The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Township of Manchester - Building Department (Inspections Division)

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ?

Adopted code

Township of Manchester - Building Department (Inspections Division)

No, Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Township of Manchester - Building Department (Inspections Division)). No permit is needed under state law to reroof a detached one- or two-family house, and the Manchester Building Department's Permits page says the same. A townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs a permit from the Manchester Township Building Department, Municipal Building, 1 Colonial Drive, Manchester, 732-657-6700, [email protected], open 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday; to reach a subcode official the page says "Please call between 8:00AM to 9:30 AM or 3:30PM to 4 PM." The department asks: "Prior to beginning any home improvement project, please check with us to see what, if any, permits are required." Where a roof permit is required, Manchester's construction fee ordinance (Ordinance 26-39, amending Chapter 133, with the new fees in effect from September 1, 2026) has no roofing fee line; renovations, alterations and repairs are $37 per $1,000 of estimated cost up to $50,000, $29 per $1,000 from $50,001 to $100,000 and $25 per $1,000 above that, and the building subcode "Minimum fee shall be $100." The posted copy of the ordinance shows its first reading on July 27, 2026 and a second reading scheduled for August 10, 2026. The Township's online Citizen Portal is used to search construction permits by address and to apply for re-occupancy inspections. In the Borough of Lakehurst, Borough Code Section 12-1.3 says "An Interlocal Services Agreement exists providing for Manchester Township to serve as the enforcing agency, and as such the fees established by the Township of Manchester shall be the construction fees of the Borough." The Borough's own construction page gives a Construction Office line, 732-657-4141, answered from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, "to schedule an inspection or for additional information," and says Borough zoning permits are required for "almost all building and renovation work"; the "Zoning permit fee is $25.".

Roof code checklist: Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofNonjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Repair permit thresholdPublishednjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Layer limit / roof-overPublishednjac_5_23_6.pdf2026-10-02
Deck & sheathingNot published
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNonjac_5_23_2.pdf2026-10-02
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNo52_27D_119.pdf2026-10-02
Wind design criteriaNot published
Adopted codePublishednjac_5_23_3.pdf2026-10-02
Contractor license / registrationYespub.njleg.gov2026-10-02
Sales & use taxPublishedsu3.pdf2026-10-02

