Approved Code Services

What Approved Code Services does

Approved Code Services, Inc. (ACSI) is a Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA-UCC) certified Third-Party Agency providing building code plan review, inspection, and consulting services. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Mechanicsburg, PA, the company operates with 11-50 employees serving two distinct but related markets: (1) municipalities across Cumberland, Dauphin, and York counties in South Central Pennsylvania, where ACSI acts as either the exclusive Building Code Official or a backup services provider under direct contractual partnerships with 30+ local governments, and (2) builders and design professionals statewide, who submit plans for code compliance review via mail, local drop-off, or a JotForm-based digital upload portal.

The company's service portfolio is organized around three core offerings and one premium add-on: third-party plan review (residential and commercial, with 30-day, 15-day, and 7-day expedited turnaround options), third-party building inspections covering all Pennsylvania Building Code disciplines (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, building, energy, and accessibility), municipal building code services including weekly courier document handling, and an educational resources library under which ACSI holds PA-UCC accreditation to award continuing education units. Pricing is purely usage-based and hourly, ranging from $115/hour for residential inspections to $175/hour for expedited commercial plan review, with expedited services carrying a 100% surcharge over standard rates.

The business model is operationally simple: certified inspectors and plan reviewers deliver services on an hourly, pay-as-you-go basis to government and construction-industry clients, with geographic constraints of approximately 45 miles from Mechanicsburg for on-site inspections and statewide reach for plan review work. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, relying on municipal partnership agreements, builder and design professional referrals, web-based lead capture, and the company's 15+ year operating history in the region. There is no external funding, no parent company, no franchise network, and no disclosed technology platform beyond the website and plan submission portal.

Name

Approved Code Services

Legal name

Approved Code Services, Inc.

Website

https://approvedcode.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Approved Code Services is a PA-UCC certified third-party agency providing building code plan review, inspection, and consulting services to municipalities in South Central Pennsylvania and to builders and design professionals statewide under usage-based hourly pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Code Compliance Services

NAICS

Building Inspection Services (54135)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE)

Keywords

• Building code compliance
• Plan review services
• Building inspections
• Municipal code agency
• Third-party inspection

Headquarters

HQ city

Mechanicsburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Inspection Services: Hourly-based inspection services for residential and commercial projects. Services include building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, energy, and accessibility inspections billed at hourly rates.
2. Plan Review Services: Third-party building code plan review services billed hourly with different pricing tiers based on turnaround time (30-day, 15-day, or 7-day expedited review).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Approved Code Services provides third-party building code plan review and inspection services for residential and commercial projects, certified under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA-UCC). The company serves as an authorized Third-Party Agency (TPA) for municipalities across South Central Pennsylvania and offers statewide plan review to builders and design professionals via mail-in or online submission. Services cover all PA Building Code disciplines including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, building, energy, and accessibility, billed on an hourly basis with expedited turnaround tiers.

Product overview

Approved Code Services offers a unified set of professional building code compliance services across Pennsylvania, centered on two core offerings — Third-Party Plan Review and Third-Party Building Inspections — supplemented by Municipal Building Code Services (exclusive partnerships and backup services for municipalities) and Building Code Resources (checklists, guides, and educational materials). An Expedited Plan Review add-on provides accelerated turnaround as a premium tier. All services operate within the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA-UCC) framework, covering disciplines including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, building, energy, and accessibility, with PA-UCC accreditation for awarding continuing education units.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Commercial reviews completed within 15 business days vs. state mandate of 30 business days
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Municipalities of South Central PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApproved Code Services partners with municipalities across South Central Pennsylvania as a certified third-party agency under PA-UCC. Partnerships include exclusive arrangements where ACSI serves as the municipality's Building Code Official, as well as non-exclusive backup services arrangements.
• Cumberland County MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnerships in Cumberland County include: Camp Hill Borough, Carlisle Borough, East Pennsboro Township, Hampden Township, Lemoyne Borough, Lower Allen Township, Mechanicsburg Borough, Middlesex Township, Monroe Township, New Cumberland Borough, North Middleton Township, Silver Spring Township, and Upper Allen Township.
• Dauphin County MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnerships in Dauphin County include: Derry Township, Highspire Borough, Londonderry Township, Lower Paxton Township, Lower Swatara Township, Paxtang Borough, South Hanover Township, Susquehanna Township, and Swatara Township.
• York County MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnerships in York County include: Carroll Township, City of York, Dillsburg Borough, Fairview Township, Franklin Township, Monaghan Township, Newberry Township, Warrington Township, Washington Township, and Wellsville Borough.
• Pennsylvania Department of Labor & IndustrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACSI is certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry as a Third-Party Agency (TPA) under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA-UCC). This certification authorizes ACSI to perform technical and administrative aspects of the PA-UCC under municipal authority.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Terracon: National engineering consulting firm with building inspection and construction materials testing capabilities serving commercial, institutional, and government clients. Provides adjacent building-code-relevant inspection services at significantly greater scale than ACS.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) leader offering building code compliance, plan review, and construction inspection services across North America as part of a broad multi-industry portfolio. Comparable to ACS in core service offering but vastly larger and more diversified.
• Intertek: Global TIC provider offering building inspection, code compliance, and construction quality assurance services to government and commercial clients. Comparable service overlap with ACS, but operating at much larger scale across many end markets.
• NV5 Global: Technical engineering and consulting firm offering building inspection, code compliance, and construction quality services within a broader infrastructure, environmental, and geospatial portfolio. Larger, publicly-traded peer with overlapping inspection capabilities.
• Professional Service Industries (PSI): Intertek-owned engineering and testing firm offering building inspection, construction quality assurance, and code compliance services across the U.S. Direct overlap with ACS service lines, embedded within a much larger parent organization.
• SGS: Global TIC company providing building inspection, construction materials testing, and code-related services across multiple industries. Comparable to ACS on the inspection and compliance core, but with substantially broader scope.

Direct peers

• Criterium Engineers: National building inspection and engineering firm providing residential and commercial property inspections, code consulting, and similar field-based services. Closely comparable service mix and customer types to ACS.
• Property Solutions, Inc. Pennsylvania-based third-party building code agency offering municipal partnerships, plan review, and inspection services similar to ACS. Closest direct competitor given overlapping Pennsylvania geography and TPA operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/approved-code-services

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Approved Code Services