Permitting Authorities / City of Dowagiac - Building & Planning
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Dowagiac, MI?
Adopted code
City of Dowagiac - Building & Planning
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Dowagiac, MI, issued by City of Dowagiac - Building & Planning. Building & Planning publishes nothing specific to roof work: its building permit application, its fee schedule for building permits and its other permit fees list name no roofing line, no size or cost point and no reroof exemption, and its Codes Enforced page names none either. With the department silent on reroofs, the state's general permit rule applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." The same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs, and the department has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. Its fee schedule for building permits (effective April 1, 2025) charges $75.00 for work valued at $0 to $1,000 and "$75.00 + $10 per $1,000 over $1,000" for work valued at $1,001 to $10,000, and a person who starts work that needs a permit without one pays "a special inspection fee of $51.75 in addition to the actual permit fee." The application says "SEPARATE APPLICATIONS MUST BE MADE FOR ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING AND ZONING PERMITS." Permit fees are set by resolution of the city council (Section 18-29). The office is in City Hall at 241 S. Front Street, Dowagiac, MI 49047, 269-782-8427, and its page lists hours of "8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.".
Roof code checklist: Dowagiac, 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 Dowagiac, Michigan
Address
241 S. Front Street, Dowagiac, MI 49047
Contact
- url: https://cityofdowagiac.com/government/building___planning/
- phone: 269-782-8427
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Building & Planning publishes nothing specific to roof work: its building permit application, its fee schedule for building permits and its other permit fees list name no roofing line, no size or cost point and no reroof exemption, and its Codes Enforced page names none either. With the department silent on reroofs, the state's general permit rule applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." The same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs, and the department has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. Its fee schedule for building permits (effective April 1, 2025) charges $75.00 for work valued at $0 to $1,000 and "$75.00 + $10 per $1,000 over $1,000" for work valued at $1,001 to $10,000, and a person who starts work that needs a permit without one pays "a special inspection fee of $51.75 in addition to the actual permit fee." The application says "SEPARATE APPLICATIONS MUST BE MADE FOR ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, PLUMBING AND ZONING PERMITS." Permit fees are set by resolution of the city council (Section 18-29). The office is in City Hall at 241 S. Front Street, Dowagiac, MI 49047, 269-782-8427, and its page lists hours of "8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday."
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 Dowagiac as its own building code enforcer. The department's Codes Enforced page, read October 12, 2026, lists the Michigan Residential Code as "2015 Edition". Section 18-61 of the city's Code of Ordinances adopts "The Michigan Residential Code" by reference and Section 18-27 designates the city's building official as the enforcing agency for it; neither names an edition.
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 18 of the Dowagiac Code of Ordinances, the Building & Planning pages and the building permit 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 18 of the Dowagiac Code of Ordinances, the Building & Planning pages and the building permit 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 18 of the Dowagiac Code of Ordinances, the Building & Planning pages and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
The City of Dowagiac's Building & Planning office publishes nothing on reroofs and no size, square or dollar point below which roof work needs no permit: its building permit application offers a project type of "REPAIR /REPLACEMENT" or "REMODEL" with no roofing line, its fee schedule for building permits (effective April 1, 2025) is a valuation scale with no roofing line, and its other permit fees list (effective April 1, 2025) has none either. 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. For a small roof repair, ask Building & Planning at 269-782-8427 before starting.
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 own building ordinance, Chapter 18 (Buildings and Building Regulations) of the Dowagiac Code of Ordinances (through Supplement 19, November 2019), was read in full: Article II adopts the Michigan Building, Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical Codes and designates the enforcing agency, Article III adopts the Michigan Residential Code, Article IV adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, Articles V to VII cover building numbers, house moving and boarding up, and Article VIII, the Exterior Property Maintenance Code, requires in Section 18-158 only that roof covering materials be maintained "in a water-tight condition and free from any serious defects". It has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The city's Zoning Ordinance was searched for roofing provisions and has none on reroofing, and the Building & Planning pages and permit forms 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 18 of the Dowagiac Code of Ordinances, the Building & Planning pages and the building permit 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 Dowagiac Building & Planning pages changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Dowagiac's Building & Planning office, at City Hall, 241 S. Front Street in Dowagiac, issues permits and enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes, the property maintenance code and the zoning ordinance in the city. Section 18-27 of the city's Code of Ordinances designates the city's building official as the enforcing agency for the Michigan Residential Code, and the department's Codes Enforced page lists the 2015 edition of that code. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, so the roofing rules below are state law that the city enforces; the city sets its own permit fees.
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