Permitting Authorities / Saunders County Planning and Zoning - Building and Zoning Permits
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Saunders County, NE?
Adopted code
Saunders County Planning and Zoning - Building and Zoning Permits
No — Saunders County, NE does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Saunders County Planning and Zoning - Building and Zoning Permits). Saunders County Planning and Zoning is at 433 N Chestnut St, Suite 302, Wahoo, NE 68066, on 402-443-8136, open 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed weekends and holidays. The office is staffed by a Zoning Administrator and a County Building Inspector, and the County publishes its forms as downloadable PDFs on its Forms, Permits and Regulations page - among them the Building Permit Application, the Contractor Registration form, the Conditional Use Permit, Variance, Change of Zone, Replat, Survey, Subdivision and Floodplain Development applications, the Improvement Information Statement, the Zoning Regulations, the Zoning Map, the Comprehensive Plan and the Subdivision Regulations. The County website also offers "Apply For Building and Zoning Permits" and "Submit Building and Zoning Permits" links for online filing. On the paper form, a building permit application asks for the property owner and the contractor with contact details, the legal description by section, township, range, subdivision and lot, the proposed structure and use, finished, unfinished, garage and porch or deck square footage, the estimated cost of the project, and a diagram sketch; the applicant requirements printed on the form are "1. COMPLETE SET OF BLUE PRINTS" and "2. PLOT PLAN WITH LOT DIMENSIONS: SETBACK TO ALL STRUCTURES AND DIMENSIONS L-W-H". The fee block on the form lists a project total, a Floodplain Development Fee and a Contractor Registration Fee. Fees themselves are not in the Regulations - Section 4.07 provides that "Fees are set by the County Board of Supervisors by separate Resolution" - so ask the office for the current schedule. Two timing rules from the Regulations are worth knowing: the Zoning Administrator must issue a written permit or a written denial with reasons within 15 days of filing, with an appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment if nothing is issued; and a permit expires if the use applied for is not completed within 18 months, after which a reinstatement fee applies. Finally, the County requires a passive radon mitigation system in new residential construction under Nebraska's Radon Resistant New Construction Act, and publishes the state summary of that law beside its permit forms; it applies to original construction and, in the state's words, "New construction does not include additions or remodeling of existing structures", so it does not reach a re-roof.
Jurisdiction
Saunders County, Nebraska
Address
433 N Chestnut Street, Suite 302, Wahoo, NE 68066
Contact
- url: https://saunderscounty.ne.gov/planning-and-zoning/
- phone: 402-443-8136
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: STATEWIDE AND UNAVOIDABLE. Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104(1), in the Contractor Registration Act: "Before performing any construction work in Nebraska, a contractor shall be registered with the department." The department is the Nebraska Department of Labor. A roofer sits inside the definitions rather than at their edge: "Construction" means "work on real property and annexations, including new work, additions, alterations, reconstruction, installations, and repairs" (48-2103(2)), and "Contractor" means a person or firm "engaged in the business of the construction, alteration, repairing, dismantling, or demolition of buildings ... and every other type of structure" (48-2103(3)). Two exemptions, both in 48-2104(1): work on one's own property, and "any person who earns less than five thousand dollars annually for construction services."
- city_level: SAUNDERS COUNTY REGISTERS CONTRACTORS SEPARATELY, AND IT IS AN ANNUAL, INSURANCE-BACKED REGISTRATION RATHER THAN A BUSINESS LICENCE. The County publishes a Contractor Registration form issued by Saunders County Planning and Zoning, which asks for the company name, the "Type of Work Performed", address, telephone, email and a signature, and states: "Saunders County Board of Supervisors annually requires a current copy of liability insurance, along with a check or money order for $25.00 and one of the following to be submitted with this application: 1. A Certificate or policy of insurance written by an insurance carrier duly authorized to do business in this state which gives the effective dates of workers compensation insurance coverage indicating it is in force: or 2. A Certificate evidencing of self-insurance privileges as provided by the Nebraska Workers Compensation Court pursuant to Nebraska to Nebraska Revised Statutes Section 48-145: or 3. A signed statement indicating that the contractor is not required to carry Workers Compensation Insurance pursuant to the Nebraska Workers Compensation Act." Cheques are made payable to Saunders County Zoning, and the form goes to Planning and Zoning at 433 N. Chestnut St., Suite 302, Wahoo. The County's own building permit application carries a "Contractor Registration Fee" line among the amounts due, so registration and permit are handled together at the same counter. Note that a roofer working in the unincorporated county on a job the County treats as maintenance still faces this registration question separately from the permit question - the two are not the same requirement - and that an incorporated town inside the county may register contractors on its own terms as well.
