Permitting Authorities / Orwigsburg Borough - Building and Zoning Codes
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Orwigsburg, PA?
Adopted code
Orwigsburg Borough - Building and Zoning Codes
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Borough of Orwigsburg, PA, issued by Orwigsburg Borough - Building and Zoning Codes. Orwigsburg Borough's Ordinance 194 names replacement of a roof, or any part of one, as permit work. Read October 10, 2026: Ordinance 194 of the Borough (enacted September 10, 1969, posted on the Borough's Ordinances page, read October 10, 2026) is titled "AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THAT A PERMIT BE OBTAINED BEFORE ERECTING, RAZING OR ALTERING ANY BUILDING WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF ORWIGSBURG." Section 1 says the word alteration "shall mean any enlargement of any building or any removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support, or of any part thereof of any building," and Section 2 says "No person shall construct or cause to be constructed, raze or cause to be razed, alter or remodel or cause to be altered or remodeled, any building or structure" "without first having obtained a permit therefor from the proper borough officer." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). Ordinance 295 (1990), amending Section 3 of Ordinance 194 as already amended by Ordinances 214 and 227, has the permit issued by "the Zoning Officer or such other Officer as the Borough Council shall, from time to time, direct" and sets a building permit rate schedule, and Section 8 of Ordinance 194 sets a fine of $25 or less and costs of prosecution for a violation. The Borough's Ordinances page indexes Ordinance 194 as "Ordinance requiring that a permit be obtained before erecting, razing, or altering any building (Related #295; 227; 214)" and lists no later ordinance repealing it. Section 6 of Ordinance 365, which adopts the Uniform Construction Code, says "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by this Municipality on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code shall continue in full force and effect until such time as such provisions" fail to do so; this record quotes it and does not decide whether it reaches Ordinance 194. The Borough's Building-Zoning Codes page also says "Building permits may be required before beginning renovations or new construction" and "Permits are needed for numerous projects under the Uniform Construction Code," and its Zoning Ordinance, Section 13.03, requires a zoning permit for "alteration, extension, replacement" of a building and says "No zoning permit shall be required for repairs to or maintenance of any building, structure or land," a zoning permit exemption; this record does not decide how it relates to Ordinance 194. The contracted consultants' UCC permit forms and fee schedules posted on the page name no reroof line; one fee schedule lists "roofs" among "Cell towers, retaining walls, roofs, signs, ramps, decks, swimming pools" under miscellaneous construction. In practice, expect the Borough to require a permit for a reroof, as Ordinance 194 states, and ask the Borough Office (570-366-3103) before starting; the office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Read for this answer: Ordinances 194, 214, 227, 295, 365 and 367 (scanned images, read from the page images), the Borough's index of its ordinances, its Building-Zoning Codes, Forms and Contact pages, its Zoning Ordinance (searched for "roof," "permit" and "repair"), and the two UCC permit forms with fee schedules posted there. The Borough posts no code book; the ordinances are posted one by one.
Roof code checklist: Borough of Orwigsburg, PA
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
Borough of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania
Address
333 South Liberty St., Orwigsburg, PA 17961
Contact
- url: https://orwigsburg.gov/government/building-zoning/
- phone: 570-366-3103
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Orwigsburg Borough's Ordinance 194 names replacement of a roof, or any part of one, as permit work. Read October 10, 2026: Ordinance 194 of the Borough (enacted September 10, 1969, posted on the Borough's Ordinances page, read October 10, 2026) is titled "AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THAT A PERMIT BE OBTAINED BEFORE ERECTING, RAZING OR ALTERING ANY BUILDING WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF ORWIGSBURG." Section 1 says the word alteration "shall mean any enlargement of any building or any removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support, or of any part thereof of any building," and Section 2 says "No person shall construct or cause to be constructed, raze or cause to be razed, alter or remodel or cause to be altered or remodeled, any building or structure" "without first having obtained a permit therefor from the proper borough officer." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). Ordinance 295 (1990), amending Section 3 of Ordinance 194 as already amended by Ordinances 214 and 227, has the permit issued by "the Zoning Officer or such other Officer as the Borough Council shall, from time to time, direct" and sets a building permit rate schedule, and Section 8 of Ordinance 194 sets a fine of $25 or less and costs of prosecution for a violation. The Borough's Ordinances page indexes Ordinance 194 as "Ordinance requiring that a permit be obtained before erecting, razing, or altering any building (Related #295; 227; 214)" and lists no later ordinance repealing it. Section 6 of Ordinance 365, which adopts the Uniform Construction Code, says "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by this Municipality on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code shall continue in full force and effect until such time as such provisions" fail to do so; this record quotes it and does not decide whether it reaches Ordinance 194. The Borough's Building-Zoning Codes page also says "Building permits may be required before beginning renovations or new construction" and "Permits are needed for numerous projects under the Uniform Construction Code," and its Zoning Ordinance, Section 13.03, requires a zoning permit for "alteration, extension, replacement" of a building and says "No zoning permit shall be required for repairs to or maintenance of any building, structure or land," a zoning permit exemption; this record does not decide how it relates to Ordinance 194. The contracted consultants' UCC permit forms and fee schedules posted on the page name no reroof line; one fee schedule lists "roofs" among "Cell towers, retaining walls, roofs, signs, ramps, decks, swimming pools" under miscellaneous construction. In practice, expect the Borough to require a permit for a reroof, as Ordinance 194 states, and ask the Borough Office (570-366-3103) before starting; the office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Read for this answer: Ordinances 194, 214, 227, 295, 365 and 367 (scanned images, read from the page images), the Borough's index of its ordinances, its Building-Zoning Codes, Forms and Contact pages, its Zoning Ordinance (searched for "roof," "permit" and "repair"), and the two UCC permit forms with fee schedules posted there. The Borough posts no code book; the ordinances are posted one by one.
