The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Macon-Bibb County, Georgia - Department of Building and Fire Safety

Macon-Bibb County, Georgia - Department of Building and Fire Safety

Adopted code

The permitting authority for Macon-Bibb County, Georgia. Macon and Bibb County are one consolidated government, not a city inside a county, and the charter establishes "a single county-wide government with powers and jurisdiction throughout the territorial limits of Bibb County" - so one building department covers the whole county and there is no second office to check. The Department of Building and Fire Safety issues the residential permits and runs the inspections, and permits are applied for through the Community Connect portal. What makes this jurisdiction unusually easy to work in is that it publishes a Residential Roofing question-and-answer page of its own, stating the department's position on drip edge, ice-and-water shield, valley flashing and flashing replacement instead of leaving a roofer to read the code cold - though that page is still written against an older edition of the Code than the one the department now enforces.

Jurisdiction
Macon-Bibb County, Georgia
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
Macon, GA
Contact
  • url: https://www.maconbibb.us/buildingpermits/
  • phone: 478-803-0466
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: STATEWIDE, AND IT TURNS ON WHAT KIND OF CONTRACTOR YOU ARE RATHER THAN ON THE TRADE. Georgia licenses residential and general contractors through the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 41, created by House Bill 1003 of 2004 and amended by Senate Bill 115 of 2007. There is no Georgia licence titled roofer: the chapter creates residential-basic, residential-light commercial and general contractor licences and no roofing class, and O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(e) names the Chapter 14 trades it deals with as plumbing, conditioned air contracting, utility contracting, electrical contracting and low-voltage contracting, which does not include roofing. Section 43-41-17(a) provides that from July 1, 2008 "no person, whether an individual or a business organization, shall have the right to engage in the business of residential contracting or general contracting without a current, valid residential contractor license or general contractor license". What pulls a roofing job inside that requirement is a definition rather than a trade: O.C.G.A. 43-41-2(9) makes a person a residential contractor where the work falls into the residential-basic or residential-light commercial category and "the total value of the work or activity or of the compensation to be received by the contractor for such activity or work, whichever is the higher, exceeds $2,500.00". That figure is per job, taken on the higher of work value or compensation; it is not an annual figure, not a materials-only figure, and not specific to roofing. TWO EXCEPTIONS REACH ROOFING AND NEITHER IS A DOLLAR TEST. The first is the specialty-contractor exception at O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(f), which begins "Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a specialty contractor from offering or contracting to perform or undertaking or performing for an owner limited, specialty, or specific trade contractor work". As Chapter 41 was first enacted in 2004 that sentence carried on to confine the exception to work that put no part of the job under anyone but the contractor's own direct employees; Senate Bill 115 struck that limitation out in 2007, so the exception no longer states a supervision test. In its place the same subsection directs that "The board shall by rule or policy by January 1, 2008 identify specialty contractors or other criteria to determine eligibility under the exemption of this subsection." The second is the repair exception at O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(g): "Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a person from offering or contracting to perform or undertaking or performing for an owner repair work, provided that the person performing the repair work discloses to the owner that such person does not hold a license under this chapter and provided, further, that such work does not affect the structural integrity of the real property." The board defined repair at Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 553-8-.01 to mean "fixing, mending, maintenance, replacement or restoring of a part or portions of real property to good condition", on four conditions: written disclosure to the owner that the person is not licensed as a residential or general contractor, no delegation of supervision to anyone but employees, work that does not affect the life safety requirements or structural integrity of the property, and obtaining the permits and inspections the local authority requires. Whether a full tear-off and replacement is repair within that definition is a legal question neither the statute nor the rule answers. WHAT THE BOARD