Permitting Authorities / City of St. Clair Shores - Building Department (Community Development and Inspections)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Clair Shores, MI?
Adopted code
City of St. Clair Shores - Building Department (Community Development and Inspections)
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in St. Clair Shores, MI, issued by City of St. Clair Shores - Building Department (Community Development and Inspections). Plan on a building permit for a reroof in St. Clair Shores. The Building Department says it "issues all types of building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fence, driveway, and other permits" and publishes nothing specific on reroofs, so the general rule of the state construction code act applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit," with the undefined exception that "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." Call the department at 586-447-3340 if unsure. The city's Building Permit Application and Fee Schedule (revised 5/8/23) has an "Alterations/Repair" line; the permit fee is "based on job cost": "$300 or less = $30 + application fee," "$301 - $5,000 = $50 + application fee," then "Over $5,000 add $10/$1000 (up to $50,000)," plus a "$50 Non-Refundable Application Fee." A job costing over $7,000 needs a $500 refundable bond, failed inspections carry a $30 reinspection fee, and "A $30 admin fee will be added for starting work without a permit." The application carries a "Builder's License #" line and a "Contractor Registration Fee $50." Section 8-58 of the City Code adds that "Upon completion of a roof, the building owner shall complete and maintain the attachment of noncombustible gutters and leaders with elbows sufficient to conduct water at least five feet away from the basement walls." The Building Department is at City Hall, 27600 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, MI 48081, phone 586-447-3340, open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM.
Roof code checklist: St. Clair Shores, 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 St. Clair Shores, Michigan
Address
27600 Jefferson Avenue, City Hall, St. Clair Shores, MI 48081
Contact
- url: https://www.scsmi.net/559/Building-Department
- phone: 586-447-3340
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
- state_level: Michigan licenses residential maintenance and alteration contractors under the Occupational Code, and that licence "includes the following crafts and trades" among which it names roofing (MCL 339.2404(3)); "A person shall not engage in or attempt to engage in the practice of an occupation regulated under this act" without the licence (MCL 339.601(1)). MCL 339.2403 lists who may work without one, including a project whose "aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00". This record does not decide whether a given roofer falls inside an exemption.
- city_level: St. Clair Shores registers state licences. Section 8-47 of the City Code says no permit shall be issued for residential work to a residential building, maintenance or alteration contractor licensed by the state "until he shall have registered his state license with the Department of Building Safety," and "All registrations shall expire on the same date the state license expires." The city's building permit application and fee schedule lists the registration fee for a "Building Contractor $50."
Permit process note
Plan on a building permit for a reroof in St. Clair Shores. The Building Department says it "issues all types of building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fence, driveway, and other permits" and publishes nothing specific on reroofs, so the general rule of the state construction code act applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit," with the undefined exception that "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." Call the department at 586-447-3340 if unsure. The city's Building Permit Application and Fee Schedule (revised 5/8/23) has an "Alterations/Repair" line; the permit fee is "based on job cost": "$300 or less = $30 + application fee," "$301 - $5,000 = $50 + application fee," then "Over $5,000 add $10/$1000 (up to $50,000)," plus a "$50 Non-Refundable Application Fee." A job costing over $7,000 needs a $500 refundable bond, failed inspections carry a $30 reinspection fee, and "A $30 admin fee will be added for starting work without a permit." The application carries a "Builder's License #" line and a "Contractor Registration Fee $50." Section 8-58 of the City Code adds that "Upon completion of a roof, the building owner shall complete and maintain the attachment of noncombustible gutters and leaders with elbows sufficient to conduct water at least five feet away from the basement walls." The Building Department is at City Hall, 27600 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, MI 48081, phone 586-447-3340, open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM.
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." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of St. Clair Shores as its own building code enforcer. Section 8-40 of the City Code says the city "adopts and incorporates by reference the state construction code, with all amendments and supplements hereafter enacted, as its Building Code as amended by the state," without naming an 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). St. Clair Shores' own building ordinance, Chapter 8 of the City Code, was read in full and states nothing further 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). St. Clair Shores' own building ordinance, Chapter 8 of the City Code, was read in full and adds no ice barrier rule of its own.
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." St. Clair Shores' own building ordinance, Chapter 8 of the City Code, was read in full; it adopts the state construction code, and no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in it.
Repair permit threshold
State law says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure" and does not define ordinary repairs. The City of St. Clair Shores publishes no roofing threshold of its own: its Building Permit Application and Fee Schedule (revised 5/8/23) has no roofing line, and the work goes under "Alterations/Repair" with the fee "based on job cost," starting at "$300 or less = $30 + application fee." Whether a small roof patch is an ordinary repair is a question for the Building Department (586-447-3340) before work starts.
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." St. Clair Shores' own building ordinance, Chapter 8 of the City Code, was read in full (general provisions, the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes, driveways, fences, fishing shanties, rental inspection, parking lots, culverts, property maintenance and floodplain management); it adopts the state construction code and touches nothing in the reroofing section, so the state limit applies unchanged. Its only roof rules are a ban on flat roofs on blocks of hip-roofed homes (Section 8-52) and a gutter rule (Section 8-58).
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). St. Clair Shores' own building ordinance, Chapter 8 of the City Code, was read in full and states nothing further on roof sheathing.
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 St. Clair Shores adds no sales tax of its own, so 6% is the whole rate on a job there.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The Building Department of the City of St. Clair Shores, part of Community Development and Inspections at City Hall, 27600 Jefferson Avenue, issues building permits and inspects the work in the city. LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of St. Clair Shores as its own building code enforcer. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, so the roofing rules below are state law that the city enforces.
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