Permitting Authorities / City of Olathe - Building Codes Division
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Olathe, KS?
Adopted codeCity of Olathe - Building Codes Division
No — Olathe, KS does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (City of Olathe - Building Codes Division). The city's Residential Building Permits page states under "Roofing": "Permits are not required for reroofing or repairs down to the roof deck for residential one family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or townhomes but they must be installed and constructed per the current adopted International Residential Code (IRC) and Olathe Municipal Code. Additionally, City inspections are not required." The page summarizes common reroofing code requirements: an ice barrier extending not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line (IRC R905.1.2), crickets on the ridge side of chimneys or penetrations more than 30 inches wide (IRC R903.2.2), sidewall base flashing (IRC R905.2.8.3), drip edge at eaves and rakes (IRC R905.2.8.5), replacement of rusted or deteriorated flashings (IRC R908.5), minimum vent area of 1/150 of the vented space (R806.2), and roof recovering not permitted over water-soaked or deteriorated coverings, over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or where two or more applications of roofing are already in place (R908.3.1.1).
Jurisdiction
City of Olathe, Kansas
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
100 E. Santa Fe Street, Olathe, KS 66061
Contact
- url: https://www.olatheks.gov/government/building-codes-permits
- phone: 913-971-6200
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Registration details
- license: The city's Residential Building Permits page states: "Contractors must hold valid licenses with Johnson County and register with the State of Kansas to install roofing." Roofing contractor licensing runs through the Johnson County Contractor Licensing program plus the State of Kansas roofer registration, rather than a separate city-issued roofing license.
Permit process note
The city's Residential Building Permits page states under "Roofing": "Permits are not required for reroofing or repairs down to the roof deck for residential one family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or townhomes but they must be installed and constructed per the current adopted International Residential Code (IRC) and Olathe Municipal Code. Additionally, City inspections are not required." The page summarizes common reroofing code requirements: an ice barrier extending not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line (IRC R905.1.2), crickets on the ridge side of chimneys or penetrations more than 30 inches wide (IRC R903.2.2), sidewall base flashing (IRC R905.2.8.3), drip edge at eaves and rakes (IRC R905.2.8.5), replacement of rusted or deteriorated flashings (IRC R908.5), minimum vent area of 1/150 of the vented space (R806.2), and roof recovering not permitted over water-soaked or deteriorated coverings, over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or where two or more applications of roofing are already in place (R908.3.1.1).
Adopted code
The city's Building Codes & Permits page lists the codes adopted September 1, 2019: the 2018 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Energy Conservation, Swimming Pool and Spa, Property Maintenance, and Fire Codes (Ordinances 19-27 through 19-37) and the 2017 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70). A revision to the 2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings was adopted June 23, 2026 (Ordinance 26-31).
Drip edge
Required — "Drip Edge – A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs – IRC R905.2.8.5" (City of Olathe, Residential Building Permits page, "Roofing" section, summary of common reroofing code requirements). About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Required — "Ice Barrier Underlayment – The ice barrier shall consist of not fewer than two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. On roofs with slope equal or greater than eight units vertical in 12 units horizontal (67 percent slope), the ice barrier shall also be applied not less than 36 inches measured along the roof slope from the eave edge of the building – IRC R905.1.2" (City of Olathe, Residential Building Permits page, "Roofing" section). About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — "Permits are not required for reroofing or repairs down to the roof deck for residential one family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or townhomes but they must be installed and constructed per the current adopted International Residential Code (IRC) and Olathe Municipal Code. Additionally, City inspections are not required" (City of Olathe, Residential Building Permits page, "Roofing" section).
