Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
Section 311
California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) · 2019 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California
Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.
311.1 Storage Group S.¶
Storage Group S occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for storage that is not classified as a hazardous occupancy.
311.1.1 Accessory storage spaces. A room or space used for storage purposes that is accessory to another occupancy shall be classified as part of that occupancy.
311.2 Moderate-hazard storage, Group S-1.¶
Storage Group S-1 occupancies are buildings occupied for storage uses that are not classified as Group S-2, including, but not limited to, storage of the following:
Aerosol products, Levels 2 and 3 Aircraft hangar (storage and repair) Bags: cloth, burlap and paper Bamboos and rattan Baskets Belting: canvas and leather Books and paper in rolls or packs Boots and shoes Buttons, including cloth covered, pearl or bone Cardboard and cardboard boxes Clothing, woolen wearing apparel Cordage Dry boat storage (indoor)
OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
Congregate residences (transient) with 10 or fewer
occupants
[HCD 1] Efficiency dwelling units
Boarding houses (transient)
Adult care facilities that provide accommodations for six
or fewer clients of any age for less than 24 hours. Licensing categories that may use this classification
include Adult Day Programs.
Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery homes
(ambulatory only) Child care facilities that provide accommodations for six
or fewer clients of any age for less than 24 hours. Licensing categories that may use this classification
include, but are not limited to:
Day-Care Center for Mildly Ill Children, Infant Care Center, School Age Child Day-Care Center.
Family Day-Care Homes that provide accommodations
for 14 or fewer children, in the provider’s own home for less than 24-hours.
Adult care and child care facilities that are within a single
family home are permitted to comply with the California Residential Code.
Lodging houses (transient) with five or fewer guest rooms
and 10 or fewer occupants
310.4.1 Residential Group R-3.1. This occupancy group may include facilities licensed by a governmental agency for a residentially based 24-hour care facility providing accommodations for six or fewer clients of any age. Clients may be classified as ambulatory, nonambulatory or bedrid- den. A Group R-3.1 occupancy shall meet the requirements for construction as defined for Group R-3, except as other- wise provided for in Section 435 Special Provisions For Licensed 24-Hour Care Facilities in a Group R-2.1, R-3.1 or R-4 Occupancy. This group may include:
Adult residential facilities Congregate living health facilities Intermediate care facilities for the developmentally
disabled habilitative Intermediate care facilities for the developmentally
disabled nursing Nurseries for the full-time care of children under the age of
six, but not including “infants” as defined in Chapter 2 Residential care facilities for the elderly Small family homes and residential care facilities for the
chronically ill
Exception: Group Homes licensed by the Department of Social Services which provide nonmedical board, room and care for six or fewer ambulatory children or children two years of age or younger, and which do not have any nonambulatory clients shall not be subject to regulations found in Section 435.
Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 13143 with respect to these exempted facilities, no city, county or pub- lic district shall adopt or enforce any requirement for the
106 2019 CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE
Copyright © 2019 ICC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Accessed by Kevin Day (kevin.day@dgs.ca.gov), (California Building Standards Commission) Order Number #100735044 on Jul 24, 2019 03:54 PM (PDT) pursuant to License Agreement with ICC. No further reproduction or distribution authorized. Single user only, copying and networking prohibited. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION IS A VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL COPYRIGHT ACT AND THE LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND SUBJECT TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES THEREUNDER.
100735044
Furniture Furs Glues, mucilage, pastes and size Grains Horns and combs, other than celluloid Leather Linoleum Lumber Motor vehicle repair garages complying with the
maximum allowable quantities of hazardous materials listed in Table 307.1(1) (see Section 406.8) Photo engravings Resilient flooring Self-service storage facility (mini-storage) Silks Soaps Sugar Tires, bulk storage of Tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and snuff Upholstery and mattresses Wax candles
311.3 Low-hazard storage, Group S-2.¶
Storage Group S-2 occupancies include, among others, buildings used for the storage of noncombustible materials such as products on wood pallets or in paper cartons with or without single thickness divisions; or in paper wrappings. Such products are permitted to have a negligible amount of plastic trim, such as knobs, handles or film wrapping. Group S-2 storage uses shall include, but not be limited to, storage of the following:
Asbestos Beverages up to and including 16-percent alcohol in
metal, glass or ceramic containers Cement in bags Chalk and crayons Dairy products in nonwaxed coated paper containers Dry cell batteries Electrical coils Electrical motors Empty cans Food products Foods in noncombustible containers Fresh fruits and vegetables in nonplastic trays or containers Frozen foods Glass Glass bottles, empty or filled with noncombustible liquids Gypsum board Inert pigments Ivory Meats Metal cabinets Metal desks with plastic tops and trim Metal parts Metals Mirrors Oil-filled and other types of distribution transformers Parking garages, open or enclosed Porcelain and pottery Stoves Talc and soapstones Washers and dryers
OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
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Ask AI about this code▸Contents — California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
- Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
- Appendix G — FLOOD-RESISTANT
- Appendix L — EARTHQUAKE RECORDING
- Appendix M — TSUNAMI-GENERATED
- Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
▸Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
- Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED
- Chapter 5 — GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
- Chapter 6 — TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
- Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
- Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
- Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISHES
- Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
- Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
- Chapter 11A — HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY
- Chapter 11B — ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PUBLIC ACCOMM…
- Chapter 12 — INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
- Chapter 14 — EXTERIOR WALLS
- Chapter 15 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES
- Chapter 16 — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
- Chapter 16A — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
- Chapter 17 — SPECIAL INSPECTIONS AND TESTS
- Chapter 18 — SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
- Chapter 19 — CONCRETE
- Chapter 20 — ALUMINUM
- Chapter 21 — MASONRY
- Chapter 22 — STEEL
- Chapter 23 — WOOD
- Chapter 24 — GLASS AND GLAZING
- Chapter 25 — GYPSUM BOARD, GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS AND PLASTER
- Chapter 26 — PLASTIC
- Chapter 27 — ELECTRICAL
- Chapter 28 — MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
- Chapter 30 — ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
- Chapter 31 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
- Chapter 31B — PUBLIC POOLS
- Chapter 31C — RADIATION
- Chapter 31D — FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
- Chapter 31F — MARINE OIL TERMINALS
- Chapter 32 — ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
- Chapter 33 — SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
- Chapter 35 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
- Appendix A — EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS
- Appendix B — BOARD OF APPEALS
- Appendix C — GROUP U – AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
- Appendix D — FIRE DISTRICTS
- Appendix F — RODENTPROOFING
- Appendix H — SIGNS
- Appendix I — PATIO COVERS
- Appendix J — GRADING
- Appendix K — GROUP R-3 AND GROUP R-3.1 OCCUPANCIES
- Appendix N — REPLICABLE BUILDINGS
- Appendix O — EMERGENCY HOUSING