The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Town of Fort Mill - Building & Codes Department

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Fort Mill, SC?

Adopted code

Town of Fort Mill - Building & Codes Department

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Fort Mill, SC, issued by Town of Fort Mill - Building & Codes Department. Every roofing job in Fort Mill, repair or replacement, needs a building permit first: "A Valid Building Permit is required prior to any repairs or installation of roofing material being performed." Working without one carries "$500 per occurrence for each violation" under the Town's Roofing Requirements sheet, and a permit taken out after work has started costs double. Use the Town's Residential Building/Zoning Permit Application with "Roofing" checked, the contract value and the contractor's South Carolina licence number and classification. The Permitting page says the contractor applying comes to Town Hall, 205 N. White St., where "you will be asked to present appropriate town and state licenses, pay for your permits, and will be able to leave with your permit in hand"; a Town business licence application is submitted with the permit application unless the contractor already holds one. State law requires the permit office to see evidence of the contractor's Residential Builders Commission registration or licence, or of an exemption, before it issues the permit. The roof is closed out on photographs submitted for the final inspection: email the deck, underlayment, boots, flashing, drip edge and completed-roof photos to the Town's inspections desk with the lot number, address, permit number, inspection type, contractor and contact number. Building & Codes, 803-547-2034.

Roof code checklist: Fort Mill, SC

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofYesfortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
Repair permit thresholdPublishedfortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
Layer limit / roof-overPublishedR908.3.1.1codes.iccsafe.org2026-09-26
Deck & sheathingPublishedR803fortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionYesfortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNofortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
Wind design criteriaPublishedR301.2.1llr.sc.gov2026-09-26
Adopted codePublishedSec. 6-26fortmillsc.gov2026-09-26
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
Town of Fort Mill, South Carolina
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
205 N. White St., Fort Mill, SC 29715
Contact
  • url: https://www.fortmillsc.gov/161/Building-Codes
  • phone: 803-547-2034
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, including all accessories, flashing, valleys, gravel stops and roof insulation panels above the roof deck." 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 cost of an undertaking for an individual property owner "exceeds five thousand dollars, the residential specialty contractor must obtain an executed bond" (Section 40-59-220(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 he is either licensed or registered in accordance with this chapter or exempt from the requirements of this chapter" (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 family's own occupancy and not for sale or rent, and Section 40-59-270 states that the chapter "does not apply to a person licensed under Chapter 11" for that work.
  • city_level: The Town of Fort Mill sets no contractor licence or registration of its own; it requires the state credential. Its Roofing Requirements sheet (Residential, 2021 IRC, formatted January 1, 2023) states: "All Roofing Contractors must be registered SCLLR as one of the following: a. Specialty Roofing Contractor b. SC Residential Builder c. SC General Contractor". The same sheet states: "All Contractors must have privilege License issued by the Town of Fort Mill (This includes all 1099 Sub-Contractors who are working for the primary Roofing Contractor)". That Town business licence is a tax licence, not a trade credential; the Town's FAQ says "All workers of all types must have a Town of Fort Mill business license" and "the Town of Fort Mill does not issue any state licenses, only Town of Fort Mill business licenses." The Town's Residential Building/Zoning Permit Application asks for the contractor's "SC License #", "SC License Classification" and "SC License Limitation". A homeowner permit under Section 40-59-260 requires the Town's Owner/Builder Disclosure Statement, filed with the York County register of deeds; "Verification that this step has been completed must be provided to the Town of Fort Mill prior to issuance of the permit for this project."
Permit process note
Every roofing job in Fort Mill, repair or replacement, needs a building permit first: "A Valid Building Permit is required prior to any repairs or installation of roofing material being performed." Working without one carries "$500 per occurrence for each violation" under the Town's Roofing Requirements sheet, and a permit taken out after work has started costs double. Use the Town's Residential Building/Zoning Permit Application with "Roofing" checked, the contract value and the contractor's South Carolina licence number and classification. The Permitting page says the contractor applying comes to Town Hall, 205 N. White St., where "you will be asked to present appropriate town and state licenses, pay for your permits, and will be able to leave with your permit in hand"; a Town business licence application is submitted with the permit application unless the contractor already holds one. State law requires the permit office to see evidence of the contractor's Residential Builders Commission registration or licence, or of an exemption, before it issues the permit. The roof is closed out on photographs submitted for the final inspection: email the deck, underlayment, boots, flashing, drip edge and completed-roof photos to the Town's inspections desk with the lot number, address, permit number, inspection type, contractor and contact number. Building & Codes, 803-547-2034.
Inspection requirements
Inspection requests go by email to the Town or through the Town's online inspection request form; requests received by 3 p.m. are completed the following business day. For a reroof the Town reviews photographs of the roof deck with felt before shingles, new roof boots, ice and water shield if required, new flashings, metal drip edge and the completed roof, and closes the permit once the photos are approved. A Town of Fort Mill permit must be on site during construction.
Adopted code