Adopted code
The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Section 3 of Ordinance 365 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as "the municipal building code of this Municipality." Ordinance 194 of the Borough (enacted September 10, 1969, posted on the Borough's Ordinances page, read October 10, 2026) is titled "AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THAT A PERMIT BE OBTAINED BEFORE ERECTING, RAZING OR ALTERING ANY BUILDING WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF ORWIGSBURG." Section 1 says the word alteration "shall mean any enlargement of any building or any removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support, or of any part thereof of any building," and Section 2 says "No person shall construct or cause to be constructed, raze or cause to be razed, alter or remodel or cause to be altered or remodeled, any building or structure" "without first having obtained a permit therefor from the proper borough officer." The Borough's pages name no code edition.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. The Borough's ordinances and pages read contain no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement, and name no code edition.
Repair permit threshold
Orwigsburg Borough's Ordinance 194 requires a permit before a person alters a building and defines alteration to include replacing a roof or any part of it, with no area or cost threshold. Ordinance 194 of the Borough (enacted September 10, 1969, posted on the Borough's Ordinances page, read October 10, 2026) is titled "AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THAT A PERMIT BE OBTAINED BEFORE ERECTING, RAZING OR ALTERING ANY BUILDING WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF ORWIGSBURG." Section 1 says the word alteration "shall mean any enlargement of any building or any removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support, or of any part thereof of any building," and Section 2 says "No person shall construct or cause to be constructed, raze or cause to be razed, alter or remodel or cause to be altered or remodeled, any building or structure" "without first having obtained a permit therefor from the proper borough officer." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). Ordinance 295 (1990), amending Section 3 of Ordinance 194 as already amended by Ordinances 214 and 227, has the permit issued by "the Zoning Officer or such other Officer as the Borough Council shall, from time to time, direct" and sets a building permit rate schedule, and Section 8 of Ordinance 194 sets a fine of $25 or less and costs of prosecution for a violation. The Borough's Ordinances page indexes Ordinance 194 as "Ordinance requiring that a permit be obtained before erecting, razing, or altering any building (Related #295; 227; 214)" and lists no later ordinance repealing it. Section 6 of Ordinance 365, which adopts the Uniform Construction Code, says "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by this Municipality on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code shall continue in full force and effect until such time as such provisions" fail to do so; this record quotes it and does not decide whether it reaches Ordinance 194. State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Ordinance 194, quoted at the start, sets no area or cost threshold for roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "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" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Ordinance 194 requires a permit to replace a roof or any part of it, and the Borough's ordinances and pages read say nothing on roof layers; Ordinance 365 adopts the code "as amended from time to time" and the Borough's pages name no edition.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Orwigsburg Borough administers the code itself through contracted code consultants: its Building-Zoning Codes page lists a "Borough Codes Official" at each of two outside consulting firms, says "Permit applications may be secured at the Borough Office or you may use the links below" and "Borough Council has adopted the Uniform Construction and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," and Section 4 of the Borough's Ordinance 365 (April 2004) lets the Borough Council act through "one or more construction code officials or third party agencies." The Borough Office is at 333 South Liberty St. Ordinance 194 requires a permit to replace a roof or any part of it, and the Borough's ordinances and pages read draw no separate line for roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Orwigsburg Borough is in Schuylkill County. The Borough's permit pages and ordinances read say nothing on sales tax.
Local roofing hub
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Related guides
Orwigsburg Borough, in Schuylkill County, takes building and zoning permit applications at its Borough Office, 333 South Liberty St., and Ordinance 194 requires a permit before a person alters a building, defining alteration to include "replacement" of a "roof." The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code applies statewide, but Act 45 section 104(b) lists "Repairs to residential buildings" and alterations that make no structural or egress change among work it does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503."
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