Permitting Authorities / Rio Blanco County Building Division
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Rio Blanco County, CO?
Adopted code
Rio Blanco County Building Division
Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Rio Blanco County, CO, issued by Rio Blanco County Building Division. Re-roof permits are required to ensure proper installation of roofing materials, including decking, nailing, and flashing, for both residential and non-residential structures. Applicants complete a fillable PDF permit application and email it to [email protected], documenting existing roof conditions and proposed materials (layer count, material type, weight per square, sheathing). Complete tear-off is required when the existing roof is water-soaked or deteriorated, when the existing material is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile, or when the roof already has two or more applications of any type. Re-roofing permit fees are based on valuation.
Jurisdiction
Rio Blanco County, Colorado
Contact
- url: https://www.rbc.us/165/Building-Division
- phone: 970-878-9452
Roofing permit required
Required
Permit process note
Re-roof permits are required to ensure proper installation of roofing materials, including decking, nailing, and flashing, for both residential and non-residential structures. Applicants complete a fillable PDF permit application and email it to
[email protected], documenting existing roof conditions and proposed materials (layer count, material type, weight per square, sheathing). Complete tear-off is required when the existing roof is water-soaked or deteriorated, when the existing material is wood shake, slate, clay, cement, or asbestos-cement tile, or when the roof already has two or more applications of any type. Re-roofing permit fees are based on valuation.
Inspection requirements
Three inspections are required for re-roofs: a roof sheathing inspection after the existing roof is completely torn off, a mid-roof inspection for all roofs with a 4:12 pitch or lower to verify underlayment, and a final inspection upon completion.
Adopted code
Rio Blanco County has adopted the 2006 International Building Code, Residential Code, Mechanical Code, Energy Conservation Code, and Fire Code, plus the 2021 International Plumbing Code and Fuel Gas Code, with local amendments. Ice barrier underlayment is required, and roof snow loads range from 40 psf below 6,000 feet to 115 psf above 9,000 feet elevation.
Ice & water shield
Required — The County's Building Codes & Design Criteria page states plainly, among its printed design criteria: "Ice barrier underlayment required."
About ice & water barrierMid-roof inspection
Required — The Roofing Permit page's Inspections list states: "2. Mid roof inspection required for all roofs that are 4:12 pitch or lower. This inspection is to verify correct underlayment installation and fastening." (Roofs steeper than 4:12 pitch are not subject to this requirement per the same sentence.)
Wind design criteria
The County's Building Codes & Design Criteria page states: "Climate Zone-6," "Wind design 90 mph (3 sec) Exposure B or C," "Seismic Design Category - TBD per site," and "Weathering probability for concrete - Severe." The same page prints a "Roof Snow Load by Elevation (for reference only)" table: below 6,000 ft = 40 psf (36" min. frost depth); 6,000-6,500 ft = 50 psf (42"); 6,501-7,000 ft = 60 psf (42"); 7,001-7,500 ft = 70 psf (42"); 7,501-8,000 ft = 80 psf (48"); 8,001-9,000 ft = 90 psf (48"); above 9,000 ft = 115 psf (48"), noting "Actual roof snow load will be determined by the RBC Building Official."
Roof layer limit / recover
The Roofing Permit page's "Re-covering versus replacement" section states: "New roof coverings shall not be installed without first removing all existing layers of roof covering where any of the following conditions occur: ... 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering" — i.e. a maximum of two existing roof-covering layers before a recover is disallowed and full tear-off is required.
Sales & use tax
6.5% combined (state 2.9% + Rio Blanco County 3.6%; no municipal component and no RTD/SCFD/RTA district — the County's own page states: "Rio Blanco County collects 6.5% in sales tax, including 2.9% Colorado State Sales Tax and 3.6% Rio Blanco County Sales Tax. Neither Meeker nor Rangely collects a city tax," and confirms the county is "'statutory' or 'state collected'" and "All Rio Blanco County sales tax is remitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue... the State then distributes 3.6% back to Rio Blanco County." This matches Colorado Department of Revenue form DR 1002 (rev. 06/19/19; updated semi-annually), which lists the Rio Blanco County rate as 3.60%. Re-verified 2026-08-27 against the January 2026 edition of Colorado Department of Revenue form DR 1002, read from a rendered image of its tables rather than from extracted text: the state, county and city figures above match that edition exactly. Where the text above names the June 19, 2019 revision of DR 1002, that describes the edition the figure was originally taken from and is not a current citation.
Building permit authority for unincorporated Rio Blanco County, Colorado, based in Meeker. Re-roof permits are required for residential and non-residential structures, with sheathing, mid-roof, and final inspections, under the county's adopted 2006 International Codes.
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