Permitting Authorities / City of Jacksonville - Planning & Inspections Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Jacksonville, NC?
Adopted code
City of Jacksonville - Planning & Inspections Department
No, Jacksonville, NC does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (City of Jacksonville - Planning & Inspections Department). No building permit is needed in Jacksonville for most single-family reroofs, 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. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." North Carolina's R908.3 treats deck replacement of up to 15% as non-structural: "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 duplex or other multi-family building, a job over $40,000, added roofing, or load-bearing work takes a building permit from the City's Planning & Inspections Department. The City's Applications & Checklists page says to select the appropriate application and, "Once complete, email to [email protected] to initiate the review process"; the fee is "Residential Roofing 1 & 2 Family $88.40" or "Commercial Roofing $197.60" (FY 2026-2027 Fee Schedules). The same schedule states that "The following permit fees double if work commences prior to securing appropriate permit(s)." Inspections are scheduled at 910-938-5232, option 1. From July 1, 2026 the Department states that "Charge accounts will no longer be accepted", that "A 2.75% convenience fee will be applied to all credit card transactions" and that "A $0.75 processing fee will be applied to all payments made by check.".
Roof code checklist: Jacksonville, 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
City of Jacksonville, North Carolina
Address
815 New Bridge Street, Jacksonville, NC 28541
Contact
- url: https://www.jacksonvillenc.gov/168/Applications-Checklists
- phone: 910-938-5232
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Not required
Registration details
- state_level: North Carolina licenses general contractors by the size of the job. G.S. 87-1(a) defines a general contractor as one who undertakes construction "where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more." The Licensing Board for General Contractors issues a specialty classification, "S(Roofing). This classification covers the installation, demolition, and repair of roofs and decks on residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional structures" (21 NCAC 12A .0202). G.S. 87-1(b)(2) excepts 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" and the person complies with G.S. 87-14. Whether a state licence is needed turns on the price of the particular job; this record does not decide it for any reader.
- city_level: The City issues no roofing or contractor licence of its own. Its building permit application states: "Chapter 87, Article 1 of the NC General Statutes prohibits the City from issuing a building permit unless and until the applicant has complied with the general contractor licensing and insurance coverage requirements in that article", and requires the applicant to certify either a general contractor licence or an exemption, including "The cost of the proposed construction is less than $40,000". The applicant also certifies workers' compensation coverage "as required by Chapter 97 of the NC General Statutes". The application adds that "the City will collect a $10.00 fee with applications for construction or alteration of a single-family dwelling unit" for the Homeowners Recovery Fund, and that a Notice of Appointment of Lien Agent is required "for any projects that have a construction cost of $40,000 or more." It also notes: "if you are a Non-Licensed General Contractor, you cannot submit for subs."
Permit process note
No building permit is needed in Jacksonville for most single-family reroofs, 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. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." North Carolina's R908.3 treats deck replacement of up to 15% as non-structural: "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 duplex or other multi-family building, a job over $40,000, added roofing, or load-bearing work takes a building permit from the City's Planning & Inspections Department. The City's Applications & Checklists page says to select the appropriate application and, "Once complete, email to
[email protected] to initiate the review process"; the fee is "Residential Roofing 1 & 2 Family $88.40" or "Commercial Roofing $197.60" (FY 2026-2027 Fee Schedules). The same schedule states that "The following permit fees double if work commences prior to securing appropriate permit(s)." Inspections are scheduled at 910-938-5232, option 1. From July 1, 2026 the Department states that "Charge accounts will no longer be accepted", that "A 2.75% convenience fee will be applied to all credit card transactions" and that "A $0.75 processing fee will be applied to all payments made by check."
Inspection requirements
The Building Inspections Division states that "All required inspections must be approved in the appropriate order before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued." Inspections may be requested by email, in person at the Planning & Permitting office in City Hall at 815 New Bridge Street, or by calling 910-938-5232 and pressing 1 "to schedule, cancel or check an inspection status" (press 4 to speak with a building inspector). Inspection hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The FY 2026-2027 Fee Schedules charge a $78.00 penalty for a "Scheduled Inspection Not Ready" and $52.00 per trade for a second and later re-inspection.
