Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of East Hempfield, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of East Hempfield, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Township of East Hempfield, PA?

East Hempfield Township's code lists reroofing among work that "shall continue to be exempt" from its permit requirement "unless structural members or 65 square feet or more of the roof sheathing must be replaced or repaired." Section 130-16.C of the Township Code (added November 19, 2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09; read October 6, 2026) requires permits for "All alterations or repairs to residential buildings which are exempt from the UCC by Act 92 of 2004; provided, however, that the following types of alterations and repairs shall continue to be exempt and no permit will be required," and the list that follows includes "(b) Reroofing, unless structural members or 65 square feet or more of the roof sheathing must be replaced or repaired." The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists the Township's filing that "Requires a building permit for all residential alterations and repairs and establishes 9 exceptions" as enacted on November 19, 2008. The Township's 2026 fee schedule, adopted by the Board on January 5, 2026, has no roofing line and says "Building permit fees are based on Code Administrator's fee schedule + a 10% administrative fee + a $4.50 PA UCC mandated fee"; Code Administrators Inc. publishes no fee schedule on its own website, the Township links none, and that schedule was not read for this record. The Township says "We utilize one generic form for residential building/zoning," and that Building & Zoning Permit Application's description-of-work boxes (new construction, addition, renovation, demolition, decks, pools, accessory structures, signs, electrical, fire alarm or sprinkler, other) name no roof work. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." Because the building permit fee schedule the Township relies on is not published and was not read, this record does not state whether the Township requires a permit for an ordinary reroof. State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, East Hempfield Township administers the code with a retained third-party agency: Section 130-11 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 130-13 provides for "designating employees of the Township to serve as the building code official and construction code official and by retaining third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Township of East Hempfield," and the Township's Building & Zoning page says "We have a Building Code Official who performs permit reviews and inspections" and "All inspections will be performed by Code Administrators Inc." The Township's 2026 fee schedule says "The Township utilizes Code Administrators Inc. for building code plan review and inspections." The only threshold for roof work in the Township's enacted text is the one in Section 130-16.C(3)(b), quoted at the start: structural members, or 65 square feet or more of roof sheathing, replaced or repaired.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of East Hempfield, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where 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" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, East Hempfield Township administers the code with a retained third-party agency: Section 130-11 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 130-13 provides for "designating employees of the Township to serve as the building code official and construction code official and by retaining third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Township of East Hempfield," and the Township's Building & Zoning page says "We have a Building Code Official who performs permit reviews and inspections" and "All inspections will be performed by Code Administrators Inc." The Township's 2026 fee schedule says "The Township utilizes Code Administrators Inc. for building code plan review and inspections." Chapter 130 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. Chapter 130 of the Township Code names several older editions: Section 130-1 adopts the 2015 International Residential Building Code, Section 130-12 includes the 2009 editions, and Section 130-16.E makes insertions in the 2003 International Residential Code, while the Township's own pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the older editions' reroofing text was not read for this record.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of East Hempfield, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of East Hempfield, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, East Hempfield Township administers the code with a retained third-party agency: Section 130-11 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 130-13 provides for "designating employees of the Township to serve as the building code official and construction code official and by retaining third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Township of East Hempfield," and the Township's Building & Zoning page says "We have a Building Code Official who performs permit reviews and inspections" and "All inspections will be performed by Code Administrators Inc." The Township's 2026 fee schedule says "The Township utilizes Code Administrators Inc. for building code plan review and inspections." Section 130-12 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the Township's building code "with the amendments and insertions contained herein and to include the provisions of the 2009 editions" of the International Codes, Section 130-1 adopts the 2015 editions, including the International Residential Building Code, and Section 130-16.E makes insertions in the 2003 International Building and Residential Codes; the Township's own pages name no edition. So the Township's codified chapter names older editions than the 2021 edition in the State's rule, and this record has not read the 2015, 2009 or 2003 editions' roofing text. Section 130-16.C requires permits for residential alterations and repairs but keeps listed work exempt, including "(b) Reroofing, unless structural members or 65 square feet or more of the roof sheathing must be replaced or repaired." Section 130-17.A keeps in force Township building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code; those older ordinances were not read. Chapter 130 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.