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Permitting Authorities / City of St. Cloud, Minnesota - Building Safety Division

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Cloud, MN?

Adopted code

City of St. Cloud, Minnesota - Building Safety Division

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in St. Cloud, MN, issued by City of St. Cloud, Minnesota - Building Safety Division. Per the Building Safety Department's own "Information on Permits for Homeowners" handout, permit applications are available online or at City Hall (400 2nd Street South, St. Cloud, MN 56301); applicants can complete and email applications for electronic plan review through the City's ePlans system, or print and drop off paper applications with plans at City Hall. The handout states that "re-roof, re-side, replacement windows and doors" permits "can be issued at the time you apply," unlike most other permits, which "may take up to 5 business days" for plan review. Re-roofing, re-siding, and replacement-window/door permits carry a flat, set fee rather than a valuation-based fee; per the Code of Ordinances Section 553 fee schedule, the Residing Permit Fee is $60.00 ($75.00 if replacement windows are included), and the Reroofing Permit Fee With Residing is $75.00. Permits can also be applied for online through the City's Accela portal.

Jurisdiction
City of St. Cloud, Minnesota
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
1201 7th Street South, St. Cloud, MN 56301
Contact
  • url: https://ci.stcloud.mn.us/86/Building-Safety---Permits
  • phone: 320-255-7239
Permit portal
Permit portal
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: No St. Cloud-specific roofing contractor license exists on top of the statewide license. Minnesota Statute Section 326B.805, subdivision 1 requires that "A person who meets the definition of a residential roofer as defined in section 326B.802, subdivision 14, must be licensed by the commissioner as a residential roofer, residential building contractor, or residential remodeler," issued by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), and subdivision 3 bars acting as a residential roofer for compensation without that license. The City of St. Cloud's own "Contractor Licensing" page lists its local license categories -- Commercial, Electrical, Heating, Plumbing, Residential Building, Sewer Cleaners, Sign Hangers, and Ventilation -- with no separate roofing category; its "Residential Building Contractor" entry states plainly that this license is "Licensed through the State Department of Labor and Industry," i.e. the city itself is pointing roofers to the same statewide DLI license rather than administering its own.
Permit process note
Per the Building Safety Department's own "Information on Permits for Homeowners" handout, permit applications are available online or at City Hall (400 2nd Street South, St. Cloud, MN 56301); applicants can complete and email applications for electronic plan review through the City's ePlans system, or print and drop off paper applications with plans at City Hall. The handout states that "re-roof, re-side, replacement windows and doors" permits "can be issued at the time you apply," unlike most other permits, which "may take up to 5 business days" for plan review. Re-roofing, re-siding, and replacement-window/door permits carry a flat, set fee rather than a valuation-based fee; per the Code of Ordinances Section 553 fee schedule, the Residing Permit Fee is $60.00 ($75.00 if replacement windows are included), and the Reroofing Permit Fee With Residing is $75.00. Permits can also be applied for online through the City's Accela portal.
Inspection requirements
St. Cloud's "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department) lists three possible inspections, in order: (1) a framing inspection, only if any trusses or rafters are damaged and require repair; (2) a tear-off inspection, required "when the existing shingles are torn off and a portion of the ice/water barrier is installed" (waived if the new roof is installed as an overlay rather than a tear-off), which the City will accept either as an on-site visit or via photos (of the exposed deck, any deck repairs, new sheathing, flashing, and installed ice/water barrier) uploaded to the City's Accela portal or emailed to [email protected]; and (3) a final inspection once the roofing project is complete. It is "the responsibility of the person doing the work to schedule ALL the required inspections," by calling (320) 255-7238 at least one business day in advance; inspections are offered 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, on a first-come, first-served basis. A permit is treated as expired, and a new one required, if work is suspended for more than 6 months without an inspection.
Adopted code
St. Cloud's Code of Ordinances, Chapter III, Section 300:00 ("Minnesota State Building Code"), codified through Ordinance No. 2985 (enacted December 15, 2025; Supplement 3, Update 1), adopts the Minnesota State Building Code "established pursuant to Minn. Stats. Sections 16B.59 through 16B.75, and Sections 326.37 through 326.45 ... as the building code of the City of St. Cloud," and lists Minnesota Rules chapter 1309 (Minnesota Residential Code) among the incorporated chapters. St. Cloud has no authority to adopt a different residential code: state law makes the State Building Code "the standard that applies statewide" and bars municipal ordinances that impose different building-code provisions (Minn. Stat. Section 326B.121). As dated statewide context: the current Minnesota Residential Code (Minn. R. ch. 1309) incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code as the "2020 Minnesota Residential Code." St. Cloud's own Minnesota State Building Codes page (Building Safety Division) independently lists the same in-force editions: "2020 Minnesota State Building Code (MSBC)" (2018 IBC with MN amendments) and "2020 Minnesota Residential Code (MSRC)" (2018 IRC with MN amendments).
