Permitting Authorities / Greenville County - Building Safety and Code Enforcement
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Greenville County, SC?
Adopted codeGreenville County - Building Safety and Code Enforcement
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Unincorporated Greenville County, SC, issued by Greenville County - Building Safety and Code Enforcement. Greenville County charges a separate Residential Roofing Permit ($108.00 on its Residential Permit Fees schedule when read on September 26, 2026). All permits must be submitted through the County's eTRAKiT online system, and every application needs "either the tax map number or an active permit number for the site." Where a contractor does the work, the application "must be submitted, signed and picked up by the contractor (SC license holder)", with a copy of the contractor's state registration or certification pocket card; state law bars the permit office from issuing a permit for work that requires Residential Builders Commission registration or licensure without that evidence or proof of an exemption. An owner doing the work under the owner-builder exemption must submit a notarized, recorded Owner Builder Disclosure Statement. Starting work early costs double: the County's residential code provides that "Any person who commences any work on a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits shall be subject to an additional fee equal to the permit fee established by the jurisdiction, that shall be in addition to the required permit fees." This office permits unincorporated Greenville County; the County's Annexation Notice states that "After a property has been annexed by a municipality, permits must be secured through that municipality." Confirm the property's jurisdiction with the Department at 864-467-7060.
Roof code checklist: Unincorporated Greenville County, SC
| Item | Answer | Code cite | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permit to replace a roof | Yes | ResidentialPermitFees.pdf | 2026-09-26 | |
| Repair permit threshold | Published | ResidentialPermitFees.pdf | 2026-09-26 | |
| Layer limit / roof-over | Published | R908.3.1.1 | codes.iccsafe.org | 2026-09-26 |
| Deck & sheathing | Published | R803 | Building Codes Ordinance.pdf | 2026-09-26 |
| Drip edge | Not published | |||
| Ice & water shield | No | Building Codes Ordinance.pdf | 2026-09-26 | |
| Mid-roof inspection | Not published | |||
| Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofing | No | Building Codes Ordinance.pdf | 2026-09-26 | |
| Wind design criteria | Published | R301.2.1 | Building Codes Ordinance.pdf | 2026-09-26 |
| Adopted code | Published | Sec. 6-9-10 | Building Codes Ordinance.pdf | 2026-09-26 |
| Contractor license / registration | Yes | scstatehouse.gov | 2026-09-26 | |
| Sales & use tax | Published | ST575.pdf | 2026-09-26 |
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
Greenville County, South Carolina (unincorporated)
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
301 University Ridge, Greenville County Square, Suite S-3100, Greenville, SC 29601
Contact
- url: https://www.greenvillecounty.org/buildingsafety/Permits.aspx
- phone: 864-467-7060
Permit portal
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.
- county_level: Greenville County's permitting page states: "If a contractor is doing the work, the application must be submitted, signed and picked up by the contractor (SC license holder)." It adds that "A South Carolina State Specialty Contractor will need a Copy of State Registration (pocket card)", and that "All residential rental properties require work to be completed by a South Carolina licensed contractor." An owner doing the work may apply as an owner/builder where "Applicant is the owner", "Ownership is by the individual", "Use is specifically by the owner" and the property "is not for sale or lease or is used as a rental", and must submit "a notarized, recorded Owner Builder Disclosure Statement". That Greenville County form tells the owner: "You have applied for a permit under an exemption to that law. The exemption allows you, as the owner of your property, to act as your own builder even though you do not have a license." It carries a $25.00 filing fee to record it with the Register of Deeds. The County's 2021 building codes ordinance creates no County contractor licence or registration of its own.
Permit process note
Greenville County charges a separate Residential Roofing Permit ($108.00 on its Residential Permit Fees schedule when read on September 26, 2026). All permits must be submitted through the County's eTRAKiT online system, and every application needs "either the tax map number or an active permit number for the site." Where a contractor does the work, the application "must be submitted, signed and picked up by the contractor (SC license holder)", with a copy of the contractor's state registration or certification pocket card; state law bars the permit office from issuing a permit for work that requires Residential Builders Commission registration or licensure without that evidence or proof of an exemption. An owner doing the work under the owner-builder exemption must submit a notarized, recorded Owner Builder Disclosure Statement. Starting work early costs double: the County's residential code provides that "Any person who commences any work on a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits shall be subject to an additional fee equal to the permit fee established by the jurisdiction, that shall be in addition to the required permit fees." This office permits unincorporated Greenville County; the County's Annexation Notice states that "After a property has been annexed by a municipality, permits must be secured through that municipality." Confirm the property's jurisdiction with the Department at 864-467-7060.