Adopted code
The 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (based on the 2015 International Residential Code, with North Carolina's amendments) is the edition in force; the 2024 North Carolina codes have been adopted but have no effective date. The City adopts the state code by reference. City Code Sec. 5-60: "The most recent edition of the North Carolina Residential Code, as published by the North Carolina Building Code Council, is hereby adopted by reference as fully as though set forth herein as the residential building code for one- and two-family residential buildings in the city." Sec. 5-61 makes later amendments "effective at the time such amendments are filed with the city clerk." Chapter 5 of the City Code (Building and Construction) adds no technical roofing provision of its own. The City's Codes, Zoning & Other Regulations page lists the codes it uses to review plans, including the "2018 North Carolina Residential Building Code", the "2018 North Carolina Building Code" and the "2018 North Carolina Existing Building Code". North Carolina deletes the model code's drip-edge rule: "R905.2.8.5 Drip Edge. Deleted. Not required unless required by the roof covering manufacturer installation instructions."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Chapter 5 of the Jacksonville City Code adopts the North Carolina Residential Code by reference and adds no roofing provision, and the State's approved amendments to the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (2017 through 2024) add none either; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the City's code or in those amendments.
Repair permit threshold
North Carolina law exempts most single-family reroofs from a building permit. 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. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." North Carolina's own reroof rule, R908.3 of the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code as amended: "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." So a reroof of a single-family house costing $40,000 or less, with deck replacement of no more than 15% and no load-bearing repair, needs no building permit. The exemption covers single-family residences, farm buildings and commercial buildings only; a reroof of a duplex or other multi-family building, a job over $40,000, new roofing added to a building, or work on load-bearing roof framing needs a permit. The City of Jacksonville publishes no statement of its own that a single-family reroof within the exemption needs a permit. Its FY 2026-2027 Fee Schedules (effective July 1, 2026, revised August 4, 2026) carry the lines "Residential Roofing 1 & 2 Family $88.40" and "Commercial Roofing $197.60", which price the roofing jobs that do need a permit.
Roof layer limit / recover
North Carolina amends the reroofing section of its Residential Code. R908.3 of the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code, as amended: "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. This record does not restate the code's separate provisions on laying a new covering over an existing one. The City of Jacksonville's Chapter 5 (Building and Construction) adopts the state code by reference and adds no layer rule of its own.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Jacksonville adopts the North Carolina Residential Code by reference (City Code Sec. 5-60) and its Chapter 5 adds no roof sheathing provision; the State's approved amendments to the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (2017 through 2024) do not amend the roof sheathing section (R803), so that section applies as published. The one North Carolina amendment that speaks to the deck on a reroof is R908.3: "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." Deck replacement beyond 15% is structural work, which takes the job out of the state's no-permit exemption.
Sales & use tax
7% combined in Onslow County (the 4.75% state rate plus local rates), per the North Carolina Department of Revenue's current sales and use tax rates by county, read September 26, 2026. North Carolina taxes a roof repair and a roof replacement differently. On NCDOR's Services to Real Property Taxability Chart, "Complete replacement of roofing systems" and "Installation of complete roofing systems" are capital improvements, while "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)" are "Taxable" repair, maintenance and installation services. On a complete replacement done as a real property contract, NCDOR says sales tax "applies to the sales price or purchase price of an item sold to a real property contractor for use by the real property contractor to fulfill a real property contract. The real property contractor is the consumer of the item": the roofer pays the tax on materials when buying them and does not charge sales tax on the contract. On a repair or partial replacement, the roofer charges the homeowner 7% on the sales price of the repair service. The chart also says items listed as capital improvements must meet the substantiation requirements of G.S. 105-164.4H(a1) to qualify.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in North Carolina
Related guides
The building permitting authority for the City of Jacksonville, North Carolina, in Onslow County. The City's Planning & Inspections Department takes building and trade permit applications at City Hall, reviews plans, and its Building Inspections Division inspects work under the North Carolina State Building Code.
Hail reports near Jacksonville, NC
- Reports, last 24 months
- 0
- Largest, last 24 months
- None
- Most recent
- None in 24 months
- Reports, last 5 years
- 2
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 Jacksonville, NC (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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