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Permitting Authorities / City of San Antonio Development Services Department (DSD)

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in San Antonio, TX?

Adopted code

City of San Antonio Development Services Department (DSD)

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in San Antonio, TX, issued by City of San Antonio Development Services Department (DSD). The official Re-Roof Permit Application states the residential fee is "$25 + Processing Fee + 6% surcharge." It asks whether the project changes roof pitch or changes material to tile; if either is true, an engineer's assessment inspection report is required to clear the framing inspection. A maximum of two layers of roofing material is allowed per the IRC. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits are separately required for any roof-penetration modifications that extend above the new roofline, and must be secured by licensed trade contractors. A homeowner may self-permit by signing an attestation to own and occupy/rent the residence for 12 months after completion. The department's "No Permit Required List" does not exempt roofing or re-roofing work.

Jurisdiction
City of San Antonio, Texas
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
1901 S. Alamo St. (Cliff Morton Development and Business Services Center), San Antonio, TX 78204
Contact
  • url: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/DSD
  • phone: 210-207-1111
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: City Code Chapter 10, Sec. 10-115(a): "Any person performing any form of residential construction or home improvement work in the city shall be working under a contractor registered per Chapters 10-115 and 10-116 with a valid and authenticated home builder registration card issued by the Building Official in their possession." A like-for-like reroof registers as a Home Improvement Contractor: $150 registration fee per 2-year term, FBI background check, and liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence / $600,000 aggregate. A reroof involving structural or pitch changes instead registers as a Residential Building Contractor ("Home Builder"): $170 per 2-year term, FBI background check, ICC certification (or Building-Official-approved equivalent) held by the registrant or an affiliated agent, and liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence / $1,000,000 aggregate. Exceptions: owner-occupants attesting to 12 months of ownership/occupancy, and building-trade subcontractors. Non-compliance is a Class C misdemeanor, up to $500 per violation, each day a separate offense.
Permit process note
The official Re-Roof Permit Application states the residential fee is "$25 + Processing Fee + 6% surcharge." It asks whether the project changes roof pitch or changes material to tile; if either is true, an engineer's assessment inspection report is required to clear the framing inspection. A maximum of two layers of roofing material is allowed per the IRC. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits are separately required for any roof-penetration modifications that extend above the new roofline, and must be secured by licensed trade contractors. A homeowner may self-permit by signing an attestation to own and occupy/rent the residence for 12 months after completion. The department's "No Permit Required List" does not exempt roofing or re-roofing work.
Adopted code
2024 International Residential Code (for One- and Two-Family Dwellings) and 2024 International Building Code, plus 2024 IMC/IPC/IEBC/IFGC/IFC/ ISPSC, 2021 IECC, and 2023 NEC, all with local amendments — adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075 (adopted January 30, 2025), effective May 1, 2025.
Drip edge
Required — Base 2024 IRC R905.2.8.5 (unamended by San Antonio): "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs. Adjacent segments of drip edge shall be overlapped not less than 2 inches (51 mm). Drip edges shall extend not less than 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) below the roof sheathing and extend up back onto the roof deck not less than 2 inches (51 mm). Drip edges shall be mechanically fastened to the roof deck at not more than 12 inches (305 mm) o.c. with fasteners as specified in Section R905.2.5. Underlayment shall be installed over the drip edge along eaves and under the drip edge along rake edges." (Text as published in ICC's digital 2024 IRC at codes.iccsafe.org.) San Antonio's own local-amendments instrument, Sec. 10-37 of City Code Ch. 10 (2024 IRC amendments, Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075), reads in full: the amendment list runs Table R301.2, R304.1.2, R306, R309.2/R313.2.1, R311.2.2, R318.7, R318.8, R324.4.2, R403.1.6, R408.9, R903.4.2/R903.4.3, then straight into the M-series (mechanical) sections -- no R905, R906, R907 or R908 amendment of any kind appears anywhere in the 147-page document (full text search confirms zero matches for those section numbers). About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — San Antonio's own Table R301.2 (as amended by Sec. 10-37 of City Code Chapter 10, 2024 IRC local amendments, Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075) lists "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED" as "NO" for the city (same table row also shows Winter Design Temp 30 degrees F, Air Freezing Index 16, Mean Annual Temp 68.7 degrees F -- consistent with a no-ice-barrier climate). About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — Not required. The City of San Antonio Development Services Department's official "Re-Roof Permit Application" (Rev 10/25, read in full including the attached engineer's assessment letter template) states the inspection outcome directly: "A final building inspection will be performed by the City's Inspection Division." The only other inspection the form contemplates is conditional and structural rather than mid-roof. The form asks "Change in the slope of the roof?" and "Change of material to a tile roof?", and provides that "If YES to either question above, please provide an engineer's assessment inspection report (example attached) to clear the framing inspection." That is a framing inspection cleared by a third-party licensed engineer's letter and triggered only by a pitch change or a conversion to tile; it is not an in-progress inspection of the deck or underlayment, and on an ordinary re-roof it does not arise at all. The form separately notes that "Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits and inspections will be required for modifications to existing roof penetrations that will be extended above the new roofline," which are trade inspections carried on separate permits and secured by licensed trade contractors, not roofing inspections. SCOPE LIMITS: the City's "2024 Chapter 10 Building-Related Codes" document, 147 pages, was searched and contains no mid-roof, tear-off, dry-in, or decking inspection provision; its inspection article is the general existing-building provision that "The Building Official shall make all of the required inspections or may accept reports of inspection by approved agencies or individuals."
