Permitting Authorities / City of New Braunfels - Building Safety Division
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in New Braunfels, TX?
Adopted code
City of New Braunfels - Building Safety Division
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in New Braunfels, TX, issued by City of New Braunfels - Building Safety Division. New Braunfels issues a dedicated Roofing permit for residential and commercial re-roofs. The Building Division's "Do I Need a Residential Permit?" guidance states that a homeowner "thinking about remodeling, adding a small addition, converting a garage, adding a gazebo to the backyard, replacing siding, or re-roofing needs to know that the answer is actually "yes" for all of these items." "Roofing" is listed among the Residential and Commercial permits available for submittal online through the city's permit portal, and the city's "Roofing and Re-Roofing Permit Application" asks for the permit address, property owner, value and square feet of the project, and the general contractor's business name. The fee schedule prices "Roofing" at $75.00 under Building Permit Fee Schedule A Residential; work without a permit on a residential lot is charged "Double permit fee per lot—$500.00 maximum per lot." Residential building permits "expire at 180 days" if no proof of work or progress is provided. A homeowner who lives in the house as a Texas homestead may pull the permit without contractor registration under the city's Homeowner Exemption, whose list of qualifying residential permits includes "Roofing work (Re-roof and repair)"; a notarized Homeowner Exemption Agreement is required. For a city-designated historic landmark or a property in a city-designated historic district, "Requests for permits for repair or maintenance ... shall be reviewed and approved by the historic preservation officer prior to issuance of the permit in order to determine whether an alteration certificate is required" (Code of Ordinances Sec. 66-63). The city's residential code amendments add a roof-drainage rule: "Roof edges less than three feet to any property line shall be provided with gutters and downspouts to direct roof water away from the adjacent property" (R903.4.3, Sec. 14-29(i)). Questions: (830) 221-4041, option 1, or [email protected].
Roof code checklist: New Braunfels, TX
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 New Braunfels, Texas
Address
550 Landa St., New Braunfels, TX 78130
Contact
- url: https://newbraunfels.gov/3433/Building-Permits
- phone: 830-221-4041
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Texas issues no state roofing contractor licence; the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's program list includes no roofing program (tdlr.texas.gov).
- city_level: Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-44(c) defines "Contractor-limited" as "any contractor other than electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and irrigator", states that "A contractor limited shall apply to such trades as roofing, framing, paving, fencing, and other specialty crafts", and requires that "Contractor limited shall be registered with the city", with local registration expiring December 31st of each year. A residential general contractor must also be registered (Sec. 14-44(a)). Before a general or limited contractor may engage in business in the city or be granted a registration, Sec. 14-44(h) requires "proof of $1,000,000.00 liability insurance for general contractor-commercial and $300,000.00 for limited contractor and general contractor-residential, naming the City of New Braunfels as the certificate holder." The city's General Contractor Registration Checklist adds a copy of the business's assumed-name or Secretary of State filing, a photo ID and an "Application fee of $200.00", with applications submitted online through the permit portal. Sec. 14-44(e) lets a homeowner who permanently resides in an existing single-family residence claimed as a Texas homestead work on it without registration after the Building Safety Division approves the homestead exemption.
Permit process note
New Braunfels issues a dedicated Roofing permit for residential and commercial re-roofs. The Building Division's "Do I Need a Residential Permit?" guidance states that a homeowner "thinking about remodeling, adding a small addition, converting a garage, adding a gazebo to the backyard, replacing siding, or re-roofing needs to know that the answer is actually "yes" for all of these items." "Roofing" is listed among the Residential and Commercial permits available for submittal online through the city's permit portal, and the city's "Roofing and Re-Roofing Permit Application" asks for the permit address, property owner, value and square feet of the project, and the general contractor's business name. The fee schedule prices "Roofing" at $75.00 under Building Permit Fee Schedule A Residential; work without a permit on a residential lot is charged "Double permit fee per lot—$500.00 maximum per lot." Residential building permits "expire at 180 days" if no proof of work or progress is provided. A homeowner who lives in the house as a Texas homestead may pull the permit without contractor registration under the city's Homeowner Exemption, whose list of qualifying residential permits includes "Roofing work (Re-roof and repair)"; a notarized Homeowner Exemption Agreement is required. For a city-designated historic landmark or a property in a city-designated historic district, "Requests for permits for repair or maintenance ... shall be reviewed and approved by the historic preservation officer prior to issuance of the permit in order to determine whether an alteration certificate is required" (Code of Ordinances Sec. 66-63). The city's residential code amendments add a roof-drainage rule: "Roof edges less than three feet to any property line shall be provided with gutters and downspouts to direct roof water away from the adjacent property" (R903.4.3, Sec. 14-29(i)). Questions: (830) 221-4041, option 1, or
[email protected].