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
Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey
Jurisdiction type
district
Address
1 Colonial Drive (Municipal Building), Manchester, NJ 08759
Contact
  • url: https://manchestertwp.com/departments/department-of-inspection/inspections-division/
  • phone: 732-657-6700
  • email: [email protected]
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
No permit is needed under state law to reroof a detached one- or two-family house, and the Manchester Building Department's Permits page says the same. A townhouse, other attached dwelling or any other building needs a permit from the Manchester Township Building Department, Municipal Building, 1 Colonial Drive, Manchester, 732-657-6700, [email protected], open 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday; to reach a subcode official the page says "Please call between 8:00AM to 9:30 AM or 3:30PM to 4 PM." The department asks: "Prior to beginning any home improvement project, please check with us to see what, if any, permits are required." Where a roof permit is required, Manchester's construction fee ordinance (Ordinance 26-39, amending Chapter 133, with the new fees in effect from September 1, 2026) has no roofing fee line; renovations, alterations and repairs are $37 per $1,000 of estimated cost up to $50,000, $29 per $1,000 from $50,001 to $100,000 and $25 per $1,000 above that, and the building subcode "Minimum fee shall be $100." The posted copy of the ordinance shows its first reading on July 27, 2026 and a second reading scheduled for August 10, 2026. The Township's online Citizen Portal is used to search construction permits by address and to apply for re-occupancy inspections. In the Borough of Lakehurst, Borough Code Section 12-1.3 says "An Interlocal Services Agreement exists providing for Manchester Township to serve as the enforcing agency, and as such the fees established by the Township of Manchester shall be the construction fees of the Borough." The Borough's own construction page gives a Construction Office line, 732-657-4141, answered from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, "to schedule an inspection or for additional information," and says Borough zoning permits are required for "almost all building and renovation work"; the "Zoning permit fee is $25."
Adopted code
The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Manchester's New Codes page (dated November 26, 2024 on the page) still lists the "International Residential Code/2021, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Sept. 06, 2022 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode; that is the edition the State replaced on August 17, 2026, and the six-month window described above is when an applicant may still choose it. The Borough of Lakehurst's construction page names no code edition.
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — No mid-roof inspection under state law. Reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance, and N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Where a reroof does need a permit, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18(b)1 says "Inspections of one- and two-family dwellings for which construction must cease until the inspection is made shall be limited to the following": footing trenches, foundations, utility services and a mid-point inspection, whose building item is "All structural framing, connections, wall and roof sheathing, and insulation." The list names no roof-covering or underlayment stage, and the rule does not say whether its sheathing item reaches a permitted reroof that replaces sheathing. Any further inspection a municipality requires "shall be of the type and nature that construction may continue without interruption" (5:23-2.18(b)3). Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Manchester's Permits page says ordinary building maintenance needs no permit "and therefore, no inspection is required"; neither it nor the Borough of Lakehurst construction page names a roof-covering or mid-roof inspection.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistant roofing requirement under state law. The New Jersey Uniform Construction Code rules that reach a house reroof (the administrative rules in N.J.A.C. 5:23-1 and 5:23-2, the State's amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code at 5:23-3.21, and the Rehabilitation Subcode at 5:23-6) contain no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality cannot add one: N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 says "Any law or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding," the "alteration, renovation, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, removal, or demolition of all buildings or structures already erected shall be regulated pursuant to the 'State Uniform Construction Code Act,'" and under 52:27D-139 local construction regulations were "deemed repealed and superseded" once the state code was promulgated. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Manchester Building Department pages and the Borough of Lakehurst construction page state nothing further on roof covering ratings.
Repair permit threshold
No permit and no size limit for reroofing a detached one- or two-family house; a permit for every other building. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) lists items that "are ordinary maintenance and shall be treated as such by every enforcing agency" and says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Item 1.x is "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings," with no square-footage or percentage cap. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(b)1 carries this into the permit rule: "Ordinary maintenance as defined in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 shall not require a permit or notice to the enforcing agency." Two limits apply. First, the item covers only detached one- and two-family dwellings. Reroofing a townhouse or other attached dwelling, or any other building, falls under the general permit rule, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(a): "It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, repair, renovate, alter, reconstruct or demolish a structure ... without first filing an application with the construction official." Some of that work may be "minor work" under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A, which still needs a permit, but "work may proceed, upon notice to the enforcing agency, before the permit is issued" (5:23-2.14(b)2). The fee is municipal: "The municipality, in accordance with this chapter, shall establish by ordinance enforcing agency fees" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.25; fee standards at 5:23-4.18). Second, ordinary maintenance does not include "Any work affecting structural or fire safety" (5:23-2.7(b)4), so roof work that reaches rafters, trusses or other structure needs a permit even on a detached house. The rule does not say whether replacing roof sheathing alone is such work. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, the Manchester Building Department's Permits page agrees with the state rule: "Did you know that a construction permit is no longer required for the repair or replacement of existing roof coverings and siding on detached one and two family dwellings?" It lists "Roof covering (repair or replacement) on DETACHED ONE- and TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS" among ordinary building maintenance projects that "do not require a permit application to be filed with the local enforcing agency." The Borough of Lakehurst's construction page says "Construction permits are required for pools, electrical work, plumbing work, and other items" and names no roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers maximum, by state rule. Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)), whose repair section, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4(e)7, reads: "Existing roof covering shall be removed before installing new roof covering when any of the following conditions occur: i. The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; ii. The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or iii. The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer of asphalt shingles may be covered once; a roof that already has two layers, a wet or deteriorated roof, or a wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile roof must be torn off first. The answer is the same if a reroof is treated as renovation rather than repair: for work other than repair, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.8(h)7 applies "All of Chapter 9 entitled 'Roof Assemblies', except Section R907" of the 2024 International Residential Code, and its reroofing section, R908.4, Exceptions, bars a recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." New Jersey's Chapter 9 amendments at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(c)8 change only R903.4.1 and R905.1.2 and leave R908 as published. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Manchester Building Department pages and the Borough of Lakehurst construction page state nothing further on roof layers.
Sales & use tax
6.625% New Jersey Sales Tax; whether the roofing bill is taxed depends on the job. The Division of Taxation's guide Contractors and New Jersey Taxes (S&U-3, Rev. 5/25) refers to "New Jersey's 6.625% Sales Tax rate." A new roof is an exempt capital improvement: "New roof" is on the guide's list of "Exempt capital improvements," and "If the work results in an exempt capital improvement to real property, the contractor does not charge Sales Tax on the bill"; the owner gives the contractor a Certificate of Exempt Capital Improvement (Form ST-8). The roofer still pays tax on materials: "The contractor pays the Sales Tax on the cost of materials and supplies at the time of purchase." A repair is taxable. The guide lists "Fixing a leaky roof" among repairs and says "replacing a few loose bath tiles or a portion of a leaky roof is a repair to the existing real property. However, replacing all of the tiles or the entire roof with upgraded or improved materials would be an exempt capital improvement." On a taxable job the only deduction is a separately stated cost of materials, and "If the contractor does not itemize the materials and the labor for a taxable job, the entire receipt is subject to tax." Work for an exempt organization, a government agency or a qualified business in an Urban Enterprise Zone follows separate exemption rules. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Manchester Building Department pages and the Borough of Lakehurst construction page state nothing further on sales tax.