The Town of Fort Mill's Codes & Ordinances page lists the "2021 South Carolina Residential Code" among the building codes the Town enforces. Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (adopted December 12, 2022, effective January 1, 2023, read in full) rewrote Section 6-26 of the Town Code to adopt "The International Residential Code, including state adopted modifications as promulgated by the International Code Council and in the version most recently adopted by the State of South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Building Codes Council", including Chapter 1 (Scope and Administration) and Appendix I (Patio Covers), to "become effective within the Town of Fort Mill on the date specified as the effective date by the State of South Carolina." Its only amendments to the residential code insert the Town's name in Section R101.1, provide that the completed Table R301.2 "shall be maintained and kept on record with the town's building official", and set sewer depths in Section P2603.5.1. The Town's online Code of Ordinances is codified only through 2013 and still prints the earlier Section 6-26 naming the 2012 edition; the Town lists Ordinance No. 2022-34 as pending inclusion. At the state level, S.C. Code Section 6-9-10(A) requires every municipality 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); the Town has published a Building Codes & Standards policy with an effective date of January 1, 2027 listing the 2024 International Residential Code with SC modifications. The Council's list of approved local modifications carries none for Fort Mill. The one South Carolina change to the roofing chapter 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.) The Town's Roofing Requirements sheet states "Per 2021 IRC R905.2.8.5: Metal drip edge is required at all roof edges per code. See SC Code Modification IRC 2021-40." and quotes the same South Carolina text, and its final-inspection photographs include the "metal drip edge".
Mid-roof inspection
Required — Fort Mill documents the in-progress stages of a reroof by photographs submitted for the final inspection; its Roofing Requirements sheet names no separate in-progress site visit. Under "Final Inspection Process" it states: "Photos are REQUIRED of roof deck (w/felt before installing shingles) roof penetration (new roof boots), Ice and Water Shield (If required), new roof flashings, metal drip edge and photos of newly completed roof. Once the photos had been reviewed and approved the permit will be Finalized and closed out". The photos are emailed to the Town with the inspection request. Take the deck and underlayment photos before shingles go on; they cannot be taken afterwards. The Town's list of residential inspections names no separate roofing inspection and refers to the Roofing Requirements document "for special requirements related to the final roof inspection process."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (adopting the International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications, read in full) nor the Town's building chapter (Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, read in full) nor the South Carolina modifications to the 2021 International Residential Code amends the roofing chapter's impact provisions, and the Building Codes Council lists no approved modification for Fort Mill; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the Town's adopted code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
None: the Town sets no dollar, area or percentage line below which roof work is exempt. Its Roofing Requirements sheet states: "A Valid Building Permit is required prior to any repairs or installation of roofing material being performed." and "Fines are $500 per occurrence for each violation." The Building & Codes FAQ lists "Re-roofing, new siding, or replacement windows" among the projects that require permits and "Roofing" among building permits, and the Residential Building/Zoning Permit Application carries a "Roofing" type of work. Under Town Code Section 6-5 and the FY 2024-25 Building Fees schedule, where work begins before a required permit is obtained, "the building permit fees shall be doubled". Building permit fees are set by valuation: $25.00 for $1,000 and under, and $25.00 for the first $1,000 plus $6.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof from $1,001 to $50,000, the valuation being the greater of the contract price on the application or the ICC square-foot cost table value.
Wind design criteria
115 mph. The South Carolina Building Codes Council's wind and seismic map list for the 2021 code cycle states for York County, in which Fort Mill lies: "Entire County is Seismic Category: B; Wind Category: 115mph." The Council describes these county maps as "based on the 2015 International Residential Code" and as "the primary source for defining the appropriate boundaries for wind and seismic design in South Carolina for single- and two-family dwellings". South Carolina's modification of IRC Section R301.2.1 (Reg. 8-1202) provides that buildings "shall be constructed in accordance with the previously published maps by the South Carolina Building Codes Council" and that "Asphalt shingles shall be designed for wind speeds in accordance with Section R905.2.4." Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 provides that the completed Table R301.2 "shall be maintained and kept on record with the town's building official"; the Town has not published it online. The Town's Roofing Requirements sheet states: "Per 2021 IRC Table R905.2.4.1: Asphalt shingles shall be tested in accordance with the following: a. ASTM D 7158 - Classification D,G OR H b. ASTM D 3161 - Classification A,D OR F".
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers maximum. The 2021 International Residential Code, Section R908.3.1.1 Roof recover not allowed, bars a roof recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering", as well as where the existing roof or covering is water soaked or deteriorated to the point it is not an adequate base, or is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. The South Carolina modifications to the 2021 Residential Code do not change the reroofing section, and neither Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (read in full) nor the Town's building chapter (Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, read in full) adds a reroofing rule of its own, so the base rule applies unmodified.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Fort Mill applies the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications. Neither Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (read in full) nor the Town's building chapter (Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, read in full) nor the South Carolina modifications amend the roof sheathing provisions (Section R803), so the base IRC provisions on roof sheathing apply unmodified. The Town's Roofing Requirements sheet asks for a photograph of the "roof deck (w/felt before installing shingles)" at the final inspection.
Sales & use tax
7% in the Town of Fort Mill: 6% state sales tax plus the 1% York County Capital Projects tax (code 1046), per SCDOR form ST-575, South Carolina Sales Tax Rate by Municipality (Rev. 2/5/26), which lists Fort Mill in York County at a 7% total tax rate. 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", and its list of building materials names "roofing materials". Repair and replacement work are treated alike.

