Permitting Authorities / Guilford County - Inspections Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Guilford County, NC?
Adopted code
Guilford County - Inspections Department
No, Unincorporated Guilford County, NC does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Guilford County - Inspections Department). Under G.S. 160D-1110(c), "No permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves any of the following: (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." The state reroofing rule adds: "Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (North Carolina Residential Code R908.3, as amended). The exemption covers single-family houses only. Guilford County's fee schedule lists a "Roofing/Re-Roofing" permit ($100 for construction value $0 to $20,000; $150 over $20,000) without saying which jobs it applies to, so confirm with the Inspections Department (336-641-3707) whether your job requires one. Where a permit is needed, the County states that "All permits are to be applied for online utilizing the Civic Access public portal," and that a Development Clearance Certificate "must be obtained from the towns of Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Sedalia, Summerfield, and Whitsett, and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority (PTAA), prior to applying for any permit" for work in those areas. Contractors file a certificate of workers' compensation insurance or an exemption affidavit. The fee schedule lists a "Penalty Fee" of "Double permit fee," and a $50 daily civil penalty for "Failure to comply with Stop Work Order Without Permit" (Guilford County UDO Section 10.05(E)).
Roof code checklist: Unincorporated Guilford County, NC
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
Guilford County, North Carolina (unincorporated)
Address
Independence Center, 400 W. Market St., Greensboro, NC 27401
Contact
- url: https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/government/departments-and-agencies/inspections
- phone: 336-641-3707
Roofing permit required
Not required
Registration details
- state_level: North Carolina licenses general contractors by job size: a "general contractor" is one who undertakes construction "where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more" (G.S. 87-1(a)). The statute does not apply to a person who "constructs or alters a building on land owned by that person" where "the building is intended solely for occupancy by that person and his family" (G.S. 87-1(b)(2)). The Licensing Board for General Contractors recognises a roofing specialty classification, "S(Roofing)," which "covers the installation, demolition, and repair of roofs and decks on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional structures" (21 NCAC 12A .0202). Whether a particular reroof reaches the $40,000 line depends on the job's price, which this record cannot know.
- county_level: Guilford County's Inspections Department publishes no county roofing contractor licence or registration. Its permit guidance requires "A certificate of Workers' Compensation insurance or a completed affidavit of Workers' Compensation exemption form for contractors," an appointment of a lien agent "for projects costing $40,000 or more," and "A notarized Owner-Contractor Exemption Affidavit for projects costing $40,000 or more and where an owner is listed as the general contractor."
Permit process note
Under G.S. 160D-1110(c), "No permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves any of the following: (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." The state reroofing rule adds: "Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (North Carolina Residential Code R908.3, as amended). The exemption covers single-family houses only. Guilford County's fee schedule lists a "Roofing/Re-Roofing" permit ($100 for construction value $0 to $20,000; $150 over $20,000) without saying which jobs it applies to, so confirm with the Inspections Department (336-641-3707) whether your job requires one. Where a permit is needed, the County states that "All permits are to be applied for online utilizing the Civic Access public portal," and that a Development Clearance Certificate "must be obtained from the towns of Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Sedalia, Summerfield, and Whitsett, and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority (PTAA), prior to applying for any permit" for work in those areas. Contractors file a certificate of workers' compensation insurance or an exemption affidavit. The fee schedule lists a "Penalty Fee" of "Double permit fee," and a $50 daily civil penalty for "Failure to comply with Stop Work Order Without Permit" (Guilford County UDO Section 10.05(E)).
Adopted code
The 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (built on the 2015 International Residential Code) with the state's approved amendments is the edition in force; the 2024 edition has been adopted but has no effective date. North Carolina writes one building code for the whole state: "Except as otherwise provided in this section, the North Carolina State Building Code shall apply throughout the State, from the time of its adoption" (G.S. 143-138(e)), and a county may vary it only through a local variance approved by the state code council. Guilford County's Inspections Department states that "Residential one- or two-family dwellings and townhomes must comply with the provisions of the NC Residential Code," linking the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code, and that it "enforces the NC State Building Codes through inspections." North Carolina's approved amendment to the reroofing rules reads: "R908.3 Roof replacement. Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." The same amendment deletes the drip edge requirement: "R905.2.8.5 Drip Edge. Deleted. Not required unless required by the roof covering manufacturer installation instructions."