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — The City of Olathe adopted the 2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings by Ordinance No. 19-28 (effective September 1, 2019), codified as Olathe Municipal Code Chapter 15.04, and later revised that chapter by Ordinance No. 26-31 (adopted June 23, 2026). The city's own 2019 amendment summary for that adoption lists every OMC 15.04 amendment section-by-section from R101.1 (Title) through Appendix AO103.3, and nothing appears between Chapter 6 (R602.6.1, drilling and notching of top plates) and Chapter 11 (N1102, energy code) -- Chapters 7 through 10, including Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies (R901 through R908), were adopted unamended. Ordinance No. 26-31's 25 numbered sections amend, add, or repeal OMC 15.04.045, .050, .080, .155, .185, .229, .310, .490, and .530 -- administration provisions (R101-R115), under-stair protection (R302.7.1), floor elevations at exterior doors (R311.3.2), storm protection areas (R323.2), top-plate drilling and notching (R602.6.1), garage receptacles (E3902.2), and mobile-home storm shelters (Appendix AE607) -- again nothing in Chapter 9. The chapter's own current section index, read as part of the Ordinance 26-31 council packet and stated to be current through Ordinance No. 25-51 (passed November 18, 2025), confirms the one historical Chapter 9 item -- OMC 15.04.320, which had amended R907.3 (recovering versus replacement) -- was repealed effective June 18, 2019, before the current 2018 IRC code cycle took effect, and lists no other Chapter 9 section, active or repealed. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears anywhere in Chapter 15.04.
Repair permit threshold
"Permits are not required for reroofing or repairs down to the roof deck for residential one family dwellings, two-family dwellings, or townhomes but they must be installed and constructed per the current adopted International Residential Code (IRC) and Olathe Municipal Code. Additionally, City inspections are not required. Contractors must hold valid licenses with Johnson County and register with the State of Kansas to install roofing" (City of Olathe, Residential Building Permits page, "Roofing" section).
Wind design criteria
115 mph wind speed; topographic effects No; special wind region No; windborne debris zone No. Exposure category is not fixed in the table and "shall be determined on a site-specific basis in accordance with Section R301.2.1.4." (Table R301.2(1) of the 2018 IRC deleted and replaced by new Table R301.2(1), Olathe Municipal Code Section 15.04.100, Table R301.2(1) Amended -- Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria.)
Roof layer limit / recover
"Roof Recovering Not Allowed - A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur. R908.3.1.1: Where 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. Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." (City of Olathe official "Roofing" reroof-code summary, citing IRC R908.3.1.1 -- not separately amended by Olathe Municipal Code Chapter 15.04, so this reflects the base 2018 IRC text as applied in Olathe. Note: unlike neighboring Johnson County's amended R908.3.1.1, Olathe's item 2 does NOT list "asphalt shingle" or "wood shake" among the covering types that bar recover -- quoted verbatim as published.)
Sales & use tax
Olathe's combined sales tax rate is 9.475% (KS state 6.5% + Johnson County 1.475% + City of Olathe 1.5%). KDOR Pub. 1700 lists 18 CID/TDD special districts ranging 10.475%-11.475% within specific addressed parcels (e.g. the Conference Center Hotel CID at 11.475%). Per Kansas DOR Pub. KS-1525 "Sales & Use Tax for Contractors, Subcontractors, and Repairmen" (Rev. 7-29-25): "Services performed to install or apply tangible personal property are exempt from sales tax when the services involve the original construction, reconstruction, restoration, remodeling, renovation, repair or replacement of a residence" -- so residential re-roof LABOR is exempt, but materials are not: contractors "are considered to be the final user or consumer of the materials they install for others, and must pay Kansas sales or use tax on them" at the time of purchase (or self-assessed compensating use tax on out-of-state materials, via Form CT-10U, per the same publication's Compensating Use Tax section). Commercial re-roof labor is taxable ("roofing, siding and guttering" is listed as a taxable labor service on commercial projects). Pub. KS-1525 describes only two collection points for contractor materials tax -- retailer sale or self- assessed use tax -- with no mechanism tied to building-permit issuance anywhere in the publication; Kansas sales/use tax is administered centrally by KDOR, not self-collected by home-rule cities as in Colorado.
The permitting authority for the City of Olathe, Kansas, the Johnson County seat in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Building Codes team, part of the Community Development Division, reviews plans, issues building permits, and performs inspections for residential and commercial construction within city limits, and publishes roofing-specific guidance for residential reroofing.
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Sources
- olatheks.legistar.com verified 2026-07-31
- olatheks.gov verified 2026-07-18
- ksrevenue.gov verified 2026-07-18
- olathe.municipal.codes verified 2026-07-18
- olatheks.gov verified 2026-07-17