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The Building Department of the Township of Manchester, in Ocean County, enforces the Uniform Construction Code and issues construction permits from the Municipal Building at 1 Colonial Drive. Under an Interlocal Services Agreement it is also the enforcing agency for the Borough of Lakehurst, whose code takes Manchester's construction fees as its own. New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code governs the work; neither municipality adopts a building code of its own.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ?

No, Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ does not require a permit to replace a roof. No permit and no size limit for reroofing a detached one- or two-family house; a permit for every other building. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) lists items that "are ordinary maintenance and shall be treated as such by every enforcing agency" and says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Item 1.x is "The repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings," with no square-footage or percentage cap. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(b)1 carries this into the permit rule: "Ordinary maintenance as defined in N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 shall not require a permit or notice to the enforcing agency." Two limits apply. First, the item covers only detached one- and two-family dwellings. Reroofing a townhouse or other attached dwelling, or any other building, falls under the general permit rule, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14(a): "It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, repair, renovate, alter, reconstruct or demolish a structure ... without first filing an application with the construction official." Some of that work may be "minor work" under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A, which still needs a permit, but "work may proceed, upon notice to the enforcing agency, before the permit is issued" (5:23-2.14(b)2). The fee is municipal: "The municipality, in accordance with this chapter, shall establish by ordinance enforcing agency fees" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.25; fee standards at 5:23-4.18). Second, ordinary maintenance does not include "Any work affecting structural or fire safety" (5:23-2.7(b)4), so roof work that reaches rafters, trusses or other structure needs a permit even on a detached house. The rule does not say whether replacing roof sheathing alone is such work. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, the Manchester Building Department's Permits page agrees with the state rule: "Did you know that a construction permit is no longer required for the repair or replacement of existing roof coverings and siding on detached one and two family dwellings?" It lists "Roof covering (repair or replacement) on DETACHED ONE- and TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS" among ordinary building maintenance projects that "do not require a permit application to be filed with the local enforcing agency." The Borough of Lakehurst's construction page says "Construction permits are required for pools, electrical work, plumbing work, and other items" and names no roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ?

