City of Indianapolis / Marion County, Indiana - Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (BNS), Construction Services

City of Indianapolis / Marion County, Indiana

city

1200 S Madison Ave, Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46225

Not required

Required

Permits are issued by the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, 1200 S Madison Ave, Suite 100, Indianapolis. Where a reroof does trigger a permit, it is a Structural Permit, and the city's Homeowner's Building Permit Guide states: "If no structural changes are occurring, the structural permit will be a Structural Renovation Permit and will not require any plans for review." Applications are filed on the Citizen's Access Portal or in person. A Structural Permit "requires the applicant to either be a licensed contractor or the property owner if they are completing the work themselves. If a property owner is pulling the permit, they must complete and sign a Statement of Intent and Understanding." Residential permit questions: (317) 327-8700 or [email protected]; inspections: (317) 327-5525 or [email protected]. Note that permits other than the structural permit can still attach to a roofing-adjacent project -- an Improvement Location Permit "could be required depending on scope," and a Flood Permit is "required when performing any structural work or land alteration in a flood zone."

STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Indianapolis has no authority to adopt a different residential building code: IC 22-13-2-3 makes the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission's building rules take precedence over "any ordinance or other regulation adopted by a political subdivision that covers the same subject matter," and subsection (c) provides that "A city, town, or county may not adopt an ordinance that conflicts with or includes more stringent or detailed requirements than the commission's rules." The operative residential rule is 675 IAC 14-4.4, the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, which adopts by reference "that certain document being titled the 2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings, first printing August 2017, published by the International Code Council ... save and except those revisions made in this rule" (675 IAC 14-4.4-1(a)-(b)), filed as Final Rule LSA Document #19-330(F) on 2019-11-26 and effective 2019-12-26, repealing the prior 675 IAC 14-4.3; the commission's 2025 Readoption Review (LSA Document #24-566) reaffirmed rather than superseded it. Indianapolis's own Homeowner's Building Permit Guide confirms local enforcement of that same code: "Unless noted, all references in the document use the 2020 Indiana Residential Code. Indiana Residential Code can be found on the Indiana Department of Homeland Security Website." On the edition label: the Adopted Codes page of that same Indianapolis guide lists the bullet "2020 International Residential Code (IRC)" -- the ICC has never published a 2020 edition of the IRC, and the guide names the code correctly on its introduction page, so this is a loose label for the 2020 Indiana Residential Code (2018 IRC base), not a different adopted edition.

Required — STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET -- applies identically in Indianapolis as everywhere else in Indiana, and unconditionally (unlike the ice barrier). 2018 IRC Section R905.2.8.5, carried into the 2020 Indiana Residential Code unamended: "Drip edge. A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs. Adjacent segments of drip edge shall be overlapped not less than 2 inches. Drip edges shall extend not less than 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and extend up back onto the roof deck not less than 2 inches. Drip edges shall be mechanically fastened to the roof deck at not more than 12 inches o.c. ... Underlayment shall be installed over the drip edge along eaves and under the drip edge along rake edges." Indiana's 675 IAC 14-4.4 amendment list touches only the adjacent flashing sections -- 675 IAC 14-4.4-85 deletes "approved" from R905.2.6 Attachment, -86 deletes "approved" from R905.2.8 Flashing, and -87 deletes "printed" from R905.2.8.4 Other flashing -- while R905.2.8.5 itself appears nowhere among Indiana's numbered amendment sections, so the base mandate stands in force. Indianapolis can neither opt out of it nor add to it (IC 22-13-2-3(c)).