HAS SAID ABOUT ROOFERS, AND WHERE IT STOPS. No rule identifying specialty contractors was ever made: the board's regulations at Department 553 of the Georgia Administrative Code run twelve chapters - organisation, examination exemption, qualifications for licensure in each division, procedural rules, fees, written warranty, definitions, disciplinary action, inactive licence, changes in status, and licence renewal and continuing education - and not one of them names a trade. The statute allowed policy as the alternative to a rule, and on the policy side the board does name roofers. Its own consumer publication for homeowners, headed "TIPS FOR CONSUMERS" and handed out by Cherokee County at its permit counter, says at item 11 that "Certain types of contractor services are considered specialty services and do not require that the person be licensed. These include roofers, painters, brick masons, and more." The Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes the same position on its Consumer Ed site: "Please note that certain specialty occupations such as roofers, painters, drywall contractors, and repair handymen are not required to be licensed by the state." Georgia building departments repeat it - Johns Creek's homeowner and contractor guidance states that under state law a building or trade contractor must have a valid professional licence from the Secretary of State and that "There are exceptions for limited specialty contractors such as pool and retaining wall installers, roofers, etc." DO NOT TREAT THAT AS AN EXEMPTION YOU CAN RELY ON WITHOUT CHECKING YOUR OWN POSITION. The complete specialty list those documents point to cannot be read: the web address the board's own guidance gives for it no longer resolves, and the Secretary of State's site refuses automated requests, so no reachable published document sets out the criteria a roofing business would have to meet. The Tips document carries no date either. Two state publications describing roofing as a specialty service is a good reason to put your own position to the board before you bid; it is not a rule saying you need no licence. THE SANCTION IS WHY THIS IS WORTH SETTLING BEFORE YOU SIGN. Under O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(b) a contract entered into on or after July 1, 2008 for work for which a licence is required, between an owner and a contractor who does not hold one, "shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor", and "no lien or bond claim shall exist in favor of the unlicensed contractor for any labor, services, or materials provided under the contract". AND ONE THING THE STATE DOES TO THE LOCAL LAYER. O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(c) provides that "no municipality or county may require any such person licensed under this chapter to comply with any additional licensing requirements imposed by such municipality or county relative to the performance of construction work subject to the licensing requirements under this chapter", while preserving a local licence, registration or certification requirement already "in effect and operation as of the effective date of this chapter or July 1, 2004, whichever is earlier" - and even then the local requirement may not shut a state-licensed contractor out of the jurisdiction. So where a Georgia city or county credential is pressed against a state-licensed contractor, the date the local scheme was adopted is the test.
  • city_level: Macon-Bibb County will not issue a permit to an unregistered contractor. The Administrative Procedures the County adopts by ordinance provide, among the prerequisites to obtaining a permit, that "Contractors and sub-contractors shall be registered with the department prior to permits being issued. Registration with the department requires the applicable State Card issued through the Georgia State Construction Licensing Board or the State Fire Marshals Office and a current Occupational/Business License issued by a local jurisdiction within the State of Georgia". Note what that second half does and does not say - the occupational or business licence may be one issued by any local jurisdiction in Georgia, not necessarily by Macon-Bibb County. The County reinforces the same point in its permitting portal, Community Connect, whose Building Permits page states that "To ensure that permits are issued solely to the license holder, the contractor's account must be set up by the license holder", with other staff limited to Community Member accounts that can submit applications but cannot be issued permits. Separately, and this catches people out, no one may obtain or renew a building permit in Macon-Bibb County without filing a Certificate of Good Standing under Code of Ordinances section 26-51 - a sworn statement listing the applicant and the entities it controls or is controlled by, and swearing that none of them is more than 90 days delinquent on ad valorem property taxes. That is a tax-compliance filing rather than a trade credential, but it will stop a permit just as effectively.
