Permitting Authorities / James City County - Building Safety and Permits Division
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in James City County, VA?
Adopted code
James City County - Building Safety and Permits Division
No, James City County, VA does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (James City County - Building Safety and Permits Division). No permit for an ordinary shingle reroof of a single-family home, on the County's own statement and the statewide rule, unless the house is in a special flood hazard area or a locally designated historic district, and with limits a roofer must check first. The Building Safety and Permits Division answers "Do purely cosmetic renovations on a single-family home (i.e., replacing residential shingles under existing square footage, siding, flooring, cabinets, closet shelving, tub inserts, and vanities) require a permit? No; however, if your property is located in a special flood hazard area, a Development in the Floodplain plan review is required." Its general line is "The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code requires a building permit (or a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing permit) anytime a building or structure will be altered, constructed, converted, demolished, enlarged, moved, improved, or repaired; or is in a flood zone." The statewide rule behind the answer, Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 item 14.5, exempts "Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m 2 ) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones." Item 14.6 exempts only "Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m 2 ) or less of roof decking" in those groups. Two exceptions let the building official require a permit: "for the installation of replacement siding, roofing and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to Section 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia" and "for any items exempted in this section which are located in a special flood hazard area." An owner may always ask for one: "when an owner or an owner's agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required." Neither the County Code nor its fee schedule names roof work either way; the no-permit line is the Division's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the Division's reading of the statewide exemption. The County's design wind speed of 115 mph is printed without saying whether it is nominal or ultimate, so the answer here rests on the Division's own statement, not on that figure. The work must meet the code with or without a permit. When in doubt the Division says to "call the Division of Building Safety and Permits at 757-253-6620." Where a permit is needed, the owner or the owner's agent or a licensed contractor applies through PermitLink; "Permits may be issued to owners or owner's agent. If permit is issued to someone other than a contractor, they must sign an affidavit regarding licensure as a contractor." Work started before a required permit doubles the building permit fee.
Roof code checklist: James City County, VA
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
James City County, Virginia
Address
101 Mounts Bay Road, Building E, Williamsburg, VA 23185
Contact
- url: https://www.jamescitycountyva.gov/406/Building-Safety-Permits
- phone: 757-253-6626
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Virginia licenses contractors through the Board for Contractors (DPOR). Code of Virginia Section 54.1-1100, as amended in 2025: "'Class C contractors' perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or (ii) the total value of all such construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by such person within any 12-month period is less than $250,000." Larger jobs fall in the Class B and Class A tiers. Roofing work is licensed under the Board's classifications and specialties, including the "Roofing contracting" (ROC) specialty of 18VAC50-22-30. Section 54.1-1111 makes anyone applying for a building permit furnish "either (i) satisfactory proof to such official or authority that he is duly licensed or certified under the terms of this chapter to carry out or superintend the same, or (ii) file a written statement that he is not subject to licensure or certification as a contractor or subcontractor pursuant to this chapter." Section 54.1-1101 A says the chapter does not apply to "7. Any person who performs or supervises the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of no more than one primary residence owned by him and for his own use during any 24-month period". Some older pages give a $10,000 floor for Class C; that figure predates the 2025 amendment.
- county_level: James City County adds no contractor licence of its own. Its Owner Exemption Worksheet (revised December 2024), for permit applicants who are not licensed contractors, says "Prior to the issuance of a permit to construct, remove or improve any structure, Section 108.4 of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) requires the applicant to either: 1. Be duly licensed or certified under the terms of Chapter 11 of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, or, 2. File a written statement, that he is not subject to such licensure or certification as a contractor or subcontractor pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia." and lists as one exemption box "The work consists of the construction, removal, repair or improvement of my primary residence and I have not owned more than one primary residence in Virginia during the past 24 months." The County Code's Chapter 12 (Licenses) is its business license tax; it taxes contractors at "$0.16 cents per $100.00 of gross receipts" (Section 12-21). A business license is a local tax registration, not a trade credential.
