The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Fairfield County - Community Development, Building Division

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC?

Adopted code

Fairfield County - Community Development, Building Division

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC, issued by Fairfield County - Community Development, Building Division. Apply on the County's Building Permit Application (revised 8/1/2024), checking "Re-Roof" under characteristics of work and giving the value of construction "(Include all Materials, Labor & Profit)"; the form asks for the contractor's licence number and County business registration number, and an owner-builder must provide a recorded disclosure. The application's affidavit states: "Prior to issuance of a Building Permit, applicant must obtain a Certificate of Zoning Compliance." "No work will be started before permit card is posted." "This permit is void if job is not started within six (6) months of application date." Roofing permits are priced on the County's fee schedule under "Residential Specialty: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, and Gas Permits" (from a $50 permit fee that "Includes required inspections"); re-inspections are "$50 and doubles thereafter", and work started without a permit is charged "Double the price of the permit not acquired". The County code allows "Ordinary minor repairs" without a permit only "with the approval of the building official" (Section 6-136(c)) and names no roofing threshold. For inspections, the Building Division accepts requests by email and asks: "Please provide the following information in your message: property address, contact person, and type if inspection.".

Roof code checklist: Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofYes2025_Community_Development_Fee_Sc...2026-09-26
Repair permit thresholdPublishedlibrary.municode.com2026-09-26
Layer limit / roof-overPublishedR908.3.1.1codes.iccsafe.org2026-09-26
Deck & sheathingPublishedR803library.municode.com2026-09-26
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNolibrary.municode.com2026-09-26
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNot published
Wind design criteriaPublishedR301.2.1Fairfield 15.pdf2026-09-26
Adopted codePublishedSec. 6-222library.municode.com2026-09-26
Contractor license / registrationYesscstatehouse.gov2026-09-26
Sales & use taxPublishedST575.pdf2026-09-26

