Permitting Authorities / St. Louis County - Department of Transportation and Public Works (Building Division)
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Louis County, MO?
Adopted code
St. Louis County - Department of Transportation and Public Works (Building Division)
Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in St. Louis County, MO, issued by St. Louis County - Department of Transportation and Public Works (Building Division). Chapter 1115 (Building Code), Section 105.1.2 "Reroofing" states: "Permits are required for the recovering or replacement of an existing roof covering when either of the following conditions apply. 1. Permits are required for reroofing of roofs with a slope of less than 4:12. Plans and specifications are only required when reroofing a slope less than 1/2 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal. 2. Permits, plans and specifications are required for all changes in a roof covering system regardless of the roof slope." Read together, condition 2 means there is no minor-repair or layer-count exemption for roof coverings in St. Louis County -- any recovering or replacement of roof covering requires a permit regardless of slope or scope, with plan/spec submittal only required for low-slope (below 1/2:12) work. This is confirmed operationally by the county's own "Requirements for a Permit" page, which lists "Certain qualifying re-roofing and roof covering replacement type projects" among the narrow set of building-permit work types that may skip PLAN SUBMISSION (issued as "Over-The-Counter Permits" instead) -- the permit itself is still required. Separately, Section 109.5.17 "Reroofing permit" confirms a fee is charged for "a reroofing permit in accordance with Section 105.1.2." On the contract-municipality structure: the county's "Requirements for a Permit" page states that full plan-review building permitting applies to "Unincorporated County and Municipalities with a full code enforcement contract (including building code)" with the County, while some other municipalities contract with the County only for individual disciplines (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) "but not for building code enforcement" -- those municipalities issue their own building/roofing permits. A county-published PDF titled "CODE ENFORCEMENT BY SAINT LOUIS COUNTY - MUNICIPALITY CONTRACT AGREEMENT - MATRIX" (dated "ALPHABETICAL JANUARY 17, 2020" on its face) lists roughly 90 municipalities against 14 code disciplines (Building, Residential, Existing Building, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Explosives, Property Maintenance, Re-Occupancy, Fire Suppression, Elevators, Amusement Rides, Periodic Mechanical Equipment Inspection, and Land Disturbance) with a shaded-cell grid indicating which disciplines the County enforces per municipality, plus lettered/numbered exclusion codes for partial contracts (e.g. "Single Family Residential Only," "Structures and Property at 1 & 2 Family Dwellings and Townhouses Only," "Exclude Re-Occupancy Permits for Commercial properties"). That matrix is the most practical way to determine, municipality-by-municipality, whether the County or a municipality's own building department is the correct permitting authority for a given St. Louis County address. It carries a January 17, 2020 date on its face, so contract assignments may have changed since; confirm the current arrangement for a specific address with the County Building Division (314-615-5184).
Jurisdiction
St. Louis County, Missouri
Address
41 South Central Ave, Clayton, MO 63105
Contact
- url: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/transportation-and-public-works/permit-procedures/permits-applications/
- phone: 314-615-5184
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Not required
Registration details
- license: Chapter 1115, Section 105.1.1.1 "Disaster contractor registration required" states: "It shall be unlawful for anyone other than the property owner to make repairs as defined in Section 105.1.1 [disaster damage repairs] unless this person is registered with the building official," requiring name, address, SSN/tax ID, driver's license copy, physical description, "at least two work references, and whether applicant is insured or bonded" -- but this registration requirement is scoped specifically to post-disaster repair work, not to roofing or construction work generally. No general roofing-contractor or trade-license requirement (comparable to Jackson County's Class A/B/C E/M/P licensing scheme) was found anywhere in Chapter 1115 as documented in the county's own amendment ordinance. That covers the Building Code chapter only; it does not rule out a separate county business-license or merchant's-license requirement housed outside that chapter.