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — San Antonio City Code Chapter 10, Sec. 10-37, "Amendments to the adopted chapters and Appendices J and K of the International Residential Code (IRC) (2024)" (Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075) -- the entire local amendments instrument for the 2024 IRC -- contains no UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision. No amendment touches IRC Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies) at all: the amendment list passes directly from R903.4.3 (added) to M1305.1.2.2, addressing no R904/R905 fire-classification or impact-resistance provision. The unamended base 2024 IRC governs, and it contains no UL 2218/Class 4 mandate.
Repair permit threshold
The City's official "No Permit Required List" page enumerates the complete set of projects exempt from permitting: "One-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed 300 square feet ... Cabinets & counter tops; Carpeting and wood/laminate flooring; Painting, plastering, repairing of sheet rock, wallpapering and tiling; Retaining walls less than 4 feet ... Sidewalks and driveways inside your property line; Swings and playground equipment; Window repair (replacing of broken glass only); Replacement of existing doors; Replacing of new siding over existing siding." Roofing and re-roofing do not appear on this list at any scope, percentage, or square footage -- San Antonio applies no minimum-threshold exemption to reroofing or roof repair; the Re-Roof Permit Application confirms "Any time you're replacing or installing a roof you need a permit," with no minimum area carve-out.
Wind design criteria
San Antonio's own Table R301.2, Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as amended by Sec. 10-37 of City Code Chapter 10 (2024 IRC local amendments, adopted under Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075): Ground Snow Load 6; Wind Design Speed 108 mph, Topographic effects NO; Seismic Design Category A; Subject to Damage From -- Weathering Negligible, Frostline depth 0, Termite Moderate to Heavy; Winter Design Temp 30 degrees F; Ice Barrier Underlayment Required NO; Flood Hazards Appendix F, UDC; Air Freezing Index 16; Mean Annual Temp 68.7 degrees F. (Table read directly from the ordinance's own amendment text at Sec. 10-37, "TABLE R301.2 is amended to read as follows," which entirely replaces the base IRC table for this jurisdiction.)
Roof layer limit / recover
Base 2024 IRC R908.4 "Roof recover" (unamended by San Antonio -- the city's amendment ordinance contains no R908 amendment). Note: the IRC renumbered this provision between the 2021 and 2024 editions -- the 2021 edition's separately-labeled "R908.3.1.1 Roof recover not allowed" is, in the 2024 edition, an unlabeled "Exceptions" clause attached directly to R908.4 Roof recover. The operative 2024 text (as published at codes.iccsafe.org) reads: "Exceptions: A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur: 1. Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for the additional roofing. 2. Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." (Same three substantive conditions as the 2021 edition, with only minor non-substantive wording differences -- e.g. "the additional roofing" vs. "additional roofing.") This is the base ICC text, not an Oklahoma-style locally-added fourth condition; no such condition appears in San Antonio's own ordinance.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Base 2024 IRC R905.2.1 Sheathing requirements (unamended by San Antonio -- the city's amendment ordinance contains no R905 amendment): "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to wood structural panels or solid lumber sheathing." (Text as published in ICC's digital 2024 IRC at codes.iccsafe.org.) Note: this text DIFFERS from the 2021 IRC edition's wording for the same section ("Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks.") -- the 2024 edition adds the "wood structural panels or solid lumber" specification. Since San Antonio adopted the 2024 IRC (Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075), the 2024-edition text is the applicable baseline.
Sales & use tax
8.25% combined (6.25% state + 1.125% City of San Antonio + 0.375% San Antonio Advanced Transportation District (ATD) + 0.5% San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (VIA/MTA)), the Texas local-rate cap. Texas collects no construction use tax at building-permit issuance; use tax, when owed, is self-assessed by the purchaser and remitted directly to the Comptroller's office rather than collected by a city or county permit office (Comptroller Use Tax guidance, comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/use-tax.php). Under Comptroller guidance for real property repair and remodeling, "Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable"; on the lump-sum contract typical of residential re-roofing, "you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax" (Comptroller Pub. 94-116, Real Property Repair and Remodeling, comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/94-116.php) -- so the combined rate above is the roofer's own cost basis on materials purchased, not a rate charged to the homeowner.

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The permitting authority for the City of San Antonio, Texas. The Development Services Department issues residential roofing permits and administers the city's contractor-registration program, which covers roofing work under either the Home Improvement Contractor or Residential Building Contractor registration category (San Antonio has no separate "roofing contractor" license class).