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
Fairfield County, South Carolina (unincorporated)
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
250 N. Walnut Street, Winnsboro, SC 29180
Contact
  • url: https://www.fairfieldsc.com/departments/community-development/building-division
  • phone: 803-712-6596
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: Roofing is a named Residential Specialty Contractor classification of the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission: "Roofers: the installation, alteration and repair of materials common to the residential building industry that form a watertight, weather resistant surface for roofs and decks". A residential specialty contractor is one who contracts to do "construction work, repairs, improvement, or reimprovement which requires special skills and involves the use of specialized construction trades or craft, when the undertakings exceed five hundred dollars" (S.C. Code Section 40-59-20(7)), and "all residential specialty contractors must be registered, by the commission" (Section 40-59-220(A)). When the total cost of materials and labor for an undertaking for an individual property owner "exceeds five thousand dollars, the residential specialty contractor shall obtain an executed bond" (Section 40-59-240(D)). A residential builder, one who constructs or superintends the "construction, repair, improvement, or reimprovement of a residential building" when "the cost of the undertaking exceeds five thousand dollars", must be licensed (Sections 40-59-20(6) and 40-59-220(A)). The permit office "shall refuse to issue a permit for an undertaking which requires licensure or registration under this chapter unless the applicant has furnished evidence" that the applicant is licensed, registered or exempt (Section 40-59-280). Section 40-59-260 states that the chapter "does not apply to an owner of residential property who improves the property" where "the owner does the work himself, with his own employees, or with licensed contractors or registered entities or individuals" and the structure is for the owner's or the owner's family's own occupancy and not for sale or rent; to qualify, "an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application." Section 40-59-270 states that the chapter "does not apply to a person licensed under Chapter 11" for that work.
  • county_level: Fairfield County Code Section 6-151(a) makes it the duty of every contractor or builder who contracts for "the erection or construction or repair of buildings for which a permit is required" to pay a licence tax and "to register his name in a book provided for that purpose, with the building official, giving full name, residence and place of business", and to give bond as required by Section 6-154, which sets a bond of $7,000.00 for "Contractors or builders" to be deposited with the County before engaging in "building erection, construction or repair". Separately, the County's Business Registration letter states that under Ordinance No. 719 "any person doing business in the unincorporated areas of Fairfield County must register their business annually with the County", that businesses located outside the County that plan to do business in it "do need a Business Registration", and that a contractor must also supply "a copy of the Contractors License, and a copy of a Valid ID of the person listed on the Contractors License"; the fee schedule lists Business Registration at $15. The Building Permit Application's affidavit states: "Contractor and subcontractors will secure a business license with the County/Towns prior to work."
Permit process note
Apply on the County's Building Permit Application (revised 8/1/2024), checking "Re-Roof" under characteristics of work and giving the value of construction "(Include all Materials, Labor & Profit)"; the form asks for the contractor's licence number and County business registration number, and an owner-builder must provide a recorded disclosure. The application's affidavit states: "Prior to issuance of a Building Permit, applicant must obtain a Certificate of Zoning Compliance." "No work will be started before permit card is posted." "This permit is void if job is not started within six (6) months of application date." Roofing permits are priced on the County's fee schedule under "Residential Specialty: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, and Gas Permits" (from a $50 permit fee that "Includes required inspections"); re-inspections are "$50 and doubles thereafter", and work started without a permit is charged "Double the price of the permit not acquired". The County code allows "Ordinary minor repairs" without a permit only "with the approval of the building official" (Section 6-136(c)) and names no roofing threshold. For inspections, the Building Division accepts requests by email and asks: "Please provide the following information in your message: property address, contact person, and type if inspection."
Adopted code
Fairfield County Code Section 6-222 (Ord. No. 431, 6-28-2002; Ord. No. 684, 8-28-2017) adopts the "International Residential Code for One and Two-Family Dwellings, 2015 Edition including Appendixes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J and L" as "the mandatory residential building code" for one- and two-family dwellings within the jurisdiction of the County, and Section 6-221 lists the "International Residential Code, 2015 Edition with S.C. modifications"; the County's online code is codified through Ordinance No. 701, adopted June 25, 2018. The County's own statements of which edition it enforces differ. The Building Division page describes its mission as "the enforcement of the code and standards prepared by the state of South Carolina". The Building Permit Application revised 8/1/2024, linked from that page, states that the office "adheres to all requirements as set forth in the 2018 IBC and IRC code regulations". An earlier application revised 8/01/2023, still posted on the County's forms page, states that it "adheres to all requirements as set forth in the Current South Carolina IBC and IRC code regulations." At the state level, S.C. Code Section 6-9-10(A) requires every county to enforce the building codes the Building Codes Council adopts and provides that "The municipality or county shall enforce only the national building and safety codes provided in this chapter." The 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications (S.C. Code of Regulations 8-1200 et seq.) is the mandatory state residential code for permits applied for before January 1, 2027, the date the Building Codes Council set for local jurisdictions to implement the 2024 edition with South Carolina modifications (State Register Vol. 50, Issue 5, May 22, 2026). This record does not decide which edition applies to a given permit, and the text of the 2015 and 2018 editions and of their South Carolina modifications has not been read for it; confirm the edition with the Building Division. The Council's list of approved local modifications carries no modification for Fairfield County. The one South Carolina change to the roofing chapter of the 2021 edition replaces the drip-edge section: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of asphalt shingle roofs where required by the manufacturer." (Reg. 8-1228, IRC Section R905.2.8.5.) Apart from Section 6-34(f)'s limit on replacing part of a roof covering, the County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) contains no roofing provision of its own.
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — Fairfield County Code Section 6-158(d) lists the inspections the building official makes "as applicable": a foundation inspection; a frame and roughing-in inspection "To be made after the roof, all framing, fire blocking and bracing is in place"; a mechanical inspection; and a final inspection "To be made upon completion of all work", together with "such other inspections as may be necessary". None is a mid-roof, deck or underlayment inspection for a reroof, and the County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) sets no roof inspection of its own. The County's fee schedule says its roofing permit fee "Includes required inspections" without listing them; ask the Building Division which inspections it will schedule for your job.
Repair permit threshold
Fairfield County Code Section 6-136(a) requires any owner, authorized agent or contractor who desires to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" to "first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit therefor." Section 6-136(c) provides: "Ordinary minor repairs may be made with the approval of the building official without a permit; provided that such repairs shall not violate any of the provisions of this chapter." The code does not define ordinary minor repairs or set a dollar or area limit for them, and roofing is a named permit category: the County's 2025 Community Development Fee Schedule prices "Residential Specialty: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, and Gas Permits" at a "$50 permit fee – Includes required inspections" for work valued at $0 to $10,000, and "$50 permit fee for the first $10,000 plus $5 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof" from $10,001 to $50,000, and the County's Building Permit Application lists "Re-Roof" among its characteristics of work. Ask the Building Division before treating any roof repair as permit-free. Separately, Section 6-34(f) provides that repairs restoring a building "may be made with the same kind of materials as those of which the building is constructed; but not more than 25 percent of the roof covering of a building shall be replaced in any period of 12 months, unless the entire roof covering is made to conform with the requirements of this chapter for new buildings." The cost of starting without a permit: "Where work for which a permit is required by this chapter is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining the permit, the fees shall be doubled" (Section 6-157(a)); the fee schedule lists "Working Without a Permit" at "Double the price of the permit not acquired".
Wind design criteria
South Carolina's modification to IRC Section R301.2.1 (Reg. 8-1202) provides: "Buildings and portions thereof shall be constructed in accordance with the previously published maps by the South Carolina Building Codes Council. The local building official may delineate the wind design category within their jurisdiction provided that it does not surpass those provided on the Applied Technology Council (ATC) website." The Council states that its county maps for the 2021 code cycle, based on the 2015 International Residential Code, "are intended to be the primary source for defining the appropriate boundaries for wind and seismic design in South Carolina for single- and two-family dwellings." The Council's Fairfield County map states: "Fairfield County is totally within the 115 MPH Wind Speed", and it draws a line dividing Seismic Design Category B from Seismic Design Category C near the County's western edge. The same state modification provides: "Asphalt shingles shall be designed for wind speeds in accordance with Section R905.2.4."
Roof layer limit / recover
The International Residential Code's reroofing section bars a recover in the same terms in the 2015, 2018 and 2021 editions, Section R908.3.1.1 (headed "Roof re-cover not allowed" in 2015 and "Roof recover not allowed" in 2018 and 2021): a roof recover is not permitted "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering", where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing, or where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. One existing layer may be recovered once; a roof that already has two layers must be torn off. The South Carolina modifications to the 2021 edition do not change the reroofing section, and Fairfield County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) adds no reroofing rule of its own. The County's own documents name different editions (2015 in its codified chapter, 2018 on its current permit application), while state law makes the 2021 edition with South Carolina modifications the state residential code for permits applied for before January 1, 2027; all three editions carry the same recover limit. The South Carolina modifications to the 2015 and 2018 editions have not been read for this record.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Fairfield County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) contains no roof sheathing provision of its own, and the South Carolina modifications to the 2021 International Residential Code do not amend the roof sheathing provisions (Section R803), so the base IRC roof sheathing provisions apply without local change. The County's codified chapter names the 2015 edition and its current permit application names the 2018 edition, while state law makes the 2021 edition with South Carolina modifications the state residential code for permits applied for before January 1, 2027; confirm the edition with the Building Division.
Sales & use tax
7% in unincorporated Fairfield County: 6% state sales tax plus the Fairfield County Local Option tax (code 1020), per SCDOR form ST-575, South Carolina Sales Tax Rate by Municipality (Rev. 2/5/26); ST-575 gives the same 7% total for the Towns of Jenkinsville, Ridgeway and Winnsboro and the Fairfield County part of Blythewood. South Carolina taxes the roofer, not the homeowner's contract: Reg. 117-314.2 provides that "Building materials when purchased by builders, contractors, or landowners for use in adding to, repairing or altering real property are subject to either the sales or use tax at the time of purchase by such builder, contractor, or landowner", and its list of building materials names "roofing materials". Repair and replacement work are treated alike.

