Permitting Authorities / Charter Township of Bath - Building Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Charter Township of Bath, MI?
Adopted code
Charter Township of Bath - Building Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Charter Township of Bath, MI, issued by Charter Township of Bath - Building Department. In Bath Charter Township a reroof starts with the township's no-cost maintenance permit: the Building Department says "By completing a maintenance permit, the building department can determine if the work requires a building permit. There is no charge for a maintenance permit." Its maintenance permits cover "Re-shingling a roof requiring no structural repairs", while a building permit is required for "Replacing or repairing a roof structure (eaves, rafters, trusses, etc.)", and "If a damaged truss, rafter, or eave is discovered when re-shingling a roof, a building permit will be required to make the structural repair." The department says "Contact us with your questions on what type of permit is needed." A building permit package is an application, plot plan, recorded deed and three sets of drawings, and review "should take one week"; trade permits can be issued the same day. To schedule an inspection, call (517) 641-4238, and post the permit's hard card where the inspector can see it from the road. The township says "Bath Charter Township doesn't require a registration; however, a copy of the license is kept on file." Fees are set by township board resolution (Section 14-32), and no fee schedule is posted on the Building Department page, so ask the department for the current fee.
Roof code checklist: Charter Township of Bath, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Charter Township of Bath, Michigan
Address
14480 Webster Road, Bath, MI 48808
Contact
- url: https://www.bathtownship.us/departments/building_department.php
- phone: 517-641-4238
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In Bath Charter Township a reroof starts with the township's no-cost maintenance permit: the Building Department says "By completing a maintenance permit, the building department can determine if the work requires a building permit. There is no charge for a maintenance permit." Its maintenance permits cover "Re-shingling a roof requiring no structural repairs", while a building permit is required for "Replacing or repairing a roof structure (eaves, rafters, trusses, etc.)", and "If a damaged truss, rafter, or eave is discovered when re-shingling a roof, a building permit will be required to make the structural repair." The department says "Contact us with your questions on what type of permit is needed." A building permit package is an application, plot plan, recorded deed and three sets of drawings, and review "should take one week"; trade permits can be issued the same day. To schedule an inspection, call (517) 641-4238, and post the permit's hard card where the inspector can see it from the road. The township says "Bath Charter Township doesn't require a registration; however, a copy of the license is kept on file." Fees are set by township board resolution (Section 14-32), and no fee schedule is posted on the Building Department page, so ask the department for the current fee.
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the Charter Township of Bath as its own building code enforcer. Section 14-31 of the township's Code of Ordinances designates the enforcing agency and names no edition. The Building Department's page quotes a pool barrier rule as "an excerpt from the 2009 Michigan Residential Code referring to swimming pools and fences"; the page does not say which edition the department enforces for roofs, and the 2009 text was not read for this record.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Chapter 14 of the Bath Charter Township Code of Ordinances and the Building Department's permit page were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Chapter 14 of the Bath Charter Township Code of Ordinances and the Building Department's permit page were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Chapter 14 of the Bath Charter Township Code of Ordinances and the Building Department's permit page were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
Bath Charter Township puts roof work in two permit types. Its Building Department lists "Replacing or repairing a roof structure (eaves, rafters, trusses, etc.)" among the work for which building permits are required, and says maintenance permits "are available at no cost" and cover "Re-shingling a roof requiring no structural repairs". Asked "Do I need a permit to replace siding, shingles or windows?", it answers "By completing a maintenance permit, the building department can determine if the work requires a building permit. There is no charge for a maintenance permit." and adds "If a damaged truss, rafter, or eave is discovered when re-shingling a roof, a building permit will be required to make the structural repair." Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, the township's own building ordinance, Chapter 14 of the Bath Charter Township Code of Ordinances (Buildings and Building Regulations), was read in full: it designates the enforcing agency, sets fees by resolution, designates flood hazard areas and adopts a property maintenance code whose roof clause requires only that a roof be sound and tight; it has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The Building Department's page states no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). Chapter 14 of the Bath Charter Township Code of Ordinances and the Building Department's permit page were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the Bath Charter Township Building Department page changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
Bath Charter Township's Building Department, at the township offices at 14480 Webster Road in Bath, issues building and maintenance permits, and the township contracts with Associated Government Services (AGS) for its building and trade inspections. Section 14-31 of the township's Code of Ordinances designates the township's building official as the enforcing agency under the state construction code act, and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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