Georgia's elevator lobby rules are a baseline trap because the state layers custom amendments directly on top of the base International Building Code (IBC) text. In Georgia, ONLY a fully enclosed elevator lobby is strictly required at the primary and secondary recall floors for any building exceeding three stories (with a few exceptions). This completely bypasses the standard IBC sprinkler exemptions. This means out-of-state design teams cannot rely on generic base code exceptions when drawing shafts in the Peach State.

An architect reached out recently with a quick question about elevator smoke protection on a behavioral health project in Georgia. What started as a simple yes-or-no turned into a layered code conversation that is worth documenting, because Georgia is not unique. It's just a particularly visible example of something that trips up out-of-state architects constantly.

I call it franken code.

What Is Franken Code?

Franken code is what happens when a jurisdiction stitches together pieces of the IBC, pieces of NFPA 101, and their own state amendments into something that technically functions as a unified code but reads like three different documents that don't quite know about each other.

Georgia is a textbook example. They've adopted the IBC, but they've layered state amendments on top of it that modify specific sections. The problem is that those amendments don't always live in the same place as the base code. Historically, you'd have your IBC on the shelf and a separate PDF from the Georgia State Fire Marshal that you'd have to cross-reference manually. Miss the amendment, and you might make a code decision that's wrong for Georgia even though it would be right everywhere else.

The tool that helped me cut through the noise on this one was up.codes. They incorporate state amendments directly into the code text, so instead of toggling between a code book and a state PDF, you see the whole picture in one place. If you're doing work in a state-amended jurisdiction and you're not using it, it's worth knowing about.

What Georgia's Amendment Actually Requires

Here's the specific issue that came up on this project.

Georgia has a state amendment that requires a fully enclosed elevator lobby at the designated floor and the alternate floor, meaning the primary and secondary recall floors. This requirement is triggered when a building is greater than three stories. It doesn't matter how many sprinklers you have. If the building is over three stories, those two floors need lobbies.

Now, "fully enclosed lobby" doesn't necessarily mean a hard-wall construction with swing doors. You can form that lobby with a smoke curtain. You could use a folding door product. But you have to create a defined lobby space, and there is language in the Georgia State Fire Marshal's administrative code specifying minimum lobby dimensions. If you're working in Georgia, go find that before you start drawing.

The other thing that Georgia's amendment does NOT do is delete the rest of Chapter 30. The base IBC language covering hoistway door protection at other floors is still in play. Georgia added the lobby requirement on top of the existing code. They didn't replace it.

The Occupancy Question Changes Everything

Here's where it got more complicated on this specific project.

The project included an inpatient behavioral health component. The initial assumption had been I-1, Condition 1, which under standard Chapter 30 rules does not trigger hoistway door protection at other floors. That is a reasonable assumption under normal circumstances. But once you add a detox unit, or any component that involves residents who cannot self-preserve under duress, you're likely looking at I-2 or possibly I-1, Condition 2.

That classification changes the requirements significantly. Under IBC Section 3006.2, Group I-2 occupancies explicitly trigger hoistway door protection if the shaft connects more than three stories.

The Georgia amendment handles the recall floors. Chapter 30 handles the rest, and the occupancy classification determines how much of Chapter 30 actually applies to you.


Occupancy Group	Base IBC Hoistway Protection Trigger (Shafts > 3 Stories)	Georgia State Amendment Overrides
Group B	Required only if opening onto a fire-rated corridor (Section 3006.2.1)	Lobbies mandatory at primary/secondary recall floors if building > 3 stories
Group I-1, Condition 1	Not triggered by occupancy alone under Section 3006.2	Lobbies mandatory at primary/secondary recall floors if building > 3 stories
Group I-1, Condition 2	Mandatory at all floors connecting more than 3 stories (Section 3006.2)	Lobbies mandatory at primary/secondary recall floors if building > 3 stories
Group I-2	Mandatory at all floors connecting more than 3 stories (Section 3006.2)	Lobbies mandatory at primary/secondary recall floors if building > 3 stories

If It's a Fully Sprinklered Building with B Occupancy

Let me give you the cleaner scenario, because not every project has institutional occupancy complications.