Permit process note
Chapter 1115 (Building Code), Section 105.1.2 "Reroofing" states: "Permits are required for the recovering or replacement of an existing roof covering when either of the following conditions apply. 1. Permits are required for reroofing of roofs with a slope of less than 4:12. Plans and specifications are only required when reroofing a slope less than 1/2 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal. 2. Permits, plans and specifications are required for all changes in a roof covering system regardless of the roof slope." Read together, condition 2 means there is no minor-repair or layer-count exemption for roof coverings in St. Louis County -- any recovering or replacement of roof covering requires a permit regardless of slope or scope, with plan/spec submittal only required for low-slope (below 1/2:12) work. This is confirmed operationally by the county's own "Requirements for a Permit" page, which lists "Certain qualifying re-roofing and roof covering replacement type projects" among the narrow set of building-permit work types that may skip PLAN SUBMISSION (issued as "Over-The-Counter Permits" instead) -- the permit itself is still required. Separately, Section 109.5.17 "Reroofing permit" confirms a fee is charged for "a reroofing permit in accordance with Section 105.1.2." On the contract-municipality structure: the county's "Requirements for a Permit" page states that full plan-review building permitting applies to "Unincorporated County and Municipalities with a full code enforcement contract (including building code)" with the County, while some other municipalities contract with the County only for individual disciplines (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) "but not for building code enforcement" -- those municipalities issue their own building/roofing permits. A county-published PDF titled "CODE ENFORCEMENT BY SAINT LOUIS COUNTY - MUNICIPALITY CONTRACT AGREEMENT - MATRIX" (dated "ALPHABETICAL JANUARY 17, 2020" on its face) lists roughly 90 municipalities against 14 code disciplines (Building, Residential, Existing Building, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Explosives, Property Maintenance, Re-Occupancy, Fire Suppression, Elevators, Amusement Rides, Periodic Mechanical Equipment Inspection, and Land Disturbance) with a shaded-cell grid indicating which disciplines the County enforces per municipality, plus lettered/numbered exclusion codes for partial contracts (e.g. "Single Family Residential Only," "Structures and Property at 1 & 2 Family Dwellings and Townhouses Only," "Exclude Re-Occupancy Permits for Commercial properties"). That matrix is the most practical way to determine, municipality-by-municipality, whether the County or a municipality's own building department is the correct permitting authority for a given St. Louis County address. It carries a January 17, 2020 date on its face, so contract assignments may have changed since; confirm the current arrangement for a specific address with the County Building Division (314-615-5184).
Adopted code
St. Louis County Code Chapter 1115 (Building Code) adopts the 2015 family of ICC codes. The county's own "User-Friendly 2015 ICC Building, Residential, Existing Building & Swimming Pool and Spa Codes" ordinance compilation (footer-dated "Ordinance 27,654 (April 1, 2020)") sets out county amendments to the 2015 International Building Code and 2015 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings (plus the 2015 International Existing Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code family). Roofing-relevant provisions referenced throughout this record (e.g. R905.1.1 underlayment, R905.1.2 ice barrier, R905.2.8.2 valley flashing, R905.2.8.5 drip edge, R908 roof replacement dead-load) are 2015 IRC section numbers. One caveat on currency: third-party summaries, not independently verified against county-hosted documents, reference two later amending ordinances, No. 28,327 (approved 2021-12-27) and No. 28,807 (approved 2023-06-29), which may have amended Chapter 1115/1116 after this "April 1, 2020" compilation was printed. The county-hosted user-friendly code document does not itself show a later revision date. Before relying on the specific roofing figures here, check with the County Building Division (314-615-5184) whether either of those ordinances changed the Chapter 9 (roofing) provisions.
Drip edge
Required — The county's Single-Family Dwelling Design Checklist and Residential Room Additions guide both state: "Drip edge is required at eaves and rakes of shingle roofs. Extend drip edge minimum 2" onto roof sheathing and minimum 1/4" below roof sheathing. Install roof underlayment over the drip edge along eaves and under the drip edge at rakes (R905.2.8.5)."
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Not required — St. Louis County's own amended climatic design table states the requirement is NOT triggered. The county's Chapter 1115 amendment to IRC Table R301.2(1) "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria" lists, under the "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED" column, the value "NO" for St. Louis County (footnote h cross-references Sections R905.1.2, R905.4.3.1, R905.5.3.1, R905.6.3.1, R905.7.3.1 and R905.8.3.1, and states the jurisdiction fills this cell in as YES/NO "where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming"). This is corroborated word-for-word by three separate county publications: the Single-Family Dwelling Design Checklist ("Ice Barrier underlayment is not required (R905.1.2; SLCO Revised Ordinance Table R301.2(1))"), the Residential Room Additions guide ("Ice Barriers are not required by St. Louis County (R905.1.2; SLCO Revised Ordinance Table R301.2(1))"), and the amended-code ordinance document itself (the Table R301.2(1) entry). The county states this affirmatively; it is not simply an unanswered question.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — St. Louis County Revised Ordinances Title XI, Chapter 1116 "Residential Code" -- which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code at Section 1116.020 and carries the county's amendments to it, codified through Ordinance No. 29,532 enacted February 17, 2026 -- was read in full. Its Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies amendments, at Section 1116.109, reach only valley lining materials and widths under R905.2.8.2 and roof ventilation on replacement under R908.7. Neither those amendments nor any other provision of the chapter imposes an impact-resistance standard, and no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in the county's adopted residential code or its amendments.
Repair permit threshold
No threshold/exemption exists for roof-covering repair or replacement. Chapter 1115, Section 105.1.2(2) states permits "are required for all changes in a roof covering system regardless of the roof slope" -- i.e. even minor recovering work requires a permit; the only distinction the code draws is that plans/specifications (not the permit itself) are waived unless the roof slope is below 1/2 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal.
