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Permitting Authorities / City of St. Louis, Missouri - Building Division

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Louis, MO?

Adopted code

City of St. Louis, Missouri - Building Division

No — St. Louis, MO does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (City of St. Louis, Missouri - Building Division). The Building Division's "When a Residential Building Permit is Needed" page states, under roofing: a permit is needed "when roof work is not replacement of like material and/or when more than 25% of the roof sheathing is removed and replaced." (Implication: like-material roof-covering replacement with 25% or less sheathing replacement is exempt from a permit.) Building permit applications require a $25 application fee per application per the Building Division Permits Section page.

Jurisdiction
City of St. Louis, Missouri
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
1200 Market Street, City Hall, Room 426, St. Louis, MO 63103
Contact
  • url: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-safety/building/permits/index.cfm
  • phone: 314-622-3315
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: The City of St. Louis License Collector's "Apply for a Construction - Contracting Business License" page states a "Construction Industry Contractor Graduated Business License (GBL)" is required, with these steps: (1) obtain a State of Missouri Sales Tax Number if selling products; (2) complete the GBL application at the License Collector's office, City Hall Room 104; (3) obtain a Statement of Clearance from the Collector of Revenue's office, City Hall Room 410; (4) obtain an Occupancy Permit from the Building Division, City Hall Room 425 (314) 622-3313; (5) provide proof of Workers' Compensation coverage. The page does not list fee amounts, does not name roofing as a trade category, and does not describe an exam or bonding requirement (unlike the City's separately administered trade-specific licenses for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing contractors, which are handled under different chapters). The License Collector's office can be reached at (314) 622-4528.
Permit process note
The Building Division's "When a Residential Building Permit is Needed" page states, under roofing: a permit is needed "when roof work is not replacement of like material and/or when more than 25% of the roof sheathing is removed and replaced." (Implication: like-material roof-covering replacement with 25% or less sheathing replacement is exempt from a permit.) Building permit applications require a $25 application fee per application per the Building Division Permits Section page.
Adopted code
2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings (including Appendices E, F, G, H, J, K, M, R, S, and U), adopted by Ordinance No. 70795, Section 2, effective 7-6-2018, codified as Chapter 25.11 (Residential Code) of Title 25 of the Code of Ordinances. Municode's own codified text of Sec. 25.11.010 (Adoption) states: "The 2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings as published by the International Code Council, Inc. ... is hereby adopted as the Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings of the City of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri, pursuant to this chapter and in conformity with RSMo 71.943 ... (Ord. No. 70795, Sec. 2, 7-6-2018.)" Section 25.11.020 lists local amendments; where a local amendment does not touch a given IRC section, the unamended 2018 IRC baseline text governs (per 25.11.010: "If differences occur between a provision modified by this chapter and a provision adopted without modification, then the modified provision shall control.") The companion 2018 International Building Code (commercial/multi-family) was adopted the same date by Ordinance No. 70794, Chapter 25.01. Also adopted effective 08-01-18: 2018 International Existing Building Code (Ord. 70797), 2018 IECC (Ord. 70799), 2018 International Property Maintenance Code (Ord. 70798), 2018 International Fire Code (Ord. 70796), 2018 International Mechanical Code (Ord. 70800), 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (Ord. 70801), and 2017 National Electrical Code (Ord. 70802).
Ice & water shield
Not required — St. Louis's own amendment to Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria), codified in Chapter 25.11, Sec. 25.11.020 (Chapter 3 amendments), lists: "ICE SHIELD UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED (j): Not Required" (alongside Ground Snow Load 20 psf, Winter Design Temp 5F, Air Freezing Index 963 F-days). This is a explicit, amended local table entry -- not silence or omission -- stating the ice-barrier underlayment provision of IRC R905.1.2 does not apply in the City of St. Louis. This is notably different from nearby Kansas City and Independence, MO, both of which amend the same table to REQUIRE ice barrier underlayment.
Repair permit threshold
The Building Division's "When a Residential Building Permit is Needed" page ties the roofing repair/reroof permit trigger to a sheathing threshold, not a dollar value: a permit is required for "an entire new roof, when roof work is not replacement of like material, and/or when more than 25% of the roof sheathing is removed and replaced"; roof replacement "done with like material and replacement of 25% or less of the roof sheathing" does not require a permit. The same page sets other threshold-based exemptions relevant to a roofing contractor's broader scope of work: accessory buildings of 50 square feet or less do not require a permit ("accessory buildings over 50 square feet" DO); and retaining walls 18 inches or less in height do not require a permit.
Wind design criteria
115 mph wind design speed, topographic effects No, per St. Louis's own amendment to Table R301.2(1) (Chapter 25.11, Sec. 25.11.020, Chapter 3 amendments): "Ground Snow Load 20 psf; Wind Design Speed 115 (mph); Topographic Effects No; Seismic Design Category C; Weathering Severe; Frost Line Depth 30 inches; Termite Moderate to Heavy; Winter Design Temp 5 F; Ice Shield Underlayment Required Not Required; Flood Hazards May 24, 2011; Air Freezing Index 963 F-days; Mean Annual Temp 55 F."
Sales & use tax
The City of St. Louis is an independent city and is its own jurisdiction-code entity in Missouri DOR's rate tables (prefix 65000-510), separate from and NOT to be confused with St. Louis County (prefix 65000-000 for the unincorporated/base county rate, which does NOT apply within city limits). Per the DOR's statewide Sales/Use Tax Rate Table for July/August/September 2026 (effective quarter, published 5/22/2026), independently downloaded and parsed for this record: the base combined city-wide rate for "ST LOUIS" (jurisdiction code 65000-510-000) is 9.6790% sales tax / 9.0130% use tax. St. Louis has an extremely dense layer of stacked Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) and Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) -- the DOR table lists over 80 distinct sub-jurisdiction codes for St. Louis alone (65000-510-001 through at least 65000-510-083), with combined rates in the sampled rows ranging from 10.1790% (South Grand CID, 65000-510-042) up to 11.6790% where a CID and a TDD stack on the same parcel (e.g. 212 South Grand TDD + CID, 65000-510-001; 620 Market CID + TDD, 65000-510-002; City Foundry CID + TDD, 65000-510-068; Soccer Stadium CID + TDD, 65000-510-073). A roofer must confirm the exact parcel address to get the applicable rate; no single number describes "St. Louis sales tax." 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, PDF text independently extracted and confirmed for this record) 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. No jurisdiction in this roster collects a construction use tax at building-permit issuance; the DOR's own Sales/Use Tax page (https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/business/tax-types/sales-use/, independently confirmed for this record) describes local use tax as a self-reported obligation: "use tax is imposed directly upon the person that stores, uses, or consumes tangible personal property in Missouri," with "a purchaser ... required to file a use tax return if the cumulative purchases subject to use tax exceed two thousand dollars in a calendar year" -- not a sum collected at the permit counter.

