Complete reference for every major residential and commercial building certification — requirements, pros and cons, insurance incentives by location, and official links. Siloed information is one of the core problems with current design tools. This is an attempt to fix that.
Climate zone / location:Insurance incentives shown for selected zone
Insurance discount data: Alabama §27-31D mandate (verified); Louisiana Act 533 (verified); other state discounts from IBHS carrier survey — individual carrier rates vary.
FORTIFIED standards updated to 2025 edition (effective November 2025).
LEED point estimates require GBCI-approved energy modeling for formal certification. LEED v4/v4.1 registration closes June 30, 2026.
Phius cost data: Phius cost database and Pennsylvania LIHTC program analysis.
LBC requires verified 12-month post-occupancy performance — cannot be estimated at design stage.
NGBS certified by Home Innovation Research Labs. Enterprise Green Communities 2020 Criteria: Enterprise Community Partners.
Green Globes NC certification and ANSI/GBI 01-2019: Green Building Initiative (thegbi.org). EISA 2007 federal procurement requirements: U.S. DOE.
PHI Passive House performance targets: Passive House Institute, Darmstadt (passivehouse.com). PHPP software required for PHI certification.
SITES v3 certification: GBCI / Sustainable Sites Initiative (sustainablesites.org). LEED Zero: USGBC/GBCI 2024.
TRUE Zero Waste certification: GBCI. Fitwel certification: Center for Active Design, co-developed with CDC and GSA (fitwel.org).
Pearl Certification: pearlcertification.com. Fannie Mae HomeStyle Energy and Freddie Mac GreenCHOICE mortgage recognition of Pearl: lender underwriting policies vary.
All certification requirements subject to change — verify current standards at official websites.
LEED O+M recertification cycle and ARC platform data: USGBC/GBCI 2024. Phius EnerPHit airtightness standard: Phius Certification Guidebook, current edition.
IRA §25C residential credits active through 2032 per Inflation Reduction Act — verify current caps at IRS.gov.
WELL v2 recertification cycle: IWBI, 3 years. Fitwel annual renewal: Center for Active Design. FORTIFIED evaluator requirements: IBHS 2025 standard.
WELL v2 concepts and certification levels: International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and WELL v2 standard — wellcertified.com. WELL verification administered by GBCI.
Not affiliated with USGBC, IBHS, Phius, ILFI, NAHB, IWBI, GBI, PHI, CfAD, Enterprise Community Partners, Pearl Certification, or any certification body.
Not a substitute for professional certification guidance.