Permitting Authorities / Butler County Community Development Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Butler County, KS?
Adopted codeButler County Community Development Department
Butler County Community Development is the county department that issues building permits for unincorporated areas of Butler County, Kansas, licenses contractors doing regulated work in the unincorporated county, and administers the county's adopted building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and residential codes.
Jurisdiction
Butler County, Kansas
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
205 W Central Avenue, El Dorado, KS 67042
Contact
- url: https://www.bucoks.gov/398/Apply-for-Permits
- phone: 316-322-4300
Contractor registration required
Registration details
- license: The Butler County Building Code (Article 1, Sec. 103) states: "A Building Trade license shall be issued to a person in responsible charge of a business or corporation... No building permit for any work covered by the provisions of this Chapter shall be issued to any contractor who has not first obtained the applicable license, who is delinquent in any payment or fee(s), or whose license has been revoked by action of the governing body." A "contractor" is defined as any person who undertakes "to build, construct, alter, repair, add to or wreck any building or structure...within the boundaries of un-incorporated Butler County, for which a permit is required." The Building Trade license fee is $50.00, licenses expire December 31 of the issuance year, and applicants must file a certificate of comprehensive general liability insurance of not less than $100,000 per occurrence/aggregate. Owners of single-family dwellings of two stories or less performing their own work are not required to obtain a contractor's license (but must still obtain permits); licensed subcontractors are required for subcontracted work.
Permit process note
The Butler County Building Code's contractor definition (Article 1, Sec. 103(a)) covers any person who undertakes "to build, construct, alter, repair, add to or wreck any building or structure...within the boundaries of un-incorporated Butler County, for which a permit is required," and Sec. 103(b)(2) requires owner-occupants of single-family dwellings of two stories or less to "obtain permits" for work on their own residence even though they are not required to hold a contractor's license. Section R801.3 (Roof drainage system) of the adopted International Residential Code is deleted in its entirety by county amendment (Article 6, Sec. 602(e)).
Adopted code
The Butler County Building Code, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners via Resolution 16-06 (February 23, 2016), building on the original adoption under Resolution 98-73 (September 29, 1998) and fee schedule Resolution 99-02 (January 11, 1999), incorporates by reference: International Building Code, 2006 Edition (with Appendix Chapters C, E, and K); International Mechanical Code, 2006 Edition; National Electrical Code, 2005 Edition (with the ICC Electrical Code Administrative Provisions, 2006 Edition); Uniform Plumbing Code, 2006 Edition; and International Residential Code, 2006 Edition -- each with county-specific deletions and amendments set out in the document.
Drip edge
Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2006 International Residential Code via Butler County Building Code, Article 6 (Resolution 16-06, 2-23-2016); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required: No" (Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as amended by the Butler County Building Code, Article 6, Sec. 603(i), adopted by the Board of County Commissioners via Resolution 16-06, February 23, 2016). About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — The Butler County Building Code, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners via Resolution 16-06 (February 23, 2016), building on the original adoption under Resolution 98-73 (September 29, 1998) and fee schedule Resolution 99-02 (January 11, 1999), incorporates by reference the International Building Code, 2006 Edition (with Appendix Chapters C, E, and K) as Article 2, the International Mechanical Code, 2006 Edition as Article 3, the National Electrical Code, 2005 Edition as Article 4, the Uniform Plumbing Code, 2006 Edition as Article 5, and the International Residential Code, 2006 Edition (with all appendix chapters) as Article 6. Article 6 lists six deletions (Sections R103, R106.1.3, 109.1.3, R319.1(7), R801.3, and E3802) and 23 lettered amendment items (a through w) covering administrative sections, climatic design criteria in Table R301.2(1), stairway illumination, window opening width, landings, smoke alarms, frost protection and foundation anchorage, truss design drawings, attic access, and mechanical, fuel-gas, plumbing and electrical provisions. None of the deletions or amendments touches IRC Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies, R901-R905); Chapter 9 is adopted unamended. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears anywhere in the Building Code.
Wind design criteria
Table R301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, Article 6, Section 603(i) of the Butler County Building Code (adopted by Resolution No. 16-06, February 23, 2016; amending the 2006 IRC Section R301): Ground Snow Load 15psf; Wind Speed (mph) 90mph; Seismic Design Category A; Weathering Severe; Frost Line Depth 30 inches; Termite Moderate to Heavy; Winter Design Temp 7; Ice Barrier Underlayment Required No; Flood Hazard FIRM 20015C, June 6, 2009; Air Freezing Index 0-1000; Mean Annual Temp 55°-60°. The table has no separate rows for topographic effects, special wind region, or windborne debris zone.
Sales & use tax
Unincorporated Butler County's combined sales tax rate is 6.5% -- the KS state rate only. Per KDOR Pub. 1700, Butler County imposes no county-wide local sales tax (county component = 0%). Per Kansas DOR Pub. KS-1525 "Sales & Use Tax for Contractors, Subcontractors, and Repairmen" (Rev. 7-29-25): "Services performed to install or apply tangible personal property are exempt from sales tax when the services involve the original construction, reconstruction, restoration, remodeling, renovation, repair or replacement of a residence" -- so residential re-roof LABOR is exempt, but materials are not: contractors "are considered to be the final user or consumer of the materials they install for others, and must pay Kansas sales or use tax on them" at the time of purchase (or self-assessed compensating use tax on out-of-state materials, via Form CT-10U, per the same publication's Compensating Use Tax section). Commercial re-roof labor is taxable ("roofing, siding and guttering" is listed as a taxable labor service on commercial projects). Pub. KS-1525 describes only two collection points for contractor materials tax -- retailer sale or self- assessed use tax -- with no mechanism tied to building-permit issuance anywhere in the publication; Kansas sales/use tax is administered centrally by KDOR, not self-collected by home-rule cities as in Colorado.
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Sources
- bucoks.gov verified 2026-07-31
- ksrevenue.gov verified 2026-07-18
- bucoks.gov verified 2026-07-17