Isabella County - Community Development, Inspection Division

Isabella County, Michigan (3 villages and 12 townships on the county building program)

county

200 N. Main Street, Room 105, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Required

Required

Isabella County lists reroofing as permit work. Its Building page says "A permit is required for any construction that physically changes or adds structure to your property. Some projects requiring building permits include additions, decks, siding, reroofing, remodeling with structural changes", and its Permit Process page lists "reshingling" among them. The permit fee schedule, effective August 1, 2026, prices "Work not Involving ft2 (siding, window/door, residential demolition, re-roof)" at "$70.00 ea." on top of an "Administration Fee" of "$75.00" that is "required for all", and says "ALL PERMIT FEES ARE DOUBLED IF WORK COMMENCES WITHOUT A PERMIT". The building permit application, dated August 1, 2026, says "Permits for siding and reroof please fill out the form on the following page and submit with payment. No Appendix is required." and "Replacement of windows, doors, siding, and roofs do not require construction documents." The state's general permit rule applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." Apply at the Inspection Department, which says "Building permits can be applied for at the Isabella County Inspection Department every working day between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m." and "Typically it takes about 3 to 4 business days for a building permit to be issued." The application says "You are required to call the inspection line at (989) 317-4220 and provide the required details a minimum of 24 hours in advance of an inspection." A permit "shall expire if the authorized work is not commenced within 180 days after issuance of the permit". The office is at 200 N. Main Street, Room 105, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except holidays. It serves the units the state's jurisdiction list assigns to the county; the City of Mt. Pleasant and the townships of Deerfield, Fremont, Rolland and Union enforce for themselves.

2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List assigns building code enforcement in 3 villages and 12 townships of Isabella County to the county; the City of Mt. Pleasant and the townships of Deerfield, Fremont, Rolland and Union are listed as enforcing for themselves. The Isabella County Building page, read October 11, 2026, says the county Building Inspector follows "the 2015 Michigan Residential Code".

Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). The Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page, permit fee schedule and building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). The Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page, permit fee schedule and building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." The Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page, permit fee schedule and building permit application were read for a local rule and state no impact rule.

No size or cost threshold is published. The Isabella County Building page lists reroofing as permit work: "Some projects requiring building permits include additions, decks, siding, reroofing, remodeling with structural changes", and the department's Permit Process page lists "reshingling" in the same list. The county's permit fee schedule, effective August 1, 2026, has a line for "Work not Involving ft2 (siding, window/door, residential demolition, re-roof)" at "$70.00 ea.", and its building permit application says "Permits for siding and reroof please fill out the form on the following page and submit with payment." Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs.

Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, the Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page, permit fee schedule and building permit application were read and state no layer rule. The department's pages link no county building ordinance; the only county ordinance among the department's documents is the Isabella County Zoning Ordinance (amended through 2026), whose full text was searched for roof, shingle, reroof, re-cover, layer, tear-off and R908, and every roof hit was read: they concern building height, roof signs, platform decks, accessory porches, wall signs and storm water, and none concerns re-covering a roof or the number of roof layers.

State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). The Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page, permit fee schedule and building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing; the application says "Replacement of windows, doors, siding, and roofs do not require construction documents."

6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the Isabella County Building page, Permit Process page or permit fee schedule changes this.