The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / City of Pocatello - Building Department

City of Pocatello - Building Department

Adopted code

The Building Department is the City of Pocatello's own building authority, covering the area inside the Pocatello city limits in Bannock County. It enforces the City's adopted construction codes, coordinates plan checks and issues building permits for all construction, including the electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas trades; the City Clerk issues every other city licence except those tied to the building trade. Re-roofing is permitted work here, billed as its own permit type at a flat residential fee rather than on the value of the job. The thing that most often catches an out-of-town roofer is the second credential: on top of the mandatory State of Idaho contractor registration, Pocatello issues its own construction-trade licences in Building Classes A-1, A-2 and B, each with its own liability-insurance minimum and its own licence and permit bond, and each naming the City as an additional insured. The City also publishes its own design criteria -- 35 pounds roof snow load, 45 pounds ground snow load and a 115 mph wind load -- and that table carries no ice-barrier entry at all.

Jurisdiction
City of Pocatello, Idaho
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
911 N 7th Avenue, Pocatello, ID 83201
Contact
  • url: https://pocatello.gov/163/Building
  • phone: 208-234-6158
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: STATEWIDE, AND INDEPENDENT OF WHATEVER THIS JURISDICTION REQUIRES. Idaho Code 54-5204(1), in the Idaho Contractor Registration Act (Title 54, Chapter 52): "On and after January 1, 2006, it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of, or hold himself out as, a contractor within this state without being registered as required in this chapter." A roofer is inside the definitions rather than at their edge: "Construction" means "the performance of building, altering, repairing, adding to, subtracting from, improving, reconstructing, moving, excavating, wrecking or demolishing any building ... or improvement to real property, or to do any part thereof" (54-5203(2)), and "Contractor" means any person who "undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake, or submits a bid to, or does himself or by or through others, perform construction" (54-5203(3)(a)). Roofing is not separately licensed in Idaho, so this registration is the whole of the state credential. THRESHOLD: 54-5205(2)(f) exempts work on "one (1) undertaking or project considered casual, minor, or inconsequential, whether by one (1) or more contracts, the aggregate contract price of which, for labor and materials and all other items, is less than two thousand dollars ($2,000)" -- a per-project figure covering labour and materials together, not annual revenue, and the same paragraph voids the exemption where the work is part of a larger project or where one job is split into sub-$2,000 contracts. A residential reroof is rarely under $2,000. An owner working on his own residential property is exempt (54-5205(2)(l)), as is an owner who hires a registered contractor (54-5205(2)(k)); an employee on wages is exempt but an unregistered subcontractor is not (54-5205(2)(a)). CONSEQUENCES OF NOT REGISTERING, and a homeowner should check: an unregistered contractor "shall be deemed to have conclusively waived any right to place a lien upon real property" (54-5208); may not "bring or maintain any action in any court of this state for the collection of compensation" without proving registration throughout the work (54-5217(2)); and is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both (54-5217(1)). AT THE PERMIT COUNTER: 54-5209(1) requires every county, municipality or district that issues building permits to request the contractor's Idaho registration number and print it on the face of the permit, or else print "no contractor registration provided"; 54-5209(2) requires the permit to be posted at the site so that statement is visible. WHAT IT TAKES: an application under oath, proof of worker's compensation coverage or a statement why it is not required, and a general liability policy including products and completed operations coverage of not less than $300,000 single limit (54-5210(1)). It is a registration, not a competency licence -- there is no examination. Administered by the Idaho Contractors Board within the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (54-5206(1)); registrations can be checked by name at the Division's public search. Pocatello's Building Department points contractors to the same body: "State contractor registration is administered by the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses. Please call 208-334-3233 for information."
  • city_level: POCATELLO ADDS ITS OWN LICENCE, AND IT IS A CONSTRUCTION-TRADE LICENCE RATHER THAN A BUSINESS LICENCE. The City states plainly that it "does not require a general business license"; the contractor licences below are issued by the Building Department rather than by the City Clerk, who handles the rest of the City's licensing. The Department's own published schedule, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, is: "The City of Pocatello offers various contractor licenses as listed below." Building Class A-1, $150.00, requiring $1 Million Liability Combined Single Limit Insurance and a $50,000 License and Permit Bond. Building Class A-2, $100.00, requiring $500,000 Liability Combined Single Limit Insurance and a $25,000 License and Permit Bond. Building Class B, $50.00, requiring $300,000 Liability Combined Single Limit Insurance and a $10,000 License and Permit Bond. Sign Contractor, $50.00, requiring $500,000 Liability Combined Single Limit Insurance and a $10,000 License and Permit Bond. Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Contractor licences carry no City fee but require "a copy of State of Idaho license". Two conditions to note: the City states "The City of Pocatello is to be named as an additional insured" on the liability policy, and the licence year runs October 1 to September 30, so a licence taken out late in that window still expires on September 30. Which of the three building classes a particular roofing job falls into is set out in the Department's Construction Trade Fees schedule and is worth settling with the Building Department, on 208-234-6158, before bidding. Applications for both general contractors and subcontractors are submitted online, and the City publishes its own License and Permit Bond form.
Permit process note
Everything is handled through the City's eTRAKiT portal: "You can apply for any permit through the eTRAKiT portal", and the same portal is where inspections are scheduled or cancelled, permit fees are paid, and permit records are searched by address. Contractor licence applications are separate online forms, one for general contractors and one for subcontractors, with the City's own License and Permit Bond form published alongside them. The Building Department sits in the Development Services Center at 911 N 7th Avenue, and the Building Official is reached on 208-234-6158. Allow for plan review on anything beyond a straight re-roof: the City's residential development application states that "There is a minimum of 10 working days for residential plan review", and that "The 10-day time line will restart when any new piece of information is submitted." If a code interpretation goes against you, the appeal route is the City's Construction Board of Appeals and Review, a board of six members who, in the City's words, are "practitioners in and knowledgeable of the building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical/gas, fire/life safety trades and 1 registered architect or engineer", appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the City Council and serving two-year terms; it meets as needed. One local wrinkle to check early on a hillside or urban-interface lot: the City's residential plan checklist carries a line item for "Fire; International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC), access, and turn around." And do not start early: the City states that "Construction may begin once the appropriate permits have been obtained."
Adopted code
LOCALLY ENACTED, ON A STATE-MANDATED EDITION. The City of Pocatello publishes its own list, under the heading "The City of Pocatello has currently adopted the following building codes": the 2018 International Building Code, the 2018 International Existing Building Code, the 2018 International Residential Code, the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code, the 2018 International Mechanical Code, the 2018 Idaho Fire Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code and the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code. The same page then says: "In addition to the codes referenced above amendments as per the 2018 Idaho Administrative Code apply." So residential roofing in Pocatello runs on the 2018 International Residential Code. The adopting text sits in the City Code of Pocatello, which the City Clerk maintains online through American Legal Publishing. Appeals of a code interpretation are heard by the City's own Construction Board of Appeals and Review, six trade practitioners plus a registered architect or engineer, whose stated purpose is "to review interpretations of building codes and enforcement procedures for such codes." THE STATE FRAMEWORK: Idaho's residential code is set by the Idaho Building Code Board, not by the city. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition ... Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)-family dwellings", effective July 1, 2024, together with a list of state amendments; Idaho Code 39-4116(2) requires a local government that issues building permits and performs code enforcement to adopt the Idaho residential code parts I-III and IX by ordinance. Parts IV through VIII -- energy, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing and electrical -- are not part of the Idaho residential code (Idaho Code 39-4109(1)(b)); roofing sits in Part III and is included. Idaho Code 39-4116(2) also bars a local jurisdiction from adopting provisions of a later IRC edition the Board has not adopted, so a city cannot be ahead of the state. Idaho Code 39-4116(6): "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received."
Repair permit threshold
No square-footage figure and no dollar figure -- Pocatello charges a re-roof as its own permit type at a flat fee instead. The City's building permit fee schedule, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, carries a "Re-Roof or Roof Overlay" line under "General Permit Fees", priced at $65 for the "Residential" row, and sends the "Commercial" row to the valuation-based building permit fee table instead. Nothing on that schedule sets a minimum size, a minimum cost, or a repair-versus-replacement line, so the same $65 residential fee covers a patch and a full tear-off. Budget for the other trades separately if the job touches them: the Building Department issues building permits "for all construction including electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas installation", and the fee schedule prices those as their own permits. The State of Idaho adds no roofing carve-out to the model code's permit-exemption list either -- IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 makes only two amendments to Section R105.2 of the 2018 International Residential Code, changing a dimension in item 7 and adding "11. Flag poles." A Pocatello job also needs the right credential before the permit: the City licenses building contractors itself, in addition to the State of Idaho registration every contractor in the state must hold.