Not required — Not categorically required in Marion County by the climatic table, but commonly required in practice by the manufacturer-instructions rule -- read both halves. STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Indiana's replacement Table R301.2(1) at 675 IAC 14-4.4-5 sets "Ice Shield Underlayment Required" to "No" for Marion County (unlike, for example, Allen County / Fort Wayne, where the same table says Yes), and Indianapolis's own Homeowner's Building Permit Guide reprints that "No" in its Marion County table row. The Indiana State Building Commissioner's guidance memo "Ice/Water Shield & Metal Drip Edge in Class 2 Construction with Asphalt Shingles" (2020-02-25) is explicit that two layers of rule combine: "there are specific counties in which it is always required (per Table R301.2(1)), and specific counties in which it is required only when the roofing manufacturer's written installation instructions require it (per Sections R903.1, R904.1 and R905.1)." Marion County is in the second group: the table does not mandate an ice barrier, but IRC R903.1/R904.1/R905.1 independently require roof coverings to be installed per the manufacturer's written installation instructions, and where those instructions call for an ice barrier in a central-Indiana climate it becomes mandatory on that job. Where an ice barrier is triggered, the unamended 2018 IRC R905.1.2 extent applies: "The ice barrier shall consist of not fewer than two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet ... and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. ... Exception: Detached accessory structures not containing conditioned floor area."

Not required — CITY-SPECIFIC inspection practice (permit administration and inspection scheduling are not preempted by the state code, which governs code content). Indianapolis BNS publishes its full required-inspection schedule in the Homeowner's Building Permit Guide, and there is no in-progress deck, underlayment, ice-barrier, or nail-pattern inspection anywhere in it. The structural list reads in its entirety: "Structural Inspections -- Foundation/Footing Inspection; Framing Inspection (The framing inspection must occur after the craft permit rough ins or at the same time.); Final Inspection." The guide adds the standard caveat, "Additional inspections may be required based on the individual projects. For specific questions, please contact the inspector for your district." Two practical consequences for reroofing: (1) the ordinary like-for-like reroof by a listed contractor carries no permit at all in Marion County and therefore no inspection; (2) where a permit IS triggered -- for example by replacement of a rafter or of more than 128 feet of decking -- the exposed structure would be seen at the Framing Inspection rather than at any roofing-specific mid-roof inspection. Where an inspection is required, BNS schedules on (317) 327-5525, responds within 48 business hours, and the final inspection is scheduled after the Certificate of Completion and Compliance is submitted.

Not required — STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Neither 675 IAC 14-4.4 (the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, adopting the 2018 IRC) nor its Indiana amendments impose a UL 2218 or Class 4 impact-resistance requirement on roof coverings, and Indianapolis's own Homeowner's Building Permit Guide contains no such requirement either. Indianapolis has no authority to add one by ordinance (IC 22-13-2-3(c)).

CITY-SPECIFIC, and the single most important Indianapolis-only fact on this record. A straight like-for-like reroof performed by a Marion County listed contractor is EXEMPT from the structural permit. The Indianapolis / Marion County Building Standards and Procedures list of "Work Exempt from Structural Permitting" for one- and two-family dwellings (Class 2), as reproduced in the city's own Homeowner's Building Permit Guide, reads: "(2) Replacement of an existing roof, if performed by a listed contractor that complies with the notice and posting requirements of section 536-216; and that construction does not involve a. A change in roof configuration; or b. A change in type of roof covering (e.g., tile roofing replacing asphalt shingles) that would increase the dead load on the structure; or c. The replacement of basic structural members that support the roof (e.g., replacement of a rafter or more than 128 feet of decking); or d. The installation of heat-applied roofing material." So the four permit TRIGGERS are: roof-configuration change; a covering-type change that increases dead load; replacement of a rafter or of more than 128 feet of decking; and heat-applied (torch-down) roofing. The exemption is also conditioned on the installer being a "listed contractor" with BNS who posts and gives the section 536-216 notice -- an unlisted installer cannot use it. A separate owner-occupant exemption follows: "a person who owns or is purchasing a Class 2 structure on contract with the intention to utilize the property for his or her own occupancy may affix without permit a layer of replacement shingles to a single layer of existing shingles provided that a layer of shingles is not removed and provided that the total shingle-roof application is performed by the owner or contract purchaser with assistance only by non compensated volunteers." Note also the general exemption "(4) Ordinary maintenance and repair of a structure where the work does not reduce performance or create additional health or safety risks as defined in section 536-111(i)," which covers ordinary roof repair, and "(8) Gutter replacement or installation." INTERNAL CONFLICT IN THE CITY'S OWN GUIDE: the "Common Projects" chapter of the same Homeowner's Building Permit Guide states flatly, "Re-Roofing, Siding. Re-roofing and replacing siding will require a permit. A re-roofing permit may be obtained by applying online on the Citizen's Access Portal, or applying in person at our office. The applicant should complete the Structural Permit Application. If no structural changes are occurring, the structural permit will be a Structural Renovation Permit and will not require any plans for review." That chapter is addressed to homeowners doing their own work, who by definition are not listed contractors, which reconciles the two passages for the ordinary case; but the sentence is written without qualification. A contractor relying on the exemption should confirm listed status and 536-216 posting with BNS Construction Services before skipping the permit.