Permit process note
Permits are applied for and issued through Community Connect, the County's online portal, and the contractor's account there must be set up by the licence holder; accounts for other staff can submit an application but cannot be issued a permit. Inspections can be requested through Community Connect, through the County's inspection scheduler, or by calling the office. Two paperwork items catch roofers out. First, no permit issues to an unregistered contractor - registration with the department requires the state card and a current occupational or business licence issued by a local jurisdiction in Georgia. Second, a Certificate of Good Standing under Code of Ordinances section 26-51 must be filed before any building permit is obtained or renewed; it is a sworn statement that neither the applicant nor the entities it is tied to is more than 90 days delinquent on ad valorem property taxes. Permits expire if work is not commenced within six months of issuance, or if work is suspended or abandoned for six months, with extensions available in writing for cause. Work done without a permit is not simply forgiven - the Administrative Procedures require a Conditional Permit after the fact, subject to fees and penalties, and the Building Official may require the owner to demonstrate that the concealed work complies. On fees, a residential building permit carries a $35.00 minimum, rising by $4.00 per thousand of cost valuation above $8,499.99 plus $35.00 per trade shown on the application; that $8,499.99 figure is a fee bracket and not a permit threshold. The office is at 3661 Eisenhower Parkway, Suite MB105, Macon, and reachable on 478-803-0466 or at [email protected].
Inspection requirements
A permitted reroof in Macon-Bibb County finishes on a roofing inspection of its own. The department's inspection-type list defines "ROOF FINAL: Inspection of the completed reroofing of the building. This inspection includes verification that the roof is installed per code and the site is clean of all construction debris", alongside "ROOF SHEATHING: The inspection of the plywood roof covering to ensure proper nailing" for the deck. Book inspections through Community Connect, through the County's inspection scheduler at maconbibbapps.com, or by calling 478-803-0466. Two things to have right before the final. The permit card must be posted in a conspicuous place, protected from the weather, and stay posted until the Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Completion issues. And flashing is inspected as part of the roof, not treated as optional on a reroof - the County's Residential Roofing page states that "When installing the new roof covering you are prescriptively required to ensure that the new roof does not leak. This will require that you replace all materials as necessary to comply. This includes all flashing." The department can also add stages to any job; its residential inspection handout says the assigned Combination Inspector "has the authority to waive or add inspections, as necessary to demonstrate compliance with the adopted codes for your project."
Adopted code
Macon-Bibb County enforces the construction codes adopted by the State of Georgia rather than writing its own. Its Construction Code Adoption page states: "Effective January 1, 2026 Macon-Bibb County will enforce the construction codes adopted by the State of Georgia for local municipalities within the state." The residential code on that enforced list is the 2024 International Residential Code with Georgia Amendments; the list also carries the 2024 IBC, IFC, IFGC, IMC, IPC and ISPSC with Georgia Amendments, the 2024 Life Safety Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code, the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code and the 2012 International Wildland Urban Interface Code. Georgia has no local code adoption to look up in any event. The International Residential Code, 2024 Edition, with Georgia Amendments 2026 is a mandatory state minimum standard code adopted by the Department of Community Affairs, effective January 1, 2026, and under O.C.G.A. 8-2-25(a) it applies to any structure built in Georgia whether or not the local government chooses to enforce it locally. What a local government chooses is which of the mandatory codes it will enforce and whether to adopt the permissive codes. Macon-Bibb County makes that choice by reference rather than by edition - Code of Ordinances section 6-2(a) provides that "the latest edition of the state minimum standard codes, enumerated in said section, as adopted and amended by the state department of community affairs, shall be enforced in Macon-Bibb County by the department", so the County moves with the state automatically. The permissive codes it has taken up are the ICC Property Maintenance Code, the National Green Building Standard as an optional non-mandatory standard for residential dwellings, and Appendices N and O for airport noise zones. Appendix U Disaster Resilient Construction, which the Department of Community Affairs adopts as optional, appears neither in that chapter nor on the department's list of enforced codes. One caution when reading the County's own material - its Residential Roofing page still answers its questions against the 2018 International Residential Code, and one answer on that page cites the 2012 edition, while the Construction Code Adoption page puts applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026 under the 2024 edition. Ask the department which edition governs a job before relying on a section number from the roofing page.
