The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / City of Portsmouth - Department of Permits and Inspections

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Portsmouth, VA?

Adopted code

City of Portsmouth - Department of Permits and Inspections

The Department of Permits and Inspections of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, an independent city, takes building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permit applications at City Hall, examines construction documents and inspects construction through its Building Inspection Division, which enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code in the City.

Roof code checklist: Portsmouth, VA

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofNot published
Repair permit thresholdPublishedlaw.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Layer limit / roof-overNot published
Deck & sheathingPublishedR803law.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNot published
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNolibrary.municode.com2026-09-26
Wind design criteriaNot published
Adopted codePublishedSec. 310.6.1library.municode.com2026-09-26
Contractor license / registrationYeslaw.lis.virginia.gov2026-09-26
Sales & use taxPublishedtax.virginia.gov2026-09-26

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 Portsmouth, Virginia
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
801 Crawford Street, City Hall, 4th Floor, Portsmouth, VA 23704
Contact
  • url: https://www.portsmouthva.gov/312/Permits-Inspections
  • phone: 757-393-8531
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: Virginia licenses contractors through the Board for Contractors. Code of Virginia 54.1-1100, as amended by 2025 Acts ch. 127, reads: "'Class C contractors' perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or (ii) the total value of all such construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by such person within any 12-month period is less than $250,000." Class B and Class A licences cover larger contracts. The Board's rules define the Roofing contracting (ROC) specialty as "the service that provides for the installation, repair, removal, or improvement of materials common to the industry that form a watertight, weather resistant surface for roofs and decks" and state that "The CBC and RBC classifications and the HIC and CIC specialties also provide for this function." (18VAC50-22-30). Code of Virginia 54.1-1101 A 7 says the contractor chapter does not apply to "Any person who performs or supervises the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of no more than one primary residence owned by him and for his own use during any 24-month period"; this record does not decide whether a given owner falls within it. Under Code of Virginia 54.1-1111 A, a permit applicant must furnish "satisfactory proof to such official or authority that he is duly licensed or certified under the terms of this chapter to carry out or superintend the same" or "file a written statement that he is not subject to licensure or certification as a contractor or subcontractor pursuant to this chapter" before a permit issues. Pages giving a $10,000 ceiling for a Class C licence predate the 2025 amendment.
  • city_level: City Code Sec. 7-2(a) makes it "the duty of every building, electrical, mechanical or plumbing contractor who makes contracts for work for which a permit is required" to "register, with the building official, giving his full name and the addresses of his residence and place of business", and requires "every such contractor or subcontractor not licensed by the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to give good and sufficient bond, in the sum of $5,000.00, to be approved by the department of law of the city". The Department of Permits and Inspections says it will "Confirm proper and valid contractor and tradesman licensure through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation" and "Confirm proper and valid local business licensure through the Portsmouth Commissioner of Revenue Office". Its Permit Requirements and Guidelines tell a contractor registering with the Department to "Provide a copy of the Class A, B or C State Contractor's License", Master Tradesman cards where applicable, and "a copy of a Business License"; "If the company is based in Portsmouth, a Portsmouth Business License is required", and a company based elsewhere needs one "if more than $25,000 worth of business is conducted in Portsmouth in a calendar year". A business licence is a general business licence, not a contractor credential. The same Guidelines print Class C limits of $10,000 per job, which predate the 2025 amendment quoted at the state level.
Permit process note
Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2 (13VAC5-63-80), quoted in full in this record's repair permit threshold, exempts replacement of roof covering on a house from permit application "provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second)", and its exceptions let the building official require an application in a designated historic district or a special flood hazard area. By the Department's own statements, a reroof in a regulated flood hazard zone or in one of the City's historic districts needs a permit. "The Truxtun, Cradock, Port Norfolk, Olde Towne, and Park View Historic Districts are established and continued as shown on the City’s Zoning Map", and in them "New development, rehabilitation, or redevelopment within a historic district requires approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, COA, (in addition to any other required permits)" (the City's Historic Districts page); the Permit Needed page adds that design review districts in "Olde Towne, Downtown, Port Norfolk, Park View, Cradock, and Truxtun require review and approval of exterior alterations by the appropriate reviewing authorities" (Planning Department, 757-393-8836). The City of Portsmouth's Department of Permits and Inspections publishes statements that do not agree with one another on whether an ordinary residential reroof needs a permit. Its Permit Needed page lists, among work for which "Building permit applications are required", "Installation, alteration, replacement, or repair of exterior building facades, components, or elements, including but not limited to roofing and siding finish materials, and doors and windows located in historic districts"; lists "Minor and ordinary repair, excluding work defined below." among its exemptions from permit application; and states "Exemptions do not apply in regulated flood hazard zones. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated flood hazard zones require permits." and "Exceptions do not apply in regulated historic districts. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated historic districts require permits." The Department's Permit Requirements and Guidelines, listed among the City's Permits & Inspection Forms, names "roofing or siding replacements" among the "Alterations (commercial or residential)" for which building permits are required, and under "When is a Permit NOT required?" lists "Roofing or siding work done on single family homes, duplexes, or townhomes outside the flood zone or designated historic districts". A one-page sheet on the same forms list, titled When is a building permit required?, which does not print the City's name, marks roof replacement as needing a permit. The City's climatic and geographic design criteria table prints a wind speed of 120 mph without saying whether it is a nominal or an ultimate design wind speed, so it does not settle whether the item 14.5 exemption reaches houses in Portsmouth; this record does not convert one kind of speed into the other. Virginia law provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies" (Code of Virginia 36-98). This record does not decide whether an ordinary reroof in Portsmouth needs a permit. Before a reroof starts, ask the Department in writing or call the Building Division at 757-393-8531. Where a permit is taken: "All building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits may be obtained at the Department of Permits and Inspections counter on the fourth floor of the City Hall Building", 801 Crawford Street, Portsmouth, open "Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm"; "Check and credit cards are the only methods of payment currently accepted." (Where To Apply page). The City's Permits & Inspections page also links an online "Apply for Construction Permits" form and a "Schedule Construction Inspections" form. For "other alterations (i.e. siding, roofing, etc.)" the Department's Permit Requirements and Guidelines ask for the total contract value from a building contractor or the approximate cost of materials from a homeowner, and "Additionally, an asbestos exemption form filled out completely with property owner's name and address, and signature of contractor's representative (if contractor doing work) or property owner's signature (if owner doing work)". "If a homeowner obtains a permit for work done by a contractor, a “Homeowner’s Affidavit” must be completed and notarized prior to permit issuance." Fees are set in City Code Appendix A under Use Group T, "Alterations, Repairs, Private Piers, Bulkheads, Pools, Walls, Bay Windows, Dormers, Roofing, Siding, Commercial Interior Finish, Miscellaneous Structures": "The minimum fee shall be $50.00."; "For a valuation up to $4,999.00 the fee shall be $20.00 per $1,000.00 or fraction thereof."; from $5,000.00 to $19,999.00, "$100.00 for the first $5,000.00 plus $10.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof"; from $20,000.00 to $99,999.00, "$250.00 for the first $20,000.00 plus $5.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof". City Code Sec. 7-142 adds the state levy for the Virginia Building Code Academy, and Appendix A sets a $50.00 reinspection fee and a $150.00 "Administrative fee for failure to obtain permit; inspection, certificate of occupancy".
Adopted code
City Code Sec. 7-96 adopts the "Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code," with "the accumulative supplements thereto and the amendments thereto", as the building code of the City. The edition in force is the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024. For detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, its Virginia Construction Code Section 310.6.1 applies "The provisions of the IRC for detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses as amended by VCC Section 310.8, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC)". Work on existing buildings falls under the Virginia Existing Building Code, whose Section 602.3.2.1 reads: "Reroofing. Materials and methods of application used for recovering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with Chapter 15 of the VCC, except as modified by Section 302.1 and this section." Virginia law provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies" (Code of Virginia 36-98), so a Virginia locality enforces the state code and does not write its own technical amendments. The City's Department of Permits and Inspections states that its Building Inspection Division "is responsible for administration and enforcement of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC)", and the climatic and geographic design criteria table on its forms list is headed "2021 VRC Effective 1-18-2024". City Code Chapter 7, Buildings and Building Regulations, read in full (Articles I through III, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-13, enacted February 10, 2026), carries the adoption clause, contractor registration and bonds, the Department of Permits and Inspections, permit and inspection fees, the fire limits and the local board of building code appeals, and no technical roofing provision.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Neither City Code Chapter 7 (which adopts the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by reference, read in full) nor Virginia's amendments to the IRC in the 2021 Virginia Residential Code (VCC Section 310.8) amend the roof-covering impact provisions, and the Department's permit pages and forms carry none; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the City's adopted code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