More roof permit pages in South Carolina

Unincorporated Florence County, SCRoof permit Unincorporated Georgetown County, SCRoof permit Unincorporated Greenville County, SCRoof permit Unincorporated Greenwood County, SCRoof permit Unincorporated Horry County, SCRoof permit Roofing in South CarolinaState hub

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Denver-Metro Roofing Permits Filing a Hail Insurance Claim Colorado Hail Season Prep Hiring a Contractor

The Building Division of Fairfield County Community Development (the Planning, Building, and Zoning Office) lists among its key tasks to "Conduct plan review", "Issue building permits" and "Inspect all building activity". The County's construction codes chapter applies "to the unincorporated areas of the county and those municipalities which make an agreement with the county council to be regulated by the terms of this chapter." The County publishes a contact sheet stating that the Town of Winnsboro's building inspector issues building permits in the Town, so confirm with the County before applying for work inside any town's limits.

Hail reports near the center of Fairfield County, SC

Reports, last 24 months
0
Largest, last 24 months
None
Most recent
None in 24 months
Reports, last 5 years
3
3 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
Jun 23, 20221.00 in3 mi WNW
Jun 23, 20220.70 in5 mi WNW
May 3, 20221.00 in10 mi W

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 the center of Fairfield County, SC. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

Working an insurance claim in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC? Everything on this page (drip edge, ice & water shield, inspections, Class 4 rules) formatted as a claim-ready evidence pack: verbatim ordinance quotes, code section cites, verification dates, and official source links, ready to attach to a supplement. See a real sample pack (PDF, 4 pages, free).