Drip edge
Required — Required at the eaves and gables, and Macon-Bibb County has published its own position that a reroof is held to the same standard as a new roof. Its Residential Roofing page states: "2018 IRC Section R905.2.8.5 prescriptively requires that drip edge be installed at the eaves and gables of all new shingle roofs. A reroof of an existing dwelling is treated as a new roof installation and must comply." That page is written against the 2018 International Residential Code; the department's Construction Code Adoption page puts permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026 under the 2024 International Residential Code with Georgia Amendments. Where the drip edge requirement sits in the 2024 edition is not established here, and this record does not restate that edition's text; the requirement recorded above rests on Macon-Bibb County's own published position. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — Not required at the roof edge, and this is a local determination rather than a state one - Macon-Bibb County filled in its own row of the code's climatic and geographic criteria table. Its Residential Roofing page states: "Per 2018 IRC Table R301.2(1), as modified for the conditions encountered within Macon-Bibb County. Ice and Water Shield is not required at the roof edge to protect the roof from the effects of ice damming. Based on our climatic conditions, Macon-Bibb County does not experience extreme freezing and thawing cycles experienced in the Northern climate zones." Note this answers the ice barrier at the eave only, and the County answers the valley question separately and in the roofer's favour. The Code recognises three prescriptive valley-lining methods - metal lining at least 24 inches wide in one of the corrosion-resistant metals the Code tabulates, two plies of mineral surfaced roll roofing complying with ASTM D 3909 or ASTM D 6380 Class M, or, for a closed valley, one ply of smooth roll roofing complying with ASTM D 6380 and at least 36 inches wide, with self-adhering polymer bitumen underlayment complying with ASTM D1970 permitted in lieu of the lining material. Macon-Bibb County says it "recognizes all three of the available options" for flashing closed valleys and "does not mandate which option the contractor is prescriptively required to follow." So ice-and-water shield in the valley is one permitted method here, not the only one. About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — No mid-roof or in-progress roofing inspection is required. The required-inspection list in the Administrative Procedures the County adopts by ordinance runs footing and foundation, slab, framing, wall insulation, fire-rated assemblies, fire plaster and final, and names no roofing stage. The department publishes its own inspection-type vocabulary separately, and the two roofing entries in it are "ROOF SHEATHING: The inspection of the plywood roof covering to ensure proper nailing" and "ROOF FINAL: Inspection of the completed reroofing of the building. This inspection includes verification that the roof is installed per code and the site is clean of all construction debris." So a permitted reroof is inspected at the end, and the deck can be inspected if it is opened up, but nothing is staged between tear-off and covering. Build in the possibility of one anyway - the Administrative Procedures have the Building Official make the listed inspections "and such other inspections as deemed necessary", and the County's residential inspection handout says the assigned Combination Inspector "has the authority to waive or add inspections, as necessary to demonstrate compliance with the adopted codes for your project."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistant, Class 4 or UL 2218 roof covering is required in Macon-Bibb County. The Georgia State Amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code contain no amendment to the Code's roofing chapter and no impact-rating requirement anywhere in the packet. On the County side, Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, the Administrative Procedures adopted under it, the department's Construction Code Adoption page and its Residential Roofing page were each read in full and none of them imposes an impact rating on a roof covering. Note the distinction the sources trade on constantly - impact resistance is rated to UL 2218, fire classification to ASTM E108 or UL 790, and wind to ASTM D3161 or D7158. An insurance discount for an impact-rated shingle is not a code requirement.
Repair permit threshold
Macon-Bibb County exempts roof work from permit only where it is genuinely maintenance. The Administrative Procedures the County adopts by ordinance list, under the heading "Work Exempt from Permits", that permits are not required for "Roof repairs for maintenance purposes only, performed with like materials and with no replacement or installation of structural members and decking." A tear-off and replacement, a change of roof covering material, or any job that replaces decking or framing therefore needs a permit. The same list carries a separate money exemption that a small roof repair can also fall under - "Alterations or repairs to existing buildings or structures whose building permit valuation for the proposed work does not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), does not involve structural elements of a building, and only if approved by the Building Official or his agent" - note that this one is not automatic, because it is conditioned on the Building Official's approval. Do not confuse either exemption with the $8,499.99 figure in the County fee schedule, which is a fee bracket and not a permit threshold.