Virginia's statewide building code reads: "108.2 Exemptions from application for permit. Notwithstanding the requirements of Section 108.1, application for a permit and any related inspections shall not be required for the following; however, this section shall not be construed to exempt such activities from other applicable requirements of this code. In addition, when an owner or an owner's agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required. ... 14. Ordinary repairs that include the following: ... 14.5. Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4, or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m2) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones. 14.6. Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m2) or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4, or R-5 unless the decking to be replaced was required at the time of original construction to be fire-retardant-treated or protected in some other way to form a fire-rated wall termination. ... Exceptions: 1. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for the installation of replacement siding, roofing, and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to § 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia. 2. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for any items exempted in this section that are located in a special flood hazard area." (Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2, 13VAC5-63-80.) The City of Portsmouth's Department of Permits and Inspections publishes statements that do not agree with one another on whether an ordinary residential reroof needs a permit. Its Permit Needed page lists, among work for which "Building permit applications are required", "Installation, alteration, replacement, or repair of exterior building facades, components, or elements, including but not limited to roofing and siding finish materials, and doors and windows located in historic districts"; lists "Minor and ordinary repair, excluding work defined below." among its exemptions from permit application; and states "Exemptions do not apply in regulated flood hazard zones. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated flood hazard zones require permits." and "Exceptions do not apply in regulated historic districts. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated historic districts require permits." The Department's Permit Requirements and Guidelines, listed among the City's Permits & Inspection Forms, names "roofing or siding replacements" among the "Alterations (commercial or residential)" for which building permits are required, and under "When is a Permit NOT required?" lists "Roofing or siding work done on single family homes, duplexes, or townhomes outside the flood zone or designated historic districts". A one-page sheet on the same forms list, titled When is a building permit required?, which does not print the City's name, marks roof replacement as needing a permit. The City's climatic and geographic design criteria table prints a wind speed of 120 mph without saying whether it is a nominal or an ultimate design wind speed, so it does not settle whether the item 14.5 exemption reaches houses in Portsmouth; this record does not convert one kind of speed into the other. Virginia law provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies" (Code of Virginia 36-98). This record does not decide whether an ordinary reroof in Portsmouth needs a permit. Before a reroof starts, ask the Department in writing or call the Building Division at 757-393-8531. By the Department's own statements, a reroof in a regulated flood hazard zone or in one of the City's historic districts needs a permit. "The Truxtun, Cradock, Port Norfolk, Olde Towne, and Park View Historic Districts are established and continued as shown on the City’s Zoning Map", and in them "New development, rehabilitation, or redevelopment within a historic district requires approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, COA, (in addition to any other required permits)" (the City's Historic Districts page); the Permit Needed page adds that design review districts in "Olde Towne, Downtown, Port Norfolk, Park View, Cradock, and Truxtun require review and approval of exterior alterations by the appropriate reviewing authorities" (Planning Department, 757-393-8836). Replacing 100 square feet or less of roof covering is exempt under item 14.5 "in all groups and all wind zones", and an owner may still ask for a permit for any exempt item under the preamble quoted above. The Department's Permit Needed page adds: "Regardless of whether a building permit is not required or exempted, code compliance with the VUSBC is required." Where work that needs a permit is started without one, City Code Sec. 7-102 makes it a misdemeanor and adds "an administrative fee as set forth in appendix A to this Code" to the permit fee due; Appendix A sets that "Administrative fee for failure to obtain permit; inspection, certificate of occupancy" at $150.00.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Virginia's amendments to the IRC in the 2021 Virginia Residential Code (VCC Section 310.8) make no change to the IRC's roof sheathing section (R803), and City Code Chapter 7, read in full, contains no roof-sheathing provision, so no Virginia or City text adds to the base sheathing provisions. For permits, state law exempts "Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m2) or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4, or R-5 unless the decking to be replaced was required at the time of original construction to be fire-retardant-treated or protected in some other way to form a fire-rated wall termination" (Virginia Construction Code 108.2, item 14.6).
Sales & use tax
6.0% general sales and use tax in the City of Portsmouth, per Virginia Tax's "Sales and Use Tax Rates by Locality" workbook, "January 1, 2026 - Present" sheet (Portsmouth, code 51740, General Sales 0.06). That is 4.3% state tax (Code of Virginia 58.1-603) plus 1% local tax (58.1-605) plus 0.7%; the same workbook's July 2013 - June 2018 sheet notes that "An additional Regional State Sales and Use Tax of 0.7% for localities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads went into effect on July 1, 2013". Virginia treats a roofing contractor as the consumer of its materials: "the law treats every contractor as the user or consumer of all tangible personal property furnished to the contractor or by the contractor in connection with real property construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, and similar contracts" (23VAC10-210-410), so the roofer pays the tax when buying materials and does not charge sales tax on the job. Repair and replacement are treated alike.