Drip edge
Not required — STATE-GOVERNED, and independently corroborated by St. Cloud's own silence. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0905, subpart 2 (read in full) states verbatim: "Section R905.2.8.5 is deleted in its entirety" -- the base IRC drip-edge mandate. St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), read in full across all 5 pages including its detailed Flashing section (citing R903.2 and R905.2.8) covering base flashing, cap flashing, valley flashing, sidewall flashing, and kick-out flashing/diverter requirements, contains zero occurrences of "drip" anywhere in the document -- no drip-edge requirement is imposed locally either. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Required — STATE-GOVERNED, and restated in St. Cloud's own guidance. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 amends IRC Table R301.2(1) to pre-fill an ice-barrier-underlayment requirement statewide. St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), citing R905.1.2, states: "Ice/water barrier is required on all roofs, except for a detached accessory structure with no conditioned floor area. Ice/water barrier is required to consist of at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer modified bitumen sheet. The ice/water barrier shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edge of all roof surfaces to a point at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. On roofs with a slope equal to or greater than 8/12, the ice barrier shall also be applied not less than 36 [inches] measured along the roof slope from the eave edge of the building." About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Required — CITY-SPECIFIC administrative/inspection practice (permit administration is not preempted by the State Building Code). St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department) lists exactly three "Required Inspections": (1) a framing inspection, only if trusses/rafters are damaged; (2) a "Tear-off inspection," required "when the existing shingles are torn off and a portion of the ice/water barrier is installed" (not required if the shingles are overlaid rather than torn off) -- an in-progress inspection distinct from the final; and (3) a final inspection "when the roofing project is completed." The handout allows photos in lieu of an on-site tear-off visit, but the tear-off checkpoint itself -- documented one way or the other -- is a required, separate step, not folded into the final. This is a real city-to-city difference within Minnesota: at least one other Minnesota city's own reroofing handout lists only a final inspection as required.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Minn. Stat. Section 326B.121, subd. 1(a)-(b) makes the State Building Code "the standard that applies statewide" and states it "supersedes the building code of any municipality," and subd. 2(c) bars a municipality from requiring by ordinance "building code provisions regulating components or systems of any structure that are different from any provision of the State Building Code." The residential chapter, Minnesota Rules chapter 1309 (incorporating the 2018 IRC), amends IRC Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies) in exactly two parts -- 1309.0903 (kick-out flashing at R903.2.1) and 1309.0905 (asphalt shingle sheathing at R905.2.1, plus deletion of R905.2.8.5) -- and neither contains impact-resistance, hail, UL 2218, or Class 4 language. Locally, St. Cloud's own Code of Ordinances Chapter III (Building and Housing Codes), codified through Ordinance No. 2985 (enacted December 15, 2025, Supplement 3, Update 1), read in full across all of its Sections 300, 302, 305, 310, 360, 365, 370, 380 and 390 (98 provisions total), was checked for any independent roof-covering standard. Section 300:00 ("Minnesota State Building Code") adopts the state building code by reference under Minn. Stats. Sections 16B.59 to 16B.75 and 326.37 to 326.45 and adds only administrative content -- fee schedules, the building advisory board, building-mover permitting, and commercial contractor licensing -- none of it touching roof coverings. Section 305 (International Property Maintenance Code of St. Cloud) and the remaining sections (vacant buildings, wastewater, stormwater, water use, life-cycle housing, signs) contain only generic maintenance and utility language, not a covering-type or impact-resistance standard. St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout, which does list ASTM wind classifications for shingles (see wind design criteria and fastening notes on this record), likewise contains no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact provision. No impact-resistance requirement appears anywhere in the city's adopted code, its amendments, or its own reroofing guidance.
Repair permit threshold