Wind design criteria
Per St. Louis County's Chapter 1115 amendment to IRC Table R301.2(1) "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria": Wind Design ultimate design wind speed Vult = 115 mph, allowable-stress design wind speed Vasd = 89 mph; Seismic Design Category C; Topographic (wind speed-up) effects: NO; Special Wind Region: NO; Wind-borne debris zone: NO; Ground Snow Load 20 lbs/ft2. Exposure category is determined on a site-specific basis per Section R301.2.1.4 rather than fixed county-wide in the table. Separately, an older county publication, the "Wind and Seismic Bracing Guide" (still keyed to 2009 IRC braced-wall-panel methodology), states "For St. Louis County, the wind speed is 90 mph and the seismic design category is C" -- consistent in substance (89-90 mph) but using the pre-2012 single allowable-stress-design wind-speed convention rather than the current Vult/Vasd pair; the Table R301.2(1) figures from the 2015-code amendment ordinance are the authoritative current figures and are used here.
Roof layer limit / recover
The county's own residential design guides state, for structural roof framing design loads: "Dead Load: Actual dead load and weight of 2 layers of roof covering (R301.4; R908)" (Single-Family Dwelling Design Checklist) and, in near-identical wording, "Dead Load: Use actual dead load including weight of 2 layers roof covering (R301.4; R908)" (Residential Room Additions Building Permit Requirements). This is a structural design-load convention for sizing roof framing/trusses, not a standalone sentence stating "no more than 2 layers of roofing are permitted" -- but it is the only county-published figure on roof-covering layer count, and it is consistent with the base 2015 IRC's standard 2-layer recover assumption under R908, which the county's published amendments do not appear to modify. Treat it as a strong indication of a 2-layer practical ceiling rather than a directly quotable permit-limit rule. Base-code rule, read at 2015 IRC Section R908.3.1.1 (Roof re-cover not allowed) and quoted here rather than left behind the ICC paywall: a roof recover "shall not be permitted" where "the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering" (nor where the existing covering is water soaked or deteriorated, or is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile). One existing layer may therefore be recovered; a second existing layer forces tear-off to the deck.
Sales & use tax
Combined general sales tax rate for unincorporated St. Louis County is 7.7380% at the base county rate (Missouri DOR jurisdiction code 00000-189-000: 4.2250% state + 3.5130% county-level and district taxes), per the DOR's statewide Sales/Use Tax Rate Table for July 2026. This county-level base rate is notably higher than Jackson County (5.7250%) and Clay County (5.4750%) because St. Louis County's own base rate already layers multiple county-wide district taxes even before any municipal or CID/TDD add-ons are applied. Numerous Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) and Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) stack additional tax on top of this base rate in specific unincorporated pockets (e.g. jurisdiction codes 00000-189-001 through -016 in the same DOR table, ranging up to 12.7380% combined) -- this figure is the county-only base, not any CID/TDD-loaded parcel. Incorporated municipalities within St. Louis County (Clayton, Ballwin, Manchester, etc.) each carry their own separate, generally higher combined rates. Missouri's own Contractors Tax Matrix (DOR Audit Services, Industry Guidance, eff. 10-24-2022, https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/documents/Contractors_000.pdf) treats a roofing contractor as the final consumer of materials incorporated into real property: "Contractor sales of tangible personal property where title passed to the customer after installation" is listed Exempt, while "Tangible personal property to be sold as an attachment to real property" is listed Taxable -- meaning the contractor owes sales/use tax on shingles, underlayment, etc. at the point of purchase from the supplier, and does not separately charge the homeowner sales tax on the installed roof or on labor. The DOR's own Sales/Use Tax page (https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/tax-types/sales-use/) describes local use tax as a self-reported obligation, not a sum collected at the building-permit counter.
St. Louis County, Missouri is a jurisdiction entirely separate from the independent City of St. Louis (covered by a different record; the City is not part of the County). The county's Department of Transportation and Public Works (DOTPW) administers building/roofing permits directly for unincorporated St. Louis County, AND, by contract, for a substantial number of the county's ~90 incorporated municipalities that lack their own building department. Per Chapter 1115 (Building Code) Section 101.2: the building official, with County Executive approval, "is authorized to contract with municipalities and fire protection districts within St. Louis County to provide appropriate enforcement of this code," including "administration, application processing, plan review, permit issuance, and inspections." Contracts vary by municipality and by code discipline (building, residential, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc. are contracted separately) -- some municipalities have a "full code enforcement contract (including building code)" with the County (meaning the County is the applicable permitting authority for roofing there), while others contract only for individual disciplines (e.g. electrical) "but not for building code enforcement" (meaning that municipality's own building department handles roofing permits). A county-published "Municipality Contract Agreement Matrix" documents this discipline-by-discipline breakdown per municipality (see the permit process notes below for detail and a caveat on its currency).
Working an insurance claim in St. Louis County, MO? 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) — one page, free.
Buy this jurisdiction's pack — $12 Delivered by email within minutes.
Questions about the St. Louis County, MO pack?
Not ready to buy, or need a different jurisdiction? Tell us and we’ll reply directly.