The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Borough of Cliffside Park - Building Department

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ?

Adopted code

Borough of Cliffside Park - Building Department

No, Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Borough of Cliffside Park - Building Department). Under state law a reroof needs a permit on a townhouse or other attached dwelling, on any other building, and wherever the work reaches the roof structure; reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance with no permit (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c)1.x, "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings"). Where a roof permit is required, apply to the Borough of Cliffside Park Building Department, Municipal Complex, 525 Palisade Avenue, Room 220, phone 201-313-2042, hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the Borough says it no longer accepts cash in any department, only check or debit or credit card. Section 11-1.4 of the Borough Code, Schedule A, has no roofing line, so a reroof is priced under "Renovation/Alteration/Repair" at $30.00 per $1,000.00 of estimated cost, with a $50.00 minimum fee. Inspection requests go through the Borough's online form, and its Inspections page cites "N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18 (c) 1. Requires inspection requests be submitted in writing." Section 11-4 of the Borough Code names re-roofing, where a permit is required, among the work whose contractors register with the building inspector; its text is in the registration details.

Roof code checklist: Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofNonjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Repair permit thresholdPublishednjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Layer limit / roof-overPublishednjac_5_23_6.pdf2026-10-02
Deck & sheathingNot published
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNonjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNo52_27D_119.pdf2026-10-02
Wind design criteriaNot published
Adopted codePublishedSec. 11-1njac_5_23_3.pdf2026-10-02
Contractor license / registrationYespub.njleg.gov2026-10-02
Sales & use taxPublishedsu3.pdf2026-10-02