Two layers maximum, by state rule. Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)), whose repair section, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.4(e)7, reads: "Existing roof covering shall be removed before installing new roof covering when any of the following conditions occur: i. The existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; ii. The existing roof covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or iii. The existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer of asphalt shingles may be covered once; a roof that already has two layers, a wet or deteriorated roof, or a wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile roof must be torn off first. The answer is the same if a reroof is treated as renovation rather than repair: for work other than repair, N.J.A.C. 5:23-6.8(h)7 applies "All of Chapter 9 entitled 'Roof Assemblies', except Section R907" of the 2024 International Residential Code, and its reroofing section, R908.4, Exceptions, bars a recover "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." New Jersey's Chapter 9 amendments at N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(c)8 change only R903.4.1 and R905.1.2 and leave R908 as published. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. The Manchester Building Department pages and the Borough of Lakehurst construction page state nothing further on roof layers.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ use?

The 2024 International Residential Code, New Jersey edition, adopted by the State, with the Rehabilitation Subcode for work on existing buildings. New Jersey has one construction code, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which every municipality enforces; municipalities do not adopt building codes of their own (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123.1 and 52:27D-139). N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.21(a)1 adopts the International Code Council's "2024 International Residential Code known as the IRC/2024 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode in New Jersey subject to the modifications stated at (c) below," and 3.21(b) applies it to "detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade plane in height." The section was rewritten by R.2026 d.086, "effective August 17, 2026," in the Department of Community Affairs' print of the rules "adopted and published through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 16," and the Department's Current Construction Codes page lists the "International Residential Code/2024, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Aug 17, 2026. Other buildings fall under the building subcode, the International Building Code/2024, NJ edition (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14). Roof work on an existing building is held to the Rehabilitation Subcode: "Existing structures, when repaired, renovated, altered or reconstructed, shall conform to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:23-6, Rehabilitation Subcode" (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.4(a)). A six-month grace period follows the adoption. N.J.A.C. 5:23-1.6(a): "For a period of six months following the operative date of a subcode revision, applicants may submit a complete permit application, including all prior approvals, to be reviewed under the code in force immediately preceding the subcode revision." The rule history gives R.2026 d.086 no date other than its effective date, so on that reading the window runs from August 17, 2026 until about February 17, 2027: a complete application filed inside it may be reviewed under either the prior edition or the 2024 edition, at the applicant's choice, and one filed after it closes is reviewed under the 2024 edition. Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Manchester's New Codes page (dated November 26, 2024 on the page) still lists the "International Residential Code/2021, NJ ed" with an adoption date of Sept. 06, 2022 as the one- and two-family dwelling subcode; that is the edition the State replaced on August 17, 2026, and the six-month window described above is when an applicant may still choose it. The Borough of Lakehurst's construction page names no code edition.

Is a mid-roof inspection required in Township of Manchester and Borough of Lakehurst, NJ?

No. No mid-roof inspection under state law. Reroofing a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance, and N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7(c) says "No permit for, inspections of, or notice to the enforcing agency of ordinary maintenance shall be required." Where a reroof does need a permit, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18(b)1 says "Inspections of one- and two-family dwellings for which construction must cease until the inspection is made shall be limited to the following": footing trenches, foundations, utility services and a mid-point inspection, whose building item is "All structural framing, connections, wall and roof sheathing, and insulation." The list names no roof-covering or underlayment stage, and the rule does not say whether its sheathing item reaches a permitted reroof that replaces sheathing. Any further inspection a municipality requires "shall be of the type and nature that construction may continue without interruption" (5:23-2.18(b)3). Everything above is New Jersey state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Manchester's Permits page says ordinary building maintenance needs no permit "and therefore, no inspection is required"; neither it nor the Borough of Lakehurst construction page names a roof-covering or mid-roof inspection.