Permitting Authorities / City of Berkley - Community Development Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Berkley, MI?
Adopted code
City of Berkley - Community Development Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Berkley, MI, issued by City of Berkley - Community Development Department. The City of Berkley has its own roof permit: the Community Development Department posts a "Roof Permit Application" packet and takes roof permits online through BSA Online. The packet's Roof Specifications sheet lists the city's steps: "Strip shingles from house and haul away", "Replace any damaged wood", "Call for open roof inspection", "Install ice and water shield on eaves edge", "Install #15 felt on entire roof", "Install metal drip edge on eave and rake edges", "Flash & counterflash chimney" and "No staples to be used." Applications can be filed online, by email, by mail, in the City Hall dropbox or in person, and "A copy of your certificate of insurance must be on file with the building division before any permits will be issued." Inspection requests go to the building division by email and must be in "by 3:00 pm to be included on the following day's inspection schedule"; building inspections run Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. The office (248-658-3320) is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, closed 1 to 2 PM. Where a permit is pulled, the city's fee schedule charges a building permit fee of $50.00 for the first $1,000.00 of construction value and $20.00 for each additional $1,000.00, $50.00 for the first inspection and $45.00 for each additional inspection, and a $35.00 "Residential Maintenance and Alteration" contractor registration.
Roof code checklist: Berkley, 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
City of Berkley, Michigan
Address
3338 Coolidge Highway, Berkley, MI 48072
Contact
- url: https://www.berkleymi.gov/Government/City%20Departments/Community%20Development/Building%20Permits/Building%20Permits
- phone: 248-658-3320
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
The City of Berkley has its own roof permit: the Community Development Department posts a "Roof Permit Application" packet and takes roof permits online through BSA Online. The packet's Roof Specifications sheet lists the city's steps: "Strip shingles from house and haul away", "Replace any damaged wood", "Call for open roof inspection", "Install ice and water shield on eaves edge", "Install #15 felt on entire roof", "Install metal drip edge on eave and rake edges", "Flash & counterflash chimney" and "No staples to be used." Applications can be filed online, by email, by mail, in the City Hall dropbox or in person, and "A copy of your certificate of insurance must be on file with the building division before any permits will be issued." Inspection requests go to the building division by email and must be in "by 3:00 pm to be included on the following day's inspection schedule"; building inspections run Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. The office (248-658-3320) is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM, closed 1 to 2 PM. Where a permit is pulled, the city's fee schedule charges a building permit fee of $50.00 for the first $1,000.00 of construction value and $20.00 for each additional $1,000.00, $50.00 for the first inspection and $45.00 for each additional inspection, and a $35.00 "Residential Maintenance and Alteration" contractor registration.
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 City of Berkley as its own building code enforcer. Berkley's codified Sec. 26-1 adopts "Michigan Residential Code", which names no residential code edition; the reprinted code page in the city's roof permit packet, dated September 2001, names the "2000 MICHIGAN RESIDENTIAL CODE"; that text was not read, and this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.
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). The City of Berkley's own Roof Specifications sheet, in its roof permit packet, also lists "Install metal drip edge on eave and rake edges", so the city's instrument and state law agree.
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). The City of Berkley's own Roof Specifications sheet, in its roof permit packet, also lists "Install ice and water shield on eaves edge", so the city's instrument and state law agree.
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." The City of Berkley's roof permit packet, Roof Specifications sheet and Chapter 26 of its code were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
Berkley publishes no size or dollar line below which roof work needs no permit. Its Community Development Department posts a "Roof Permit Application" and lists "Roof" among the permits that may be applied for through BSA Online, and its building permit section says "Building permits are required for any work performed by a homeowner, business owner or contractor." State law says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510) without defining ordinary repairs; the city does not apply that relief to roof work.
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 City of Berkley's own building ordinance, Chapter 26 of the Berkley Code of Ordinances (Buildings and Building Regulations), was read in full and has no reroofing provision. The city's own Roof Specifications sheet, in its roof permit packet, goes further than the state limit: its first step is "Strip shingles from house and haul away", which describes a full tear-off on every permitted reroof rather than allowing one recover. Both are reported here; a roofer should plan a tear-off in Berkley and confirm with the department before quoting a recover.
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). The City of Berkley's Roof Specifications sheet adds "Replace any damaged wood" and "Call for open roof inspection" before the new roof goes on. Chapter 26 of the Berkley code states 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 City of Berkley Community Development pages changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Berkley's Community Development Department, at City Hall at 3338 Coolidge Highway, issues building permits, including a dedicated roof permit, and inspects construction in the city. Section 26-2 of the Berkley Code of Ordinances designates the community development department and building official as the enforcing agency for the state construction code, and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the City as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
Working an insurance claim in Berkley, MI? 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 and ice & water shield are what adjusters ask you to document.
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes. Digital download: all sales are final once delivered, except for a failed delivery, a defective file, a duplicate purchase, or a pack materially different from its description. See Section 6 of our Terms of Use.
Questions about the Berkley, MI pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.