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
Borough of Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
525 Palisade Avenue, Municipal Complex, Room 220, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
Contact
  • url: https://www.cliffsideparknj.gov/departments/building_department/index.php
  • phone: 201-313-2042
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: New Jersey requires home improvement contractors to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs. The Contractors' Registration Act, as enacted by P.L.2004, c.16, says at C.56:8-138(a): "No person shall offer to perform, or engage, or attempt to engage in the business of making or selling home improvements unless registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs in accordance with the provisions of this act."
  • city_level: Chapter 11 of the Borough Code, Section 11-4.1a (ordinance of May 2, 1972), says: "Every person engaged in the business of constructing, erecting, altering, repairing, restoring, re-roofing, residing, moving or demolishing the whole or any part of buildings or structures, or engaged in the construction and installation of swimming pools, or engaged in the business of erecting or altering signs, for any of which a permit is required by the applicable ordinances of the Borough shall be required to register the name of such person with the building inspector and approved by the Mayor." Section 11-4.4c names a "Roofing and Siding Contractor" class, Section 11-4.3a sets "a fee of twenty five ($25.00) dollars," and Section 11-4.1b says an owner or occupant applying for a permit need not register "provided that he intends to do his own work, and shall be approved by the Mayor."
Permit process note
Under state law a reroof needs a permit on a townhouse or other attached dwelling, on any other building, and wherever the work reaches the roof structure; reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance with no permit (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c)1.x, "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings"). Where a roof permit is required, apply to the Borough of Cliffside Park Building Department, Municipal Complex, 525 Palisade Avenue, Room 220, phone 201-313-2042, hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the Borough says it no longer accepts cash in any department, only check or debit or credit card. Section 11-1.4 of the Borough Code, Schedule A, has no roofing line, so a reroof is priced under "Renovation/Alteration/Repair" at $30.00 per $1,000.00 of estimated cost, with a $50.00 minimum fee. Inspection requests go through the Borough's online form, and its Inspections page cites "N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18 (c) 1. Requires inspection requests be submitted in writing." Section 11-4 of the Borough Code names re-roofing, where a permit is required, among the work whose contractors register with the building inspector; its text is in the registration details.
Adopted code
The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, the Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department page names no code edition, and Section 11-1 of the Borough Code sets up the State Uniform Construction Code enforcing agency "pursuant to the provisions of the State Uniform Construction Code Act" and names no code edition of its own.
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — No mid-roof inspection under state law. Reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance, and N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Where a reroof does need a permit, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18(b)1 says "Inspections of one- and two-family dwellings for which construction must cease until the inspection is made shall be limited to the following": footing trenches, foundations, utility services and a mid-point inspection, whose building item is "All structural framing, connections, wall and roof sheathing, and insulation." The list names no roof-covering or underlayment stage, and the rule does not say whether its sheathing item reaches a permitted reroof that replaces sheathing. Any further inspection a municipality requires "shall be of the type and nature that construction may continue without interruption" (5:23-2.18(b)3). Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code state nothing further on roofing inspections.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistant roofing requirement under state law. The New Jersey Uniform Construction Code rules that reach a house reroof (the administrative rules in N.J.A.C. 5:23-1 and 5:23-2, the State's amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code at 5:23-3.21, and the Rehabilitation Subcode at 5:23-6) contain no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality cannot add one: N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 says "Any law or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding," the "alteration, renovation, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, removal, or demolition of all buildings or structures already erected shall be regulated pursuant to the 'State Uniform Construction Code Act,'" and under 52:27D-139 local construction regulations were "deemed repealed and superseded" once the state code was promulgated. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code state nothing further on roofing impact ratings.
Repair permit threshold
No permit and no size limit for reroofing a detached one- or two-family house; a permit for every other building. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) lists items that "are ordinary maintenance and shall be treated as such by every enforcing agency" and says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Item 1.x is "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings," with no square-footage or percentage cap. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(b)1 carries this into the permit rule: "Ordinary maintenance as defined in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 shall not require a permit or notice to the enforcing agency." Two limits apply. First, the item covers only detached one- and two-family dwellings. Reroofing a townhouse or other attached dwelling, or any other building, falls under the general permit rule, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(a): "It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, repair, renovate, alter, reconstruct or demolish a structure ... without first filing an application with the construction official." Some of that work may be "minor work" under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A, which still needs a permit, but "work may proceed, upon notice to the enforcing agency, before the permit is issued" (5:23-2.14(b)2). The fee is municipal: "The municipality, in accordance with this chapter, shall establish by ordinance enforcing agency fees" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.25; fee standards at 5:23-4.18). Second, ordinary maintenance does not include "Any work affecting structural or fire safety" (5:23-2.7(b)4), so roof work that reaches rafters, trusses or other structure needs a permit even on a detached house. The rule does not say whether replacing roof sheathing alone is such work. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code do not say which reroofs need a permit. The Building Permit form the Borough posts is the State's building subcode technical section (form F110), which has a Roofing box among its types of work; the fee where a roof permit is required is in the permit process note.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers maximum, by state rule. Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)), whose repair section, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4(e)7, reads: "Existing roof covering shall be removed before installing new roof covering when any of the following conditions occur: i. The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; ii. The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or iii. The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer of asphalt shingles may be covered once; a roof that already has two layers, a wet or deteriorated roof, or a wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile roof must be torn off first. The answer is the same if a reroof is treated as renovation rather than repair: for work other than repair, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.8(h)7 applies "All of Chapter 9 entitled 'Roof Assemblies', except Section R907" of the 2024 International Residential Code, and its reroofing section, R908.4, Exceptions, bars a recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." New Jersey's Chapter 9 amendments at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(c)8 change only R903.4.1 and R905.1.2 and leave R908 as published. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code state nothing further on roof layers.
Sales & use tax
6.625% New Jersey Sales Tax; whether the roofing bill is taxed depends on the job. The Division of Taxation's guide Contractors and New Jersey Taxes (S&U-3, Rev. 5/25) refers to "New Jersey's 6.625% Sales Tax rate." A new roof is an exempt capital improvement: "New roof" is on the guide's list of "Exempt capital improvements," and "If the work results in an exempt capital improvement to real property, the contractor does not charge Sales Tax on the bill"; the owner gives the contractor a Certificate of Exempt Capital Improvement (Form ST-8). The roofer still pays tax on materials: "The contractor pays the Sales Tax on the cost of materials and supplies at the time of purchase." A repair is taxable. The guide lists "Fixing a leaky roof" among repairs and says "replacing a few loose bath tiles or a portion of a leaky roof is a repair to the existing real property. However, replacing all of the tiles or the entire roof with upgraded or improved materials would be an exempt capital improvement." On a taxable job the only deduction is a separately stated cost of materials, and "If the contractor does not itemize the materials and the labor for a taxable job, the entire receipt is subject to tax." Work for an exempt organization, a government agency or a qualified business in an Urban Enterprise Zone follows separate exemption rules. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department page states nothing on sales tax for roofing work.