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Sources

Roofing questions: Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC. Fairfield County Code Section 6-136(a) requires any owner, authorized agent or contractor who desires to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" to "first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit therefor." Section 6-136(c) provides: "Ordinary minor repairs may be made with the approval of the building official without a permit; provided that such repairs shall not violate any of the provisions of this chapter." The code does not define ordinary minor repairs or set a dollar or area limit for them, and roofing is a named permit category: the County's 2025 Community Development Fee Schedule prices "Residential Specialty: Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, and Gas Permits" at a "$50 permit fee – Includes required inspections" for work valued at $0 to $10,000, and "$50 permit fee for the first $10,000 plus $5 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof" from $10,001 to $50,000, and the County's Building Permit Application lists "Re-Roof" among its characteristics of work. Ask the Building Division before treating any roof repair as permit-free. Separately, Section 6-34(f) provides that repairs restoring a building "may be made with the same kind of materials as those of which the building is constructed; but not more than 25 percent of the roof covering of a building shall be replaced in any period of 12 months, unless the entire roof covering is made to conform with the requirements of this chapter for new buildings." The cost of starting without a permit: "Where work for which a permit is required by this chapter is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining the permit, the fees shall be doubled" (Section 6-157(a)); the fee schedule lists "Working Without a Permit" at "Double the price of the permit not acquired".

Can you roof over an existing roof in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC?

The International Residential Code's reroofing section bars a recover in the same terms in the 2015, 2018 and 2021 editions, Section R908.3.1.1 (headed "Roof re-cover not allowed" in 2015 and "Roof recover not allowed" in 2018 and 2021): a roof recover is not permitted "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering", where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing, or where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. One existing layer may be recovered once; a roof that already has two layers must be torn off. The South Carolina modifications to the 2021 edition do not change the reroofing section, and Fairfield County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) adds no reroofing rule of its own. The County's own documents name different editions (2015 in its codified chapter, 2018 on its current permit application), while state law makes the 2021 edition with South Carolina modifications the state residential code for permits applied for before January 1, 2027; all three editions carry the same recover limit. The South Carolina modifications to the 2015 and 2018 editions have not been read for this record.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC?

Yes.

What building code does Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC use?

Fairfield County Code Section 6-222 (Ord. No. 431, 6-28-2002; Ord. No. 684, 8-28-2017) adopts the "International Residential Code for One and Two-Family Dwellings, 2015 Edition including Appendixes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J and L" as "the mandatory residential building code" for one- and two-family dwellings within the jurisdiction of the County, and Section 6-221 lists the "International Residential Code, 2015 Edition with S.C. modifications"; the County's online code is codified through Ordinance No. 701, adopted June 25, 2018. The County's own statements of which edition it enforces differ. The Building Division page describes its mission as "the enforcement of the code and standards prepared by the state of South Carolina". The Building Permit Application revised 8/1/2024, linked from that page, states that the office "adheres to all requirements as set forth in the 2018 IBC and IRC code regulations". An earlier application revised 8/01/2023, still posted on the County's forms page, states that it "adheres to all requirements as set forth in the Current South Carolina IBC and IRC code regulations." At the state level, S.C. Code Section 6-9-10(A) requires every county to enforce the building codes the Building Codes Council adopts and provides that "The municipality or county shall enforce only the national building and safety codes provided in this chapter." The 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications (S.C. Code of Regulations 8-1200 et seq.) is the mandatory state residential code for permits applied for before January 1, 2027, the date the Building Codes Council set for local jurisdictions to implement the 2024 edition with South Carolina modifications (State Register Vol. 50, Issue 5, May 22, 2026). This record does not decide which edition applies to a given permit, and the text of the 2015 and 2018 editions and of their South Carolina modifications has not been read for it; confirm the edition with the Building Division. The Council's list of approved local modifications carries no modification for Fairfield County. The one South Carolina change to the roofing chapter of the 2021 edition replaces the drip-edge section: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of asphalt shingle roofs where required by the manufacturer." (Reg. 8-1228, IRC Section R905.2.8.5.) Apart from Section 6-34(f)'s limit on replacing part of a roof covering, the County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) contains no roofing provision of its own.

Is a mid-roof inspection required in Unincorporated Fairfield County, SC?

No. Fairfield County Code Section 6-158(d) lists the inspections the building official makes "as applicable": a foundation inspection; a frame and roughing-in inspection "To be made after the roof, all framing, fire blocking and bracing is in place"; a mechanical inspection; and a final inspection "To be made upon completion of all work", together with "such other inspections as may be necessary". None is a mid-roof, deck or underlayment inspection for a reroof, and the County's building chapter (Chapter 6, read in full) sets no roof inspection of its own. The County's fee schedule says its roofing permit fee "Includes required inspections" without listing them; ask the Building Division which inspections it will schedule for your job.