Permitting Authorities / City of Dearborn - Department of Economic Development (Building and Trade Permits)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Dearborn, MI?
Adopted code
City of Dearborn - Department of Economic Development (Building and Trade Permits)
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Dearborn, MI, issued by City of Dearborn - Department of Economic Development (Building and Trade Permits). A house reroof in Dearborn falls under the general permit rule: the City's home improvement page, permit applications page and permit fee schedule publish nothing specific on residential reroofs, and the home improvement page says "Before starting a home improvement or construction project, it is required to receive approval from the City of Dearborn." State law requires a building permit "before construction of a building or structure" and relieves "ordinary repairs" without defining them; the City has published no reading of that relief for roofs. The fee schedule names roofs only for commercial work: commercial plan review ($200 for a project up to $500,000) "Includes: Commercial Parking lots, Commercial renovation/building, Re-Roofing," and a commercial miscellaneous review of "Roofs, demo, antennas, trash enclosures" is $200. The residential plan review line ($1 per $1,000 of construction cost, $15 to $150) lists "Fences, Concrete, Porches/steps, Waterproofing, & Ramps." Permits are applied for, paid and scheduled through BS&A Online, after the account is linked to the City (email [email protected] to link it). The schedule charges a $100 permit processing fee on every permit, and a construction permit fee of $100 for the first $2,000 of construction cost, or $100 plus $15 per $1,000 from $2,001 to $1 million. Plan review typically takes 5 to 10 business days; the approved permit and stamped plans are picked up and paid for at the Dearborn Administrative Center, and "The stamped plans and the permit must be visible on the job site at all times during an inspection." The department's pages give no direct line of their own; the number they print, 311 or 313-943-2150, is the City's general line at the Dearborn Administrative Center (open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and permit questions can also go by email to [email protected].
Roof code checklist: Dearborn, 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 Dearborn, Michigan
Address
16901 Michigan Avenue (Dearborn Administrative Center), Dearborn, MI 48126
Contact
- url: https://dearborn.gov/residents/home-property/home-improvement-construction
- phone: 313-943-2150
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
A house reroof in Dearborn falls under the general permit rule: the City's home improvement page, permit applications page and permit fee schedule publish nothing specific on residential reroofs, and the home improvement page says "Before starting a home improvement or construction project, it is required to receive approval from the City of Dearborn." State law requires a building permit "before construction of a building or structure" and relieves "ordinary repairs" without defining them; the City has published no reading of that relief for roofs. The fee schedule names roofs only for commercial work: commercial plan review ($200 for a project up to $500,000) "Includes: Commercial Parking lots, Commercial renovation/building, Re-Roofing," and a commercial miscellaneous review of "Roofs, demo, antennas, trash enclosures" is $200. The residential plan review line ($1 per $1,000 of construction cost, $15 to $150) lists "Fences, Concrete, Porches/steps, Waterproofing, & Ramps." Permits are applied for, paid and scheduled through BS&A Online, after the account is linked to the City (email
[email protected] to link it). The schedule charges a $100 permit processing fee on every permit, and a construction permit fee of $100 for the first $2,000 of construction cost, or $100 plus $15 per $1,000 from $2,001 to $1 million. Plan review typically takes 5 to 10 business days; the approved permit and stamped plans are picked up and paid for at the Dearborn Administrative Center, and "The stamped plans and the permit must be visible on the job site at all times during an inspection." The department's pages give no direct line of their own; the number they print, 311 or 313-943-2150, is the City's general line at the Dearborn Administrative Center (open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and permit questions can also go by email to
[email protected].
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." The City of Dearborn enforces this code itself (LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City as its own building enforcer), and the City's Applicable Codes sheet lists the residential building code as "MRC 2015 (Michigan Residential Code 2015)", effective February 8, 2016; commercial building work is under the 2021 Michigan Building Code, effective April 4, 2024.
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 Dearborn's home improvement and permit pages, and its permit fee schedule, 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). The City of Dearborn's home improvement and permit pages, and its permit fee schedule, 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." The City of Dearborn's home improvement and permit pages, and its permit fee schedule, add no impact-rating requirement for roof coverings.
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." The City of Dearborn's home improvement and permit pages, and its permit fee schedule, state nothing further on roof layers.
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 Dearborn's home improvement and permit pages, and its permit fee schedule, 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." The City of Dearborn adds no sales tax of its own, so 6% is the whole rate on a job there.
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Dearborn's Department of Economic Development issues building and trade permits for work inside the City and inspects it, from the Dearborn Administrative Center at 16901 Michigan Avenue, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; permits are applied for, paid and scheduled online through BS&A Online. Michigan's one statewide construction code applies in Dearborn, and the City enforces it itself.
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