The City's own "Information on Permits for Homeowners" handout (Building Safety Department) lists re-roofing among the project types that always require a building permit, alongside room additions, decks more than 30 inches above grade, and "structural or non-structural renovations or repair." No dollar-value or square-footage exemption is stated for roofing anywhere in that handout -- the size/dollar thresholds it does name apply only to other project types (e.g., detached accessory structures 200 sq. ft. or less, decks 30 inches or less above grade, and a 96-sq.-ft.-of-exposed-framing trigger for interior work). The separate "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department) is consistent: it opens by stating it is "Building permit information for one- or two-family dwellings and townhomes" with no minimum-scope carve-out. So in St. Cloud, any re-roofing or roof repair project requires a permit; there is no minor-repair exemption threshold specific to roofing.
Wind design criteria
STATE-GOVERNED baseline, applying identically in St. Cloud as everywhere else in Minnesota. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 (amended IRC Table R301.2(1)) sets a uniform statewide ultimate design wind speed (Vult) of 115 mph, with topographic effects "Yes" (per Section R301.2.1.5) and Seismic Design Category "A." Ground snow load, the one geographically-varying input, is fixed by Minnesota Rules part 1303.1700 at the COUNTY level: that rule lists 29 counties with a higher 60-psf ground snow load (Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kanabec, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, St. Louis, Todd, and Wadena) and sets 50 psf as the default for "all other counties." St. Cloud spans Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties, none of which appear on that 29-county list, so all of St. Cloud falls under the 50-psf default ground snow load. Separately, St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout imposes a shingle-product wind-rating floor as a fastening requirement: "Shingles must meet 110 maximum ultimate design wind speed, 3-tab shingles typically do not meet this ... Shingles must meet ASTM D7158 D, G or H classification, or ASTM D3161 A, D or F classification" -- a product-testing standard, not the structural Vult figure above.
Roof layer limit / recover
The City's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), citing IRC section R908.3.1.1, states verbatim that "Tear-off of the existing roof coverings is required where any of the following occur: ... Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering," with an exception where the new covering is "a complete and separate roofing system[], such as standing-seam metal roof systems, that ... do not rely on existing roofs and roof coverings for support." In practice this caps a shingle roof at one existing layer plus a new overlay (two layers total) before a full tear-off is required.
Deck & sheathing requirements
The City's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), citing IRC section R803, states: "Roof decking or sheathing must be checked prior to reroofing and replaced if rotten/decayed or unsound," that "Maximum spans of replacement sheathing are per manufacturer's span rating," and that "Gaps in the existing roof decking or sheathing must be addressed (overlaid, filled in, double layer of underlayment, etc.) per manufacturers requirements. If no specific requirements are stated, gaps over 1/4 inch must be overlaid a minimum 3/8 inch sheathing overlay or infilled with wood."
Fastening requirements
St. Cloud's "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), citing IRC section R905 (multiple subsections), states for asphalt shingles: fasteners "shall be galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum or copper roofing nails," with a "minimum 12-gage shank with a minimum 3/8 inch diameter head," that must "penetrate through the roofing materials and into the sheathing a minimum of 3/4 inch" (or fully through the sheathing where it is thinner than 3/4 inch). The minimum fastener count is "as required by the manufacturer," with "a minimum of 4 fasteners per strip shingle or 2 fasteners per individual shingle" for roof pitches up to 21/12, and manufacturer-specified special methods above that pitch. The handout additionally requires that "Shingles must meet 110 maximum ultimate design wind speed" -- noting that "3-tab shingles typically do not meet this" and require City approval before use -- and that "Shingles must meet ASTM D7158 D, G or H classification, or ASTM D3161 A, D or F classification" (wind-uplift product ratings, not the UL 2218/Class 4 impact standard). About roofing nails
Sales & use tax
St. Cloud straddles three counties, and its combined sales tax rate varies by which county a job site sits in, per the Minnesota Department of Revenue's own "Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Guide, Effective 7/1/2026 - 9/30/2026": in the Stearns County portion of St. Cloud (where the Building Safety Division's own office sits, at 1201 7th Street South) the combined rate is 8.000% -- 6.875% state + 0.375% Stearns County local option tax + 0.25% Stearns County transit sales and use tax + 0.50% "St. Cloud Area" sales and use tax. In the Benton County and Sherburne County portions of St. Cloud, the combined rate is 7.875% -- 6.875% state + 0.50% county transit sales and use tax (Benton's or Sherburne's, respectively) + 0.50% St. Cloud Area tax, with no separate county local option tax layered in those two counties. The guide's own footnote defines the regional add-on: "The St. Cloud Area sales and use taxes apply to taxable sales and purchases made in St. Augusta, St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park."