Permit process note
Saunders County Planning and Zoning is at 433 N Chestnut St, Suite 302, Wahoo, NE 68066, on 402-443-8136, open 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed weekends and holidays. The office is staffed by a Zoning Administrator and a County Building Inspector, and the County publishes its forms as downloadable PDFs on its Forms, Permits and Regulations page - among them the Building Permit Application, the Contractor Registration form, the Conditional Use Permit, Variance, Change of Zone, Replat, Survey, Subdivision and Floodplain Development applications, the Improvement Information Statement, the Zoning Regulations, the Zoning Map, the Comprehensive Plan and the Subdivision Regulations. The County website also offers "Apply For Building and Zoning Permits" and "Submit Building and Zoning Permits" links for online filing. On the paper form, a building permit application asks for the property owner and the contractor with contact details, the legal description by section, township, range, subdivision and lot, the proposed structure and use, finished, unfinished, garage and porch or deck square footage, the estimated cost of the project, and a diagram sketch; the applicant requirements printed on the form are "1. COMPLETE SET OF BLUE PRINTS" and "2. PLOT PLAN WITH LOT DIMENSIONS: SETBACK TO ALL STRUCTURES AND DIMENSIONS L-W-H". The fee block on the form lists a project total, a Floodplain Development Fee and a Contractor Registration Fee. Fees themselves are not in the Regulations - Section 4.07 provides that "Fees are set by the County Board of Supervisors by separate Resolution" - so ask the office for the current schedule. Two timing rules from the Regulations are worth knowing: the Zoning Administrator must issue a written permit or a written denial with reasons within 15 days of filing, with an appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment if nothing is issued; and a permit expires if the use applied for is not completed within 18 months, after which a reinstatement fee applies. Finally, the County requires a passive radon mitigation system in new residential construction under Nebraska's Radon Resistant New Construction Act, and publishes the state summary of that law beside its permit forms; it applies to original construction and, in the state's words, "New construction does not include additions or remodeling of existing structures", so it does not reach a re-roof.
Adopted code
Saunders County publishes its adopted codes on a one-page sheet headed "Adopted Codes" issued by Planning and Zoning, listing the 2018 International Building Code, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, the 2018 International Residential Code and the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code. NOTE THE PLUMBING CODE, WHICH IS THE ODD ONE OUT: Saunders County is on the Uniform Plumbing Code published by IAPMO, not on the International Plumbing Code that most of its neighbours use, so a plumbing question on the same job does not run to the same book as the building and residential questions. The residential code is the one a house re-roof is measured against. The County's Zoning Regulations point at a further document this record could not obtain: Section 4.05.05 provides that "All buildings or structures shall be constructed in compliance with the Saunders County Building Code. The plans, design data, and specifications shall be submitted to the County Building Inspector." No Saunders County Building Code document is published on the County website alongside the forms, the regulations and the adopted-codes sheet, so whether the County has written local amendments to the 2018 editions - and what they say - is not established here. Ask the Building Inspector for that document on 402-443-8136 before relying on the base text of any section. The Zoning Regulations themselves were adopted March 3, 2015 and are published as the 2015 update; the Planning and Zoning office notes that amendments made after that adoption "may not be reflected on the online versions of the map and regulations."
Ice & water shield
Required — Saunders County answers this one directly on its own published sheet, which is unusual and useful. The "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria Saunders County Nebraska" table that Planning and Zoning publishes beside its adopted-codes list carries a column headed "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required for 4/12 or less", and the County's entry in that column is YES. So an ice barrier is required on the roof slopes the column describes. TWO LIMITS ON WHAT THAT TELLS YOU. The County has written its own qualifier into the column heading rather than using the plain "ice barrier underlayment required" wording, so the entry as published speaks to roofs of 4/12 pitch or less and does not by itself state the position on steeper roofs - raise a steeper roof with the Building Inspector rather than reading the YES either way. And the sheet answers whether, not how: the extent an ice barrier must reach up the roof, the materials that qualify and the way it is lapped all come from the 2018 International Residential Code the County has adopted, whose text is behind the International Code Council's paywall and is not restated here. The rest of the County's table, as printed, gives Ground Snow Load 25, Wind Speed (MPH) 115, Seismic Design Category A, Weathering SEVERE, Frost Line Depth 42", Termite M-H, Winter Design Temp -2, Flood Hazards 1982, Air Freezing Index 1624 and Mean Annual Temp 50.6.
