City of Albuquerque, New Mexico - Building Safety Division (Planning Department)

City of Albuquerque, New Mexico

city

600 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102

Required

Required

The Building Safety Division is at the Plaza del Sol Building, 600 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Building Permits & Plan Review, 505-924-3320, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical Inspections and Trade Permits, 505-924-3320, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; Division Manager James Perez, 505-924-3313; Planning Department reception 505-924-3860. The City lists re-roofing among the projects that require a building permit - "Re-Roofing - general permits are required for re-roof" - and applications, plan uploads, comment review, payment and status tracking are handled through the City's ABQ-PLAN online portal, with in-person service also available at the permit counter. As of a City notice dated July 28, 2026 the published permit timeline dashboard shows residential building permits at 12 business days, commercial at 18, express permits same day, and electrical and plumbing/mechanical permits next day. Under the Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), plan review fees are due at submittal and permit fees on approval; plan review fees for buildings are 65 percent of the building permit fee (Section 112.3). An application for which no permit is issued within 180 days expires by limitation, extendable once for up to a further 180 days on written request (Section 110.5). Section 103 resolves conflicts in favour of the most restrictive provision: "When conflicting provisions or requirements occur between this Code and any other codes or laws, the most restrictive shall govern." Section 104 lets the Building Official grant modifications in individual cases where strict compliance is impractical, provided the modification "does not lessen health, accessibility, life and fire safety, or structural requirements." Re-roof inspections may be satisfied in part by drone photography of the permitted work reviewed by a certified Building Inspector, with an on-site follow-up if necessary (Section 113.5.2, item 8). Starting from May 30, 2025 the Building Safety permit counter is closed every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., which does not affect portal access, inspection scheduling or permit applications.

Two instruments stack, and in Albuquerque the city instrument is unusually substantial. STATE FLOOR: New Mexico adopts a statewide residential code at 14.7.3 NMAC, the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code. 14.7.3.8 (Adoption) states, verbatim: "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule." 14.7.3.6 (Objective) makes it a floor rather than a ceiling: "The purpose of this rule is to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico." Under 14.7.3.5 the rule took effect July 14, 2023 and after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it; statutory authority is NMSA 1978 Sections 60-13-9 and 60-13-44. 14.7.3.2 (Scope) fixes what the rule reaches, verbatim: "This rule applies to all construction, alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, removal and demolition of all detached one- and two-family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) not more than three stories high with separate means of egress, and their accessory structures that is performed in New Mexico on or after December 14, 2023, and that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID, unless performed pursuant to a permit for which an application was received by CID before that date." CITY LAYER: the Building Safety Division publishes, verbatim, "Effective December 14, 2023 the following codes have been adopted by the City of Albuquerque:" followed by "The 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code", "The 2021 New Mexico Residential Code" and "The 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code"; it adds that "On September 28, 2023 the 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code went into effect." and "On February 2, 2024 the 2023 Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque went into effect." The Uniform Administrative Code has since been reissued: the City's Current Building Codes page lists, under "City Codes", the "2024 Uniform Administrative Code", and that document's own cover page reads "UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE CODE / 2024 EDITION / CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE / BUILDING SAFETY DIVISION" over the heading "CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE AMENDMENTS TO THE NEW MEXICO BUILDING CODE, AS ADOPTED BY THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES DIVISION OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF January 1, 2025". Its list of amended codes includes "The 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code including Appendix Chapters AH, AJ, AK, AR, AS, and AQ, as amended, and all other Appendices as written." and "The 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code". The mechanism is stated plainly: "Title 14, Chapter 5 of the New Mexico Building Code has been deleted and replaced with Chapter 1, on the following pages. Sections from various other parts of the Technical Codes have been amended, added, or deleted." Section 101.1 provides: "These regulations shall be known as the 'Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque,' may be cited as such and will be referred to herein as 'this Code.'" Section 101.2: "The purpose of this Code is to provide for the administration and enforcement of the Technical Codes adopted by this jurisdiction." Because New Mexico is a floor state, this stacking is permissible: Albuquerque substitutes its own administration for the state administrative chapter and adds requirements, but does not fall below the state technical code. As to the residential technical text itself, the UAC amends the New Mexico Residential Building Code only at Chapter 1 (administration, deleting Sections R102.5 and R102.7), Chapter 3 (adding the City's own Table R301.2 climatic and geographic design criteria and Manual J design criteria, and deleting Section R302.1.1 Zero Lot Line Separation). The IRC roofing chapters are not amended by the City, so the operative roofing text in Albuquerque is IRC Chapter 9 as amended by 14.7.3.17 NMAC.

