The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Scotts Bluff County Building and Zoning

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Scotts Bluff County, NE?

Adopted code

Scotts Bluff County Building and Zoning

The permitting authority for unincorporated Scotts Bluff County, in the North Platte valley of the Nebraska Panhandle around Gering, Scottsbluff and Terrytown. The County runs its own Building and Zoning office out of the Public Works Building on Rundell Road, with a designated Building Inspector who issues building permits and certificates of occupancy and enforces the County Zoning Regulations. This is a short record on purpose. Scotts Bluff County requires a building permit on broad terms and publishes no list of exempt work, and it publishes no adopted code edition, no design-criteria sheet and no roofing rules of its own - so several of the questions this directory normally answers are, in this county, questions for the Building Inspector rather than facts on a page. What the County does publish is set out below, including its permit fee schedule. Note that the cities of Gering and Scottsbluff run their own permitting; this record covers the unincorporated county.

Jurisdiction
Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
785 Rundell Road, Gering, NE 69341
Contact
  • url: https://scottsbluffcountyne.gov/building-and-zoning/
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." That state registration is what this record's boolean rests on.
  • city_level: NOT ESTABLISHED. No county contractor registration, licence or bond scheme was found in anything Scotts Bluff County publishes: the Zoning Regulations, read in full, contain no contractor registration provision, and the Building and Zoning department's forms page publishes only a Building Permit Application, a Special Permit Application and the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations. The permit application does ask the applicant to name the General Contractor, the Plumber and the Electrician on the job, which is a disclosure on the form rather than a registration requirement. Absence of a published scheme is not the same as the County confirming there is none - ask Building and Zoning before the first job. Note separately that the incorporated cities in this county run their own permitting and may register contractors on their own terms.
Permit process note
Scotts Bluff County Building and Zoning is in the Public Works Building at 785 Rundell Road, Gering, NE 69341, headed by Director Bill Mabin. A Building Inspector designated by the County Board administers and enforces the Zoning Regulations under Section 13.1. The County publishes its Building Permit Application, a Special Permit Application and the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations on its Forms, Permits and Regulations page, and offers online links to apply for and submit building and zoning permits. What to bring: the County's published answer to "What is required for a building permit?" is "Need two (2) identical sets of plans at the time of application, including a plot plan, footing detail, wall detail, roof detail and floor plan." Section 13.3 of the Regulations adds that plans must be drawn to scale showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot, the exact location and existing and intended use of each building, and existing and proposed water and sanitary sewer facilities; that all dimensions relating to the location and size of the lot must be based on an actual survey; and that "The lot and the location of the building thereon shall be staked out on the ground before construction is started." The application form itself asks for the owner and location, the use of the improvements, whether the work is new construction, an addition, a structural alteration or a remodel, outside dimensions, heating fuel, electrical service provider, water service and sewage disposal, and the names of the General Contractor, Plumber and Electrician; a site plan showing all existing and proposed structures, dimensions, distances to property lines and nearby structures, and the septic tank and drainfield where applicable, must accompany it. THE FEE SCHEDULE, AS PRINTED ON THE APPLICATION. Commercial building permit, $80 for the first $1000 of valuation of material plus labor and $5 per $1000 after, with valuation figured at $150 per square foot and land value excluded. One and two family dwelling, $30 for the first $1000 and $5 per $1000 after, with site built valuation at $100 per square foot, modular at $75 per square foot and a basement adding $15 per square foot. Accessory building, $30 plus $5 per $1000, valuation $15 per square foot. Fence, carport and garden shed under 200 square feet, the same rate at $15 per square foot valuation. Addition and remodel, the same rate at $50 per square foot valuation. New mobile home, $30 for the first $1000 of the valuation of the mobile home plus labor and $5 per $1000 after. Used mobile home, $100 plus inspections. The form adds: "Not all valuations may reflect above listed fees." A Certificate of Occupancy is applied for at the same time as the building permit under Section 13.4 and is issued within ten days after the erection or alteration is completed in conformity with the regulation.
Adopted code
NOT ESTABLISHED FROM THE COUNTY'S PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS, AND THIS RECORD WILL NOT NAME AN EDITION IT CANNOT SOURCE. The Scotts Bluff County Zoning Regulations were read in full - Sections 1 through 20 and the Flood Plain Regulations that follow them - and they adopt no building code edition. The regulations refer to codes only in general terms: a wind and solar energy provision requires that "All applicable local, state, and federal building, structural and electrical codes will be followed", a manufactured-home definition speaks of construction that "meets local building code regulations", and a flood provision requires anchoring "in accordance with local building codes or FEMA guidelines". No International Residential Code, International Building Code or other edition is named anywhere in them. The Building and Zoning department's own pages publish three documents - the Building Permit Application, the Special Permit Application and the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations - and no adopted-codes sheet. So which edition of the residential code a Scotts Bluff County house is built to is a question for the County Building Inspector at the Public Works Building, 785 Rundell Road, Gering, and this record does not answer it. As context only, and not as a statement about this county: Nebraska operates a state building code that applies to a jurisdiction that does not act, but the state framework sets an edition floor rather than roofing content, and a Nebraska local government may amend, modify or delete portions of what it adopts - so a state-level answer would not settle a local roofing question even if one were assumed here.
Repair permit threshold
Scotts Bluff County publishes no exemption for maintenance, repair or re-roofing, and its permit requirement is drawn broadly. Section 13.2 of the County Zoning Regulations, headed "Building Permit Required", states: "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 premise, 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 Building Administrator or Inspector stating that the proposed use of the building or land conforms to this regulation." The only exemption the section carries is agricultural: "Notwithstanding any provisions contained herein, farm buildings and structures located in Agricultural Zoning, except farm dwellings, are exempt from the requirements of applying for and receiving building permits provided such buildings and structures must conform to all applicable provisions of this regulation." Note the carve-out excludes farm DWELLINGS, so a house on a farm is inside the permit requirement even where the machine shed is outside it. WHAT THAT DOES AND DOES NOT SETTLE FOR A RE-ROOF. The section names no roof, roofing, covering, maintenance or repair category either way, and neither does the County's fee schedule, whose categories are commercial building permit, one and two family dwelling, accessory building, fence, carport and garden shed, addition and remodel, new mobile home and used mobile home. The County's own published answer to "Do I need a building permit?" is "We need to know the legal description and address." So whether a like-for-like re-roof needs a permit in this county is decided case by case by the Building Inspector, and this record does not put a yes or a no on it. Call Building and Zoning with the legal description and the address before starting. Two timing rules apply once a permit does issue: the Building Administrator or Inspector must issue a written permit or a written denial with reasons within fifteen days of the application being accepted, and a permit expires "within ninety (90) days if the work described in the permit has not begun or the use applied for has not been established and within one year if the work has not been completed" unless an extension is obtained in writing.
Sales & use tax
5.5% in unincorporated Scotts Bluff County - the Nebraska state rate alone, with no local add-on. Scotts Bluff 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 EVERY TOWN LINE IN THIS COUNTY, AND THE TOWNS ARE CLOSE TOGETHER. On the same schedule, Gering imposes a local rate of 2.0% for a total of 7.5% (.075); Scottsbluff and Mitchell each impose 1.5% for a total of 7.0% (.07); and Terrytown, Minatare and Morrill each impose 1.0% for a total of 6.5% (.065). Lyman, Melbeta, Henry and McGrew are not on the schedule and impose no local rate. Three different totals apply within a few miles of each other around Scottsbluff and Gering, so establish the delivery address before quoting tax rather than assuming a county figure. Nebraska's local sales tax is state-administered rather than collected by the county.