About ice & water barrierRepair permit threshold
Saunders County names roofing as maintenance and exempts maintenance from its building permit - but the exemption is conditional, and the conditions are the part to read. Section 4.03 of the County Zoning Regulations, headed "Building Permit Required", first states the general rule: "It shall be unlawful to commence or do any excavating, erecting, constructing, reconstructing, enlarging, altering, or moving of any building or structure or to use or occupy or permit the use or occupancy of any building, land or premises, or construction or connection to water or sewer facilities or part thereof hereafter created, erected, changed, converted, or wholly or partly altered or enlarged in its use or structure until a building permit shall have been issued therefore by the County Zoning Administrator stating that the proposed use of the building or land conforms to this regulation." It then carves out maintenance: "Permits will not be required for maintenance of existing buildings and structures in all districts only. Maintenance shall be considered as painting, papering, roofing, siding, storm windows, steps, sidewalks and driveways where existing construction and/or grade is not changed or that the overall floor area or dimensions are changed." The same section then lists work that is NOT maintenance and does need a permit: "All new construction or moved-in structures, replacement of service entrances, plumbing or wiring extensions, foundations repair or replacement and remodeling where walls are removed, and change of grade of sidewalks or driveways, including all curb cuts, and other similar activities shall not be considered maintenance and shall require an application for a building permit." SO A LIKE-FOR-LIKE RE-ROOF IS OUTSIDE THE COUNTY BUILDING PERMIT, AND A RE-ROOF THAT CHANGES THE STRUCTURE IS NOT. Anything that alters the existing construction - a pitch change, a dormer, new or relocated structural framing, a change in the building's dimensions - takes the job back inside the general rule. THREE THINGS TO CONFIRM BEFORE TREATING A SAUNDERS COUNTY JOB AS PERMIT-FREE. First, the same Regulations carry a separate permit at Section 4.06: "No non-farming building or structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, or converted without a Zoning Compliance Permit as required by this Section." That section does not repeat the maintenance carve-out, and this record does not decide how the County reconciles the two - ask. Second, the County adopts the 2018 International Residential Code and refers to a Saunders County Building Code that it does not publish online, so a building-code permit obligation separate from the zoning one cannot be ruled out here. Third, this exemption is the COUNTY'S, and it reaches only the unincorporated area: a job inside Wahoo, Ashland, Ceresco, Yutan or any other incorporated town in Saunders County is that town's to permit, on that town's rules. Call Planning and Zoning on 402-443-8136 with the address before deciding no permit is needed.
Wind design criteria
Saunders County publishes a filled-in design table, "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria Saunders County Nebraska", beside its adopted-codes list. As printed, the columns and the County's entries are: Ground Snow Load 25; Wind Speed (MPH) 115; Seismic Design Category A; Subject to Damage From - Weathering SEVERE, Frost Line Depth 42", Termite M-H; Winter Design Temp -2; Ice Barrier Underlayment Required for 4/12 or less, YES; Flood Hazards 1982; Air Freezing Index 1624; Mean Annual Temp 50.6. THE WIND FIGURE NEEDS ONE CHECK BEFORE IT IS USED. The County's column is headed only "Wind Speed (MPH)" and states no basis, and 115 mph means a different design load depending on whether it is read as an ultimate design wind speed or as a nominal three-second-gust speed. Do not convert between the two bases; ask the County Building Inspector on 402-443-8136 which basis the office applies before sizing fasteners or specifying a wind rating. The snow figure is given as a GROUND snow load of 25 pounds per square foot, and the County states no separate roof snow load, so the roof figure comes from the adopted code rather than from this table.
Roof layer limit / recover
NOT ESTABLISHED IN SAUNDERS COUNTY, AND THIS RECORD WILL NOT GUESS AT IT. The County has adopted the 2018 International Residential Code, so that edition's own recover-and-overlay provisions are the starting point, and their operative text sits behind the International Code Council's paywall and is not restated here. What is missing is the local layer: the County's Zoning Regulations refer at Section 4.05.05 to a "Saunders County Building Code" that the County does not publish on its website, so there is no way from the published documents to say whether the County has amended the residential code's roof-assembly chapter or left it alone. The County's Zoning Regulations were read in full and contain no layer, overlay or tear-off rule of their own; its published Adopted Codes sheet lists editions only. Ask the County Building Inspector on 402-443-8136 for the Saunders County Building Code and for the reroofing rule as the office applies it before pricing an overlay, and note that a job inside an incorporated town in the county is on that town's rules instead.
Sales & use tax
5.5% in unincorporated Saunders County - the Nebraska state rate alone, with no local add-on. Saunders County levies no county sales tax: the Nebraska Department of Revenue's Local Sales and Use Tax Rates schedule effective July 1, 2026 carries a County Sales and Use Tax Rate section that names only Dakota County, at 0.5%, so the unincorporated parts of every other Nebraska county sit at the state rate. THE RATE CHANGES AT A TOWN LINE, AND SAUNDERS COUNTY HAS SEVERAL. On the same schedule, Wahoo imposes a local rate of 2.0% for a total of 7.5% (.075), and Ashland and Ceresco each impose 1.5% for a total of 7.0% (.07). Several smaller Saunders County communities are not on the schedule at all and therefore impose no local rate. So the rate on a roofing job in this county depends on the delivery address, not on the county: establish whether the property is inside a town's corporate limits before quoting tax. Nebraska's local sales tax is state-administered rather than collected by the county, and no separate construction or use tax is taken at permit issuance in Saunders County.
The permitting authority for unincorporated Saunders County, Nebraska - the farm and acreage country between Lincoln and Omaha that surrounds Wahoo, Ashland, Yutan and Ceresco. The County runs its own Planning and Zoning office with both a Zoning Administrator and a County Building Inspector, takes building permit applications on its own form, registers the contractors who work in its jurisdiction, and publishes a one-page sheet of the codes it has adopted together with a filled-in climatic and geographic design table. Two things make this a county worth reading carefully before a re-roof: the County exempts roofing from its building permit by name, as maintenance; and its published design table answers the ice barrier question with a plain YES. Incorporated towns inside the county - Wahoo and Ashland among them - run their own permitting, so confirm which authority a job falls under before applying.
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