City of Mandan, North Dakota - Building Inspection Department

City of Mandan, North Dakota

city

Mandan, ND

Required

Permits are pulled at the Building Inspection Department in City Hall, 205 Second Avenue NW, on 701-667-3230, and the City states the reach plainly: permits are required within the city limits and within the two mile extraterritorial jurisdiction. Residential work runs on the Residential Building Permit Application, whose first line asks for the contractor name and a North Dakota licence number, and which carries the same licence number box for every listed subcontractor. Turnaround is quick by the City account, generally less than an hour depending on the information provided and the complexity of the project, with more time asked for new homes and garages. The permit fee is value based rather than a flat roofing fee, starting at $45.00 for a job valued at $500 or less and rising in bands from there under the published Mandan Building Permit Fee Schedule; the City may deny a permit where in the opinion of the building official the valuation on the application is underestimated, and final valuation is set by the building official. Inspections are arranged by the permit holder, are included in the permit fee, and are scheduled same day, with a repeat visit billed as an additional inspection at $50.00. A residential permit becomes null and void if the work is not commenced within 180 days or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days, and all permits for residential construction expire in 365 days. Commercial projects may additionally need approval from the Mandan Architectural Review Commission, which meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month; that route does not apply to ordinary residential re-roofing.

FLOATING ADOPTION OF THE STATE CODE, AND THE CITY PAGE AND THE STATE EDITION DO NOT CURRENTLY LINE UP - a roofer should confirm the edition with the Building Inspection Department before relying on either. North Dakota imposes no building code on a municipality automatically. Under NDCC 54-21.3-03(6) a city that elects to administer and enforce a building code must adopt the North Dakota State Building Code, and may then amend it "to conform to local needs." Mandan is such an electing city, and the North Dakota Department of Commerce lists it as a code enforcing jurisdiction with a named building official. Mandan Municipal Code Section 111-2-1 (Adoption of code) reads: "There is adopted by reference that certain building code known as the state building code, as developed by the state, as now or hereafter amended," and then applies the City amendments to "The State Building Code, adopted by the provisions of this chapter, and all subsequent editions." That is a floating adoption, not a frozen one - it names no edition and carries forward automatically. The two branches a roofer should know about. (1) The City of Mandan Building and Design Criteria page, read on 3 September 2026, states that "The following codes are currently enforced by the City of Mandan" and lists the 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Fire Code, 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code, 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code and ICC ANSI A117.1 2017. (2) The North Dakota Department of Commerce, which assembles the State Building Code, states that on 11 September 2025 eligible cities and counties and eligible members of the Building Code Advisory Committee adopted the 2024 updates to the IBC, IRC, IMC and IFGC together with the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code and International Existing Building Code, and that "The new North Dakota State Building Code will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026." The state publishes that edition as the 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book, effective 1 January 2026, built on the 2024 model codes with North Dakota amendments. So the City page names the 2021 family while the state code the City's ordinance adopts by floating reference is the 2024 family. Mandan's own amendments to whichever edition applies are the eleven numbered items in Section 111-2-1, plus Section 111-2-10 (Building construction rules), which expressly "supersede any conflicting provisions of the State Building Code." Section 111-2-2 makes City ordinance controlling over the adopted state code, except where state law is more restrictive. For roof work the edition question is less sharp than it looks: neither the 2021 nor the 2024 North Dakota amendment set touches the residential roofing chapters, and neither do Mandan's own amendments.