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The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department, in Room 220 of the Municipal Complex at 525 Palisade Avenue, is the Borough's construction code office; its page lists among its responsibilities "To issue work permits for new construction, alterations, demolitions, and interior renovations." Building work in the Borough is held to New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code, the same code that applies in every New Jersey municipality.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ?

No, Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ does not require a permit to replace a roof. No permit and no size limit for reroofing a detached one- or two-family house; a permit for every other building. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) lists items that "are ordinary maintenance and shall be treated as such by every enforcing agency" and says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Item 1.x is "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings," with no square-footage or percentage cap. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(b)1 carries this into the permit rule: "Ordinary maintenance as defined in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 shall not require a permit or notice to the enforcing agency." Two limits apply. First, the item covers only detached one- and two-family dwellings. Reroofing a townhouse or other attached dwelling, or any other building, falls under the general permit rule, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(a): "It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, repair, renovate, alter, reconstruct or demolish a structure ... without first filing an application with the construction official." Some of that work may be "minor work" under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A, which still needs a permit, but "work may proceed, upon notice to the enforcing agency, before the permit is issued" (5:23-2.14(b)2). The fee is municipal: "The municipality, in accordance with this chapter, shall establish by ordinance enforcing agency fees" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.25; fee standards at 5:23-4.18). Second, ordinary maintenance does not include "Any work affecting structural or fire safety" (5:23-2.7(b)4), so roof work that reaches rafters, trusses or other structure needs a permit even on a detached house. The rule does not say whether replacing roof sheathing alone is such work. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code do not say which reroofs need a permit. The Building Permit form the Borough posts is the State's building subcode technical section (form F110), which has a Roofing box among its types of work; the fee where a roof permit is required is in the permit process note.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ?

Two layers maximum, by state rule. Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)), whose repair section, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4(e)7, reads: "Existing roof covering shall be removed before installing new roof covering when any of the following conditions occur: i. The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; ii. The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or iii. The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer of asphalt shingles may be covered once; a roof that already has two layers, a wet or deteriorated roof, or a wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile roof must be torn off first. The answer is the same if a reroof is treated as renovation rather than repair: for work other than repair, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.8(h)7 applies "All of Chapter 9 entitled 'Roof Assemblies', except Section R907" of the 2024 International Residential Code, and its reroofing section, R908.4, Exceptions, bars a recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." New Jersey's Chapter 9 amendments at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(c)8 change only R903.4.1 and R905.1.2 and leave R908 as published. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code state nothing further on roof layers.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ use?

The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, the Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department page names no code edition, and Section 11-1 of the Borough Code sets up the State Uniform Construction Code enforcing agency "pursuant to the provisions of the State Uniform Construction Code Act" and names no code edition of its own.

Is a mid-roof inspection required in Borough of Cliffside Park, NJ?

No. No mid-roof inspection under state law. Reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance, and N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Where a reroof does need a permit, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18(b)1 says "Inspections of one- and two-family dwellings for which construction must cease until the inspection is made shall be limited to the following": footing trenches, foundations, utility services and a mid-point inspection, whose building item is "All structural framing, connections, wall and roof sheathing, and insulation." The list names no roof-covering or underlayment stage, and the rule does not say whether its sheathing item reaches a permitted reroof that replaces sheathing. Any further inspection a municipality requires "shall be of the type and nature that construction may continue without interruption" (5:23-2.18(b)3). Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Borough of Cliffside Park's Building Department pages and Chapter 11 of the Borough Code state nothing further on roofing inspections.