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — Guilford County's list of required inspections (temporary pole, footing, foundation, under slab, electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-in, framing, insulation, the three trade finals and the final building inspection) includes no in-progress roofing inspection. The County reserves the right to add inspections: "the Inspection Department may make or require any other inspections to ascertain compliance with this Code and General Statutes or Ordinances enforced by the Inspection Department."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither the North Carolina Residential Code's approved amendments (2017 to 2024) nor Guilford County's published permit, inspection and plan review guidance contains a UL 2218 or Class 4 impact-resistance requirement for roof coverings. North Carolina writes one building code for the whole state, and the County publishes no local amendment of its own.
Repair permit threshold
North Carolina law exempts most reroofs of a single-family house from a building permit: "No permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves any of the following: (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." (G.S. 160D-1110(c)). G.S. 143-138(b5) says the same and adds that "No permit shall be required under the Code or any local variance thereof approved under subsection (e)" for that work. The state's reroofing rule sets the structural line: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (North Carolina Residential Code R908.3, as amended). So a single-family reroof costing $40,000 or less, with deck replacement of no more than 15%, no load-bearing work and code-approved materials, falls inside the statute's exemption; a duplex or other multi-family building is outside it, as is a job over $40,000 or one that replaces more than 15% of the deck or any framing. Guilford County's Inspections Department fee schedule nevertheless carries a "Roofing/Re-Roofing" permit fee, "Construction Value $0 to $20,000" $100 and "Construction Value over $20,000" $150, and the schedule does not say which roofing jobs it prices. This record does not decide whether the County charges that fee for single-family reroofs inside the statutory exemption; ask the Inspections Department at 336-641-3707 before starting work.
Roof layer limit / recover
North Carolina amends the reroofing section of its residential code. Its R908.3 reads: "Roof replacement. Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." A roof replacement in North Carolina is therefore a tear-off to the deck. When a new covering may instead be laid over an existing one (a recover) is set by the recover provisions of the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code's reroofing section, which this record does not restate. Guilford County's published inspections, permit, inspection and plan review guidance states no local layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
North Carolina's reroofing rule allows limited deck work within a roof replacement: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (North Carolina Residential Code R908.3, as amended). Replacing more than 15% of the deck is structural work, which takes the job outside the state's permit exemption for single-family houses. The state's approved residential amendments (2017 to 2024) do not amend the roof sheathing section (R803), so the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code's roof sheathing provisions apply as printed; they are not restated here. Guilford County's plan review checklist for new homes and additions asks for "Roof sheathing type and thickness."
Sales & use tax
6.75% combined in Guilford County (4.75% state rate plus 2.00% local rate), as listed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue on its Current Sales and Use Tax Rates page, read September 26, 2026, where the county totals are stated as "4.75% state rate plus applicable local and transit rates." How it applies to a roofing job depends on the work. The Department's Services to Real Property Taxability Chart lists "Complete replacement of roofing systems" and "Installation of complete roofing systems" as capital improvements; on that work the roofer, as a real property contractor, "is the consumer of the item that the real property contractor purchases, installs, or applies for others to fulfill a real property contract," so the roofer pays sales or use tax on materials and does not charge sales tax to the homeowner. The same chart lists "Repair, maintain, or partially replace all types of roofing systems" and "Repair, maintain, install, or replace roofing materials (asphalt, shingle, slate, tile, built-up, metal, single ply)" as "Taxable" repair, maintenance and installation services, so the 6.75% combined rate is charged on the full sales price of that work. The chart says it gives the general treatment and "is not specific tax advice."
More roof permit pages in North Carolina
Related guides
The building permit and inspection office for unincorporated Guilford County, North Carolina. The Inspections Department issues building and trade permits, reviews plans and inspects work for the unincorporated county and, by contract, for the towns of Jamestown, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Sedalia, Stokesdale, Summerfield and Whitsett and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Greensboro and High Point run their own permitting.
Hail reports near the center of Guilford County, NC
- Reports, last 24 months
- 11
- Largest, last 24 months
- 2.00 in Mar 16, 2025
- Most recent
- Mar 16, 2025 2.00 in
- Reports, last 5 years
- 14
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 Guilford County, NC. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
Working an insurance claim in Unincorporated Guilford County, NC? 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).
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes.
Questions about the Unincorporated Guilford County, NC pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.