Adopted code
Greenville County Council adopted at third reading on April 18, 2023 an ordinance that repeals Ordinance No. 5147 and adopts by reference the 2021 South Carolina building codes with County revisions to their administrative chapters. For houses it adopts the "South Carolina Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings – 2021 Edition, together with the following Chapter 1 Section revisions and the addition of Appendix F and Appendix Q" (Radon Control Methods and Tiny Houses), and it also adopts the 2021 International Existing Building Code and the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. The County's residential revisions cover the code's title, submittal documents, fees, work begun before a permit, the board of appeals, violation penalties and stop work orders, a sewer depth rule and the County's own Table R301.2(1); none of them touches the roofing chapter. The copy the County publishes is the unsigned third-reading copy from the Council agenda, and the Council's minutes of April 18, 2023 record that the motion to adopt it at third reading "carried unanimously." The Building Safety office's Current Adopted Codes list (Effective January 1, 2023, revised November 11, 2025) names the 2021 "South Carolina Residential Code" for "One and Two Family Dwellings", "Including Appendix F (Radon Controls), and Appendix Q (Tiny Houses)" as the "IRC with South Carolina Modifications". 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). The Council's list of approved local modifications carries one item for Greenville County, 2021 International Residential Code Appendix AF, Radon Control Methods, and no roofing modification. 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.)
Ice & water shield
Not required — Greenville County's own Table R301.2(1), adopted in the County's 2021 residential code ordinance, reads "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required No" (with a winter design temperature of 22 degrees F). The South Carolina modifications to the 2021 International Residential Code make no change to the ice barrier provisions. About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither Greenville County's 2021 building codes ordinance (adopting the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code with County revisions to its administrative chapter, its own Table R301.2(1) and Appendices F and Q) nor the South Carolina modifications to the 2021 International Residential Code amends the roofing chapter's impact provisions, and the Building Codes Council's only approved local modification for the County is the radon appendix; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the County's adopted code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
Greenville County prices roof work as its own permit. Its Residential Permit Fees schedule, linked from the Building Safety permitting page and read on September 26, 2026, lists "Residential Roofing Permit $108.00" among its miscellaneous permit fees, apart from the valuation table it applies to "Renovations, alterations, and swimming pools". The County's 2021 residential code ordinance revises no part of the adopted code's section on work exempt from permit, and the County publishes no square footage, dollar or percentage line below which roof repair needs no permit. Its permitting page states that "Any new construction, addition or alteration of existing residential or commercial structures" requires a permit, and that any owner or agent "who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" must "first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit." The same page notes that residential and commercial permit fees increased by 20 percent starting July 1, 2025.
Wind design criteria
Greenville County's own Table R301.2(1), adopted in the County's 2021 residential code ordinance, lists Wind Speed 115 mph, Topographic Effects No, Special Wind Region No and Wind-borne Debris Zone No. The South Carolina modification to Section R301.2.1 (Reg. 8-1202) provides that "Asphalt shingles shall be designed for wind speeds in accordance with Section R905.2.4" and "Metal roof shingles shall be designed for wind speeds in accordance with Section R905.4.4." The Building Codes Council's page of approved county wind and seismic maps for the 2021 code cycle lists no map for Greenville County; it points to the ATC website "to determine the wind and seismic zones if a map has not been approved for that particular county."
Roof layer limit / recover
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 IRC do not change the reroofing section, and Greenville County's 2021 building codes ordinance, read in full, adds no reroofing rule of its own, so the base rule applies unmodified at the state layer. The County's codified Code of Ordinances, published only on a host that refused automated reads, was not read, so this record declares no local layer classification.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Greenville County applies the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications. Neither the County's 2021 building codes ordinance (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.
Sales & use tax
6% in unincorporated Greenville County and in the Greenville County portions of the municipalities the South Carolina Department of Revenue lists there (Fountain Inn, Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest): the 6% state sales tax with "No Local Tax Imposed", per SCDOR form ST-575, South Carolina Sales Tax Rate by Municipality (Rev. 2/5/26). 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.
More roof permit pages in South Carolina
Unincorporated Greenwood County, SCRoof permit
Unincorporated Horry County, SCRoof permit
Unincorporated Jasper County, SCRoof permit
Unincorporated Lancaster County, SCRoof permit
Unincorporated Laurens County, SCRoof permit
Roofing in South CarolinaState hub
Related guides
Greenville County Building Safety and Code Enforcement runs the County's Permit Center, which accepts and processes residential and commercial building permit applications, and its inspectors make the inspections on the permits it issues. Applications are submitted through the County's eTRAKiT online system. The County's Annexation Notice states that once a property has been annexed by a municipality, permits must be secured through that municipality and any existing County permit becomes void.
Hail reports near the center of Greenville County, SC
- Reports, last 24 months
- 3
- Largest, last 24 months
- 1.00 in Aug 11, 2026
- Most recent
- Aug 11, 2026 1.00 in
- Reports, last 5 years
- 17
| Date | Hail size | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | 1.00 in | 7 mi ENE |
| Jun 25, 2025 | 1.00 in | 1 mi NNE |
| Jun 25, 2025 | 0.88 in | 8 mi SSE |
| May 26, 2024 | 1.75 in | 4 mi ENE |
| May 26, 2024 | 1.75 in | 9 mi E |
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 Greenville County, SC. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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Sources
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- scstatehouse.gov verified 2026-09-26
- llr.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- greenvillecounty.org verified 2026-09-26
- scstatehouse.gov verified 2026-09-26
- llr.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- llr.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- llr.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- dor.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- scstatehouse.gov verified 2026-09-26
- llr.sc.gov verified 2026-09-26
- codes.iccsafe.org verified 2026-09-26