Permitting Authorities / Randolph County - Building Inspections Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Randolph County, NC?
Adopted code
Randolph County - Building Inspections Department
No, Randolph County, NC does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Randolph County - Building Inspections Department). A like-for-like reroof of a single-family house in Randolph County's jurisdiction usually needs no building permit. State law, G.S. 160D-1110(c): no permit is required for work "costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves ... (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." The North Carolina Residential Code, R908.3: "Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." Duplexes and multi-family buildings are not single-family residences and fall outside the statutory exemption. Randolph County publishes no roofing permit type, form or fee. If a permit is needed, it is a building permit from the Building Inspections Department at the Central Permit Office, 204 East Academy Street, Asheboro (336-318-6565), applied for in person, by email or online through ePermits; the fee is $60.00 up to $20,000.00 of job value and $3.00 per thousand above that, and "FOR PERMITS ISSUED AFTER COMMENCEMENT OF WORK, PERMIT FEES SHALL BE DOUBLED." Online, "Contractors in good standing and who are registered with Randolph County may request account access to apply for permits", and "Permits can only be obtained by the property owner, living in the home for which the permit is applied." The County issues permits for the unincorporated county and for Archdale, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove, Staley and Trinity; the County's list does not include the City of Asheboro.
Roof code checklist: Randolph County, NC
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
Randolph County, North Carolina
Address
204 East Academy Street, Asheboro, NC 27203
Contact
- url: https://www.randolphcountync.gov/161/Building-Inspections
- phone: 336-318-6565
- email: [email protected]
Roofing permit required
Not required
Registration details
- state_level: North Carolina licenses general contractors by job size. G.S. 87-1(a) reaches anyone who undertakes to construct "any building ... or any improvement or structure where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more". Roofing is a specialty classification of that licence, "S(Roofing)", under the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors' rules (21 NCAC 12). G.S. 87-1(b)(2) exempts an owner who "constructs or alters a building on land owned by that person" where "the building is intended solely for occupancy by that person and his family" and the owner complies with G.S. 87-14; occupancy of less than 12 months after completion creates a presumption against the exemption. Whether a given reroof reaches the $40,000 line depends on the job's price, which this record does not decide.
- county_level: Randolph County sets no roofing contractor licence of its own. Its permit application asks for the contractor's "License number" and a sworn statement of workers' compensation coverage. An owner doing the work claims the state exemption on the County's Owner Exemption Affidavit under G.S. 87-14, attesting that "I am required by law to occupy the building for which the licensing exemption is granted for twelve months after completion, during which time it may not be offered for rent, lease or sale"; a copy goes to the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors. For online permitting, "Contractors in good standing and who are registered with Randolph County may request account access", activating with their licence number.
Permit process note
A like-for-like reroof of a single-family house in Randolph County's jurisdiction usually needs no building permit. State law, G.S. 160D-1110(c): no permit is required for work "costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves ... (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." The North Carolina Residential Code, R908.3: "Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." Duplexes and multi-family buildings are not single-family residences and fall outside the statutory exemption. Randolph County publishes no roofing permit type, form or fee. If a permit is needed, it is a building permit from the Building Inspections Department at the Central Permit Office, 204 East Academy Street, Asheboro (336-318-6565), applied for in person, by email or online through ePermits; the fee is $60.00 up to $20,000.00 of job value and $3.00 per thousand above that, and "FOR PERMITS ISSUED AFTER COMMENCEMENT OF WORK, PERMIT FEES SHALL BE DOUBLED." Online, "Contractors in good standing and who are registered with Randolph County may request account access to apply for permits", and "Permits can only be obtained by the property owner, living in the home for which the permit is applied." The County issues permits for the unincorporated county and for Archdale, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove, Staley and Trinity; the County's list does not include the City of Asheboro.
Inspection requirements
Randolph County's Required Inspections list for building work: footing, under slab (if applicable), foundation, framing ("A partial framing inspection for the exterior can be performed prior to the installation of siding/brick or other exterior covering"), insulation, fire protection (if applicable), and final. "The owner or contractor must phone inspection requests in directly to the appropriate Inspector prior to midnight the day before the requested inspection," with the permit number ready.
Adopted code
Randolph County enforces the North Carolina State Building Code, which applies statewide. The 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (based on the 2015 International Residential Code) with its approved amendments is the edition in force; the NC Office of State Fire Marshal states the 2018 codes "were effective from January 1, 2019 and are currently effective." The 2024 edition has been adopted but has no effective date. The County's Building Inspections page states the department is responsible for "enforcement of the North Carolina State Building Codes and the Randolph County Unified Development Ordinance", and its General Construction Permit Application states "CONSTRUCTION SHALL MEET ALL APPLICABLE STATE BUILDING CODES." The County's Unified Development Ordinance (adopted July 15, 2021, amendments listed through August 3, 2026) is a zoning and land-development ordinance, and no Randolph County code of ordinances was located online. North Carolina's amendments rewrite two roofing provisions: R905.2.8.5 "Drip Edge. Deleted. Not required unless required by the roof covering manufacturer installation instructions." and R908.3 "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (delayed effective date January 1, 2022).