STATE-SET BY RULE, and independently republished by Indianapolis for Marion County. 675 IAC 14-4.4-5 deletes and replaces IRC Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria) county by county; the design wind speed is 115 MPH in all 92 Indiana counties, with no county deviating. Indianapolis's own Homeowner's Building Permit Guide reprints the Marion County row of Table R301.2(1): Ground Snow Load 20 (psf); Wind Speed 115 MPH; Seismic Design Category B; Weathering Severe; Frost Line Depth 30 inches; Termite "Moderate to Heavy"; Winter Design Temp 2 degrees F; Ice Shield Underlayment Required "No"; Mean Annual Temp 51.8. Wind exposure category is determined site-specifically under IRC Section R301.2.1.4 and is neither a state nor a city lever. Indianapolis cannot raise or lower these values by ordinance (IC 22-13-2-3(c)).

Substantively STATE-GOVERNED: Indiana adopts the 2018 IRC reroofing provisions without amendment -- a search of the roughly 230 numbered amendment sections in the 675 IAC 14-4.4 Final Rule finds no Indiana amendment to the IRC reroofing chapter -- and Indianapolis is barred from adding a stricter local layer limit by IC 22-13-2-3(c). The base IRC section text is behind the ICC paywall and is not restated here. What Indianapolis's OWN ordinance text does establish, and what a Marion County roofer actually needs, is that a single overlay over one existing layer is contemplated and is the outer bound of the no-permit owner-installed case: the Building Standards and Procedures exemption list, as reproduced in the city's Homeowner's Building Permit Guide, provides that an owner-occupant "may affix without permit a layer of replacement shingles to a single layer of existing shingles provided that a layer of shingles is not removed and provided that the total shingle-roof application is performed by the owner or contract purchaser with assistance only by non compensated volunteers." The same list separately exempts contractor-performed roof replacement so long as there is no "change in type of roof covering (e.g., tile roofing replacing asphalt shingles) that would increase the dead load on the structure" -- i.e. added dead load from stacked or heavier coverings is the concern the city polices at the permit counter.

STATE-GOVERNED and unamended. Indiana's 675 IAC 14-4.4 contains no amendment to IRC Section R905.2.1 (the asphalt-shingle deck requirement), so the unmodified 2018 IRC provision -- requiring asphalt shingles to be fastened to solidly sheathed decks -- applies in Indianapolis exactly as it does statewide, and Indianapolis cannot make it stricter (IC 22-13-2-3(c)). The literal section text sits behind the ICC paywall and Indiana does not restate it in its own rule, so it is not quoted verbatim here. The Indianapolis-specific overlay that a roofer must plan for is administrative rather than technical: decking work above a defined size loses the reroofing permit exemption. Per the Building Standards and Procedures exemption list in the city's Homeowner's Building Permit Guide, roof replacement is exempt from a structural permit only where the work does not involve "The replacement of basic structural members that support the roof (e.g., replacement of a rafter or more than 128 feet of decking)." Tear-offs that uncover more than 128 feet of bad decking, or that require any rafter replacement, therefore convert a permit-exempt reroof into a permitted job carrying a Framing Inspection.

7.00%. Indiana levies a single statewide sales and use tax of 7% with no county, municipal, or transit add-on, so the rate on roofing materials purchased in Indianapolis / Marion County is the flat state rate -- there is no Indianapolis local sales tax component to add. (Marion County's local revenue comes through the local income tax and innkeeper/food-and-beverage taxes, which do not apply to retail purchases of building materials.)