Not required — Earned from Albuquerque's own printed design table, not inferred from climate or region. The state rule hands this row to the AHJ - 14.7.3.11(A)(1) NMAC amends footnote f of IRC Table R301.2 to read "The authority having jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the seismic design category determined from Section R301.2.2.1 or information from the U.S.G.S. software Design Values for Buildings found online." Albuquerque filled it in. The Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), Chapter 3 addition to R301.2, prints "Table R301.2 Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria" with a column headed "Ice Shield Under-Layment Required" and enters "N/A" in it. No ice-barrier underlayment is designated as required for Albuquerque by the City's own table, and neither the Uniform Administrative Code nor 14.7.3 NMAC imposes one elsewhere. The 2024 Uniform Administrative Code was read in full and contains no ice-barrier or ice-shield provision beyond that table cell. About ice & water barrier

Not required — A re-roof in Albuquerque is inspected once, after the work is finished, rather than in progress. Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), Section 113.5.2 (Required Building Inspections) enumerates the inspections the Building Official "shall make" and lists, at item 8, verbatim: "Re-roof and Solar Inspections: To be made after the installation is complete. A certified Building Inspector may view photos of the permitted work which have been captured by a UAS Drone operator. If necessary, a second inspection will be done by a certified Building Inspector on site." No in-progress, deck, nailing or dry-in inspection is prescribed for a re-roof. The only inspection in the enumerated list that reaches roof decking is item 3, the Frame Inspection, "To be made after the roof decking and underlayment, all framing, fire blocking, draft stopping, bracing, framed openings for exterior doors and windows are in place, and all pipes, electrical wiring, chimneys, duct work and vents are approved" - that is a new-construction and framing inspection, not a re-roof inspection. The Code does preserve discretion to add inspections: item 9 provides "Partial Inspections: When necessary, due to construction requirements, partial inspections may be made," and Section 113.5.2 closes with "Some projects shall require multiple inspections within a category as listed above." So a mid-roof inspection is not a standing requirement in Albuquerque, though the Building Official may call for additional inspection on a given project.

Not required — Earned at both layers that reach Albuquerque residential roofing, including the codified chapter. CITY LAYER: the operative instrument is the Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque, 2024 Edition, and the codified Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque adopt that document directly - ROA 1994 Section 14-1-2 provides, verbatim, "The Uniform Administrative Code is hereby adopted as depicted in Exhibit A, Uniform Administrative Code 2024 Edition to this Ord. O-24-41," and Section 14-1-3 adopts the technical codes (the 2021 New Mexico codes) together with, at item (O), "The City of Albuquerque amendments to the New Mexico Codes referred to herein." The 2024 Uniform Administrative Code - the complete local building-code adoption, administration, amendment and fee instrument - was read in full, and no provision in it addresses impact resistance, UL 2218 or Class 4 roofing. The City's amendments to the residential code are confined to Chapter 1 administration, Chapter 3 (Table R301.2 climatic and geographic design criteria, Manual J design criteria) and the deletion of Section R302.1.1; the IRC roofing chapters are untouched by the City, so there is no local instrument in which such a requirement could sit. Nor does any other Albuquerque instrument carry one: no UL 2218, Class 4 or impact-resistance provision appears in the Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque, the City Charter, the Integrated Development Ordinance or the City's Administrative Instructions. The Building Safety Division's published adopted-code statement and its Current Building Codes list likewise adopt code editions without imposing any impact-resistance or hail-rating standard. STATE LAYER: neither 14.7.3 NMAC, the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code, nor its Chapter 9 amendments at 14.7.3.17 NMAC - which deal with tear-off conditions, reglets and flashing, canales and scuppers, and taper board - contains any UL 2218, Class 4 or impact-resistance provision. Neither layer requires impact-resistant roofing in Albuquerque.

City-specific, and a re-roof is carved out of the threshold rather than measured against it. Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), Section 109.1 (Permits Required) states, verbatim: "Except as specified in Section 109.2, no building, structure, or building service equipment regulated by this Code and the Technical Codes shall be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted, or demolished unless a separate, appropriate permit for each building, structure, or building service equipment has first been obtained from the Building Official. All re-roofs require a permit and inspection(s)." Section 109.2.1 (Building Permits), which lists the work for which "A building permit will not be required," includes at item 12: "Repairs, as defined herein, less than $1000.00 in valuation." "REPAIR" is defined in the same Code as "the patching, restoration, or renewal of materials, elements, equipment, or fixtures for the sole purpose of maintaining such materials, elements, equipment, or fixtures in sound working condition." So the $1,000 valuation floor governs genuine roof repair work - patching, localised restoration - and a roof repair under $1,000 in valuation needs no building permit. A re-roof is not a repair within that definition and is separately and unconditionally required to be permitted by Section 109.1 no matter what it costs. The re-roof permit itself is charged at a flat rate for one- and two-family work: Table 112-G (Re-Roof Permit Fees) prints, for "Residential (R-3 Occupancies Only)", an administrative fee of $30.00, an inspection fee of $40.00 and a total of $70.00; the Albuquerque regional modifier for Table 112-G is 1.0. Commercial and multifamily re-roofs (R-1, R-2, R-4 and all other occupancies) are charged on a valuation scale beginning at the "$501 - $5,000" band ($50.00 administrative + $50.00 inspection = $100.00) and rising to $480.00 over $50,000. Starting work without a required permit triggers Section 112.4 (Investigation Fees. Work Without a Permit): "An investigation fee, in addition to the permit fee, shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be equal to the amount of the permit fee required by this Code."

