Permitting Authorities / City of El Paso - Planning & Inspections Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in El Paso, TX?
Adopted code
City of El Paso - Planning & Inspections Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in El Paso, TX, issued by City of El Paso - Planning & Inspections Department. Residential roof covering replacement of 25% or more of the roof needs a permit; "Replacement of less than twenty-five percent of existing roof covering on residential structures only" is exempt (City Code Sec. 18.10.040, item 7). The FY 2027 fee schedule (Schedule C, line 689) lists a Building Permit "Roofing Permit" at "$118 plus applicable technology fee". Roofing permit applications that do not need plans are "submitted and paid for in the department" (Sec. 18.02.105.10); the One Stop Shop is the department's intake point, and its Citizen Access Portal handles permit applications, status and invoices. "Residential roofing, window replacement, water heater replacement and a/c conversion permits shall expire within one month from the issuance date of the permit. No extensions or completion permit shall be issued for these permit types" (Sec. 18.02.105.23). A contractor who starts residential work before obtaining the permit "shall be required to obtain a permit at three hundred percent of the established permit fee" (Sec. 18.02.106.29; 200% for a homeowner, Sec. 18.02.106.30). Only a city-registered contractor or a homeowner working on the homestead they occupy may pull the permit. In a historic district or on a designated landmark, the department's flyer says the work "must first be reviewed by City staff for historic appropriateness, even if a building permit is not required.".
Roof code checklist: El Paso, TX
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 El Paso, Texas
Address
811 Texas Ave. (One Stop Shop), El Paso, TX 79901
Contact
- url: https://www.elpasotexas.gov/planning-and-inspections
- phone: 915-212-0104
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Texas issues no state roofing contractor licence; the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's program list has no roofing program.
- city_level: "Persons, firms, partnerships or corporations doing business as contractors shall file an annual registration application with the department to be eligible to apply for and obtain permits" (El Paso City Code Sec. 18.02.104.2). The department's Contractor Registration Requirements sheet (Rev. 07/2024) places residential "Roofing" under the General Contractor registration and lists an assumed name certificate or corporate documents, the registration application, a certificate of general liability insurance naming the City of El Paso as certificate holder, a $50,000 blanket building construction bond, and a "$100 Annual Fee + Tech Fee". The code requires the $50,000 bond of every contractor who contracts for work "for which a permit is required" (Sec. 18.02.104.7), with the city and the property owner named as co-obligees and coverage running through one year after completion (Sec. 18.02.104.8), and minimum liability limits of $250,000 bodily injury per person, $500,000 aggregate, and $100,000 property damage per occurrence and in the aggregate, with the city as additional insured (Sec. 18.02.104.10). A homeowner may pull the permit for an R-3 primary residence they occupy while acting as their own general contractor (Sec. 18.02.105.29.1); a homeowner doing the work on their homestead without a licensed contractor needs no bond (Sec. 18.02.104.7, Exception 2.a).
Permit process note
Residential roof covering replacement of 25% or more of the roof needs a permit; "Replacement of less than twenty-five percent of existing roof covering on residential structures only" is exempt (City Code Sec. 18.10.040, item 7). The FY 2027 fee schedule (Schedule C, line 689) lists a Building Permit "Roofing Permit" at "$118 plus applicable technology fee". Roofing permit applications that do not need plans are "submitted and paid for in the department" (Sec. 18.02.105.10); the One Stop Shop is the department's intake point, and its Citizen Access Portal handles permit applications, status and invoices. "Residential roofing, window replacement, water heater replacement and a/c conversion permits shall expire within one month from the issuance date of the permit. No extensions or completion permit shall be issued for these permit types" (Sec. 18.02.105.23). A contractor who starts residential work before obtaining the permit "shall be required to obtain a permit at three hundred percent of the established permit fee" (Sec. 18.02.106.29; 200% for a homeowner, Sec. 18.02.106.30). Only a city-registered contractor or a homeowner working on the homestead they occupy may pull the permit. In a historic district or on a designated landmark, the department's flyer says the work "must first be reviewed by City staff for historic appropriateness, even if a building permit is not required."
Inspection requirements
"Reroofing. Final inspection: To be made after the reroofing or recovering work has been completed" (El Paso City Code Sec. 18.02.107.4). Inspections are scheduled through the city's IVR inspection line, 915-313-6100, using the permit number, an inspection code and the authorization code set up at contractor registration.