Wind design criteria
Take these from the City's own published table. Under "General Design Specifications" the City of Pocatello prints: "Wind Load 115 MPH per 3 sec gusts"; "Exposure C-Grade"; "Roof Snow Load 35 Pounds"; "Ground Snow Load 45 Pounds"; "Frost Level 3 Feet"; "Degree Heating Days 7,131"; and "Climate Zone 5". CHECK THE BASIS BEFORE YOU APPLY THE 115 MPH. The City states the averaging time (a 3-second gust) but does not state whether the figure is a nominal, allowable-stress-design wind speed or an ultimate design wind speed. Both are expressed as 3-second gusts and they are different numbers for the same wind loading, so confirm with the Building Department which basis the 115 mph is on before matching it to a design method, an engineered detail or a product listing. Two more cautions on this table. Its seismic row is headed "Seismic Zone to be Designed For" and gives coordinates -- "Longitude - 112.60 W" and "Latitude - 42.92 N" -- rather than a seismic design category letter, so a category has to be derived rather than read off. And the table carries no ice-barrier row, so it does not answer whether an ice barrier underlayment is required. One state fact belongs here as well, and it is a wind fact: the State of Idaho deletes the model code's wind-borne debris opening-protection section statewide, IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03(d) reading "Section R301.2.1.2 Protection of Openings. Delete." That is an opening (window and door) provision rather than a roofing one, and under Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(b) a local jurisdiction may not re-adopt a provision the Idaho Building Code Board has expressly rejected.
Roof layer limit / recover
An overlay is recognised, priced work in Pocatello: the City's own building permit fee schedule, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, carries a permit line named "Re-Roof or Roof Overlay" and prices its "Residential" row at $65. How many layers that overlay may go over is answered by the code the City has adopted, the 2018 International Residential Code, and the State of Idaho has not moved that rule: IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 -- the Idaho Building Code Board's complete list of state amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, seventeen items, read in full -- contains no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Base-code rule, 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof recover not allowed): a roof recover is not permitted where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not an adequate base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces a full tear-off. Pocatello's own building-code chapter is published in the City Code, which the City Clerk maintains online through American Legal Publishing -- read it, or ask the Building Department on 208-234-6158, before relying on the base rule for a particular roof. A local Idaho amendment to this rule would be unusually visible: Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(d) allows a city or county to amend this part of the residential code only by ordinance, on a recorded finding that "good cause for building or life safety exists" and that the amendment is "reasonably necessary", after a public hearing noticed in the official newspaper with at least thirty days' written notice to the local chapters of the industry bodies listed in Idaho Code 39-4109(5).
Sales & use tax
6.0% -- the Idaho state rate, with no local add-on. Idaho Code 63-3619 imposes the state sales tax "at the rate of six percent (6%)". Idaho has only two kinds of local sales tax, and neither applies here: a resort-city local-option tax, which Idaho Code 50-1044 confines to resort cities "with a population not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)" and which the Idaho State Tax Commission's own list of participating cities does not include this jurisdiction in; and an auditorium-district tax, which the Tax Commission states "can charge a local sales tax only for short-term lodging (30 days or less)" and so never reaches roofing work. Pocatello lies within the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District, but that district's tax applies only to short-term lodging and does not change the rate on a roof. Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all, so being in Bannock County adds nothing. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED, which matters more than the rate: the Tax Commission's contractor guidance states that "Idaho sales tax law says contractors are the consumers (end users) of all the goods they use. As a result, they must pay sales tax on all purchases", and it names roofers among the contractors it covers. The roofer pays the 6% on materials at the supply house; the homeowner's invoice carries no sales tax line at all, on materials or on labour, because "a contractor doesn't charge sales tax to the customer" and the tax is absorbed into the bid. The Commission adds that "if sales tax is charged on the bill, the customer can refuse to pay it." A customer's own sales-tax exemption does not carry over to the contractor.

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