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — The state's approved amendments to the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code (adopted December 2017 through December 2024) contain no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact-resistance requirement for roof coverings. Randolph County's Unified Development Ordinance, searched for those terms rather than read page by page, contains none either, and the County's permit application, fee schedule and inspection list state none. No Randolph County code of ordinances was located online.
Repair permit threshold
North Carolina law exempts most single-family reroofs from a building permit. G.S. 160D-1110(c): "No permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work involves any of the following: (1) The addition, repair, or replacement of load-bearing structures. ... (4) The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code. (5) The addition of roofing, excluding replacement." G.S. 143-138(b5) says the same of the Building Code: "No permit shall be required under the Code or any local variance thereof approved under subsection (e)" for such work. The North Carolina Residential Code draws the structural line for a reroof at R908.3: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." So a reroof of a single-family house costing $40,000 or less, using code-approved materials and replacing no more than 15% of the deck and no load-bearing members, needs no permit; a job over $40,000, one that replaces more deck or any rafters or trusses, or one that adds roofing where there was none, needs one. The exemption reaches single-family residences, farm buildings and commercial buildings only; duplexes and multi-family buildings are outside it. Randolph County publishes no roofing permit of its own: its permit fee schedule (approved by the Board of County Commissioners, effective July 1, 2026) prices building permits by job value, a $60.00 minimum permit up to and including $20,000.00 and $3.00 per thousand from $20,000.01, with no roofing line; its General Construction Permit Application offers the classes of work "Addition", "New" and "Renovation"; and its online permit type list carries no roofing permit. Where a permit is needed, work started first costs more: "FOR PERMITS ISSUED AFTER COMMENCEMENT OF WORK, PERMIT FEES SHALL BE DOUBLED."
Roof layer limit / recover
North Carolina amends the reroofing section of its Residential Code. NC R908.3 Roof replacement: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." That amendment addresses a full replacement (tear-off to the deck); it states no number of layers allowed when re-covering over an existing roof. Randolph County publishes no layer rule of its own.
Deck & sheathing requirements
North Carolina's reroofing rule allows limited deck work within a roof replacement: "Roof replacement shall include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck and replacement of up to 15% of the total existing roof deck. Replacement of up to 15% of the total roof deck shall not be considered structural work." (North Carolina Residential Code R908.3, as amended). Replacing more than 15% of the deck is structural work, which takes the job outside the state's permit exemption for single-family houses. The state's approved residential amendments (adopted December 2017 through December 2024) do not amend the roof sheathing section (R803), so the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code's roof sheathing provisions apply as printed; they are not restated here. Randolph County publishes no local roof deck or sheathing rule.
Sales & use tax
7% combined in Randolph County (the 4.75% state rate plus a 2.25% local rate; no transit tax), as listed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue on its Current Sales and Use Tax Rates page, read September 26, 2026, where the county totals are stated as "4.75% state rate plus applicable local and transit rates." How it applies to a roofing job depends on the work. The Department's Services to Real Property Taxability Chart lists "Complete replacement of roofing systems" and "Installation of complete roofing systems" as capital improvements; on that work the roofer, as a real property contractor, "is the consumer of the item that the real property contractor purchases, installs, or applies for others to fulfill a real property contract," so the roofer pays sales or use tax on materials and does not charge sales tax to the homeowner. The same chart lists "Repair, maintain, or partially replace all types of roofing systems" and "Repair, maintain, install, or replace roofing materials (asphalt, shingle, slate, tile, built-up, metal, single ply)" as "Taxable" repair, maintenance and installation services, so the 7% combined rate is charged on the full sales price of that work. The chart says it gives the general treatment and "is not specific tax advice."
More roof permit pages in North Carolina
Related guides
The Randolph County Building Inspections Department, at the Central Permit Office in Asheboro, issues building and trade permits and performs code inspections for unincorporated Randolph County and for the municipalities of Archdale, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove, Staley and Trinity.
Hail reports near the center of Randolph County, NC
- Reports, last 24 months
- 3
- Largest, last 24 months
- 1.25 in Apr 22, 2025
- Most recent
- Apr 22, 2025 1.25 in
- Reports, last 5 years
- 4
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 the center of Randolph County, NC. Data through Sep 30, 2026. A report is an observation, not a damage record.
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