Required — Mandan adopts the North Dakota State Building Code, whose residential half is the International Residential Code with North Dakota amendments. The City instrument that adopts and amends it, Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111, was read in full and its amendments do not reach the residential roofing chapter; the North Dakota amendment sets for both the 2021 and the 2024 editions were also read in full and neither amends that chapter either. The base residential code drip edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs, at Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies unmodified in Mandan, with no local softening and no local addition. Take the installation extent and the fastening spacing from the edition of the residential code the Building Inspection Department confirms is in force for your permit. About drip edge

Required — Sourced from the City of Mandan's own published climatic and geographic design criteria, not inferred from the climate. Mandan fills in the residential code table of climatic and geographic design criteria on its Building and Design Criteria page, and the "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" line reads "YES". The City does not restate how far up the slope the barrier must run, and neither Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111 nor the North Dakota amendment set touches the residential roofing chapter, so the extent of the barrier is governed by the unamended base residential code rather than by any Mandan specific rule. Plan on an ice barrier on every re-roof in Mandan and take the extent from the edition of the residential code the Building Inspection Department confirms is in force for your permit. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No mid-roof, roof deck or in-progress roof inspection stage exists in Mandan. The City publishes its own enumeration of the inspections a permit holder must arrange: "Yes, it is the responsibility of the permit holder to arrange for inspections. This would include water/sewer, building foundation/wall, framing, plumbing, fuel/gas, attic insulation, decks, and a final inspection." Roof deck, underlayment and mid-roof are absent from that list, and Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111, read in full, creates no roofing inspection stage of its own. So on an ordinary tear-off and re-shingle the inspection to plan around is the final, not a hold point part way up the roof. Two practical notes. Scheduling is same day rather than booked ahead: the City says to call as soon as the work is being finished up, that an inspection is fitted into the first available slot, and that the minimum wait is 30 minutes before an inspector can reach the site. And there is no separate charge, since the City states there is no additional charge for inspections, though a repeat visit is billed as an additional inspection at $50.00 under the published fee schedule. Where a re-roof turns structural and the framing is opened up, the framing inspection on that list applies.

Not required — No impact resistance mandate applies in Mandan. Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111 (Regulation of Building Construction) is the City instrument that adopts and amends the building code, and it was read in full, all thirteen articles, Sections 111-1-1 through 111-13-4. Its eleven numbered amendments in Section 111-2-1 and its supplementary rules in Section 111-2-10 do not reach the residential roofing chapter, and no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact rating requirement appears anywhere in the chapter. The same is true on the state side under either edition a Mandan permit could be written to: neither the North Dakota amendments to the 2021 residential code nor the North Dakota amendments to the 2024 residential code contain any impact rating provision or amend the roofing chapter at all. An impact rated shingle may still be worth buying in a hail prone market, and an insurer may discount for one, but nothing in Mandan law requires it.

THERE IS A DOLLAR THRESHOLD AND IT IS LOW - $2,000. The City of Mandan Building Inspection Department publishes two lists, and roofing is named on neither, so a roofer has to read them the way the City wrote them. The requirement list, headed "When do I need a permit?", reads: "Permits are required for any: commercial remodel; any structural alteration (residential or commercial); residential construction exceeding $2,000; window replacements where the size of the windows are altered from existing size; any structure exceeding 120 sq. ft. in size; retaining walls that exceed 4 ft. in height and affecting the structural stability of a structure; furnace changeouts; water heater changeouts; water and sewer hookups; fireplace installs." The exemption list, headed "When do I not need a permit?", is the City fill-in of the code list of work exempt from permit, and it runs in full: fences not exceeding 8.5 ft in height; retaining walls that would not disturb a structure; sidewalks and driveways on private property not over 30 inches above grade; painting; papering; tiling; carpeting; countertops; mill work and any similar projects that are aesthetic in nature; landscaping; swimming pools; window awnings supported by an exterior wall that do not require additional support; and decks not exceeding 120 sq ft in area that are no more than 7 inches above grade at any point, are not attached to a dwelling and do not serve the required exit door. No roof covering, re-roofing, shingle or roof repair item appears anywhere on that exemption list. PRACTICAL READING FOR A ROOFER. Almost every residential re-roof in Mandan clears $2,000, so almost every residential re-roof is permitted work. Below $2,000 the second bullet still catches the job independently of price if the work is a structural alteration, which is how a deck replacement or a rafter or truss repair is treated. Two further points. The permit reach is not only the city limits: the City states that permits are required within city limits and within the two mile extraterritorial jurisdiction. And the City tells applicants in terms what to do with a borderline job, which is worth taking up rather than guessing: "If you are not sure if you need a permit, please call 701.667.3230."

