Permitting Authorities / City of Southfield - Building Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Southfield, MI?
Adopted code
City of Southfield - Building Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Southfield, MI, issued by City of Southfield - Building Department. Roof work in Southfield is permitted and inspected by the City of Southfield Building Department, Public Services Building, Southfield Municipal Complex, 26000 Evergreen Road (at Civic Center Drive), Southfield, MI 48076, phone (248) 796-4100, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications and inspection requests can be made online through the City BS&A Online portal; the department page says "Online applications can be applied for 24/7" and "In-person payments will not be accepted after 4pm Monday-Friday." Fees are set by Fee Schedule Ordinance No. 1663 (enacted May 23, 2016), linked from the department page: a non-refundable application fee of $40.00, then a building permit fee by job value, $60.00 under $1,000 and "$60 plus valuation over $1,000 multiplied by .016" from $1,000 to $10,000; roofs are left out of the residential plan review fee ("Excluding roofs, gutters and siding"). The department Building Permit Application Requirements sheet also lists a $50.00 bond for "roofs, gutters, siding, insulation, windows and similar work". Work started without a permit draws "An inspection fee of $50.00 + the hourly rate of investigation time" under the same ordinance. The department FAQ says "Residential Building Contractors undertaking a project with a contract price exceeding $600.00 are also required to be licensed and must obtain permits under their license"; the ordinance charges $25.00 for "Builders License Registration".
Roof code checklist: Southfield, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
City of Southfield, Michigan
Address
26000 Evergreen Road (Public Services Building, Southfield Municipal Complex), Southfield, MI 48076
Contact
- url: https://www.cityofsouthfield.com/departments/building-department/contact-us
- phone: 248-796-4100
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Roof work in Southfield is permitted and inspected by the City of Southfield Building Department, Public Services Building, Southfield Municipal Complex, 26000 Evergreen Road (at Civic Center Drive), Southfield, MI 48076, phone (248) 796-4100, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications and inspection requests can be made online through the City BS&A Online portal; the department page says "Online applications can be applied for 24/7" and "In-person payments will not be accepted after 4pm Monday-Friday." Fees are set by Fee Schedule Ordinance No. 1663 (enacted May 23, 2016), linked from the department page: a non-refundable application fee of $40.00, then a building permit fee by job value, $60.00 under $1,000 and "$60 plus valuation over $1,000 multiplied by .016" from $1,000 to $10,000; roofs are left out of the residential plan review fee ("Excluding roofs, gutters and siding"). The department Building Permit Application Requirements sheet also lists a $50.00 bond for "roofs, gutters, siding, insulation, windows and similar work". Work started without a permit draws "An inspection fee of $50.00 + the hourly rate of investigation time" under the same ordinance. The department FAQ says "Residential Building Contractors undertaking a project with a contract price exceeding $600.00 are also required to be licensed and must obtain permits under their license"; the ordinance charges $25.00 for "Builders License Registration".
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." The City of Southfield Building Department codes page, read on October 2, 2026, lists "2021 Michigan Residential Code" among its "Codes currently in effect", which differs from the state notice above; ask the department, (248) 796-4100, which edition it reviews roof work against. Southfield City Code Section 8.201 says only that "the City of Southfield hereby elects to administer and enforce the 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Building Code" and names no edition.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Title VIII of the City of Southfield Code (Building Regulations), read in full, and the Building Department pages add nothing on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Title VIII of the City of Southfield Code (Building Regulations), read in full, and the Building Department pages add nothing on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Title VIII of the City of Southfield Code (Building Regulations), read in full, and the Building Department pages add no impact-rating rule.
Repair permit threshold
Southfield publishes no size or dollar line below which roof work needs no permit. State law says only that "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510(7)); the act does not define ordinary repairs, and the permit exemptions in the Michigan Residential Code name no roofing. The City of Southfield Building Department Permitting page lists, "As a general guideline", the activities that "will require a permit", among them "re-roofing or installing a new roof", and its FAQ answers that "a building permit is required to re-roof over an existing single layer." Neither page names a size, share of the roof or dollar amount below which roof work needs no permit; for anything else the Permitting page says "please call the Building Department at (248) 796-4100."
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The City of Southfield Building Department FAQ states the same number: "Yes, a building permit is required to re-roof over an existing single layer. Also, the Michigan Building Code limits the number of layers of shingles on a roof to two". Title VIII of the City Code (Building Regulations), read in full, has no roofing provision of its own.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). Title VIII of the City of Southfield Code (Building Regulations), read in full, and the Building Department pages add nothing on roof decking.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." The City of Southfield Building Department pages state nothing further on it.
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Southfield Building Department, in the Public Services Building of the Southfield Municipal Complex at 26000 Evergreen Road, issues building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits and inspects construction inside the City of Southfield, and the State of Michigan lists the City as its own building code enforcing agency. Its permitting page lists re-roofing among the jobs that need a permit. The work itself is built to Michigan's single statewide construction code.
Working an insurance claim in Southfield, MI? Everything on this page (drip edge, ice & water shield, inspections, Class 4 rules) formatted as a claim-ready evidence pack: verbatim ordinance quotes, code section cites, verification dates, and official source links, ready to attach to a supplement. See a real sample pack (PDF, 4 pages, free).
Code items like drip edge and ice & water shield are what adjusters ask you to document.
Buy this jurisdiction's pack: $12 Delivered by email within minutes.
Questions about the Southfield, MI pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.