Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Ephrata, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Ephrata, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Ephrata, PA?

No, Borough of Ephrata, PA does not require a permit to replace a roof. Ephrata Borough's Permits page says replacing roofing materials needs no permit if no structural modifications are needed, and needs one if they are. The Borough's Permits page (read October 7, 2026), under "Construction Not Requiring Permits," says "Permits are not required for the following:" and lists "Replacement of roofing materials if no structural modifications are needed"; under "Construction Requiring Permits" it lists "Replacement of roofing materials only if structural modifications are needed" and "Major remodeling (any structural change)." Chapter 152 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 1381, June 14, 2004, read October 7, 2026) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" by reference (Section 152-2), adds no permit clause of its own and names no roof work; Section 152-5 keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code, without naming any. The Zoning chapter says ordinary repairs "shall not by itself be regulated by this chapter," gives as an example "replacement of a roof or porch that does not involve enclosure of space," and adds "(However, a construction permit under construction codes may be needed for such work.)" (Section 319-71B). The Borough's Building Permit Fee Chart (dated January 1, 2019) prices residential building permits by construction cost and has no roofing line. The enacted text names no roof work as permit work or as exempt; the no-permit line is the Codes Division's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the Division's reading of the State's exclusion for house repairs. 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." 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, Ephrata Borough administers the code itself: Section 152-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes Division, at 124 S. State Street, lists "Issuing building / zoning permits" and "Inspecting construction in progress" among its duties, and the Borough's Codes and Zoning FAQs say "All residential inspections are done by in-house personnel." The Borough's line, quoted at the start, falls at structural modification; no Borough text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Ephrata, 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, Ephrata Borough administers the code itself: Section 152-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes Division, at 124 S. State Street, lists "Issuing building / zoning permits" and "Inspecting construction in progress" among its duties, and the Borough's Codes and Zoning FAQs say "All residential inspections are done by in-house personnel." Chapter 152 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Borough's Permits page lists replacing roofing materials with no structural modifications among work needing no permit; its pages say nothing on roof layers. The Borough's Codes and Zoning FAQs say "The Borough uses the 2021 version of the International Codes," and Chapter 152 names no edition.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Ephrata, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Ephrata, 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, Ephrata Borough administers the code itself: Section 152-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Borough's Codes Division, at 124 S. State Street, lists "Issuing building / zoning permits" and "Inspecting construction in progress" among its duties, and the Borough's Codes and Zoning FAQs say "All residential inspections are done by in-house personnel." Section 152-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, and Chapter 152 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Borough's Codes and Zoning FAQs say "The Borough uses the 2021 version of the International Codes," and Chapter 152 names no edition.