Read from the City of Mandan's own published "IRC Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria," the local fill-in of Table R301.2, on the City Building and Design Criteria page, each figure aligned to its printed label: Ground snow load 40 psf; Wind Design speed 115 mph; Wind Design topographic effects NO; Wind Design special wind region NO; Wind Design wind-borne debris zone NO; Seismic Design Criteria Zone A; Subject to Damage From weathering Severe; Subject to Damage from frost depth 4 feet; Subject to Damage from termite NO; Winter Design Temp -19; Ice Barrier Underlayment Required YES; Flood Hazards, current FIRM adopted 2007; Air Freezing Index 4000; Mean Annual Temp 42 degrees F. Two cautions. First, the City page does not state whether the 115 mph figure is a nominal design wind speed or an ultimate design wind speed, and the two are not interchangeable - an ultimate figure applied to a method expecting a nominal one, or the reverse, gives the wrong answer, so confirm the basis with the Building Inspection Department before designing a fastening schedule to it. Second, separately from the residential table, Mandan Municipal Code Section 111-2-1(2) amends International Building Code Section 1603.1.3 "to insert a minimum snow load design requirement of thirty-five pounds per square foot"; that is a commercial-track amendment and does not change the 40 psf ground snow load the City publishes for residential work.

One existing layer may be recovered; a second existing layer forces a tear off to the deck. Mandan imposes no layer rule of its own, so the rule is the one in the adopted code. Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111 was read in full, all thirteen articles, Sections 111-1-1 through 111-13-4, and neither its eleven numbered amendments at Section 111-2-1 nor its supplementary rules at Section 111-2-10 amend the roofing chapter of the residential code, and the chapter contains no roof covering, shingle or reroofing provision of any kind. The North Dakota amendments to the residential code were read in full for both the 2021 and the 2024 editions and neither amends that chapter either. So the base residential code roof recover rule governs unmodified: a recover over an existing roof covering is not permitted where the existing roof already carries two or more applications of any type of roof covering, nor where the existing roof or covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not an adequate base for additional roofing, nor where the existing covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos cement tile. That bar is worded the same way in both editions a Mandan permit could be written to, at Section R908.3.1.1 in the 2021 edition and in the exceptions to Section R908.4 in the 2024 edition, so the open question about which edition Mandan is enforcing does not change the answer for a roofer. There is no severe hail condition in either edition that would force a tear off over a single layer.

No Mandan specific roof sheathing rule exists, and that is established rather than assumed. Mandan Municipal Code Chapter 111 (Regulation of Building Construction) was read in full, all thirteen articles, Sections 111-1-1 through 111-13-4. Its eleven numbered amendments to the adopted building code, at Section 111-2-1, run to permit fees, a commercial roof snow load, foundation walls over 10 feet, footing reinforcement, detached garage slab foundations, off street parking and driveway paving, the valuation chart used to compute a permit fee, garage to dwelling door openings, basement escape window sill height, lot drainage and deck footings. Section 111-2-10 adds eight construction site rules that expressly supersede conflicting provisions of the State Building Code, and none of them is a construction standard for roofs. Nothing in the chapter amends the roof and ceiling construction chapter of the residential code, and the only two mentions of sheathing in the whole chapter are unrelated to roofs, being the requirement that address numbers be painted on wall sheathing after framing and a housing code condition about exterior walls not covered with an approved type of sheathing. The North Dakota amendments to the residential code were also read in full, for both the 2021 and the 2024 editions, and neither amends the roof and ceiling construction chapter. The base residential code roof sheathing and decking provisions therefore apply unmodified in Mandan. One Mandan specific point that does bear on a roof, though it sits on the commercial side: Section 111-2-1(2) amends International Building Code Section 1603.1.3 to insert a minimum roof snow load design requirement of 35 pounds per square foot, which is a design loading for commercial structures and not a residential sheathing rule.