What is the difference between a draw inspection and a building code inspection?

Two inspections on the same house.

Search for "construction inspection" and most results mean code inspections. Under the International Code Council's International Residential Code, Section R109 lists the inspections a building official makes on a permitted home, including the foundation, the plumbing, mechanical, gas and electrical rough-ins, framing and masonry, and a final inspection when the work is finished and before occupancy. The permit holder calls for each one, and work that fails is corrected before it is covered. Cities and counties adopt the code with their own amendments, so the list varies by place and edition.

A draw inspection is a different visit with a different client. The lender orders it when a draw request arrives, and the inspector reports how far each budget line item has progressed, with photos, so the lender can decide what to fund. Code compliance is not part of that report unless the lender's scope adds it.

What each one leaves out.

A passed framing inspection tells a lender the framing met code on the day the official looked. It says nothing about whether the framing line in the budget is 60 or 100 percent earned, whether materials billed are on site, or whether the balance left can finish the house. The draw report answers those questions and leaves code compliance to the building department. At the end of the job, the municipal final and the certificate of occupancy are separate from the lender's final draw inspection; draw inspection vs final inspection covers that hand-off.

Why it matters for lenders.

Supervisors look for the lender's own evidence before money moves. The FDIC's construction and land development procedures check that disbursements follow written inspection reports, lien searches and title updates, and the NCUA's examiner's guide reminds credit unions that collateral value on a construction loan comes into being as the improvements are built. A green tag on the jobsite is not a substitute for either.

How RAZE handles it.

RAZE runs the lender's side. The lender sets the required questions and photos on each order in the Ordering Engine, the inspector completes them in the RAZE Mobile App, and every report carries GPS and time-stamped photos linked to the draw sheet line items they support. RAZE does not perform code inspections or issue permits; the lender decides what funds.