The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Loudoun County - Department of Building and Development

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Loudoun County, VA?

Adopted code

Loudoun County - Department of Building and Development

The Loudoun County Department of Building and Development reviews plans, issues residential and commercial building permits and performs construction inspections under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code. The County states that it issues building permits for the entire county, including the incorporated towns, while each town issues its own zoning permits.

Roof code checklist: Loudoun County, VA

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofNot published
Repair permit thresholdPublished2021-virginia-construction-code.pdf2026-09-26
Layer limit / roof-overNot published
Deck & sheathingPublishedR803law.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNot published
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNolaw.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Wind design criteriaPublishedloudoun.gov2026-09-26
Adopted codePublishedSec. 310.8loudoun.gov2026-09-26
Contractor license / registrationYeslaw.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Sales & use taxPublishedSec. 58.1-603tax.virginia.gov2026-09-26

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
Loudoun County, Virginia
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
1 Harrison Street SE, 2nd Floor, Leesburg, VA 20175
Contact
  • url: https://www.loudoun.gov/96/Building-Development
  • phone: 703-777-0220
Permit portal
Permit portal
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: Virginia licenses contractors through the Board for Contractors (Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation). Code of Virginia Section 54.1-1103 provides: "No person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed under the provisions of this chapter." The smallest class, as amended by 2025 Acts chapter 127: "'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." Older pages giving a $10,000 Class C ceiling predate that amendment. The Board's regulation (18VAC50-22-30) defines "Roofing contracting" (Abbr ROC) as "the service that provides for the installation, repair, removal, or improvement of materials common to the industry that form a watertight, weather resistant surface for roofs and decks," and states that "The CBC and RBC classifications and the HIC and CIC specialties also provide for this function." Section 54.1-1111 makes it "unlawful for the building official or other authority to issue or allow the issuance of such permits unless the applicant has furnished his license or certificate number issued pursuant to this chapter or evidence of being exempt from the provisions of this chapter." Section 54.1-1101 A 7 excludes from the chapter "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"; this record does not decide whether any reader falls within that exclusion.
  • county_level: The County's Hiring a Contractor page states: "Contractors listed on a building permit application must have a valid Virginia State Contractors License and Loudoun County Business License." Its Building and Development FAQ adds: "A contractor must be properly licensed in order to obtain a permit." The County Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) is a local business tax registration with the Commissioner of the Revenue, which the County itself describes as "a receipt provided for taxes paid, not an indication of the proficiency of the contractor"; it is not a contractor credential. For a property inside an incorporated town, the page states that "the contractor should obtain a BPOL license from the respective town."
Permit process note
Under 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 ... or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones," and item 14.6 exempts "Replacement of 256 square feet ... or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5" unless that decking had to be fire-retardant-treated or fire-protected. The building official may still require a permit for "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", and an owner who asks for a permit must be issued one. Loudoun County's own design criteria give a residential wind speed of 115 mph (3-second gust) without stating whether it is nominal or ultimate, and the Department of Building and Development publishes no statement on whether a house reroof needs a permit, so confirm with Building and Development (703-777-0220) before starting. Permits are applied for online through LandMARC or on paper at 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg; the County states it issues building permits "for the entire county", including properties inside the incorporated towns, where a town zoning permit must be submitted with the application. The permit application must be signed by the property owner. Separately, the County's Historic District Review Committee reviews exterior projects in the six Historic and Cultural Conservation Districts (Aldie, Bluemont, Oatlands, Taylorstown, Goose Creek and Waterford), including "changing roof pitch" and "changing materials", but "does not review repair or replacement of material “in kind” (for example, replacement of a standing seam metal roof with a new standing seam metal roof)."
Adopted code
The 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024, applies statewide; for detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses it applies the International Residential Code as amended by Section 310.8 of the Virginia Construction Code, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC), and existing buildings are governed by Part II, the Virginia Existing Building Code. The Code of Virginia (Section 36-98) provides that the USBC "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies," so a county adopts no building code of its own. The County's Building Codes and Regulations page states: "All building permit applications must comply with the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code," and lists the 2021 Virginia Construction Code, the 2021 Virginia Existing Building Code and the 2021 Virginia Residential Code among the codes it applies.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither the 2021 Virginia Residential Code amendments (Virginia Construction Code Section 310.8, 13VAC5-63) nor the Virginia Existing Building Code's reroofing provisions contain a UL 2218 or Class 4 impact-rating requirement for roof coverings, and the County's Building Codes and Regulations page, which lists the codes it applies and its structural design load criteria, states none. Under Code of Virginia Section 36-98 the statewide code supersedes local building regulations, so a county cannot add one.
Repair permit threshold
Virginia's statewide code sets the permit line for re-roofing, and a county cannot change it. Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 provides that "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 ... or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones. 14.6. Replacement of 256 square feet ... 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." Two exceptions follow: "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 same section provides that "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," and that the exemption does not "exempt such activities from other applicable requirements of this code." Whether a full house reroof in Loudoun County falls inside item 14.5 turns on the nominal design wind speed: the County publishes a residential design wind speed of "115 MPH / 51 m/s (3-sec gust)" without saying whether that figure is an ultimate or a nominal speed, and has published no statement applying item 14.5 to reroofs. Replacing 100 square feet or less of roof covering is exempt in every wind zone; replacing more than 256 square feet of decking is not within item 14.6.
Wind design criteria
The County's Building Codes and Regulations page, under "Structural Design Load Criteria", lists: Ground Snow Load 30 PSF; Frost Depth 24 inches; wind speed for Risk Categories I through IV of 105, 115, 120 and 125 mph (3-second gust), and "Residential: 115 MPH / 51 m/s (3-sec gust)"; IRC Seismic Design Category A. The page does not say whether these are ultimate or nominal (allowable-stress) design wind speeds. The page lists no ice barrier underlayment entry.
Deck & sheathing requirements
The Virginia Residential Code's amendments to the 2021 IRC (Virginia Construction Code Section 310.8) amend no provision of IRC Chapter 8, so the base 2021 IRC roof-sheathing provisions (Section R803) apply without Virginia modification, and under Code of Virginia Section 36-98 the County cannot amend them. For work on an existing house, the Virginia Existing Building Code provides: "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." Whether replacing decking needs a permit is covered under the repair threshold (256 square feet in a house).
Sales & use tax
6% general sales and use tax. Virginia Tax's "Sales and Use Tax Rates by Locality" workbook, block "January 1, 2026 - Present", lists Loudoun (locality code 51107) at a General Sales rate of 0.06, and Virginia Tax groups Loudoun among its "Northern Virginia" localities at 6%, against 5.3% in most of the state. The rate is made up of the 4.3% state tax (Code of Virginia Section 58.1-603), the 1% local option tax (Section 58.1-605) and the 0.70% regional tax imposed under Section 58.1-603.1. Under the Virginia Tax regulation for contractors (23VAC10-210-410), "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", and the supplier "must collect the tax from the contractor"; the rule reaches construction and repair contracts alike, so the rate above is the roofer's cost on materials rather than a rate added to the homeowner's contract.