Permit process note
No permit for an ordinary shingle reroof of a single-family home, on the County's own statement and the statewide rule, unless the house is in a special flood hazard area or a locally designated historic district, and with limits a roofer must check first. The Building Safety and Permits Division answers "Do purely cosmetic renovations on a single-family home (i.e., replacing residential shingles under existing square footage, siding, flooring, cabinets, closet shelving, tub inserts, and vanities) require a permit? No; however, if your property is located in a special flood hazard area, a Development in the Floodplain plan review is required." Its general line is "The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code requires a building permit (or a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing permit) anytime a building or structure will be altered, constructed, converted, demolished, enlarged, moved, improved, or repaired; or is in a flood zone." The statewide rule behind the answer, Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 item 14.5, exempts "Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m 2 ) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones." Item 14.6 exempts only "Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m 2 ) or less of roof decking" in those groups. Two exceptions let the building official require a permit: "for the installation of replacement siding, roofing and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to Section 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia" and "for any items exempted in this section which are located in a special flood hazard area." An owner may always ask for one: "when an owner or an owner's agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required." Neither the County Code nor its fee schedule names roof work either way; the no-permit line is the Division's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the Division's reading of the statewide exemption. The County's design wind speed of 115 mph is printed without saying whether it is nominal or ultimate, so the answer here rests on the Division's own statement, not on that figure. The work must meet the code with or without a permit. When in doubt the Division says to "call the Division of Building Safety and Permits at 757-253-6620." Where a permit is needed, the owner or the owner's agent or a licensed contractor applies through PermitLink; "Permits may be issued to owners or owner's agent. If permit is issued to someone other than a contractor, they must sign an affidavit regarding licensure as a contractor." Work started before a required permit doubles the building permit fee.
Adopted code
The 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024. For detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, Section 310.6.1 of the Virginia Construction Code applies "The provisions of the IRC ... as amended by VCC Section 310.8, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC)"; work on existing buildings falls under Part II, the Virginia Existing Building Code, whose reroofing section reads "602.3.2.1 Reroofing. Materials and methods of application used for recovering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with Chapter 15 of the VCC, except as modified by Section 302.1 and this section." The statewide code supersedes local building codes (Code of Virginia Section 36-98: "Such building code shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies."). James City County Code Section 4-3 adopts it by reference: "There is hereby adopted by reference in the county that certain code known as the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, and all Virginia Administrative Amendments-Accumulative Supplements thereto in being as of the effective date set forth below or subsequently issued, and the whole thereof". Section 4-3 fills in the climatic and geographic design criteria of the Virginia Residential Code's Table R301.2 for the County (Ord. No. 81A-29, 3-11-25) and otherwise only substitutes the County's name and dates; Chapter 4 of the County Code (Building Regulations), read in full, adds no technical roofing provision of its own. The Building Safety and Permits Division lists the 2021 Virginia Construction Code, Virginia Residential Code and Virginia Existing Building Code as its "Frequently Used Codes", and its Deck Guide (revised October 2024) "incorporates the 2021 Virginia Residential Code".
Ice & water shield
Required — James City County's enacted entries in the Virginia Residential Code's climatic table (County Code Section 4-3, Table R301.2, Ord. No. 81A-29, 3-11-25) read "ICE Barrier Underlayment: Yes, required". The ice barrier is therefore part of the design criteria for houses in the county.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — Virginia's statewide building code (13VAC5-63), which a county may not amend, carries no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement for roof coverings in its Virginia amendments to the International Residential Code (Virginia Construction Code Section 310.8) or its existing-building reroofing rules. James City County's Chapter 4 (Building Regulations), including the County's own entries in the Table R301.2 design criteria, adds none; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the code the County enforces. Insurers may still offer discounts for impact-rated shingles; that is not a code requirement.
Repair permit threshold
Statewide permit exemption, Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 (2021 edition): "application for a permit and any related inspections shall not be required for the following ... 14. Ordinary repairs that include the following: ... 14.5. Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m 2 ) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones. 14.6. Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m 2 ) or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 unless the decking to be replaced was required at the time or original construction to be fire-retardant-treated or protected in some other way to form a fire-rated wall termination." The same section's two Exceptions: "1. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for the installation of replacement siding, roofing and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to Section 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia." and "2. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for any items exempted in this section which are located in a special flood hazard area." The owner keeps the right to a permit: "when an owner or an owner's agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required." The exemption does not relax the code itself ("this section shall not be construed to exempt such activities from other applicable requirements of this code"). James City County's Building Safety and Permits Division applies it to houses in its own words. Its general statement reads "The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code requires a building permit (or a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing permit) anytime a building or structure will be altered, constructed, converted, demolished, enlarged, moved, improved, or repaired; or is in a flood zone." Its answer on reroofing reads "Do purely cosmetic renovations on a single-family home (i.e., replacing residential shingles under existing square footage, siding, flooring, cabinets, closet shelving, tub inserts, and vanities) require a permit? No; however, if your property is located in a special flood hazard area, a Development in the Floodplain plan review is required." The Division also says "Do alterations to add, remove, or relocate a stud wall (load bearing or not) require a permit? Yes", and its inspection sheet says "If you have a question whether a permit is required, or if work is within the scope of any permit issued, call the Division of Building Safety and Permits at 757-253-6620." Neither the County Code's Chapter 4 nor its Appendix A fee schedule names roof work: the building permit fees are by floor area or, for "Alteration or repair of any building or structure", "1.05 percent of the current value of all service, labor and materials", with a $52.50 minimum. Replacing more than 256 square feet of roof decking on a house is permit work under item 14.6. The no-permit answer is the Division's stated practice under the statewide exemption; the County's own table of design criteria gives a wind speed of 115 miles per hour without saying whether that is a nominal or an ultimate figure, so it cannot be compared directly with the 100 mph nominal-speed line in item 14.5. Starting work that needs a permit without one costs double: "The Building Permit Fee shall be double for any construction that has commenced before a permit is obtained."