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The Building Safety Division (part of the Community Development section) is the permitting authority for the City of St. Cloud, Minnesota, a city that spans Stearns, Benton and Sherburne Counties in central Minnesota. It issues residential building permits that expressly cover reroofing and residing for one- and two-family dwellings and townhomes, and it schedules the associated tear-off and final inspections. St. Cloud enforces the Minnesota State Building Code (Minn. Stat. Section 326B.121), the exclusive statewide building-code-content standard that supersedes any city building code; the city's own role, exercised through its Code of Ordinances Section 300, is limited to permit administration, fees, and inspections, which are not preempted by the state code.

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Roofing questions — St. Cloud, MN

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Cloud, MN?

Required. The City's own "Information on Permits for Homeowners" handout (Building Safety Department) lists re-roofing among the project types that always require a building permit, alongside room additions, decks more than 30 inches above grade, and "structural or non-structural renovations or repair." No dollar-value or square-footage exemption is stated for roofing anywhere in that handout -- the size/dollar thresholds it does name apply only to other project types (e.g., detached accessory structures 200 sq. ft. or less, decks 30 inches or less above grade, and a 96-sq.-ft.-of-exposed-framing trigger for interior work). The separate "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department) is consistent: it opens by stating it is "Building permit information for one- or two-family dwellings and townhomes" with no minimum-scope carve-out. So in St. Cloud, any re-roofing or roof repair project requires a permit; there is no minor-repair exemption threshold specific to roofing.

Is ice & water shield required in St. Cloud, MN?

Required — STATE-GOVERNED, and restated in St. Cloud's own guidance. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 amends IRC Table R301.2(1) to pre-fill an ice-barrier-underlayment requirement statewide. St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), citing R905.1.2, states: "Ice/water barrier is required on all roofs, except for a detached accessory structure with no conditioned floor area. Ice/water barrier is required to consist of at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer modified bitumen sheet. The ice/water barrier shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edge of all roof surfaces to a point at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the building. On roofs with a slope equal to or greater than 8/12, the ice barrier shall also be applied not less than 36 [inches] measured along the roof slope from the eave edge of the building.".

Is drip edge required?

Not required — STATE-GOVERNED, and independently corroborated by St. Cloud's own silence. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0905, subpart 2 (read in full) states verbatim: "Section R905.2.8.5 is deleted in its entirety" -- the base IRC drip-edge mandate. St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department), read in full across all 5 pages including its detailed Flashing section (citing R903.2 and R905.2.8) covering base flashing, cap flashing, valley flashing, sidewall flashing, and kick-out flashing/diverter requirements, contains zero occurrences of "drip" anywhere in the document -- no drip-edge requirement is imposed locally either..

Is a mid-roof inspection required?

Required — CITY-SPECIFIC administrative/inspection practice (permit administration is not preempted by the State Building Code). St. Cloud's own "Residential Reroof" handout (Building Safety Department) lists exactly three "Required Inspections": (1) a framing inspection, only if trusses/rafters are damaged; (2) a "Tear-off inspection," required "when the existing shingles are torn off and a portion of the ice/water barrier is installed" (not required if the shingles are overlaid rather than torn off) -- an in-progress inspection distinct from the final; and (3) a final inspection "when the roofing project is completed." The handout allows photos in lieu of an on-site tear-off visit, but the tear-off checkpoint itself -- documented one way or the other -- is a required, separate step, not folded into the final. This is a real city-to-city difference within Minnesota: at least one other Minnesota city's own reroofing handout lists only a final inspection as required..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in St. Cloud, MN?

Required. No St. Cloud-specific roofing contractor license exists on top of the statewide license. Minnesota Statute Section 326B.805, subdivision 1 requires that "A person who meets the definition of a residential roofer as defined in section 326B.802, subdivision 14, must be licensed by the commissioner as a residential roofer, residential building contractor, or residential remodeler," issued by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), and subdivision 3 bars acting as a residential roofer for compensation without that license. The City of St. Cloud's own "Contractor Licensing" page lists its local license categories -- Commercial, Electrical, Heating, Plumbing, Residential Building, Sewer Cleaners, Sign Hangers, and Ventilation -- with no separate roofing category; its "Residential Building Contractor" entry states plainly that this license is "Licensed through the State Department of Labor and Industry," i.e. the city itself is pointing roofers to the same statewide DLI license rather than administering its own..

What building code does St. Cloud, MN use?

St. Cloud's Code of Ordinances, Chapter III, Section 300:00 ("Minnesota State Building Code"), codified through Ordinance No. 2985 (enacted December 15, 2025; Supplement 3, Update 1), adopts the Minnesota State Building Code "established pursuant to Minn. Stats. Sections 16B.59 through 16B.75, and Sections 326.37 through 326.45 ... as the building code of the City of St. Cloud," and lists Minnesota Rules chapter 1309 (Minnesota Residential Code) among the incorporated chapters. St. Cloud has no authority to adopt a different residential code: state law makes the State Building Code "the standard that applies statewide" and bars municipal ordinances that impose different building-code provisions (Minn. Stat. Section 326B.121). As dated statewide context: the current Minnesota Residential Code (Minn. R. ch. 1309) incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code as the "2020 Minnesota Residential Code." St. Cloud's own Minnesota State Building Codes page (Building Safety Division) independently lists the same in-force editions: "2020 Minnesota State Building Code (MSBC)" (2018 IBC with MN amendments) and "2020 Minnesota Residential Code (MSRC)" (2018 IRC with MN amendments).