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Roofing questions — San Antonio, TX

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in San Antonio, TX?

Required. The City's official "No Permit Required List" page enumerates the complete set of projects exempt from permitting: "One-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed 300 square feet ... Cabinets & counter tops; Carpeting and wood/laminate flooring; Painting, plastering, repairing of sheet rock, wallpapering and tiling; Retaining walls less than 4 feet ... Sidewalks and driveways inside your property line; Swings and playground equipment; Window repair (replacing of broken glass only); Replacement of existing doors; Replacing of new siding over existing siding." Roofing and re-roofing do not appear on this list at any scope, percentage, or square footage -- San Antonio applies no minimum-threshold exemption to reroofing or roof repair; the Re-Roof Permit Application confirms "Any time you're replacing or installing a roof you need a permit," with no minimum area carve-out.

Is ice & water shield required in San Antonio, TX?

Not required — San Antonio's own Table R301.2 (as amended by Sec. 10-37 of City Code Chapter 10, 2024 IRC local amendments, Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075) lists "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED" as "NO" for the city (same table row also shows Winter Design Temp 30 degrees F, Air Freezing Index 16, Mean Annual Temp 68.7 degrees F -- consistent with a no-ice-barrier climate)..

Is drip edge required?

Required — Base 2024 IRC R905.2.8.5 (unamended by San Antonio): "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs. Adjacent segments of drip edge shall be overlapped not less than 2 inches (51 mm). Drip edges shall extend not less than 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) below the roof sheathing and extend up back onto the roof deck not less than 2 inches (51 mm). Drip edges shall be mechanically fastened to the roof deck at not more than 12 inches (305 mm) o.c. with fasteners as specified in Section R905.2.5. Underlayment shall be installed over the drip edge along eaves and under the drip edge along rake edges." (Text as published in ICC's digital 2024 IRC at codes.iccsafe.org.) San Antonio's own local-amendments instrument, Sec. 10-37 of City Code Ch. 10 (2024 IRC amendments, Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075), reads in full: the amendment list runs Table R301.2, R304.1.2, R306, R309.2/R313.2.1, R311.2.2, R318.7, R318.8, R324.4.2, R403.1.6, R408.9, R903.4.2/R903.4.3, then straight into the M-series (mechanical) sections -- no R905, R906, R907 or R908 amendment of any kind appears anywhere in the 147-page document (full text search confirms zero matches for those section numbers)..

Is a mid-roof inspection required?

Not required — Not required. The City of San Antonio Development Services Department's official "Re-Roof Permit Application" (Rev 10/25, read in full including the attached engineer's assessment letter template) states the inspection outcome directly: "A final building inspection will be performed by the City's Inspection Division." The only other inspection the form contemplates is conditional and structural rather than mid-roof. The form asks "Change in the slope of the roof?" and "Change of material to a tile roof?", and provides that "If YES to either question above, please provide an engineer's assessment inspection report (example attached) to clear the framing inspection." That is a framing inspection cleared by a third-party licensed engineer's letter and triggered only by a pitch change or a conversion to tile; it is not an in-progress inspection of the deck or underlayment, and on an ordinary re-roof it does not arise at all. The form separately notes that "Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits and inspections will be required for modifications to existing roof penetrations that will be extended above the new roofline," which are trade inspections carried on separate permits and secured by licensed trade contractors, not roofing inspections. SCOPE LIMITS: the City's "2024 Chapter 10 Building-Related Codes" document, 147 pages, was searched and contains no mid-roof, tear-off, dry-in, or decking inspection provision; its inspection article is the general existing-building provision that "The Building Official shall make all of the required inspections or may accept reports of inspection by approved agencies or individuals.".

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in San Antonio, TX?

Required. City Code Chapter 10, Sec. 10-115(a): "Any person performing any form of residential construction or home improvement work in the city shall be working under a contractor registered per Chapters 10-115 and 10-116 with a valid and authenticated home builder registration card issued by the Building Official in their possession." A like-for-like reroof registers as a Home Improvement Contractor: $150 registration fee per 2-year term, FBI background check, and liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence / $600,000 aggregate. A reroof involving structural or pitch changes instead registers as a Residential Building Contractor ("Home Builder"): $170 per 2-year term, FBI background check, ICC certification (or Building-Official-approved equivalent) held by the registrant or an affiliated agent, and liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence / $1,000,000 aggregate. Exceptions: owner-occupants attesting to 12 months of ownership/occupancy, and building-trade subcontractors. Non-compliance is a Class C misdemeanor, up to $500 per violation, each day a separate offense..

What building code does San Antonio, TX use?

2024 International Residential Code (for One- and Two-Family Dwellings) and 2024 International Building Code, plus 2024 IMC/IPC/IEBC/IFGC/IFC/ ISPSC, 2021 IECC, and 2023 NEC, all with local amendments — adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-01-30-0075 (adopted January 30, 2025), effective May 1, 2025.