Wind design criteria
James City County's enacted entries in the Virginia Residential Code's climatic and geographic design criteria (County Code Section 4-3: "Table R301.2 is amended by adding the following words and numbers", Ord. No. 81A-29, 3-11-25) read: "Ground Snow Load: 20 pounds per square feet Wind Design Speed: 115 miles per hour Topographic effects: No Special Wind Region: No Wind-borne debris zone: No Seismic Design Category: B Subject to Damage from Weathering: Moderate to Heavy Front line depth: 12 inches Termite: Moderate to Heavy ICE Barrier Underlayment: Yes, required Flood Hazards: FEMA Map dated December 16, 2015 Air Freezing Index: 168 Mean Annual Temp.: 58.4 degrees". The table does not say whether the 115 mph figure is an ultimate or a nominal (allowable-stress) design wind speed. Those are different bases, so do not compare 115 mph directly with the 100 mph nominal-speed line in the statewide reroof permit exemption. The same entries answer No for topographic effects, special wind region and wind-borne debris zone.
Deck & sheathing requirements
No county-specific rule. James City County cannot amend the statewide code, and its Chapter 4 (Building Regulations), read in full, adds no roof deck or sheathing provision. Virginia's amendments to the IRC that make up the 2021 Virginia Residential Code (13VAC5-63-210) do not amend the roof sheathing section (R803), so the base 2021 IRC roof sheathing provisions apply unmodified to work under that code; the record points to that section and does not restate it. For reroofing an existing house the Virginia Existing Building Code adds "602.3.2.2 Structural and construction loads. Structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the systems." The one Virginia rule written for decking on a reroof is the permit line in Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 item 14.6: only "Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m 2 ) or less of roof decking" in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 buildings is exempt from a permit, so replacing more decking than that is permit work in James City County.
Sales & use tax
7.0% general sales and use tax in James City County (Virginia Tax, "Sales and Use Tax Rates by Locality" workbook, "Jan 2026 - Present" sheet: James City, code 51095, General Sales 0.07); Virginia Tax's rates page lists James City County in the 7% group with Williamsburg and York County. That is the 4.3% state tax (Code of Virginia Section 58.1-603), the 1% local option tax (Section 58.1-605), the 0.70% regional tax of Section 58.1-603.1, and the 1% Historic Triangle tax of Section 58.1-603.2 ("'Historic Triangle' means all of the City of Williamsburg and the Counties of James City and York."). Food and personal hygiene items are taxed at 1%. Virginia treats the roofing contractor as the consumer of the materials: "Unless otherwise noted, the law treats every contractor as the user or consumer of all tangible personal property furnished to the contractor or by the contractor in connection with real property construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, and similar contracts" (23VAC10-210-410). So the roofer pays the tax on shingles and other materials when buying them and "does not pass the sales or use tax on to anyone else as a tax"; "If a supplier of a contractor doing work in Virginia does not collect the Virginia tax from the contractor, the contractor will be liable for the use tax on the contractor's purchases from the supplier." Repair and full replacement are treated alike.
More roof permit pages in Virginia
Related guides
The Building Safety and Permits Division of James City County, Virginia, administers and enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code in the county, reviewing and issuing building permits and conducting the required building inspections. Applications are made through the County's PermitLink portal.
No NOAA hail reports within 10 miles of the center of James City County, VA in the last 5 years (data through Sep 30, 2026).
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 James City County, VA. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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