In a fully sprinklered building with B occupancy throughout and no fire-rated corridors, the only smoke protection you'd likely need is at the primary and secondary recall floors under the Georgia amendment. The standard IBC trigger for smoke protection at other floors, Section 3006.2.1, is the elevator opening onto a fire-rated corridor. No rated corridor, no trigger at those floors.

That's the path that works cleanly, but only if the occupancies are properly separated. If the building is classified as a single occupancy throughout, and that occupancy is I-2, I-1 Condition 2, or R, the more stringent requirements follow you to every floor, not just the floors where that use physically occurs. The clean B occupancy scenario only holds when the institutional or residential component is separated from the rest of the building and classified independently. If it isn't, you're in the harder conversation on every level.

One More Option Worth Mentioning — With a Caveat

Elevator shaft pressurization is a compliance path under Chapter 30, specifically referenced as an option under Section 3006.3, and it's worth knowing about. It can look attractive on paper, especially when lobbies feel spatially impossible or cost-prohibitive. But in Georgia specifically, there's something worth understanding before you go down that road.

Georgia deleted the prescriptive requirements for shaft pressurization from the base IBC language and replaced them with a much looser standard. What remains is essentially a maximum pressure differential: the system cannot restrict or prohibit the free operation of the cab and hoistway doors at all levels of the building. That's the ceiling. There is no floor. No minimum pressure differential is specified.

That matters because a pressurization system that passes testing on a mild day may behave very differently in January. Stack effect, the pressure differential created by temperature differences between inside and outside air, is not constant. On a cold day, natural stack effect can add significant pressure to a shaft. If there's a fire on that same cold day, the pressurization system that was calibrated during a comfortable weather test may not be able to overcome the combined stack effect and fire conditions. The code as written in Georgia doesn't require you to account for that.

Shaft pressurization is not inherently a bad solution. In some configurations it works well. But it requires real engineering attention to stack effect variability, and in Georgia the code doesn't demand that work be done. That's worth knowing before you specify it as the easy path.

How Smoke Curtains Keep Lobbies Simple and Budget-Friendly

If you're stuck with a floor layout where a built-in drywall elevator lobby destroys your sightlines, programming, or square footage, code-compliant draft-rated smoke curtains are your best friend. Instead of losing hundreds of square feet to a dedicated room with heavy magnetic doors, a smoke curtain mounts invisibly above the elevator frame and deploys only on a smoke alarm signal.

When you look at this path from a value engineering perspective, the budgetary numbers make a compelling case over hard-walled construction.

Budgetary Cost Ranges for Smoke Protection Alternatives


Compliance Path	Budgetary Cost Range (Per Opening)	"Real World" Cost Variables	Spatial/Design Impact
Drywall Lobby Enclosure + Rated Doors	$8,000 – $15,000	Framing finish, framing trades, hardware drops, loss of leasable floor area	Permanently consumes 100 to 200 sq ft per floor, limits natural light
Flexible Elevator Smoke Curtains	$6,500 – $8,500	Open width, header depth, side-guide routing, fire alarm tie-in complexity	Zero footprint when rolled up, sits flush or concealed inside the ceiling
Shaft Pressurization System	$25,000 – $60,000+	Building height, fan motor size, custom duct routing, life-cycle testing costs	Completely open layout, but adds major roof or mechanical room footprints

The Broader Point

Out-of-state architects working in Georgia, or in any state with a patchwork of amendments layered on top of a base code, are playing a harder game than they sometimes realize. The code they're reading in the standard IBC may not be the code that applies to their project.

That's not a reason to panic. It's a reason to verify before you detail the lobby conditions and certainly before you get into the submittal process. A quick conversation with someone who knows the local landscape can save a lot of coordination headaches downstream.

If you're working on a project and you're not sure whether your elevator smoke protection approach holds up, check out our baseline guide on When is a Smoke Curtain Required? or reach out directly at thesmokecurtainguy.com. I'm happy to give you an unbiased read.

This post grew out of a real code question from a project architect working in Georgia. The project details have been anonymized. The analysis is mine, based on 25 years in the field and a lot of time spent reading state-amended codes.

This post was edited and formatted with AI assistance. The knowledge and opinions are mine.

— John, The Smoke Curtain Guy

Georgia's Elevator Lobby Requirements Are a Mess. Here's How to Actually Read Them