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Permitting Authorities / City of Liberty - Building Division

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Adopted code

City of Liberty - Building Division

The permitting authority for the City of Liberty, Missouri. The Building Division, part of the Community Development Department, issues building permits and performs inspections, and requires an active contractor business license for all contractors and subcontractors working in the city.

Jurisdiction
City of Liberty, Missouri
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
101 East Kansas Street, Liberty, MO 64068
Contact
  • url: https://www.libertymissouri.gov/482/Building-Inspections
  • phone: 816-439-4534
  • email: [email protected]
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: The city's FAQ answer to "Do contractors need a license to apply for permits?" states "Yes, all contractors (general contractors and sub-contractors) doing work in the City of Liberty must have an active contractor business license with the City," directing applicants to the License Clerk at 816.439.4463.
Permit process note
The city's FAQ answer to "When does the city require a building permit or inspection?" states "The City requires permits and inspections for all structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical construction that occurs within the City."
Adopted code
The Building Division page states the city has adopted the "2018 Building Codes (Ordinance 11358)," and the Building Permit Information page lists the applicable codes as "2018 International Codes, 2017 NEC" (National Electrical Code).
Drip edge
Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2018 International Residential Code via Ordinance 11358 (2-22-2021; Revisions Sec. 6-106.2 and Exclusions Sec. 6-106.3); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Required — "2018 IBC Section 1507.6.4 Ice barrier. In areas where there has been a history of ice forming along the eaves causing a backup of water, an ice barrier that consists of at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or of a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in lieu of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. Exception: Detached accessory structures that contain no conditioned floor area." (City of Liberty Planning and Development Department, "Ice Barrier Requirements," updated 3/5/2021; the city states it "enforces Chapter 9 of the IRC and Chapter 15 of the IBC as it pertains to 'Ice and Water Shield' requirements... as written.") Corroborated by Table R301.2 of Ordinance No. 11358 (adopting the 2018 IRC, passed/approved 2/22/2021), which lists "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required: Yes." About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Ordinance No. 11358 of the City of Liberty, Clay County, Missouri (passed and approved by the Mayor 2-22-2021), read in full across its six pages: Section I repeals Chapter 6 Articles XII-XVII and re-enacts Articles XII through XVIII, adopting the 2018 International Building Code (Sec. 6-105), the 2018 International Residential Code (Sec. 6-106), the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (Sec. 6-107), the 2018 International Plumbing Code (Sec. 6-108), the 2018 International Mechanical Code (Sec. 6-109), the 2017 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code (Sec. 6-110), and the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (Sec. 6-111), each with its own numbered Additions/Revisions/Exclusions subsections. The IRC package's full amendment list (Secs. 6-106.1 Additions, 6-106.2 Revisions, 6-106.3 Exclusions) touches Sections R313, R303.4, R404.4, R801.3, P3114.3, P3007.4, E3902.16, R112, R302.13, E4002.14, Section 715, Chapter 11, and Appendices I, L and Q -- none of these fall within Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies, Sections R902-R908), so Chapter 9 is adopted unamended by this instrument. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears anywhere in the ordinance. The city's companion "Ice Barrier Requirements" handout (Planning and Development Dept., updated 3-5-2021) independently states the city "enforces Chapter 9 of the IRC ... as it pertains to 'Ice and Water Shield' requirements ... as written," corroborating that Chapter 9 is unamended, and it likewise contains no impact-resistance provision.
Wind design criteria
"(c) Table R301.2 Climate And Geographic Design Criteria ... GROUND SNOW LOAD 20, WIND DESIGN Speed (mph) 115, Topographic effects No, Special wind region No, Windborne debris zone No, SEISMIC DESIGN CATEGORY A, Weathering Severe, Frost line depth 36, Termite M to H, WINTER DESIGN TEMP 0, ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED Yes, FLOOD HAZARDS 3/15/2015, AIR FREEZING INDEX 1500<, MEAN ANNUAL TEMP 54.2." (City of Liberty Code Sec. 6-106(c), adopting the 2018 International Residential Code with amendments, Ordinance No. 11358.)
Sales & use tax
Combined general sales tax rate in Liberty (Clay County) is 9.8500% at the base city rate, which already includes the Kansas City Metropolitan Zoological District tax (Missouri DOR jurisdiction code 42032-047-000), per the DOR's statewide Sales/Use Tax Rate Table for July 2026. Liberty has an unusually dense layer of stacked CIDs -- at least 12 in the DOR table -- and nearly every one raises the combined rate to 10.8500% (e.g. Blue Jay Crossing CID, Crossroads Shopping Center CID, Historic Downtown Liberty Commercial CID). Two parcels are doubly stacked and reach 11.8500%, the highest rate found in Liberty: the Liberty Commons CID + Liberty Commons TDD (42032-047-009) and the Historic Downtown Liberty Commercial CID + Water Street CID (42032-047-013). Missouri's own Contractors Tax Matrix (DOR Audit Services, Industry Guidance, eff. 10-24-2022, https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/documents/Contractors_000.pdf) treats a roofing contractor as the final consumer of materials incorporated into real property: "Contractor sales of tangible personal property where title passed to the customer after installation" is listed Exempt, while "Tangible personal property to be sold as an attachment to real property" is listed Taxable -- meaning the contractor owes sales/use tax on shingles, underlayment, etc. at the point of purchase from the supplier, and does not separately charge the homeowner sales tax on the installed roof or on labor. Liberty does not collect a construction use tax at building-permit issuance (the Colorado home-rule pattern does not apply here); the DOR's own Sales/Use Tax page (https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/tax-types/sales-use/) describes local use tax as a self-reported obligation -- "Use tax is imposed directly upon the person that stores, uses, or consumes tangible personal property in Missouri," with "a purchaser ... required to file a use tax return if the cumulative purchases subject to use tax exceed two thousand dollars in a calendar year" -- not a sum collected at the permit counter.

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Roofing questions — Liberty, MO

Is ice & water shield required in Liberty, MO?

Required — "2018 IBC Section 1507.6.4 Ice barrier. In areas where there has been a history of ice forming along the eaves causing a backup of water, an ice barrier that consists of at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or of a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in lieu of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. Exception: Detached accessory structures that contain no conditioned floor area." (City of Liberty Planning and Development Department, "Ice Barrier Requirements," updated 3/5/2021; the city states it "enforces Chapter 9 of the IRC and Chapter 15 of the IBC as it pertains to 'Ice and Water Shield' requirements... as written.") Corroborated by Table R301.2 of Ordinance No. 11358 (adopting the 2018 IRC, passed/approved 2/22/2021), which lists "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required: Yes.".

Is drip edge required?

Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2018 International Residential Code via Ordinance 11358 (2-22-2021; Revisions Sec. 6-106.2 and Exclusions Sec. 6-106.3); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Liberty, MO?

Required. The city's FAQ answer to "Do contractors need a license to apply for permits?" states "Yes, all contractors (general contractors and sub-contractors) doing work in the City of Liberty must have an active contractor business license with the City," directing applicants to the License Clerk at 816.439.4463..

What building code does Liberty, MO use?

The Building Division page states the city has adopted the "2018 Building Codes (Ordinance 11358)," and the Building Permit Information page lists the applicable codes as "2018 International Codes, 2017 NEC" (National Electrical Code).