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Hail reports near the center of Loudoun County, VA

Reports, last 24 months
1
Largest, last 24 months
1.00 in May 5, 2025
Most recent
May 5, 2025 1.00 in
Reports, last 5 years
16
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
May 5, 20251.00 in6 mi NNW
Apr 15, 20241.75 in9 mi SSE
Apr 15, 20241.00 in8 mi NE
Apr 15, 20241.00 in9 mi SE
Apr 15, 20241.00 in10 mi SE

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 Loudoun County, VA. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Loudoun County, VA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Loudoun County, VA?

Virginia's statewide code sets the permit line for re-roofing, and a county cannot change it. Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 provides that "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 ... or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones. 14.6. Replacement of 256 square feet ... 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." Two exceptions follow: "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 same section provides that "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," and that the exemption does not "exempt such activities from other applicable requirements of this code." Whether a full house reroof in Loudoun County falls inside item 14.5 turns on the nominal design wind speed: the County publishes a residential design wind speed of "115 MPH / 51 m/s (3-sec gust)" without saying whether that figure is an ultimate or a nominal speed, and has published no statement applying item 14.5 to reroofs. Replacing 100 square feet or less of roof covering is exempt in every wind zone; replacing more than 256 square feet of decking is not within item 14.6.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Loudoun County, VA?

Yes.

What building code does Loudoun County, VA use?

The 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024, applies statewide; for detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses it applies the International Residential Code as amended by Section 310.8 of the Virginia Construction Code, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC), and existing buildings are governed by Part II, the Virginia Existing Building Code. The Code of Virginia (Section 36-98) provides that the USBC "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies," so a county adopts no building code of its own. The County's Building Codes and Regulations page states: "All building permit applications must comply with the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code," and lists the 2021 Virginia Construction Code, the 2021 Virginia Existing Building Code and the 2021 Virginia Residential Code among the codes it applies.