The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Sedgwick County - Metropolitan Area Building & Construction Department (MABCD)

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS?

Adopted code

Sedgwick County - Metropolitan Area Building & Construction Department (MABCD)

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS, issued by Sedgwick County - Metropolitan Area Building & Construction Department (MABCD). MABCD issues a combined roofing and siding permit; the roofing fee is "$0.05 per square foot (Min. - $50.00 / Max. - $1,500.00)" and can be obtained online through the MABCD Portal or in person. Sedgwick County itself holds permitting authority over unincorporated areas through MABCD; roofing contractors are directed to "verify that your roofer is registered with the State of Kansas and licensed with MABCD" before work begins.

Jurisdiction
Sedgwick County, Kansas (unincorporated)
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
271 W. 3rd St. N., Suite 101, Wichita, KS 67202
Contact
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required About Kansas roofing contractor registration
Registration details
  • license: Contractors performing roofing work must hold a MABCD contractor license; for roofing specifically, MABCD requires "completed State of Kansas Roofer's Registration paperwork showing the State of Kansas Roofer Registration number." General contractor licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years; trade licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years.
  • insurance: Minimum $300,000 general liability insurance naming MABCD as certificate holder, plus worker's compensation and auto insurance certificates (or signed, notarized waivers where not required by state law).
Permit process note
MABCD issues a combined roofing and siding permit; the roofing fee is "$0.05 per square foot (Min. - $50.00 / Max. - $1,500.00)" and can be obtained online through the MABCD Portal or in person. Sedgwick County itself holds permitting authority over unincorporated areas through MABCD; roofing contractors are directed to "verify that your roofer is registered with the State of Kansas and licensed with MABCD" before work begins.
Adopted code
2018 International Residential Code, adopted via Resolution 120-2019 and Ordinance 50-833 with local amendments in the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (UBTC), Article 2, Section 4; commercial construction is under the 2024 International Building Code (Resolution 205-2024 / Ordinance 52-564).
Drip edge
Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2018 International Residential Code via the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (Res. 120-2019 / Ord. 50-833; current compiled edition dated 1-27-25); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — Table R301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as amended by Sec. 2.4.115 of the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (UBTC), Article 2, Section 4, lists "Ice Barrier - None Required." Footnote h to the amended table states the jurisdiction fills this cell in with "YES" only "where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming," and "Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with 'NO.'" About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (UBTC), Article 2, Section 4 "International Residential Code" (adopting the 2018 IRC via Resolution 120-2019 and Ordinance 50-833; current compiled edition dated 1-27-25), was read in full from Sec. 2.4.010 through Sec. 2.4.910 -- roughly 70 numbered local-amendment items covering IRC Parts I through VIII. This same Article 2, Section 4 text is the instrument that governs unincorporated Sedgwick County; the amended Table R301.2(1) is titled "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria for Sedgwick County, Ks." Of the roughly 70 items, only two touch Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies: Sec. 2.4.115 amends Table R301.2(1) (wind speed, snow load, seismic category, and the ice-barrier fill-in cell) and Sec. 2.4.560 deletes R907.3 (re-covering versus replacement). No other Chapter 9 section -- including R902 roof classification and R905 roof coverings -- is amended, added, or deleted anywhere in the article. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears anywhere in Article 2, Section 4, or elsewhere in the UBTC's other Articles (building, plumbing, mechanical, or electrical). The identical text also governs the City of Wichita.
Repair permit threshold
"Repair or replacement of roofing and/or siding materials not exceeding 400 square feet (37.16 m2) within any 12 month period" is exempt from a building permit (Sec. 2.4.030, amending IRC Section R105.2 "Work exempt from permit," item 12) -- a permit is required above that threshold. This exemption applies within the Sedgwick County jurisdiction (unincorporated area) as well as the Wichita jurisdiction; both are governed by the same UBTC, Article 2, Section 4.
Wind design criteria
Table R301.2(1) "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria for Sedgwick County, Ks." (Sec. 2.4.115, Article 2 Section 4 of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building and Trade Code, current 1-27-25 compiled edition, which governs the unincorporated Sedgwick County Jurisdiction): "Wind Speed (mph) – 76w/90-3 sec. gust" (i.e. 76 mph ASD design wind speed / 90 mph ultimate design wind speed, 3-second gust); Seis. Design Cat. A; Ice Barrier None Required. The table has no separate rows for topographic effects, special wind region, or windborne debris zone. Per amended footnote (d), wind exposure category "shall be determined on a site-specific basis in accordance with Section R301.2.1.4" and is not fixed in the table.
Roof layer limit / recover
Sec. 2.4.560 of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building and Trade Code (Article 2, Section 4): "Re-covering versus replacement. Section R907.3 of the International Residential Code is hereby deleted." No substitute or replacement provision is enacted in its place. The UBTC does not separately amend IRC R908 (roof replacement/layer-count), so the base 2018 IRC R908 provisions govern by default (not locally amended, not quoted here).
Sales & use tax
Unincorporated Sedgwick County's combined sales tax rate is 7.5% (KS state 6.5% + Sedgwick County 1.0%; no city component in unincorporated territory), per KDOR Pub. 1700. Per Kansas DOR Pub. KS-1525 "Sales & Use Tax for Contractors, Subcontractors, and Repairmen" (Rev. 7-29-25): "Services performed to install or apply tangible personal property are exempt from sales tax when the services involve the original construction, reconstruction, restoration, remodeling, renovation, repair or replacement of a residence" -- so residential re-roof LABOR is exempt, but materials are not: contractors "are considered to be the final user or consumer of the materials they install for others, and must pay Kansas sales or use tax on them" at the time of purchase (or self-assessed compensating use tax on out-of-state materials, via Form CT-10U, per the same publication's Compensating Use Tax section). Commercial re-roof labor is taxable ("roofing, siding and guttering" is listed as a taxable labor service on commercial projects). Pub. KS-1525 describes only two collection points for contractor materials tax -- retailer sale or self-assessed use tax -- with no mechanism tied to building-permit issuance anywhere in the publication; Kansas sales/use tax is administered centrally by KDOR, not self-collected by home-rule cities as in Colorado.

