Permitting Authorities / City of Baytown - Building Services Division
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Baytown, TX?
Adopted code
City of Baytown - Building Services Division
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Baytown, TX, issued by City of Baytown - Building Services Division. Baytown's Building Services Division states that "Roof shingle replacement only" does not need a permit and that "Roof deck installation, replacement, or repair" does, while the City's enacted fee schedule carries a $128.00 "Roof/Window/Door/Siding Replacements" permit (City Code Section 2-595(2)e.). If the job touches decking or any structural component, get the permit; for a shingle-only job, confirm with Building Services (281-420-6537) before starting. Starting without a required permit doubles the fee: "If work for which a permit is required by this Code is commenced prior to obtaining the required permit, the fees specified in this subsection shall be doubled." Applications, fee payments and inspection requests go through the City's Citizen Self Service (CSS) portal; the City's listed steps are to log on or register a user account, "Apply for a Professional License (Contractors Only)", and then apply for the permit. Building Services is at 2401 Market Street and is open Monday to Thursday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and Friday, 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Coastal windstorm insurance is a separate process that the City does not run: in the Texas Department of Insurance's designated catastrophe area, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association eligibility requires a TDI windstorm certificate (Form WPI-8), which TDI, not the City, issues. Check with the homeowner's insurance agent whether the property needs one before the roof goes on.
Roof code checklist: Baytown, TX
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
City of Baytown, Texas
Address
2401 Market Street, Baytown, TX 77520
Contact
- url: https://www.baytown.org/507/Building-Permits
- phone: 281-420-6537
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Texas issues no state roofing contractor licence; the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's list of licensing programs has no roofing program.
- city_level: City Code Section 18-1 makes it unlawful "for any person to perform mechanical, electrical and plumbing services on a structure within the city" without a current registration on file with the chief building official, or working under a registered person; that section names no roofing or general building contractor registration. The Building Services Division's steps for applying for a permit include "Apply for a Professional License (Contractors Only)" in the City's Citizen Self Service portal before the permit application, and the page does not say which trades that step covers. Confirm with Building Services (281-420-6537) what it requires of a roofing contractor before applying.
Permit process note
Baytown's Building Services Division states that "Roof shingle replacement only" does not need a permit and that "Roof deck installation, replacement, or repair" does, while the City's enacted fee schedule carries a $128.00 "Roof/Window/Door/Siding Replacements" permit (City Code Section 2-595(2)e.). If the job touches decking or any structural component, get the permit; for a shingle-only job, confirm with Building Services (281-420-6537) before starting. Starting without a required permit doubles the fee: "If work for which a permit is required by this Code is commenced prior to obtaining the required permit, the fees specified in this subsection shall be doubled." Applications, fee payments and inspection requests go through the City's Citizen Self Service (CSS) portal; the City's listed steps are to log on or register a user account, "Apply for a Professional License (Contractors Only)", and then apply for the permit. Building Services is at 2401 Market Street and is open Monday to Thursday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and Friday, 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Coastal windstorm insurance is a separate process that the City does not run: in the Texas Department of Insurance's designated catastrophe area, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association eligibility requires a TDI windstorm certificate (Form WPI-8), which TDI, not the City, issues. Check with the homeowner's insurance agent whether the property needs one before the roof goes on.
Adopted code
2015 International Residential Code, including Appendices E, H, I, J and M, adopted at City Code Section 18-651 with the City's amendments at Section 18-652 (last amended by Ordinance No. 15,362, February 9, 2023). The same chapter adopts the 2015 International Building Code (Sections 18-91 and 18-92) and the 2015 International Existing Building Code (Sections 18-765 and 18-766). The City's Building Codes page states that "All permits issued after November 1, 2020, are required to conform to the following codes", listing the 2015 International Residential Code among them. The code was read as codified through Ordinance No. 16,503, enacted June 25, 2026. Texas Local Government Code Section 214.212 adopts the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012 as the municipal residential code of Texas cities and lets a city adopt local amendments by ordinance after a public hearing.
Drip edge
Required — Baytown does not write this rule, and the code text is not restated here. The City adopts the 2015 International Residential Code at City Code Section 18-651, with its amendments at Section 18-652. Those amendments, read in full, reach permit fees and valuations, the board of appeals, foundation elevation and the electrical part, and nothing in Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), so the adopted code's drip-edge provision for asphalt shingles (Section R905.2.8.5) applies in the city unmodified. A roofer needing the exact wording should read the section in the code itself or ask Building Services.
About drip edgeImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither City Code Section 18-651 (adopting the 2015 International Residential Code) nor the City's amendments at Section 18-652 amends Chapter 9's impact-rating provisions; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the City's adopted code or its amendments, Chapter 18 of the City Code (Buildings and Building Regulations). That chapter's Windstorm Standards division sets a 150 mph ultimate design wind speed for new construction, which is a wind standard, not a hail impact rating. An insurance discount for impact-rated shingles is a matter between the homeowner and the carrier, not a Baytown code requirement.
