City of Canton, Ohio - Building/Code Enforcement Division

City of Canton, Ohio

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424 Market Avenue N, 3rd Floor, Canton, OH 44702

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Canton's Building/Code Enforcement Division is at 424 Market Avenue N, 3rd Floor, Canton, OH 44702; main line 330-430-7800, fax 330-430-7848, email [email protected]; Chief Building Official Charles Corcoran (direct line 330-438-4701); hours Monday-Friday 8:00-11:45 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m. As of October 1, 2025 the Division moved permit search, inspection status, inspection scheduling, application submission, and invoice payment to a new online portal at https://cantonoh.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/cantonoh; per the city's own page, only "new plans and permits created October 1, 2025 and forward" are searchable through the portal, and prior permits require a phone call to 330-430-7800. Canton's own Building/Code Enforcement page states plan-review timelines verbatim: "Zoning applications may require up to 15 days for an initial review and building plan reviews may require up to 30 days." Fees are billed hourly: the page states an "$110.00" hourly rate for plan examinations and permit inspections (effective June 1, 2025).

SET BY STATE RULE, with a city adopting chapter whose substantive text could not be read this session. Ohio regulates one-, two-, and three-family dwelling construction through a single statewide code, the Residential Code of Ohio (RCO), adopted by the state Board of Building Standards under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3781 and codified in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4101:8. The current edition is the "2019 Residential Code of Ohio," based on the 2018 International Residential Code, as subsequently amended effective March 1, 2024 and April 15, 2024. Canton's own Building/Code Enforcement web page states, verbatim, that the city enforces "the 2019 Residential Code of Ohio (RCO) with effective amendments as of April 15, 2024 and the 2024 Ohio Building Code (OBC)," as adopted by the Ohio Board of Building Standards. Canton's own codified building chapter (Codified Ordinances Part Thirteen, Building Code) is not published on a host this directory could open directly, so its local text is not restated here. ORC 3781.01(B) permits Canton to adopt additional non-conflicting local regulations under a notice procedure; whether it has done so for roof coverings specifically has not been established.

Not required — SET BY STATE RULE, and a genuine, non-obvious deviation from most other IRC-based states. Ohio's RCO does NOT carry forward the base IRC's prescriptive drip-edge provision. The entire content of RCO Section 905.2.8.5 is, verbatim: "905.2.8.5 Drip edge. Refer to Sections 903.1 and 905.1." Neither cross-referenced section imposes a drip edge: Section 903.1 (General) requires only that roof coverings be secured per the chapter's provisions and the "approved manufacturer's instructions," and Section 905.1 is a general wind-load-resistance provision. There is therefore no numbered Ohio provision mandating a drip edge with the usual dimensional and fastening specifications at the state level. Whether Canton has exercised its ORC 3781.01(B) authority to add its own local drip-edge requirement has NOT been established in this record -- Canton's own codified building chapter could not be opened by this directory, so whether the city adds a local drip-edge provision has not been established; the state-rule position above is what is documented. About drip edge

Required — SET BY STATE RULE -- applies identically in Canton as everywhere else in Ohio. RCO Table 301.2(1) pre-fills "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" as "Yes" for the whole state, with footnote (h) reciting that "all jurisdictions in Ohio have a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming." RCO Section 905.1.2 (Ice barriers) then requires an ice barrier for asphalt shingles and other listed coverings, consisting of not fewer than two layers of cemented underlayment or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet, extending not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line (36 inches on slopes of 8:12 or greater). Exception: "Detached accessory structures and roof assemblies terminating at a vertical wall over unconditioned floor areas." About ice & water barrier

CITY-SPECIFIC, and stricter than Cincinnati or Dayton: no Canton-specific minor-repair or re-roof permit exemption was found. Canton's own Building page states permits are required "before the commencement of work" for "new and remodeling structural improvements," and explicitly lists "Roofs" among the covered work types alongside additions, decks, fences, garages, sheds, siding, signs, storage buildings, and swimming pools -- with no shingle-layer or percentage-of-area carve-out comparable to Cincinnati's "no more than two layers" exemption or Dayton's shingles-only exemption. The only exemption list found hosted on Canton's own site (DocumentCenter document "Why do I Need Residential Approvals and Inspections? - Brochure") is a generic, STATEWIDE Ohio Board of Building Standards "Residential Building Department Resource Package" (BBS Form 0-3, July 2019) enumerating the RCO/OBC's own exempt-work list -- one-story detached accessory structures =<200 SF, fences =<6 ft, retaining walls =<4 ft, small water tanks, sidewalks and driveways, "painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work," small decks, swings/playground equipment, and window awnings, plus minor non-structural electrical/gas/mechanical/ plumbing parts-replacement -- and this generic statewide list does NOT include roof coverings or reroofing among the exempt items. Net effect: ordinary reroofing in Canton appears to require a building permit with no minor-repair carve-out identified in this record.

SET BY STATE RULE. RCO Table 301.2(1) ("Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria"), as printed in the state rule itself, pre-fills a Wind Design Speed of 115 mph (ultimate design wind speed) for the entire state -- the value is printed in the rule's own table rather than left blank for local fill-in. The same statewide table also pre-fills Weathering as "severe," Termite as "moderate to heavy," and Ice Barrier Underlayment Required as "Yes." Wind exposure category is determined site-specifically rather than by state or city rule. Ground snow load is the one geographically-varying input and is NOT a statewide constant: the master rule leaves that cell blank, with footnote (o) directing that "the jurisdiction shall fill in this section of the table using the Ground Snow Loads in Figure 301.2(6)." No Stark County / Canton ground snow load figure was obtained from a Stark County or City of Canton source this session.

SET BY STATE RULE. RCO Section 908.3 (Roof replacement) states: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck. Exception: Where the existing roof assembly includes an ice barrier membrane that is adhered to the roof deck, the existing ice barrier membrane shall be permitted to remain in place and be covered with an additional layer of ice barrier membrane in accordance with Section 905." Section 908.3.1 (Roof recover) permits installing a new roof covering over an existing one where the manufacturer's approved instructions are followed (among other listed conditions). Section 908.3.1.1 (Roof recover not allowed) bars a recover where the existing roof is water-soaked/deteriorated, is slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile, or "has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." Net effect for the common asphalt-shingle case: one existing layer may be recovered over; once two or more layers already exist, full tear-off to the deck is mandatory. Whether Canton has added any local modification to this state rule could not be confirmed -- see adopted_code.

SET BY STATE RULE. RCO Section 905.2.1 (Sheathing requirements) states verbatim: "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks." Ohio carries this base IRC language through without amendment -- no Ohio-specific addition (such as a nominal-board allowance) was found in the rule text. Whether Canton has added any local modification could not be confirmed -- see adopted_code.

Stark County's combined state-and-local sales and use tax rate is 6.50%, per the Ohio Department of Taxation's Sales and Use Tax Rate Map (dated March 31, 2026, reflecting rates in effect as of October 2025): a 5.75% state rate plus a 0.50% Stark County permissive rate plus a 0.25% transit permissive rate, printed in the map's own county table as "Stark 0.50% 0.25% 6.50%." The map's narrative separately confirms: "The lowest rate of 6.50 percent is found in Butler, Lorain, Stark, and Wayne Counties."