Everything You Need To Know About FGI Guidelines 2026

What are the FGI Guidelines? 

The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) publishes the Guidelines for Design and Construction, now known as the FGI Facility Code, which sets the minimum national standards for planning, designing, and building healthcare and residential care facilities in the U.S. 

These guidelines are foundational for ensuring quality, safety, and regulatory alignment in healthcare environments. They're adopted wholly or partially by over 43 states and referenced by many accreditation bodies and AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction).  

What’s New in the 2026 Edition? 

• Name change & structure shift: The updated title “Facility Code” reflects its more enforceable nature. Advisory guidance will now be separated into companion handbooks for clarity. (View the official press release) 
• Expanded scope: Separate code volumes now apply to hospitals, outpatient clinics, and residential care facilities.
  - Draft 2026 Hospital Code
  - Draft 2026 Outpatient Code
  - Draft 2026 Residential Code  
• Innovation-friendly provisions: The 2026 Facility Code promotes use of equivalency strategies—allowing new approaches that meet or exceed safety and operational goals. 
• Public input process: FGI engaged the AEC and healthcare communities through a multi-phase comment period. (Learn about the proposal process) 
• Available soon: Final Facility Code expected in late 2025 or early 2026.
  

Ensure FGI Compliance in Healthcare Design with Smarter Tools 

The key to reliable, scalable compliance is centralizing your FGI standards in structured, searchable, and shareable data. By transforming static codes into active project data, your team can embed compliance into every step of the planning and design process, reducing risk, improving outcomes, and speeding up approvals. 

That’s exactly what dRofus is built for. 

 dRofus is a data-driven planning and requirements management tool that is purpose-built for multiphase projects. This makes it a perfect fit for the healthcare sector. It enables project teams to plan, track, validate, and report on compliance criteria like FGI, Joint Commission standards, or internal clinical planning benchmarks—all from a centralized platform. 

With dRofus, healthcare planners and architects can: 

• Centralize all project and code requirements in one accessible location 

• Implement validation checks against the latest FGI criteria 

• Collaborate across disciplines with precise version control 

• Generate audit-ready reports for AHJ review 

• Reduce costly redesigns caused by compliance gaps 
  
  

Discover how dRofus supports healthcare workflows

Workflow Snapshot: FGI 2026 + dRofus 

Next Steps for Healthcare Design Teams 

Here’s how to stay ahead of the 2026 Facility Code rollout with dRofus in 4 steps: 

• Hospitals 
• Outpatient Settings 
• Residential Facilities

2. Create project and space templates within dRofus to reflect the new FGI requirements. Don’t have dRofus yet?  Then contact dRofus to learn how to get started.

3. Train your team on the 2026 changes and how dRofus enforces them. 

4. Use dRofus to generate real-time validation reports and documentation for review boards. 

Ready to Build Smarter? 

The 2026 FGI Facility Code is a call for smarter, more resilient planning in healthcare. With dRofus, you can align every design decision with the latest standards, streamline compliance, and reduce risk across your project portfolio. 

Book a discovery call with our team to learn how dRofus helps healthcare systems, architects, and planners prepare for FGI 2026. 

👉 Schedule a Discovery Call to learn how dRofus can help your team stay compliant and confident to deliver quality patient care environments.