The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Shawnee County - Land Use & Development Department

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

Adopted code

Shawnee County - Land Use & Development Department

No — Unincorporated Shawnee County, KS does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Shawnee County - Land Use & Development Department). Ordinary repairs, defined to include the repair or replacement of roofing and/or siding materials, do not require a building permit, provided the work does not extend the projected roofline or enlarge the exterior dimensions of the structure. Roofing work that does extend the roofline or expand the structure's exterior dimensions requires a building permit. No work subject to a Shawnee County building permit may begin until the county's Land Use & Development Department has issued the permit, and an Affidavit of Code Compliance must accompany any improvement requiring a permit.

Jurisdiction
Shawnee County, Kansas (unincorporated)
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
1515 NW Saline Street, Topeka, KS 66618
Contact
  • url: https://www.snco.gov/ludev/permitting_permits_building.php
  • phone: (785) 251-5410
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Not required
Permit process note
Ordinary repairs, defined to include the repair or replacement of roofing and/or siding materials, do not require a building permit, provided the work does not extend the projected roofline or enlarge the exterior dimensions of the structure. Roofing work that does extend the roofline or expand the structure's exterior dimensions requires a building permit. No work subject to a Shawnee County building permit may begin until the county's Land Use & Development Department has issued the permit, and an Affidavit of Code Compliance must accompany any improvement requiring a permit.
Adopted code
Shawnee County adopts by reference Title 14, Building and Construction, of the City of Topeka Code as the Shawnee County Building Code, including the International Building Code (Topeka Municipal Code Chapter 14.20) and International Residential Code (Chapter 14.55). The county's own building-code page does not state which edition years of Topeka's code are currently incorporated.
Drip edge
Required — Drip edge is required at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs (IRC R905.2.8.5). The jurisdiction adopted the 2021 International Residential Code via incorporation by reference of Topeka Municipal Code Title 14 'as currently in effect' (snco.gov building-code page), whose Ch. 14.55 adopts the 2021 IRC via Ord. No. 20467 (12-5-2023); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law. Topeka's prior local drip-edge amendment (TMC 14.55.610) was repealed by the same ordinance, leaving the unamended IRC text in force countywide under the incorporation. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — Shawnee County's own building-code page (https://www.snco.gov/ludev/building_code.php) states: "Shawnee County adopts by reference Title 14, Building and Construction of the City of Topeka Code as the Shawnee County Building Code. As currently in effect, this includes" Chapter 14.55 (International Residential Code) among the incorporated chapters; Chapter 14.55 is not among the seven chapters the county's resolution excludes. Under that incorporation, IRC Table R301.2(1) as substituted by the City of Topeka (TMC 14.55.230, Ord. 20467 § 9, 12-5-23) lists "NO" in the "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" column, per footnote h ("where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with 'YES.' Otherwise ... 'NO.'"). About ice & water barrier
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Shawnee County's own adopting instrument -- Home Rule Resolution No. 2017-1 ("A Resolution Establishing the Shawnee County Building Code," effective February 16, 2017) as amended by Home Rule Resolution No. 2018-1 ("A Resolution Amending the Shawnee County Building Code," adopted August 13, 2018) -- was read in full, both as originally filed and as amended. Resolution 2017-1's Appendix A originally named "the 2009 International Residential Code" for TMC Chapter 14.55; Resolution 2018-1 replaced Appendix A in its entirety and deliberately struck every ICC edition year (including that "2009"), so that Chapter 14.55, One- and Two-Family Code, now floats to whichever Model Code edition the City of Topeka currently has enacted, "regardless of which year that Code might be titled." Chapter 14.55 is not among the seven Title 14 chapters either resolution excludes. Under that floating incorporation, the roofing code in force countywide is Topeka's own TMC Chapter 14.55 as currently enacted by City of Topeka Ordinance No. 20467 (December 5, 2023, adopting the 2021 IRC Chapters 1 through 10 with local amendments) -- read in full for the companion City of Topeka record: of its 35 local amendment sections, only the Table R301.2(1)/ice-barrier footnote and the drip-edge section (R905.2.8.5) touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, and neither addresses impact resistance. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears in either the county's own resolutions or the Topeka instrument they incorporate by reference.
Wind design criteria
114 mph ultimate design wind speed (3-second gust), topographic effects No, wind exposure category not filled in (determined site-specific per Section R301.2.1.4), no special wind region or windborne debris zone entries. This is not an independently amended county table: Shawnee County's Building Code (HR Resolution No. 2017-1, adopted 2-13-2017, amended by HR Resolution No. 2018-1, adopted 8-13-2018, per snco.gov) adopts Title 14, Building and Construction, of the City of Topeka Code by reference for unincorporated Shawnee County, including Chapter 14.55 (International Residential Code) and its substituted Table R301.2(1) at TMC 14.55.230 (Ord. 20467 § 9, adopted 12-5-23) verbatim -- i.e. Shawnee County inherits Topeka's 114 mph / topographic No figures via this incorporation chain rather than stating its own.
Sales & use tax
Unincorporated Shawnee County's combined sales tax rate is 7.85% (KS state 6.5% + Shawnee County 1.35%; no city component in unincorporated territory). This is the Topeka-metro COUNTY record -- distinct from the City of Shawnee, Johnson County KS, and from Shawnee, OK. KDOR Pub. 1700 lists one special district, the Stormont Vail Events Center CID, at 11.35%. 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 building permit authority for unincorporated Shawnee County, Kansas (the Topeka area). Not to be confused with the separate City of Shawnee, Kansas, a different municipality in the Kansas City metro area. The Land Use & Development Department administers the Shawnee County building code and permit procedure for unincorporated areas of the county.

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Roofing questions — Unincorporated Shawnee County, KS

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

Not required.

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

Not required — Shawnee County's own building-code page (https://www.snco.gov/ludev/building_code.php) states: "Shawnee County adopts by reference Title 14, Building and Construction of the City of Topeka Code as the Shawnee County Building Code. As currently in effect, this includes" Chapter 14.55 (International Residential Code) among the incorporated chapters; Chapter 14.55 is not among the seven chapters the county's resolution excludes. Under that incorporation, IRC Table R301.2(1) as substituted by the City of Topeka (TMC 14.55.230, Ord. 20467 § 9, 12-5-23) lists "NO" in the "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" column, per footnote h ("where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming, the jurisdiction shall fill in this part of the table with 'YES.' Otherwise ... '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 2021 International Residential Code via incorporation by reference of Topeka Municipal Code Title 14 'as currently in effect' (snco.gov building-code page), whose Ch. 14.55 adopts the 2021 IRC via Ord. No. 20467 (12-5-2023); that instrument, read in full, does not amend R905.2.8.5, so the code's drip-edge requirement stands as enacted local law. Topeka's prior local drip-edge amendment (TMC 14.55.610) was repealed by the same ordinance, leaving the unamended IRC text in force countywide under the incorporation..

What building code does Unincorporated Shawnee County, KS use?

Shawnee County adopts by reference Title 14, Building and Construction, of the City of Topeka Code as the Shawnee County Building Code, including the International Building Code (Topeka Municipal Code Chapter 14.20) and International Residential Code (Chapter 14.55). The county's own building-code page does not state which edition years of Topeka's code are currently incorporated.