Local roofing hub

Roofing in Portsmouth, VirginiaCity hub

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Hail reports near Portsmouth, VA

Reports, last 24 months
0
Largest, last 24 months
None
Most recent
None in 24 months
Reports, last 5 years
11
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
May 26, 20241.00 in8 mi ENE
May 26, 20241.00 in5 mi ESE
May 26, 20241.00 in5 mi ESE
Jun 25, 20231.00 in9 mi ESE
Jun 25, 20231.00 in10 mi E

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 Portsmouth, VA (Census point). Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Sources

Roofing questions: Portsmouth, VA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Portsmouth, VA?

Virginia's statewide building code reads: "108.2 Exemptions from application for permit. Notwithstanding the requirements of Section 108.1, application for a permit and any related inspections shall not be required for the following; however, this section shall not be construed to exempt such activities from other applicable requirements of this code. In addition, when an owner or an owner's agent requests that a permit be issued for any of the following, then a permit shall be issued and any related inspections shall be required. ... 14. Ordinary repairs that include the following: ... 14.5. Replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4, or R-5 provided the building or structure is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour (44.7 meters per second) and replacement of 100 square feet (9.29 m2) or less of roof covering in all groups and all wind zones. 14.6. Replacement of 256 square feet (23.78 m2) or less of roof decking in Group R-3, R-4, or R-5 unless the decking to be replaced was required at the time of original construction to be fire-retardant-treated or protected in some other way to form a fire-rated wall termination. ... Exceptions: 1. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for the installation of replacement siding, roofing, and windows in buildings within a historic district designated by a locality pursuant to § 15.2-2306 of the Code of Virginia. 2. Application for a permit may be required by the building official for any items exempted in this section that are located in a special flood hazard area." (Virginia Construction Code Section 108.2, 13VAC5-63-80.) The City of Portsmouth's Department of Permits and Inspections publishes statements that do not agree with one another on whether an ordinary residential reroof needs a permit. Its Permit Needed page lists, among work for which "Building permit applications are required", "Installation, alteration, replacement, or repair of exterior building facades, components, or elements, including but not limited to roofing and siding finish materials, and doors and windows located in historic districts"; lists "Minor and ordinary repair, excluding work defined below." among its exemptions from permit application; and states "Exemptions do not apply in regulated flood hazard zones. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated flood hazard zones require permits." and "Exceptions do not apply in regulated historic districts. All construction, addition, alteration, demolition, repair, or replacement located in regulated historic districts require permits." The Department's Permit Requirements and Guidelines, listed among the City's Permits & Inspection Forms, names "roofing or siding replacements" among the "Alterations (commercial or residential)" for which building permits are required, and under "When is a Permit NOT required?" lists "Roofing or siding work done on single family homes, duplexes, or townhomes outside the flood zone or designated historic districts". A one-page sheet on the same forms list, titled When is a building permit required?, which does not print the City's name, marks roof replacement as needing a permit. The City's climatic and geographic design criteria table prints a wind speed of 120 mph without saying whether it is a nominal or an ultimate design