Permitting Authorities / City of Bloomfield Hills - Building Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Bloomfield Hills, MI?
Adopted code
City of Bloomfield Hills - Building Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Bloomfield Hills, MI, issued by City of Bloomfield Hills - Building Department. In Bloomfield Hills a reroof needs a building permit from the city's Building Department. The Permits & Forms page says "Permits are required for many types of jobs, including, but not limited to, the following" and lists "Roofing (Tear-off and new installation)", after quoting the Michigan codes: "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure…shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit." The city posts a Roof - Residential permit application (form dated March 2021) whose checklist calls for a completed application, a construction schedule, a "Copy of Contractor's License and Photo I.D.", one set of building plans sent by email, an application fee of $100 and a plan review deposit of $100 with the balance due on permit issuance. The fee schedule (posted July 2025) lists "Roof, Window, Siding" at "$200-2 inspections plus $100 for each additional", with a "Re-Inspection Fee" of $100 and an "Investigation Fee" of "$500 (Failure to Obtain Permit)". The city says "Starting work without a permit is a violation of the State Construction Code and City Ordinance" and "Please allow up to 10 business days for a review of the submitted building plans." Homeowners may pull their own permit with a signed Homeowner's Affidavit, though the city says "we strongly recommend the permit be issued to the licensed builder." Permits can be applied for through the city's online permit portal or by mail, applications must be signed, and the city says "Each trade permit must be pulled separately." The Building Department is at City Hall, 45 East Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, phone 248-644-1520, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Building Official can be reached at 248-530-1408.
Roof code checklist: Bloomfield Hills, 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 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Address
45 East Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
Contact
- url: https://www.bloomfieldhills.gov/156/Building
- phone: 248-644-1520
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- city_level: Bloomfield Hills registers contractors on top of the state licence: its Building FAQ says "Registration is required so that the City may verify that proper licenses are in place at the time of the application. Contractors are required to register annually so that we may verify that the license was not rescinded or revoked." The fee schedule lists "Contractor Registration" at $15, and the roof permit application asks for a "Copy of Contractor's License and Photo I.D." The FAQ also says "Residential work valued $600 or more requires that the Builder or Maintenance /Alteration Contractor be properly licensed by the State of Michigan."
Permit process note
In Bloomfield Hills a reroof needs a building permit from the city's Building Department. The Permits & Forms page says "Permits are required for many types of jobs, including, but not limited to, the following" and lists "Roofing (Tear-off and new installation)", after quoting the Michigan codes: "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure…shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit." The city posts a Roof - Residential permit application (form dated March 2021) whose checklist calls for a completed application, a construction schedule, a "Copy of Contractor's License and Photo I.D.", one set of building plans sent by email, an application fee of $100 and a plan review deposit of $100 with the balance due on permit issuance. The fee schedule (posted July 2025) lists "Roof, Window, Siding" at "$200-2 inspections plus $100 for each additional", with a "Re-Inspection Fee" of $100 and an "Investigation Fee" of "$500 (Failure to Obtain Permit)". The city says "Starting work without a permit is a violation of the State Construction Code and City Ordinance" and "Please allow up to 10 business days for a review of the submitted building plans." Homeowners may pull their own permit with a signed Homeowner's Affidavit, though the city says "we strongly recommend the permit be issued to the licensed builder." Permits can be applied for through the city's online permit portal or by mail, applications must be signed, and the city says "Each trade permit must be pulled separately." The Building Department is at City Hall, 45 East Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, phone 248-644-1520, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Building Official can be reached at 248-530-1408.
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 Bloomfield Hills as its own building code enforcer. Section 4-1 of the city's code of ordinances provides that the city "assumes and shall be responsible for administering and enforcing the Single State Construction Code Act", and Section 4-25 says "The building code is part of the State Construction Code being administered and enforced by the city." The city's own Building Codes page, under "The Codes adopted by the City of Bloomfield Hills are", lists the "2015 Michigan Residential Code", and its Building FAQ says the city "has adopted the 2015 Michigan Building Code, 2015 Michigan Residential Code"; the same page lists the 2021 Michigan Building Code and other 2021 codes, which are not residential-code editions and are not stated here as the residential code. This record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the city's own pages name and which LARA says remains in effect while the Court of Claims order of July 7, 2025 stands. Section 4-301 of the city's code adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2015 edition, and Chapter 6 adopts the 2012 International Fire Code; neither is a residential building code.
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 4 of the Bloomfield Hills City Code and the Building Department's permit pages and Roof - Residential application 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 4 of the Bloomfield Hills City Code and the Building Department's permit pages and Roof - Residential application 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 4 of the Bloomfield Hills City Code, the Building Department's permit pages, fee schedule and Roof - Residential application state no impact rule.
Repair permit threshold
Bloomfield Hills publishes no size, area or cost point below which roof work needs no permit. Its Permits & Forms page lists "Roofing (Tear-off and new installation)" among the jobs for which "Permits are required", its Residential Building Permit Fees carry a "Roof, Window, Siding" line at "$200-2 inspections plus $100 for each additional", and the building department posts a "ROOF - RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMIT & PLAN REVIEW APPLICATION". The page also says "If there is any question as to the need for a permit, contact the Building Department at 248-530-1408." 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, and the city has published nothing applying 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's building ordinance, Chapter 4 of the Bloomfield Hills City Code (Buildings and Building Regulations), was read in full: it makes the city the enforcing agency for the State Construction Code, sets a construction board of appeals, bonds and fees, adopts a 2015 property maintenance code whose amendments mention roofing only as stored construction material, and lists roofing among the systems that must be sound in a vacant residential structure; it has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The city's fire prevention, grading and nuisance chapters (Chapters 6, 7.5 and 10) were searched and have no reroofing provision. The Building Department's pages and its Roof - Residential permit application state 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 4 of the Bloomfield Hills City Code and the Building Department's permit pages and Roof - Residential application 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 City of Bloomfield Hills Building Department pages or in its fee schedule changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Bloomfield Hills Building Department, at City Hall, 45 East Long Lake Road in Bloomfield Hills, issues building permits and, with contract trade inspectors, does the city's building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections; its Permits & Forms page lists "Roofing (Tear-off and new installation)" among the work that needs a permit and posts a residential roof permit application. Chapter 4 of the city's code of ordinances makes the city responsible for administering and enforcing the state construction code, and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the city as its own building code enforcer. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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