Repair permit threshold
The City's published statements do not draw one line. The Building Services Division's "When is a Residential Permit Required?" page lists "Roof shingle replacement only" among residential projects for which "Permits are not required", and lists "Roof deck installation, replacement, or repair" and "Installation, replacement, or repair of any structural component" among projects for which "Building permits are required"; it adds that "This is not a complete list of all type of projects." The City's enacted fee schedule, City Code Section 2-595(2)e. ("Miscellaneous permits/fees"), prices a "Roof/Window/Door/Siding Replacements" permit at $128.00, and the City's Building Permit Fees page (fees effective June 1, 2026) lists "Roof replacement" at $128.00; neither limits that permit to jobs involving decking. The City's residential code amendments (Section 18-652), read in full, do not amend the adopted code's permit sections, and no enacted City text names shingle-only work as exempt. This record treats a reroof as permit work because the enacted fee schedule carries a roof replacement permit; the shingle-only line is the Division's stated practice, read on 2026-09-26, and this record does not decide which applies to a given job. A job that reaches the decking or any structural component is permit work on both of the City's statements.
Wind design criteria
150 mph ultimate design wind speed (Vult). The City's Building Codes page states "Adopted windstorm requirement: 150 MPH (Ultimate Design Wind Speed, V ULT)", and the Building Services Division's residential permit page notes "Wind Speed is equal to 150 miles per hour (Ultimate Design Wind Speed, V ULT)." In enacted text, City Code Section 18-27 (Windstorm plan information) requires, before a permit for new construction, plans showing that "the framing will resist the pressures developed from, and the wind speeds for 150 mph (ultimate design wind speed, V ULT)", and the City's building code amendments at Section 18-92 set the basic wind speed at 150 MPH (Ultimate Design Wind Speed, V ULT). The City's residential code amendments (Section 18-652) state no wind speed of their own. The figure is an ultimate design wind speed, not a nominal (allowable stress design) speed; match it to the basis the shingle or fastening table uses. Coastal windstorm certification for insurance, where it applies, is the Texas Department of Insurance's program and a separate matter from the City's code.
Roof layer limit / recover
One overlay, then tear off, and it is the adopted code's rule, not a City rule. Baytown adopts the 2015 International Residential Code at City Code Section 18-651. Its amendments at Section 18-652 were read in full and contain no provision at Section R908 (Reroofing) and nothing else in Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), and Texas has no statewide amendment to the reroofing section. In the 2015 edition the bar sits at Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof re-cover not allowed), which bars a recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may therefore be recovered; a second existing layer forces a tear-off. The City states no layer count of its own. The City also adopts the 2015 International Existing Building Code (Section 18-765); its amendments (Section 18-766) reach only permit expiration and the board of appeals.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Not set by the City, and the ICC text is not restated here. The City adopts the 2015 International Residential Code at City Code Section 18-651; its amendments at Section 18-652, read in full, touch neither roof sheathing nor Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), so the adopted code's own sheathing and roof-covering substrate provisions apply unmodified. What the City does say about decking is on its residential permit page, which lists "Roof deck installation, replacement, or repair" among projects for which "Building permits are required". If damaged decking turns up once the old roof is off, contact Building Services (281-420-6537) about the permit before replacing it.
Sales & use tax
8.25% combined, the Texas local-rate cap, in both the Harris County and Chambers County parts of the city, per the Texas Comptroller's local sales tax rate table for the quarter beginning July 2026 (sheet "Jul26"): 6.25% state + 1.25% City of Baytown + 0.125% Baytown Fire Control District + 0.125% Baytown Crime Control District + 0.50% special district, which the table lists as the Baytown Municipal Development District ("Baytown Mun Dev Dist") in the Harris County part and as "Chambers Co Health Serv" in the Chambers County part. The table shows no county rate for either county. Under Comptroller guidance for real property repair and remodeling, "Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable"; on the lump-sum contract typical of residential re-roofing, "you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax" (Comptroller Pub. 94-116, Real Property Repair and Remodeling, comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/94-116.php) -- so the combined rate above is the roofer's own cost basis on materials purchased, not a rate charged to the homeowner.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Texas
Related guides
The permitting authority for the City of Baytown, in Harris and Chambers counties, Texas. The Building Services Division of the Planning and Development Services Department issues residential and commercial building permits, including roof replacement permits, and schedules inspections through the City's Citizen Self Service portal.
Hail reports near Baytown, TX
- Reports, last 24 months
- 0
- Largest, last 24 months
- None
- Most recent
- None in 24 months
- Reports, last 5 years
- 4
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database and daily storm reports (reports since the start of the current year are preliminary), within 10 miles of Baytown, TX (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
Working an insurance claim in Baytown, TX? Everything on this page (drip edge, ice & water shield, inspections, Class 4 rules) formatted as a claim-ready evidence pack: verbatim ordinance quotes, code section cites, verification dates, and official source links, ready to attach to a supplement. See a real sample pack (PDF, 4 pages, free).
Code items like drip edge are what adjusters ask you to document.
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes.
Questions about the Baytown, TX pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.