Wind design criteria
Set by the state code, and the numbers are not on the County's website. Georgia's residential code is the 2024 International Residential Code with the Georgia Amendments 2026, and the amendment packet's Chapter 3 revisions run to alternative provisions, fire-resistant construction and garage separation - it makes no change to the design wind speed. Its only wind figure sits in a new exception to the foundation-anchorage section, which applies where the basic wind speed from the Code's own wind map does not exceed 115 miles per hour, and that is a threshold in an anchorage exception rather than a design wind speed for Bibb County. So the governing wind speed is the base Code's own map figure for this location, together with Table R301.2(1), which the County has filled in for itself - its Residential Roofing page describes that table as "modified for the conditions encountered within Macon-Bibb County." The County publishes the ice-barrier answer out of that table but not the rest of it, and it appears on none of its permit applications, its residential submittal-requirements sheet or its adopted Administrative Procedures. Get the filled-in wind speed, exposure category and the rest of the row from the Department of Building and Fire Safety on 478-803-0466 before designing fastening or uplift to a number.
Roof layer limit / recover
No Macon-Bibb County layer or recover rule of its own. Georgia's residential code is the 2024 International Residential Code with the Georgia Amendments 2026, mandatory statewide from January 1, 2026 and the residential code Macon-Bibb County enforces for permit applications submitted on or after that date. The Georgia amendment packet makes no change to the Code's roofing chapter, and the County's own instruments are silent on the point - Chapter 6 of its Code of Ordinances adopts the state minimum codes by reference without writing roofing text of its own, the Administrative Procedures it adopts under that chapter address permits and inspections rather than roof coverings, and its Residential Roofing page answers drip edge, ice barrier, valley flashing, flashing replacement and crickets without reaching recover or layer count. So the base International Residential Code recover provisions apply as published. Macon-Bibb County has not been shown to have adopted Appendix U Disaster Resilient Construction, which the Department of Community Affairs adopts as optional.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Set by the state code, not by Macon-Bibb County. The residential code the County enforces is the 2024 International Residential Code with the Georgia Amendments 2026, and the Georgia amendment packet makes no change to the Code's roofing chapter, so the base International Residential Code provisions on sheathing for the roof covering apply as published. What Macon-Bibb County adds is procedural and worth knowing before the deck is opened up. Its permit exemption for roof work reaches only "Roof repairs for maintenance purposes only, performed with like materials and with no replacement or installation of structural members and decking", so the moment decking is replaced the job is permitted work. The County also runs a deck inspection under a name of its own - "ROOF SHEATHING: The inspection of the plywood roof covering to ensure proper nailing." Macon-Bibb County has not been shown to have adopted Appendix U Disaster Resilient Construction, which the Department of Community Affairs adopts as optional and which carries enhanced deck-sealing and shingle-fastening provisions.
Sales & use tax
8% in Bibb County, which is the whole of Macon-Bibb County, combining the 4% Georgia state rate with the local components the Department of Revenue's rate chart marks LOST, Educational, SPLOST and Other. Bibb appears once on the chart, under code 011, so there is no city-versus-unincorporated split to watch for the way there is in Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton. The rate is the same on the chart in force today and on the chart the Department has already published for October 1 through December 31, 2026, so nothing changes at the quarter. The Georgia contractor is the consumer of the materials it installs and pays the tax when it buys them, so the tax on the shingles is the roofer's own cost rather than a line the homeowner is charged. Georgia also requires every contractor improving real property in the state to file a Certificate of Registration on Form CRF-002 before its first construction activity in Georgia; that is a tax registration, not a contractor credential. Whether separately stated roofing labour is taxable is not addressed by the contractors rule and is not stated here.

Related guides

Denver-Metro Roofing Permits Filing a Hail Insurance Claim Colorado Hail Season Prep Hiring a Contractor

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