Albuquerque fills in its own Table R301.2, which is exactly what the state code contemplates: 14.7.3.11(A)(1) NMAC amends footnote f of IRC Table R301.2 to read, verbatim, "The authority having jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with the seismic design category determined from Section R301.2.2.1 or information from the U.S.G.S. software Design Values for Buildings found online." The Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), under "CHAPTER 3 BUILDING PLANNING", provides that "Chapter 3 of the New Mexico Residential Building Code is adopted as written with the following additions:" and then, at "R301.2: The criteria listed in Table R301.2, shall be used as the minimum requirements for prescriptive designs of Climatic and Geographic Design criteria:", prints "Table R301.2 Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria" with the following filled-in values: Ground Snow Load 20; Wind Speed (MPH) 115*, footnoted "*3 second gust"; Rainfall 2" per hour; Seismic Design Category C; Weathering Moderate; Frost Line Depth 16"; Termite "Moderate to Heavy"; Winter Design Temp 12 degrees F; Ice Shield Under-Layment Required N/A; Air Freezing Index 263; Mean Annual Temp 54.6. The governing wind figure for roof design in Albuquerque is therefore a 115 mph three-second-gust design wind speed, with Seismic Design Category C, a 20 psf ground snow load, a 16-inch frost line depth and moderate weathering. The same table is the source of this record's ice_water_shield_required value.

STATEWIDE, set by New Mexico rule rather than by Albuquerque: a two-layer maximum, plus four conditions that force a complete tear-off regardless of layer count. 14.7.3.17 NMAC ("CHAPTER 9 ROOF ASSEMBLIES: See this chapter of the IRC except as provided below") deletes IRC Section R908.3 and substitutes, verbatim: "New roof coverings shall not be installed without first removing existing roof coverings where any of the following conditions occur: (1) The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing. (2) The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile. (3) The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. (4) Where pumice or other granular fill are present, the material must be removed prior to installing a new roof." Condition (3) is the layer limit: where two applications of any roof covering already exist, a third may not be laid over them. Conditions (2) and (4) are New Mexico-specific tear-off triggers - wood shake, slate, clay, cement and asbestos-cement tile always come off, and pumice or other granular fill must be removed before a new roof is installed. Albuquerque adds nothing on top of this. New Mexico is a floor state and the City could impose a stricter limit through its Uniform Administrative Code, but the 2024 Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque was read in full and its amendments to the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code are confined to Chapter 1 (administration) and Chapter 3 (Table R301.2 design criteria, Manual J criteria, and deletion of Section R302.1.1); it makes no amendment to the IRC roofing chapters and contains no layer or tear-off provision. The statewide limit is therefore the operative one in Albuquerque.

7.625% gross receipts tax, GRT Location Code 02-100 (Albuquerque, Bernalillo County), for the July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 edition. New Mexico does not levy a sales tax on the buyer; it levies a gross receipts tax on the seller's receipts, so a roofing contractor's own receipts are what is taxed. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department states that "Gross receipts tax (GRT) is imposed on businesses, but it is common for a business to pass the GRT on to the purchaser," and that "GRT rate varies throughout the state because the total rate combines the rates imposed by the state, counties, and municipality for each location." For roofing this matters in a specific way - the Department directs that "businesses will use the location code and tax rate corresponding to the location where their goods or the product of their service are delivered," so the applicable code and rate follow the location of the roof, not the location of the contractor's office. Rates are keyed to a GRT Location Code rather than to a city name and are reissued semiannually, on January 1 and July 1 vintages; the figure above is the current July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 edition. The Department publishes the current designated rates as an interactive map rather than a static table, instructing users to "Identify the appropriate GRT Location Code and tax rate by clicking on the map at the location of interest" and to "Please consult local authorities where appropriate to confirm GRT Location Codes and tax rates."