State law gives the Fire Marshal's Office the authority to review all plans and specifications and issue building permits in all geographical areas of the state not having any local authority. A fee is charged for all building permits issued by the agency. The fee includes the building permit, construction inspections and occupancy permit, and can vary according to the structure. The agency sets the minimum building requirements for the state. The state-adopted national building code is the BOCA 1999.
Some buildings types require the seal of an architect before the plans are inspected.
A list of these buildings are provided by the Board of governors of the Licensed Architects and Landscape Architects of Oklahoma . A plan review transmittal form must be attached to all plans submitted to the agency for review. School Inspections are of top priority with the agency. To avoid surprises and crisis situations, the State Fire Marshal's Office has developed a Public School Life Safety Self Analysis survey which enables school superintendents to perform an in-house fire prevention and life safety inspection. This survey is the same type of form that agents use when inspecting schools.