Adopted code
Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29 adopts the 2021 International Residential Code "and the specified appendices as referenced in this article" as the building code of the City of New Braunfels, with local amendments (Ord. No. 2023-76, 10-9-23; Ord. No. 2025-74, 11-24-25). The amendments rewrite the R105.2 permit-exemption list, fill in Table R301.2(1), and amend sprinkler, flood-elevation, foundation-anchorage, energy, sewer-depth and appendix provisions; in Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies) they add only two roof-drainage rules, R903.4.2 (zero lot line development) and R903.4.3 (gutters and downspouts). Sec. 14-27 adopts the 2021 International Building Code and Sec. 14-37 the 2021 International Existing Building Code. The Building Safety page states: "The City adopted and utilizes the ICC Code, 2021 Edition, and the 2020 Edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC)." State context: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 214.212 adopts the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012, as the municipal residential building code and allows a city to adopt local amendments by ordinance after a public hearing; New Braunfels's own adoption is the 2021 edition above.
Drip edge
Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (2021 IRC Section R905.2.8.5, Drip edge). New Braunfels adopts the 2021 International Residential Code in Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29; its local amendments touch Chapter 9 only to add two roof-drainage rules (R903.4.2 and R903.4.3) and do not amend R905, so the drip-edge requirement applies as adopted.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Not required — Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as filled in by the City's 2021 IRC amendments (Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29(d)), lists "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" as "No" for New Braunfels.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29 (adopting the 2021 IRC, as amended by Ord. No. 2023-76 and Ord. No. 2025-74) nor the City's 2021 IBC and IEBC amendments (Secs. 14-27 and 14-37) amends Chapter 9's roof-covering provisions; their only Chapter 9 amendments are two roof-drainage rules (gutters and downspouts). No UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the city's adopted code, its amendments, or anywhere else in Chapter 14 (Buildings and Building Regulations) of the Code of Ordinances.
Repair permit threshold
New Braunfels publishes no square-footage or dollar amount of roof repair that may be done without a permit. Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-5 provides that no person shall "erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, modify, excavate, fill, or change any fence, sign, land, building, structure, or property in the city, nor cause such work to be done ... without first obtaining any necessary permit therefore from the building official". The city's amended R105.2 list of work exempt from permit (Sec. 14-29(b)) names no roof work, and its exemptions apply only "provided that there is no special flood hazard area (SFHA) on the associated property." The Building Division's guidance says "Redecorating and minor repair jobs do not require a building permit" and lists cabinets, floor covering, painting, interior sheetrock, small areas of siding, plumbing fixtures and light fixtures, with no roofing item; the same guidance says the answer for re-roofing is "yes". The city's Homeowner Exemption bulletin lists "Roofing work (Re-roof and repair)" as a residential permit type. The residential fee schedule charges a flat $75.00 for a Roofing permit. For anything smaller than a full re-roof, the Building Division invites callers: "Unsure? Give us a call at (830) 221-4041, option 1, or email us at
[email protected]".
Wind design criteria
Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as filled in by the City's 2021 IRC amendments (Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29(d)): Ground snow load 5; Wind Design Speed 115 mph; Topographic effects No; Special wind region No; Windborne debris zone No; Seismic Design Category A; Weathering Negligible; Frost line depth 0; Termite Moderate; Winter design temperature 30; Ice barrier underlayment required No; Flood hazards Yes; Air freezing index 29; Mean annual temperature 68.5.
Roof layer limit / recover
New Braunfels adopts the 2021 International Residential Code (Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29), and its local amendments do not amend or delete the reroofing provisions of Section R908, so the base 2021 IRC rule applies. 2021 IRC Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof recover not allowed): "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur: ... 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be re-covered; a roof that already has two layers must be torn off. The same section also bars a recover over water-soaked or deteriorated roofing and over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. The City's adoption of the 2021 International Existing Building Code (Sec. 14-37) amends no reroofing provision either. New Braunfels's permit pages state no layer count of their own.
Deck & sheathing requirements
New Braunfels adopts the 2021 International Residential Code (Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-29); its local amendments touch Chapter 9 only to add two roof-drainage rules (R903.4.2 and R903.4.3) and do not amend the roof sheathing provisions, so the base 2021 IRC sheathing requirements for asphalt shingles (Section R905.2.1, Sheathing requirements) apply unmodified. The City publishes no decking thickness or deck-replacement rule of its own for re-roofs.
Sales & use tax
8.25% combined (6.25% state + 1.50% City of New Braunfels + 0.50% county), per the Texas Comptroller's local sales tax rate file for the July 2026 quarter; the city lies in both Comal and Guadalupe counties, each of which levies 0.50%, so the combined rate is 8.25% on either side of the county line. This is the Texas local-rate cap. Under Comptroller guidance for real property repair and remodeling, "Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable"; on the lump-sum contract typical of residential re-roofing, "you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax" (Comptroller Pub. 94-116, Real Property Repair and Remodeling, comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/94-116.php). The combined rate above is therefore the roofer's own cost basis on materials purchased, not a rate charged to the homeowner. Re-roofing a nonresidential building is taxable on the total charge (the same publication states "Repair or remodeling includes reroofing and repainting").
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Texas
Related guides
The permitting authority for the City of New Braunfels. The Building Safety Division, part of Development Services in the Transportation & Construction Services department, processes building permit applications (including a dedicated Roofing permit for residential and commercial re-roofs), registers general and limited contractors, and conducts the inspections required for construction within the city limits.
Hail reports near New Braunfels, TX
- Reports, last 24 months
- 4
- Largest, last 24 months
- 1.50 in May 2, 2025
- Most recent
- May 2, 2025 1.50 in
- Reports, last 5 years
- 26
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 New Braunfels, TX (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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