn.