The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / City of Saint Paul, Minnesota - Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI)

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Saint Paul, MN?

Adopted code

City of Saint Paul, Minnesota - Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI)

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Saint Paul, MN, issued by City of Saint Paul, Minnesota - Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI). Saint Paul DSI's "Contractor Express Building Permit" page lists qualifying express-permit project categories including "Re-roof & Roof Repair" broken into sub-types "Shingle w/Tear Off," "Shingle w/Overlay," "Flat w/Tear Off," "Flat w/Overlay," "Slate/Slate Repair," and "Tile/Tile Repair," stating "The express items listed above do not require plan review and can be issued online" -- i.e. re-roofing and roof repair are permitted work categories requiring a permit (an EXPRESS/no-plan-review permit specifically, not an exemption from permitting).

Jurisdiction
City of Saint Paul, Minnesota
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
375 Jackson Street, Suite 220, Saint Paul, MN 55101
Contact
  • url: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • license: no additional Saint Paul roofing-contractor license on top of the statewide RR license -- and this is stated more explicitly and directly than in Minneapolis. Saint Paul's "Contractor License" page states plainly: "Roofing contractors do NOT need a city license. Instead, they must obtain: a State of Minnesota Residential Roofer License." By contrast, the same page states that contractors who hold only a state Exemption Certificate, or who perform only "one special skill" (other than roofing, which is carved out to the state RR license), DO need "a City of Saint Paul Building Contractor License," which requires "a completed and notarized $2,500 License, Permit and Performance Bond from a licensed State of Minnesota Agency." Because roofing contractors are the group explicitly EXCUSED from this city license requirement, the $2,500 city bond does NOT apply to a state-RR-licensed roofing contractor.
Permit process note
Saint Paul DSI's "Contractor Express Building Permit" page lists qualifying express-permit project categories including "Re-roof & Roof Repair" broken into sub-types "Shingle w/Tear Off," "Shingle w/Overlay," "Flat w/Tear Off," "Flat w/Overlay," "Slate/Slate Repair," and "Tile/Tile Repair," stating "The express items listed above do not require plan review and can be issued online" -- i.e. re-roofing and roof repair are permitted work categories requiring a permit (an EXPRESS/no-plan-review permit specifically, not an exemption from permitting).
Adopted code
STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Saint Paul has no authority to adopt a different building code from the Minnesota State Building Code: Minn. Stat. § 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 "building code provisions regulating components or systems of any structure that are different from any provision of the State Building Code" by ordinance. The residential chapter is Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1309 ("Minnesota Residential Code"), which incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) by reference "except as qualified by the applicable provisions in Minnesota Rules, chapter 1300, and as amended in this chapter" (Minn. R. 1309.0010, subpart 1), effective as the "2020 Minnesota Residential Code" published 2020-03-31. Saint Paul, as a metro-area municipality that adopted the State Building Code before 2008, is required under Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2(a) to continue administering and enforcing this same statewide code -- it has no local variance authority over code content. Per this repo's MN state-lever research (staging/burn-wave/MN_STATE_LEVER.md), cited here rather than re-derived.
Drip edge
Not required — STATE-GOVERNED, and independently corroborated by Saint Paul's own published guidance. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0905, subpart 2 states verbatim: "Section R905.2.8.5 is deleted in its entirety" (the base IRC drip-edge mandate). Saint Paul's "Reroofing Policy - Asphalt or Fiberglass Shingles" (rev. 02/05/2015) restates the practical effect: "Preformed galvanized metal drip edge is not required by code, but is strongly recommended." NOTE the local wrinkle recorded under deck_sheathing_requirements: the same document DOES call for a metal drip edge (or approved equivalent) specifically to protect new sheathing panel edges when re-decking over an existing deck -- a narrower, situational requirement, not a blanket one.
Ice & water shield
Required — STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET -- applies identically in Saint Paul as everywhere else in Minnesota. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 amends IRC Table R301.2(1) ("Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria") to pre-fill "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED[h] ... Yes" for the entire state -- footnote h ties this to IRC Sections R905.1.2 etc. "where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming," a determination Minnesota has made statewide by rule rather than leaving to municipal option. Saint Paul has no authority to opt out of this (Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2(c)). The literal installation-extent text of R905.1.2 itself is unamended bare 2018 IRC text that this repo's MN scout could not obtain verbatim (ICC paywall) -- not restated here per the no-invented-baseline-text rule.
Mid-roof inspection
Required — CITY-SPECIFIC administrative/inspection practice (permit administration is not preempted by the State Building Code, per Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2). Saint Paul DSI's "Roof Inspections" policy memo (dated March 31, 2011, still hosted on stpaul.gov) states: "Roof decks and re-decking must be inspected PRIOR to covering up with underlayment. Re-decking of any roof must be inspected by the designated Building Inspector... Ice Barriers are required as part of the underlayment in occupied dwellings and require inspection." The separate "Reroofing Policy - Asphalt or Fiberglass Shingles" (rev. 02/05/2015) reinforces this: "Call Building Inspections after tear off, before starting to reroof so the flashing and underlayment can be checked by the Building Inspector." This is a real, notable city-to-city difference within Minnesota: Minneapolis's own published practice (see minneapolis-mn.yaml) explicitly states an underlayment/ice-barrier inspection is NOT required, while Saint Paul explicitly requires an in-progress deck/underlayment/ice-barrier inspection before covering. FRESHNESS CAVEAT: the "Roof Inspections" memo is dated 2011 and cites the "2007 Minnesota State Residential Code" (superseded by the current 2020 MRC), but its inspection- practice instructions are corroborated by the separately-dated 2015 Reroofing Policy document, so the underlying practice appears current even though the memo's code-edition citation is stale.
Wind design criteria
STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET -- applies identically in Saint Paul as everywhere else in Minnesota. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 (amended IRC Table R301.2(1)) sets a uniform statewide design wind speed of 115 mph with topographic effects "Yes" and Seismic Design Category "A" (wind exposure category is determined site-specifically per Section R301.2.1.4, not a state or city lever). Ground snow load, the one geographically-varying input, is fixed by Minnesota Rules part 1303.1700 at the COUNTY level, not by municipality: Ramsey County (Saint Paul) is not listed among the 29 higher-snow-load counties enumerated in 1303.1700 (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, Wadena), so Saint Paul (Ramsey County) falls under the rule's default: ground snow load Pg = 50 pounds per square foot.
Deck & sheathing requirements
STATE-GOVERNED baseline (Minn. R. 1309.0905, subpart 1, amending IRC R905.2.1: asphalt shingles fastened to solidly sheathed decks or 1-inch nominal wood boards), with additional CITY-SPECIFIC re-decking detail from Saint Paul's own "Reroofing Policy - Asphalt or Fiberglass Shingles" (rev. 02/05/2015): "Once torn off, if there are gaps between boards greater than 5/8 inch, then the gaps must be: a. In-filled with knot-free dimension lumber if the gap is 3" or more; or b. Overlaid with approved sheathing (minimum 7/16" OSB or 3/8" exterior plywood); or c. Corrected by other systems or techniques pre-approved by Building Inspection." And on new sheathing installed over an existing deck: "the sheathing panels must be spliced over framing members and fastened to the framing member using 8d common nails having a 6 inch maximum spacing at panel edges and 12 inch max. spacing in the panel field... Panel edges must be protected from weather by the use of a metal drip edge or other approved method." This last clause is a notable LOCAL WRINKLE: it calls for a metal drip edge (or equivalent) specifically when new sheathing panels are installed over an existing deck, even though drip edge is not otherwise a blanket requirement in Minnesota (see drip_edge_required).
Sales & use tax
Saint Paul's combined general sales tax rate is 9.875%, per the Minnesota Department of Revenue's own "Metro Counties Sales and Use Tax Rate Guide, Effective 7/1/2026 - 9/30/2026" (visually confirmed from the official table, not just OCR/text-extracted, to avoid a known column-misalignment artifact in this PDF's automated text extraction): State Rate 6.875% + Metro Area Rate 1.00% (Metro Area Sales and Use Tax for Housing 0.25% + Metro Area Transportation Sales and Use Tax 0.75%, both effective 10/1/2023, applicable in Ramsey County) + Ramsey County Transit Sales and Use Tax 0.50% + City of Saint Paul "City Rate" 1.50% = 9.875% combined. The 1.50% city component is independently confirmed by the City's own Financial Services page ("Local Option Sales and Use Tax"): a 0.50% tax implemented 1/1/2000 for the STAR (Civic Center/RiverCentre and downtown/neighborhood capital-project) program, plus a 1.00% tax approved by voters in 2023 and implemented 4/1/2024 for "repairs and improvements to streets, bridges, parks and recreational facilities" -- both are described as general local sales and use taxes (not restricted to a narrow category like lodging), so they apply to general retail purchases including roofing materials. Saint Paul separately imposes narrower lodging-only taxes (3.00-7.00% tiered by hotel size) that do not apply to roofing materials.

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The permitting authority for the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota (Ramsey County), within the Minneapolis-St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area. DECOY CHECK: this record is the Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota (state capital), NOT any other "St. Paul" in another state. Saint Paul enforces the Minnesota State Building Code (Minn. Stat. § 326B.121), which is the exclusive statewide building-code-content standard and supersedes any city building code; the city's own role is limited to permit administration, fees, inspections, and any zoning/historic-district overlay rules, which are NOT preempted by the state code.

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Roofing questions — Saint Paul, MN

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Saint Paul, MN?

Required.

Is ice & water shield required in Saint Paul, MN?

Required — STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET -- applies identically in Saint Paul as everywhere else in Minnesota. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0301, subpart 2 amends IRC Table R301.2(1) ("Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria") to pre-fill "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED[h] ... Yes" for the entire state -- footnote h ties this to IRC Sections R905.1.2 etc. "where there has been a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming," a determination Minnesota has made statewide by rule rather than leaving to municipal option. Saint Paul has no authority to opt out of this (Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2(c)). The literal installation-extent text of R905.1.2 itself is unamended bare 2018 IRC text that this repo's MN scout could not obtain verbatim (ICC paywall) -- not restated here per the no-invented-baseline-text rule..

Is drip edge required?

Not required — STATE-GOVERNED, and independently corroborated by Saint Paul's own published guidance. Minnesota Rules part 1309.0905, subpart 2 states verbatim: "Section R905.2.8.5 is deleted in its entirety" (the base IRC drip-edge mandate). Saint Paul's "Reroofing Policy - Asphalt or Fiberglass Shingles" (rev. 02/05/2015) restates the practical effect: "Preformed galvanized metal drip edge is not required by code, but is strongly recommended." NOTE the local wrinkle recorded under deck_sheathing_requirements: the same document DOES call for a metal drip edge (or approved equivalent) specifically to protect new sheathing panel edges when re-decking over an existing deck -- a narrower, situational requirement, not a blanket one..

Is a mid-roof inspection required?

Required — CITY-SPECIFIC administrative/inspection practice (permit administration is not preempted by the State Building Code, per Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2). Saint Paul DSI's "Roof Inspections" policy memo (dated March 31, 2011, still hosted on stpaul.gov) states: "Roof decks and re-decking must be inspected PRIOR to covering up with underlayment. Re-decking of any roof must be inspected by the designated Building Inspector... Ice Barriers are required as part of the underlayment in occupied dwellings and require inspection." The separate "Reroofing Policy - Asphalt or Fiberglass Shingles" (rev. 02/05/2015) reinforces this: "Call Building Inspections after tear off, before starting to reroof so the flashing and underlayment can be checked by the Building Inspector." This is a real, notable city-to-city difference within Minnesota: Minneapolis's own published practice (see minneapolis-mn.yaml) explicitly states an underlayment/ice-barrier inspection is NOT required, while Saint Paul explicitly requires an in-progress deck/underlayment/ice-barrier inspection before covering. FRESHNESS CAVEAT: the "Roof Inspections" memo is dated 2011 and cites the "2007 Minnesota State Residential Code" (superseded by the current 2020 MRC), but its inspection- practice instructions are corroborated by the separately-dated 2015 Reroofing Policy document, so the underlying practice appears current even though the memo's code-edition citation is stale..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Saint Paul, MN?

Required. no additional Saint Paul roofing-contractor license on top of the statewide RR license -- and this is stated more explicitly and directly than in Minneapolis. Saint Paul's "Contractor License" page states plainly: "Roofing contractors do NOT need a city license. Instead, they must obtain: a State of Minnesota Residential Roofer License." By contrast, the same page states that contractors who hold only a state Exemption Certificate, or who perform only "one special skill" (other than roofing, which is carved out to the state RR license), DO need "a City of Saint Paul Building Contractor License," which requires "a completed and notarized $2,500 License, Permit and Performance Bond from a licensed State of Minnesota Agency." Because roofing contractors are the group explicitly EXCUSED from this city license requirement, the $2,500 city bond does NOT apply to a state-RR-licensed roofing contractor..

What building code does Saint Paul, MN use?

STATE-GOVERNED, NOT CITY-SET. Saint Paul has no authority to adopt a different building code from the Minnesota State Building Code: Minn. Stat. § 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 "building code provisions regulating components or systems of any structure that are different from any provision of the State Building Code" by ordinance. The residential chapter is Minnesota Rules, Chapter 1309 ("Minnesota Residential Code"), which incorporates the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) by reference "except as qualified by the applicable provisions in Minnesota Rules, chapter 1300, and as amended in this chapter" (Minn. R. 1309.0010, subpart 1), effective as the "2020 Minnesota Residential Code" published 2020-03-31. Saint Paul, as a metro-area municipality that adopted the State Building Code before 2008, is required under Minn. Stat. § 326B.121, subd. 2(a) to continue administering and enforcing this same statewide code -- it has no local variance authority over code content. Per this repo's MN state-lever research (staging/burn-wave/MN_STATE_LEVER.md), cited here rather than re-derived.