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Permitting Authorities / Tennessee / City of Gallatin, Tennessee - Building Codes Department

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Gallatin, TN?

Adopted code

City of Gallatin, Tennessee - Building Codes Department

The permitting authority for the City of Gallatin, Tennessee, the seat of Sumner County north-east of Nashville. Its Building Codes Department handles permits within the city limits, while Sumner County handles the unincorporated areas. Gallatin moved to the 2024 code editions in late 2024 and publishes the cutover date, which matters to anyone holding an older permit.

Roof code checklist: Gallatin, TN

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofNot published
Repair permit thresholdNot published
Layer limit / roof-overPublishedR908.3.1.1library.municode.com2026-08-28
Deck & sheathingNot published
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNot published
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNolibrary.municode.com2026-08-28
Wind design criteriaNot published
Adopted codePublishedgallatintn.gov2026-08-28
Contractor license / registrationYes0680-01.20251118.pdf2026-08-28
Sales & use taxPublishedtn.gov2026-08-28

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 Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
Gallatin, TN
Contact
  • url: https://www.gallatintn.gov/159/Building-Codes
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: TENNESSEE LICENSES ROOFING SPECIFICALLY, AND THE LICENCE IS REQUIRED BEFORE BIDDING RATHER THAN BEFORE STARTING WORK. Roofing is its own classification under the Board for Licensing Contractors - classification 21, "Roofing - includes gutters and vinyl siding." Rule 0680-01-.24(1) provides that "pursuant to T.C.A. section 62-6-102, a subcontractor is required to be licensed in order to perform electrical, plumbing, heating ventilation, air conditioning, and roofing work when the amount is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more ... including materials and labor." The Department of Commerce and Insurance states the timing plainly: a contractor licence is required "BEFORE bidding or offering a price, for projects $25,000 and up (includes materials and labor)" as a prime contractor, and roofing subcontractors have been required to be licensed "effective January 1, 2014." A roofer who quotes a job at or above that figure without a licence has already breached the requirement, whatever happens next. The threshold counts materials as well as labour, so a tear-off and replacement reaches it sooner than a labour-only figure suggests. A SECOND, COUNTY-LEVEL LICENCE MAY ALSO APPLY BELOW THAT THRESHOLD: rule 0680-07-.14 provides that "the legislative body of the county may, by two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, adopt the home improvement license law," and a county that has done so must notify the Board of the effective date. Whether this county has adopted it was not established here, so confirm it with the Board before pricing work under $25,000.
Adopted code
The City publishes its adopted codes as the 2024 International Building Code, 2024 International Residential Code, 2024 International Plumbing Code, 2024 International Mechanical Code, 2024 International Fire Code, 2024 International Existing Building Code, 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2024 International Fuel Gas Code and 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, together with the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. THE CUTOVER DATE IS PUBLISHED AND IS WORTH CHECKING ON ANY JOB THAT HAS BEEN OPEN A WHILE: the City states that the previous 2018 suite is the set "enforced if the building permit is pulled prior to 11/20/2024." Gallatin is therefore two editions ahead of the Tennessee statewide minimum, which is the 2018 International Residential Code. That is permitted and indeed encouraged by the state scheme, which bars a local government from adopting standards less stringent than the state minimum and requires its adopted edition to be within seven years of the latest published.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Gallatin imposes no impact-resistance or hail-rating requirement on roof coverings. Article III of Municipal Code Chapter 5, Building Standards, was read in full - the code adoption at section 5-56, the modifications at 5-57, the amendments to the International Building Code at 5-58 and to the International Residential Code at 5-59, and the sections that follow on violations, building across property lines, perimeter foundation enclosures and the swimming pool code. It contains no reference to UL 2218, to FM 4473, or to a Class 4 or Class IV impact classification, and no requirement of that kind in any other wording.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers maximum - one overlay is permitted, and a second existing layer requires a tear-off. Gallatin adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, and its local amendment list was read in full: Article III of Municipal Code Chapter 5 sets out the building standards, and section 5-59, Amendments to International Residential Code, contains exactly three items - a note that current permit fee schedules are available from the Building Codes Department, a change to the minimum fire separation distance in Table R302.1(1) from five feet to six feet with a footnote barring projections within three feet of a property line, and a replacement of the one- and two-family sprinkler section requiring residential sprinklers where the separation between structures is twelve feet or less. None of the three touches roofing, and there is no amendment to section R908 or to any part of the roof assemblies chapter. Section R908.3.1.1 of the 2024 International Residential Code provides that a roof recover shall not be permitted where any of three conditions occur, the third being "where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces removal. The other two conditions apply whatever the layer count: a covering that is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not an adequate base for additional roofing, and a covering of slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. TENNESSEE PUTS A FLOOR UNDER THIS THAT IS WORTH KNOWING: the statewide minimum for one- and two-family dwellings is the 2018 International Residential Code, and Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.12(2) provides that "no city, county, town, municipal corporation, metropolitan government, or political subdivision of the State of Tennessee shall adopt or enforce any ordinance prescribing less stringent standards ... than those established hereunder" without the state fire marshal's written approval. A Tennessee jurisdiction may therefore be stricter than the two-layer rule but cannot be more permissive than it.
Sales & use tax
9.75% in the City of Gallatin - the 7% Tennessee state sales tax plus the 2.75% local tax levied by the city. Tennessee sets the state rate and lets each county or incorporated city levy its own local tax on top: the Department of Revenue states that "any county or incorporated city, by resolution or ordinance, may levy the local sales and use tax on the same privileges that are subject to the state's sales or use tax," and that "the local tax rate may not be higher than 2.75% and must be a multiple of .25." THAT CAP IS WHY A CITY RATE IS NOT ADDED TO ITS COUNTY RATE: several Tennessee cities levy the full 2.75% while sitting in a county that levies less, and stacking the two would exceed the statutory maximum. Where an incorporated city has its own rate, that rate is the local rate inside the city; where it has none, the county rate applies. The figures here are from the Department of Revenue's own machine-readable rate file for the third quarter of 2026, which the Department publishes for use in tax calculation applications. Two points specific to Gallatin. Sumner County levies 2.25%, but the City of Gallatin levies the full 2.75% permitted by statute and the city rate applies inside the city, so a Gallatin job is half a point above the surrounding county. And the city rate is recent - the Department of Revenue records it as effective from March 1, 2025 - so any quote or contract prepared before that date used a different figure.