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The permitting authority for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, an INDEPENDENT CITY not part of St. Louis County. The Building Division, within the Department of Public Safety, issues building, roofing, and other construction permits and performs inspections for permitted work.

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Roofing questions — St. Louis, MO

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in St. Louis, MO?

Not required. The Building Division's "When a Residential Building Permit is Needed" page ties the roofing repair/reroof permit trigger to a sheathing threshold, not a dollar value: a permit is required for "an entire new roof, when roof work is not replacement of like material, and/or when more than 25% of the roof sheathing is removed and replaced"; roof replacement "done with like material and replacement of 25% or less of the roof sheathing" does not require a permit. The same page sets other threshold-based exemptions relevant to a roofing contractor's broader scope of work: accessory buildings of 50 square feet or less do not require a permit ("accessory buildings over 50 square feet" DO); and retaining walls 18 inches or less in height do not require a permit.

Is ice & water shield required in St. Louis, MO?

Not required — St. Louis's own amendment to Table R301.2(1) (Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria), codified in Chapter 25.11, Sec. 25.11.020 (Chapter 3 amendments), lists: "ICE SHIELD UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED (j): Not Required" (alongside Ground Snow Load 20 psf, Winter Design Temp 5F, Air Freezing Index 963 F-days). This is a explicit, amended local table entry -- not silence or omission -- stating the ice-barrier underlayment provision of IRC R905.1.2 does not apply in the City of St. Louis. This is notably different from nearby Kansas City and Independence, MO, both of which amend the same table to REQUIRE ice barrier underlayment..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in St. Louis, MO?

Required. The City of St. Louis License Collector's "Apply for a Construction - Contracting Business License" page states a "Construction Industry Contractor Graduated Business License (GBL)" is required, with these steps: (1) obtain a State of Missouri Sales Tax Number if selling products; (2) complete the GBL application at the License Collector's office, City Hall Room 104; (3) obtain a Statement of Clearance from the Collector of Revenue's office, City Hall Room 410; (4) obtain an Occupancy Permit from the Building Division, City Hall Room 425 (314) 622-3313; (5) provide proof of Workers' Compensation coverage. The page does not list fee amounts, does not name roofing as a trade category, and does not describe an exam or bonding requirement (unlike the City's separately administered trade-specific licenses for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing contractors, which are handled under different chapters). The License Collector's office can be reached at (314) 622-4528..

What building code does St. Louis, MO use?

2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings (including Appendices E, F, G, H, J, K, M, R, S, and U), adopted by Ordinance No. 70795, Section 2, effective 7-6-2018, codified as Chapter 25.11 (Residential Code) of Title 25 of the Code of Ordinances. Municode's own codified text of Sec. 25.11.010 (Adoption) states: "The 2018 International Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings as published by the International Code Council, Inc. ... is hereby adopted as the Residential Code for One- and Two-family Dwellings of the City of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri, pursuant to this chapter and in conformity with RSMo 71.943 ... (Ord. No. 70795, Sec. 2, 7-6-2018.)" Section 25.11.020 lists local amendments; where a local amendment does not touch a given IRC section, the unamended 2018 IRC baseline text governs (per 25.11.010: "If differences occur between a provision modified by this chapter and a provision adopted without modification, then the modified provision shall control.") The companion 2018 International Building Code (commercial/multi-family) was adopted the same date by Ordinance No. 70794, Chapter 25.01. Also adopted effective 08-01-18: 2018 International Existing Building Code (Ord. 70797), 2018 IECC (Ord. 70799), 2018 International Property Maintenance Code (Ord. 70798), 2018 International Fire Code (Ord. 70796), 2018 International Mechanical Code (Ord. 70800), 2018 International Fuel Gas Code (Ord. 70801), and 2017 National Electrical Code (Ord. 70802).