Adopted code
2021 International Residential Code, adopted with local amendments as the City's Residential Code by El Paso City Code Chapter 18.10 (Ord. No. 019528, adopted August 1, 2023), administered under Chapter 18.02, the Building and Construction Administrative Code. The department's "Currently Adopted Codes and Amendments" list names the 2021 IBC, IRC, IECC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IEBC, IFC, ISPSC and IPMC and the 2020 National Electrical Code. For context, Texas Local Government Code Sec. 214.212 adopts the International Residential Code "as it existed on May 1, 2012" as the municipal residential building code statewide and lets a city adopt local amendments by ordinance after a public hearing.
Drip edge
Required — El Paso adopts the 2021 International Residential Code through City Code Chapter 18.10 (Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023). That chapter, read in full, amends nothing in IRC Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), so the base 2021 IRC drip-edge provision for shingle roofs (Section R905.2.8.5, Drip edge) applies in El Paso unmodified.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Not required — El Paso's completed Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria (City Code Sec. 18.10.050, Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023), lists "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" as "No" for the City of El Paso.
About ice & water barrierMid-roof inspection
Not required — El Paso's administrative code sets the inspection for reroofing work as a single final inspection: "Reroofing. Final inspection: To be made after the reroofing or recovering work has been completed" (City Code Sec. 18.02.107.4). By contrast, the same article requires an "In-progress inspection" for retaining walls over four feet (Sec. 18.02.107.3). The building official keeps general authority to make "such other inspections as necessary" (Sec. 18.02.107.1), and Chapter 18.10 does not add a roofing inspection.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither El Paso City Code Chapter 18.10 (Ord. No. 019528, adopting the 2021 IRC with local amendments) nor Chapter 18.02, the Building and Construction Administrative Code, amends Chapter 9's roof-covering provisions; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the city's adopted residential code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
El Paso's residential code exempts from permit only the "Replacement of less than twenty-five percent of existing roof covering on residential structures only" (El Paso City Code Sec. 18.10.040, Section R105.2 Work exempt from permit, item 7, Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023). Replacing 25% or more of the roof covering needs a permit, so a full residential re-roof is permit work. The exemption is for residential structures only; the city's amended IBC exempt-work list (Sec. 18.08.030, Section 105.2) carries no roofing exemption for other buildings. The department's When Do I Need a Permit flyer draws the same line, listing "RESIDENTIAL ROOF COVERING" among permit work with the caption "(required when replacing 25% or more)".
Wind design criteria
Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as completed by El Paso City Code Sec. 18.10.050 (Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023): Ground snow load 5 psf; Wind design speed 105 mph; Topographic effects No; Special wind region No; Windborne debris zone No; Seismic design category C; Weathering Negligible; Frost line depth 6 inches; Termite Moderate to Heavy; Ice barrier underlayment required No; Air freezing index 1500; Mean annual temperature 75 degrees F.
Roof layer limit / recover
El Paso adopts the 2021 International Residential Code through City Code Chapter 18.10 (Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023), and neither that chapter nor the Building and Construction Administrative Code (Chapter 18.02) amends the reroofing section, so base 2021 IRC Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed, applies: "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur: 1. 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. 2. Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be re-covered; a second existing layer requires tear-off (two layers maximum). Chapter 9 of the 2021 IRC is published at codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2021P1/chapter-9-roof-assemblies.
Deck & sheathing requirements
El Paso adopts the 2021 International Residential Code through City Code Chapter 18.10 (Ord. No. 019528, 8-1-2023). That chapter, read in full, amends nothing in IRC Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), so the base 2021 IRC roof-deck provisions (for asphalt shingles, Section R905.2.1, Sheathing requirements) apply unmodified. The city's only roof-framing amendment, Sec. 18.10.120, adds to R802.10.2 that "The truss design drawings shall be prepared, signed, and sealed by a registered professional engineer, licensed in Texas."
Sales & use tax
8.25% combined (6.25% state + 1.00% City of El Paso + 0.50% El Paso County + 0.50% El Paso CTD transit tax), the Texas local-rate cap, per the Comptroller's city rate file for the July 2026 quarter. Under Comptroller guidance for real property repair and remodeling, "Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable"; on the lump-sum contract typical of residential re-roofing, "you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax" (Comptroller Pub. 94-116, Real Property Repair and Remodeling, comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/94-116.php) -- so the combined rate above is the roofer's own cost basis on materials purchased, not a rate charged to the homeowner.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Texas
Related guides
The permitting authority for the City of El Paso. The Planning & Inspections Department, through its One Stop Shop at 811 Texas Avenue, issues building permits including residential roofing permits, performs inspections, registers contractors, and handles most city business licensing.
Hail reports near El Paso, TX
- Reports, last 24 months
- 1
- Largest, last 24 months
- 1.00 in Jun 2, 2026
- Most recent
- Jun 2, 2026 1.00 in
- Reports, last 5 years
- 5
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database and daily storm reports (reports since the start of the current year are preliminary), within 10 miles of El Paso, TX (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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