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The joint city-county building permit authority for unincorporated Sedgwick County, formed in 2012 by merging Sedgwick County's and the City of Wichita's separate code enforcement functions into one department. MABCD issues building permits (including a dedicated roofing and siding permit), reviews plans, licenses contractors, and performs inspections in unincorporated Sedgwick County, in addition to the City of Wichita and a number of smaller contracted cities in the county.

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Sources

Roofing questions — Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS?

Required. "Repair or replacement of roofing and/or siding materials not exceeding 400 square feet (37.16 m2) within any 12 month period" is exempt from a building permit (Sec. 2.4.030, amending IRC Section R105.2 "Work exempt from permit," item 12) -- a permit is required above that threshold. This exemption applies within the Sedgwick County jurisdiction (unincorporated area) as well as the Wichita jurisdiction; both are governed by the same UBTC, Article 2, Section 4.

Is ice & water shield required in Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS?

Not required — Table R301.2(1) Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, as amended by Sec. 2.4.115 of the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (UBTC), Article 2, Section 4, lists "Ice Barrier - None Required." Footnote h to the amended table states the jurisdiction fills this cell in with "YES" only "where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming," and "Otherwise, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with 'NO.'".

Is drip edge required?

Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2018 International Residential Code via the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (Res. 120-2019 / Ord. 50-833; current compiled edition dated 1-27-25); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS?

Required. Contractors performing roofing work must hold a MABCD contractor license; for roofing specifically, MABCD requires "completed State of Kansas Roofer's Registration paperwork showing the State of Kansas Roofer Registration number." General contractor licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years; trade licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years..

What building code does Unincorporated Sedgwick County, KS use?

2018 International Residential Code, adopted via Resolution 120-2019 and Ordinance 50-833 with local amendments in the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Building & Trade Code (UBTC), Article 2, Section 4; commercial construction is under the 2024 International Building Code (Resolution 205-2024 / Ordinance 52-564).