Permitting Authorities / City of Montague - Building Inspection Department (White Lake Area Building Inspection Board)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Montague, MI?
Adopted code
City of Montague - Building Inspection Department (White Lake Area Building Inspection Board)
No, Montague, MI does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (City of Montague - Building Inspection Department (White Lake Area Building Inspection Board)). The White Lake Area Building Inspection Board's brochure, posted on the Montague Building Inspection Department page (the posted file is named 2024-04-04 and carries the footer date 1/1/18), lists "Roof shingles" under "ITEMS NOT REQUIRING BUILDING PERMITS". The same brochure lists "All Structural Changes" among the items that need a permit. The city page lists the Building Inspector's office hours as Tuesdays, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, and the permit coordinator's as Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5pm. Where a permit is needed, the Board's fee schedule says "An Administrative Fee of $30 will be added to all permits after Inspection Fee is determined to calculate a Final Permit Fee." and "As of July 1, 2019 All Permits are Non-Refundable". The brochure asks permit holders to contact the Building Inspector at least two days before an inspection. The city page says "The City of Montague is a member of the White Lake Area Building Inspection Board, which is comprised of City of Montague, Montague Township, and Whitehall Township." Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work has its own permits and inspectors. Before this record publishes the no-permit line, three things were read: the enacted permit text (Chapter 18 of the City Code, read in full, whose Section 18-31 says only that the city enforces the state construction code and which makes no amendment to the permit section, and MCL 125.1510), Michigan's list of work exempt from permit (Section R105.2 of the residential code as Rule 505 amends it, which names no roof work), and the Board's fee schedule, which has no roofing line. State law requires that "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" and says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without defining ordinary repairs. No enacted text names roof work either way; the no-permit line for roof shingles is the department's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the ordinary-repairs clause. Questions go to the Inspection Department at 231-893-1155.
Roof code checklist: Montague, MI
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
City of Montague, Michigan
Address
8778 Ferry Street, Montague, MI 49437
Contact
- url: https://cityofmontague.org/about/building-inspection-department/
- phone: 231-893-1155
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Michigan licenses residential builders and residential maintenance and alteration contractors under the Occupational Code (MCL 339.601, 339.2401 to 339.2404); this record does not decide whether a given roofer falls inside an exemption.
- city_level: The Board's fee schedule says "contractors need to register with WLABIB - $30 for a 3 year registration", and the city's Building Inspection Department page posts a Contractor Registration Form.
Permit process note
The White Lake Area Building Inspection Board's brochure, posted on the Montague Building Inspection Department page (the posted file is named 2024-04-04 and carries the footer date 1/1/18), lists "Roof shingles" under "ITEMS NOT REQUIRING BUILDING PERMITS". The same brochure lists "All Structural Changes" among the items that need a permit. The city page lists the Building Inspector's office hours as Tuesdays, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, and the permit coordinator's as Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5pm. Where a permit is needed, the Board's fee schedule says "An Administrative Fee of $30 will be added to all permits after Inspection Fee is determined to calculate a Final Permit Fee." and "As of July 1, 2019 All Permits are Non-Refundable". The brochure asks permit holders to contact the Building Inspector at least two days before an inspection. The city page says "The City of Montague is a member of the White Lake Area Building Inspection Board, which is comprised of City of Montague, Montague Township, and Whitehall Township." Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work has its own permits and inspectors. Before this record publishes the no-permit line, three things were read: the enacted permit text (Chapter 18 of the City Code, read in full, whose Section 18-31 says only that the city enforces the state construction code and which makes no amendment to the permit section, and MCL 125.1510), Michigan's list of work exempt from permit (Section R105.2 of the residential code as Rule 505 amends it, which names no roof work), and the Board's fee schedule, which has no roofing line. State law requires that "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" and says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without defining ordinary repairs. No enacted text names roof work either way; the no-permit line for roof shingles is the department's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the ordinary-repairs clause. Questions go to the Inspection Department at 231-893-1155.
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of Montague as its own building code enforcer. Section 18-31 of the City Code says "The city enforces the state construction code." and names no edition. The Board's brochure, posted on the city's Building Inspection Department page, says "The WLABIB enforces the following codes:" and lists "2015 Michigan Residential Code". Section 18-204 of the City Code adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2015 edition.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Chapter 18 of the Montague Code of Ordinances and the Board's brochure were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Chapter 18 of the Montague Code of Ordinances and the Board's brochure were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Chapter 18 of the Montague Code of Ordinances and the Board's brochure were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
The White Lake Area Building Inspection Board's brochure, posted on the Montague Building Inspection Department page (the posted file is named 2024-04-04 and carries the footer date 1/1/18; read live on the page on October 15, 2026), lists "Roof shingles" under "ITEMS NOT REQUIRING BUILDING PERMITS". The same brochure lists "All Structural Changes" among the items that need a permit. The city's residential form "Repair & Replacement Expenditures" (dated 7.1.2019) says it "shall be filled out and returned to the City's Assessor before any repair and/or replacement of exterior doors, windows, roof, and/or siding not requiring a building permit" and gives the example "replacing shingles with metal roof, partial roof replacement". The brochure sets no area or dollar limit on the shingle line and names no other roof covering. No enacted text names roof work either way: Section 18-31 of the City Code says only that the city enforces the state construction code and Section 18-33 sets fees by the annual fee resolution; state law requires that "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" and also says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510) without defining ordinary repairs or capping them by size or cost. Michigan's list of work exempt from permit (Section R105.2 of the residential code, as Michigan amends it by Rule 505) names no roof work. The Board's fee schedule (dated 12/17/2020, effective July 1, 2019) has no roofing line, and the building permit application has no roofing box. The no-permit line for roof shingles is the department's stated practice; this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the ordinary-repairs clause. Questions go to the Inspection Department at 231-893-1155.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, the city's own building ordinance, Chapter 18 of the Montague Code of Ordinances (Buildings and Building Regulations, the 2018-03-07 chapter file the city posts), was read in full: it enforces the state construction code, creates a construction board of appeals, sets fees by resolution, and covers dangerous structures, swimming pools, property maintenance and rental dwelling registration; its property maintenance roof clause concerns matching materials and colors only, and it has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The brochure states no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). Chapter 18 of the Montague Code of Ordinances and the Board's brochure were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the City of Montague's Building Inspection Department page changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Montague's Building Inspection Department, at Montague City Hall, 8778 Ferry Street, is the office of the White Lake Area Building Inspection Board, which the city runs with Montague Township and Whitehall Township; a Building Official issues building permits and inspects, and separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspectors cover those trades. Section 18-31 of the city's Code of Ordinances says "The city enforces the state construction code.", and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the city as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
Working an insurance claim in Montague, MI? Everything on this page (drip edge, ice & water shield, inspections, Class 4 rules) formatted as a claim-ready evidence pack: verbatim ordinance quotes, code section cites, verification dates, and official source links, ready to attach to a supplement. See a real sample pack (PDF, 4 pages, free).
Code items like drip edge and ice & water shield are what adjusters ask you to document.
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes. Digital download: all sales are final once delivered, except for a failed delivery, a defective file, a duplicate purchase, or a pack materially different from its description. See Section 6 of our Terms of Use.
Questions about the Montague, MI pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.