Otsego County - Building Department (Land Use Services)

Otsego County, Michigan (1 city, 1 village and 9 townships on the county building program)

county

225 W. Main St., Gaylord, MI 49735

Required

Required

The Otsego County Building Department has published nothing specific to reroofs, so the state's general permit rule is the requirement this record rests on: "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." The same state section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," and the department has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. The department says "A building owner can do a building project themselves, as long as it is for their own use and on their own property," and that the building permit "can be applied for, by the property owner, the building contractor, the architect, or anyone authorized to act as a representative of the property owner." Applications go by email to [email protected], by mail to the Building Department at 225 W Main St., Gaylord, MI 49735, or in person or at the permit drop box left of the office door; the department asks for "3-5 business days for a plan review." Its fee schedule lists a $35.00 application fee, $75.00 per inspection, a remodeling line of project cost times .003 and a plan review fee; the application says "A PERMIT WILL BE CLOSED WHEN NO INSPECTIONS ARE REQUESTED AND CONDUCTED WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF THE DATE OF ISSUANCE OR THE DATE OF A PREVIOUS INSPECTION," and re-opening a closed permit costs $85. To schedule an inspection call 989-731-7400, select option 1 for the Building Department, then option 1, with "24 HOURS NOTICE PLEASE." The department says that if work starts without a permit, "a 'Stop Work Order' may be posted." The Land Use Services office at 225 W. Main St., Gaylord, MI 49735 is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the inspectors take questions from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The county's page lists no online permit portal. The office serves the units the state's jurisdiction list assigns to the county.

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 assigns building code enforcement in 1 city, 1 village and 9 townships of Otsego County to the county, and lists no unit of the county as enforcing for itself. The Otsego County Building Department's Building Safety page, read October 11, 2026, lists for residential building "MRC 2015 (Michigan Residential Code 2015) effective February 8, 2016," and the county elects to administer and enforce the Michigan Building Code and the Michigan Residential, Rehabilitation and Uniform Energy Codes, without naming an edition, by its Ordinance 2011-2.

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). The Otsego County Building Department pages, permit requirements, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

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). The Otsego County Building Department pages, permit requirements, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

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." The Otsego County Building Department pages, permit requirements, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state no impact rule.

No size or cost threshold is published. The Otsego County Building Department says nothing specific about roof work: its frequently asked questions say "Most new construction does require a building permit including additions, decks and remodeling projects" and "If you are in doubt about needing a building permit, it is advised that you check with the building department, prior to beginning your project." Its residential code handout, a plan review list based on the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, says under R105.1 that an owner who intends to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" must "first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and answers R105.2, Work Exempt, only with "Please contact Office." Its fee schedule has no roofing line, and its building permit application offers "Repair / Replace" among the types of improvement. Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs. For a small roof repair, ask the department (989-731-7400) before starting.

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 Otsego County Building Department pages, permit requirements, building permit application, fee schedule and inspection checklist were read and state no layer rule. The county's ordinances that bear on construction were read in full: Ordinance 2011-2, which designates the county as the enforcing agency and names no code section, and Ordinance 2011-7, which adopts the International Property Maintenance Code and inserts only a jurisdiction name, fees, a fine range, a weed height and seasonal dates; neither mentions roof coverings or layers, and neither amends Section R908.

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). The Otsego County Building Department pages, permit requirements, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing; the handout's roof sections repeat the state's framing, ventilation and attic access items and its roof covering entry says only "Roof coverings shall be applied in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section and the manufacturer's installation instructions."

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." The same 6% applies throughout Otsego County.