wind speed, so it does not settle whether the item 14.5 exemption reaches houses in Portsmouth; this record does not convert one kind of speed into the other. Virginia law provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies" (Code of Virginia 36-98). This record does not decide whether an ordinary reroof in Portsmouth needs a permit. Before a reroof starts, ask the Department in writing or call the Building Division at 757-393-8531. By the Department's own statements, a reroof in a regulated flood hazard zone or in one of the City's historic districts needs a permit. "The Truxtun, Cradock, Port Norfolk, Olde Towne, and Park View Historic Districts are established and continued as shown on the City’s Zoning Map", and in them "New development, rehabilitation, or redevelopment within a historic district requires approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness, COA, (in addition to any other required permits)" (the City's Historic Districts page); the Permit Needed page adds that design review districts in "Olde Towne, Downtown, Port Norfolk, Park View, Cradock, and Truxtun require review and approval of exterior alterations by the appropriate reviewing authorities" (Planning Department, 757-393-8836). Replacing 100 square feet or less of roof covering is exempt under item 14.5 "in all groups and all wind zones", and an owner may still ask for a permit for any exempt item under the preamble quoted above. The Department's Permit Needed page adds: "Regardless of whether a building permit is not required or exempted, code compliance with the VUSBC is required." Where work that needs a permit is started without one, City Code Sec. 7-102 makes it a misdemeanor and adds "an administrative fee as set forth in appendix A to this Code" to the permit fee due; Appendix A sets that "Administrative fee for failure to obtain permit; inspection, certificate of occupancy" at $150.00.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Portsmouth, VA?

Yes.

What building code does Portsmouth, VA use?

City Code Sec. 7-96 adopts the "Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code," with "the accumulative supplements thereto and the amendments thereto", as the building code of the City. The edition in force is the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (13VAC5-63), effective January 18, 2024. For detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, its Virginia Construction Code Section 310.6.1 applies "The provisions of the IRC for detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses as amended by VCC Section 310.8, also referred to as the Virginia Residential Code (VRC)". Work on existing buildings falls under the Virginia Existing Building Code, whose Section 602.3.2.1 reads: "Reroofing. Materials and methods of application used for recovering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with Chapter 15 of the VCC, except as modified by Section 302.1 and this section." Virginia law provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code "shall supersede the building codes and regulations of the counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and state agencies" (Code of Virginia 36-98), so a Virginia locality enforces the state code and does not write its own technical amendments. The City's Department of Permits and Inspections states that its Building Inspection Division "is responsible for administration and enforcement of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC)", and the climatic and geographic design criteria table on its forms list is headed "2021 VRC Effective 1-18-2024". City Code Chapter 7, Buildings and Building Regulations, read in full (Articles I through III, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-13, enacted February 10, 2026), carries the adoption clause, contractor registration and bonds, the Department of Permits and Inspections, permit and inspection fees, the fire limits and the local board of building code appeals, and no technical roofing provision.