Permitting Authorities / City of Aspen Building Department - Community Development
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Aspen, CO?
Adopted code
City of Aspen Building Department - Community Development
Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Aspen, CO, issued by City of Aspen Building Department - Community Development. Roofing and re-roofing permits are submitted through the Salesforce Permit Portal. Applicants register as a user (account activation takes up to 2 business days), gather the checklists for their permit type from the Building Document and Resource Library, submit the application for completeness review, and upon approval must pay issuance fees within 180 days. Contractors must hold active business and contractor licenses before applying.
Jurisdiction
City of Aspen, Colorado
Contact
- url: https://aspen.gov/1577/Permits
- phone: 970-920-5000
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- license: All contractor companies must have a contractor license to do work in the City of Aspen or Pitkin County, plus an active City of Aspen business license. Roofing is a specialty contractor category with a 142 dollar license fee on a three-year term, and at least one on-site contractor and job supervisors must hold trade-specific B.E.S.T. (Board of Examiners for Standardized Testing) certification covering ICC codes. Insurance requirements include liability coverage of at least 500,000 dollars for one person and 1,000,000 dollars for any one accident, plus 300,000 dollars in property damage coverage.
Permit process note
Roofing and re-roofing permits are submitted through the Salesforce Permit Portal. Applicants register as a user (account activation takes up to 2 business days), gather the checklists for their permit type from the Building Document and Resource Library, submit the application for completeness review, and upon approval must pay issuance fees within 180 days. Contractors must hold active business and contractor licenses before applying.
Inspection requirements
Once issued, building projects must be inspected within 180 days or the permit is considered expired.
Adopted code
The City of Aspen adopted the 2021 International Codes (IBC, IEBC, IMC, IFGC, IPC, IFC, ISPSC) via Ordinance 1 of 2023, effective March 31, 2023, with local amendments per Title 8 of the Municipal Code including an expanded Renewable Energy Mitigation Program; the 2023 National Electric Code effective August 1, 2023; and the 2024 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code with local amendments via Ordinance 6 of 2026, effective April 23, 2026.
Ice & water shield
Required — Aspen's amended IBC Table 1601.2 (Sec. 8.20.020 item ww) prints "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required = Yes" as the citywide determination (this table is the functional equivalent of IRC Table R301.2(1); Aspen deleted the IRC, per Sec. 8.16.010). The mandate is also stated as operative statute text at Sec. 8.20.020 item uu, amending IBC Sec. 1507.1.2 Ice Barrier: "an ice dam barrier that consists of at least two (2) layers of underlayment cemented together or of a self-adhering polymer modified bitumen sheet shall be used in lieu of normal underlayment and shall extend from the roof eave edge at least six (6) feet inside the exterior wall line as measured along the roof surface, eighteen (18) inches from the centerline of the valley and up twenty-four (24) inches on the vertical wall at a roof and wall juncture."
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — Aspen Municipal Code Sec. 8.20.020, the City's full itemized amendment list to the 2021 International Building Code, was read in full (46 lettered items, a. through jjj., Section 101.1 through Section 3001.6, textually closed by its enacting ordinance citations) and contains no provision addressing impact-resistant roofing, UL 2218, Class 4 shingles, or hail.
Wind design criteria
The City of Aspen deleted the 2021 International Residential Code entirely (Aspen Municipal Code Sec. 8.16.010, Ord. No. 01-2023, Sec. 2), so one- and two-family dwellings are governed by the International Building Code instead (Sec. 8.20.020 item i). Aspen's amended IBC Table 1601.2 "CLIMATIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DESIGN CRITERIA" (Sec. 8.20.020 item ww) is printed as: "Ground Snow Load = 100; Wind Design Speed (mph) = 89/B; topographic effects = -; special wind region = -; windborne debris zone = -; Seismic Design Category = C; Weathering = Severe; Frost line depth = 36"; Termite = None to slight; Flood Hazards = See Sec 1612.3; Air Freezing Index = 2000; Mean Annual Temp = 40°F." This table is the functional equivalent of IRC Table R301.2(1) for Aspen, since the IRC itself was deleted; no separate R301.2(1) exists in Aspen's code.
Sales & use tax
10.35% combined effective 2026 (state 2.9% + Pitkin County 3.6% + Roaring Fork Transit Authority 0.4% + Aspen Fire Protection District 0.5% + Confluence Early Childhood Development Service District 0.25% + City of Aspen 2.7%; combined rate was 9.3% prior to 2026). Home-rule, self-collected by the City. The City also imposes a 2.1% use tax on construction and building materials (voter-approved November 6, 2007, effective January 10, 2008), which runs alongside sales tax; an exemption against the use tax is available if City sales tax was already paid on the same materials, so the two are not stacked. Liability for the use tax is shared jointly by the general contractor and the property owner.
Local roofing hub
Roof permits nearby — Pitkin County
Related guides
The building permit authority for the City of Aspen, Colorado. Roofing and re-roofing permits are applied for through the city's online Salesforce Permit Portal, contractors must hold both an active City of Aspen business license and contractor license, and the city has adopted the 2021 International Codes with local energy and wildfire amendments.
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