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Hail reports near Gallatin, TN

Reports, last 24 months
3
Largest, last 24 months
1.50 in Mar 30, 2025
Most recent
Apr 27, 2026 1.00 in
Reports, last 5 years
15
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
Apr 27, 20261.00 in6 mi ENE
May 16, 20250.75 in6 mi NE
Mar 30, 20251.50 in8 mi SE
May 22, 20240.75 in2 mi NW
May 8, 20241.00 in2 mi NW

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 Gallatin, TN (Census point). Data through Oct 7, 2026, not updated since. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Gallatin, TN

Can you roof over an existing roof in Gallatin, TN?

Two layers maximum - one overlay is permitted, and a second existing layer requires a tear-off. Gallatin adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, and its local amendment list was read in full: Article III of Municipal Code Chapter 5 sets out the building standards, and section 5-59, Amendments to International Residential Code, contains exactly three items - a note that current permit fee schedules are available from the Building Codes Department, a change to the minimum fire separation distance in Table R302.1(1) from five feet to six feet with a footnote barring projections within three feet of a property line, and a replacement of the one- and two-family sprinkler section requiring residential sprinklers where the separation between structures is twelve feet or less. None of the three touches roofing, and there is no amendment to section R908 or to any part of the roof assemblies chapter. Section R908.3.1.1 of the 2024 International Residential Code provides that a roof recover shall not be permitted where any of three conditions occur, the third being "where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces removal. The other two conditions apply whatever the layer count: a covering that is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not an adequate base for additional roofing, and a covering of slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. TENNESSEE PUTS A FLOOR UNDER THIS THAT IS WORTH KNOWING: the statewide minimum for one- and two-family dwellings is the 2018 International Residential Code, and Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-23-.12(2) provides that "no city, county, town, municipal corporation, metropolitan government, or political subdivision of the State of Tennessee shall adopt or enforce any ordinance prescribing less stringent standards ... than those established hereunder" without the state fire marshal's written approval. A Tennessee jurisdiction may therefore be stricter than the two-layer rule but cannot be more permissive than it.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Gallatin, TN?

Yes. TENNESSEE LICENSES ROOFING SPECIFICALLY, AND THE LICENCE IS REQUIRED BEFORE BIDDING RATHER THAN BEFORE STARTING WORK. Roofing is its own classification under the Board for Licensing Contractors - classification 21, "Roofing - includes gutters and vinyl siding." Rule 0680-01-.24(1) provides that "pursuant to T.C.A. section 62-6-102, a subcontractor is required to be licensed in order to perform electrical, plumbing, heating ventilation, air conditioning, and roofing work when the amount is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more ... including materials and labor." The Department of Commerce and Insurance states the timing plainly: a contractor licence is required "BEFORE bidding or offering a price, for projects $25,000 and up (includes materials and labor)" as a prime contractor, and roofing subcontractors have been required to be licensed "effective January 1, 2014." A roofer who quotes a job at or above that figure without a licence has already breached the requirement, whatever happens next. The threshold counts materials as well as labour, so a tear-off and replacement reaches it sooner than a labour-only figure suggests. A SECOND, COUNTY-LEVEL LICENCE MAY ALSO APPLY BELOW THAT THRESHOLD: rule 0680-07-.14 provides that "the legislative body of the county may, by two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, adopt the home improvement license law," and a county that has done so must notify the Board of the effective date. Whether this county has adopted it was not established here, so confirm it with the Board before pricing work under $25,000.

What building code does Gallatin, TN use?

The City publishes its adopted codes as the 2024 International Building Code, 2024 International Residential Code, 2024 International Plumbing Code, 2024 International Mechanical Code, 2024 International Fire Code, 2024 International Existing Building Code, 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2024 International Fuel Gas Code and 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, together with the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. THE CUTOVER DATE IS PUBLISHED AND IS WORTH CHECKING ON ANY JOB THAT HAS BEEN OPEN A WHILE: the City states that the previous 2018 suite is the set "enforced if the building permit is pulled prior to 11/20/2024." Gallatin is therefore two editions ahead of the Tennessee statewide minimum, which is the 2018 International Residential Code. That is permitted and indeed encouraged by the state scheme, which bars a local government from adopting standards less stringent than the state minimum and requires its adopted edition to be within seven years of the latest published.