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Sources

Roofing questions — Scotts Bluff County, NE

When does a roof repair need a permit in Scotts Bluff County, NE?

Scotts Bluff County publishes no exemption for maintenance, repair or re-roofing, and its permit requirement is drawn broadly. Section 13.2 of the County Zoning Regulations, headed "Building Permit Required", states: "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 premise, 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 Building Administrator or Inspector stating that the proposed use of the building or land conforms to this regulation." The only exemption the section carries is agricultural: "Notwithstanding any provisions contained herein, farm buildings and structures located in Agricultural Zoning, except farm dwellings, are exempt from the requirements of applying for and receiving building permits provided such buildings and structures must conform to all applicable provisions of this regulation." Note the carve-out excludes farm DWELLINGS, so a house on a farm is inside the permit requirement even where the machine shed is outside it. WHAT THAT DOES AND DOES NOT SETTLE FOR A RE-ROOF. The section names no roof, roofing, covering, maintenance or repair category either way, and neither does the County's fee schedule, whose categories are commercial building permit, one and two family dwelling, accessory building, fence, carport and garden shed, addition and remodel, new mobile home and used mobile home. The County's own published answer to "Do I need a building permit?" is "We need to know the legal description and address." So whether a like-for-like re-roof needs a permit in this county is decided case by case by the Building Inspector, and this record does not put a yes or a no on it. Call Building and Zoning with the legal description and the address before starting. Two timing rules apply once a permit does issue: the Building Administrator or Inspector must issue a written permit or a written denial with reasons within fifteen days of the application being accepted, and a permit expires "within ninety (90) days if the work described in the permit has not begun or the use applied for has not been established and within one year if the work has not been completed" unless an extension is obtained in writing.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Scotts Bluff County, NE?

Required.

What building code does Scotts Bluff County, NE use?

NOT ESTABLISHED FROM THE COUNTY'S PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS, AND THIS RECORD WILL NOT NAME AN EDITION IT CANNOT SOURCE. The Scotts Bluff County Zoning Regulations were read in full - Sections 1 through 20 and the Flood Plain Regulations that follow them - and they adopt no building code edition. The regulations refer to codes only in general terms: a wind and solar energy provision requires that "All applicable local, state, and federal building, structural and electrical codes will be followed", a manufactured-home definition speaks of construction that "meets local building code regulations", and a flood provision requires anchoring "in accordance with local building codes or FEMA guidelines". No International Residential Code, International Building Code or other edition is named anywhere in them. The Building and Zoning department's own pages publish three documents - the Building Permit Application, the Special Permit Application and the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations - and no adopted-codes sheet. So which edition of the residential code a Scotts Bluff County house is built to is a question for the County Building Inspector at the Public Works Building, 785 Rundell Road, Gering, and this record does not answer it. As context only, and not as a statement about this county: Nebraska operates a state building code that applies to a jurisdiction that does not act, but the state framework sets an edition floor rather than roofing content, and a Nebraska local government may amend, modify or delete portions of what it adopts - so a state-level answer would not settle a local roofing question even if one were assumed here.