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The Building and Codes Department of the Town of Fort Mill provides building plan reviews and building inspections and issues building permits, including roofing permits, for work inside the town limits of Fort Mill in York County. Permits are issued at Town Hall, where the contractor presents the required town and state licences and pays for the permit.

Hail reports near Fort Mill, SC

Reports, last 24 months
4
Largest, last 24 months
1.25 in May 8, 2025
Most recent
Jun 25, 2025 0.75 in
Reports, last 5 years
13
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
Jun 25, 20250.75 in5 mi E
May 8, 20251.25 in10 mi WNW
May 8, 20251.25 in1 mi SSE
May 8, 20251.25 in8 mi SW
Apr 20, 20241.00 in8 mi SSW

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 Fort Mill, SC (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Fort Mill, SC

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Fort Mill, SC?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Fort Mill, SC. None: the Town sets no dollar, area or percentage line below which roof work is exempt. Its Roofing Requirements sheet states: "A Valid Building Permit is required prior to any repairs or installation of roofing material being performed." and "Fines are $500 per occurrence for each violation." The Building & Codes FAQ lists "Re-roofing, new siding, or replacement windows" among the projects that require permits and "Roofing" among building permits, and the Residential Building/Zoning Permit Application carries a "Roofing" type of work. Under Town Code Section 6-5 and the FY 2024-25 Building Fees schedule, where work begins before a required permit is obtained, "the building permit fees shall be doubled". Building permit fees are set by valuation: $25.00 for $1,000 and under, and $25.00 for the first $1,000 plus $6.00 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof from $1,001 to $50,000, the valuation being the greater of the contract price on the application or the ICC square-foot cost table value.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Fort Mill, SC?

Two layers maximum. The 2021 International Residential Code, Section R908.3.1.1 Roof recover not allowed, bars a roof recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering", as well as where the existing roof or covering is water soaked or deteriorated to the point it is not an adequate base, or is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. The South Carolina modifications to the 2021 Residential Code do not change the reroofing section, and neither Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (read in full) nor the Town's building chapter (Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, read in full) adds a reroofing rule of its own, so the base rule applies unmodified.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Fort Mill, SC?

Yes.

What building code does Fort Mill, SC use?

The Town of Fort Mill's Codes & Ordinances page lists the "2021 South Carolina Residential Code" among the building codes the Town enforces. Town Ordinance No. 2022-34 (adopted December 12, 2022, effective January 1, 2023, read in full) rewrote Section 6-26 of the Town Code to adopt "The International Residential Code, including state adopted modifications as promulgated by the International Code Council and in the version most recently adopted by the State of South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Building Codes Council", including Chapter 1 (Scope and Administration) and Appendix I (Patio Covers), to "become effective within the Town of Fort Mill on the date specified as the effective date by the State of South Carolina." Its only amendments to the residential code insert the Town's name in Section R101.1, provide that the completed Table R301.2 "shall be maintained and kept on record with the town's building official", and set sewer depths in Section P2603.5.1. The Town's online Code of Ordinances is codified only through 2013 and still prints the earlier Section 6-26 naming the 2012 edition; the Town lists Ordinance No. 2022-34 as pending inclusion. At the state level, S.C. Code Section 6-9-10(A) requires every municipality 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); the Town has published a Building Codes & Standards policy with an effective date of January 1, 2027 listing the 2024 International Residential Code with SC modifications. The Council's list of approved local modifications carries none for Fort Mill. The one South Carolina change to the roofing chapter 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.) The Town's Roofing Requirements sheet states "Per 2021 IRC R905.2.8.5: Metal drip edge is required at all roof edges per code. See SC Code Modification IRC 2021-40." and quotes the same South Carolina text, and its final-inspection photographs include the "metal drip edge".

Is a mid-roof inspection required in Fort Mill, SC?

Yes. Fort Mill documents the in-progress stages of a reroof by photographs submitted for the final inspection; its Roofing Requirements sheet names no separate in-progress site visit. Under "Final Inspection Process" it states: "Photos are REQUIRED of roof deck (w/felt before installing shingles) roof penetration (new roof boots), Ice and Water Shield (If required), new roof flashings, metal drip edge and photos of newly completed roof. Once the photos had been reviewed and approved the permit will be Finalized and closed out". The photos are emailed to the Town with the inspection request. Take the deck and underlayment photos before shingles go on; they cannot be taken afterwards. The Town's list of residential inspections names no separate roofing inspection and refers to the Roofing Requirements document "for special requirements related to the final roof inspection process."