City of Statesboro, Georgia - Building Inspections, Planning & Development Department

City of Statesboro, Georgia

city

50 East Main Street, Statesboro, GA 30458

Required

Required

Statesboro runs its permitting through the Community Core portal and there is no separate roofing form. The Vertical Construction Packet, the City working document for building permits, says an application "must be submitted to the Planning & Development Department through Community Core", and the Permits & Applications page instructs an applicant to register for a Community Core account and then apply for the permit there. A "Residential Re-Roof" is one of the project types the packet lists as requiring a permit. Where the applicant is the homeowner, the Self Contractor Affidavit must accompany the application and may only be used where the application is for the applicant's primary residence; a separate Contractor Listing form and a Georgia Authorized Permit Agent form are published beside it. PLAN REVIEW AND TIMING. The packet states that each department "will generally review and redline the submitted plans within approximately 2 weeks but have up to 30 days", and warns that supplemental engineering or structural designs must be stamped on every page by a Georgia professional engineer or registered architect and that "resubmittals with redactions will not be accepted". A City Project Manager acts as liaison between staff and developers during the building permit process. INSPECTIONS. Requests go through Community Core, or by phone on 912-764-0630, or by email to [email protected]; those scheduled before 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday "will generally be performed the next business day", and work is to be completed before the inspection is scheduled. Each inspection costs $35.00, with re-inspections at $50.00, $75.00 and $100.00 for the second, third and fourth and beyond, and all open fees must be paid before final certificates issue. FEES ON THE BUILDING SIDE are charged by area rather than by roof square: $0.46 per square foot for single-family residential and townhome new construction, $0.45 per square foot for commercial alteration, plus a plan review fee of 5% of the building permit fee on all permits. CONTACTS. Building Inspections is on 912-764-0630 and the Chief Building Official is Robbie Jordan; the Planning & Housing Administrator is Shauntia Lewis. The department is at 50 East Main Street, Statesboro. Fire inspections are a separate function on 912-212-2326, and for the Life Safety Code and the Georgia Accessibility Code the City directs enquiries to the State Fire Marshal Office.

2024 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE WITH THE GEORGIA AMENDMENTS, IN FORCE FROM JANUARY 1, 2026, AND STATESBORO ADOPTS IT ON A FLOATING REFERENCE RATHER THAN BY EDITION. Georgia is not a state where you look up a local edition. The International Residential Code is one of the codes the Georgia Department of Community Affairs designates a mandatory state minimum standard, and the Department states in terms that "any structure built in Georgia must comply with these codes, whether or not the local government chooses to locally enforce these codes", the statutory hook being O.C.G.A. Section 8-2-25(a). So compliance is statewide and automatic; what is local is enforcement. Statesboro enforces. Its own ordinance, Code of Ordinances section 14-1, provides that "The City of Statesboro shall enforce the latest edition of the following Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes and all appendices, as adopted and amended by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs", and then lists the International Building Code, International Mechanical Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Plumbing Code, National Electrical Code, International Fire Code, International Residential Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Existing Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. Because that reference floats to the latest edition, the ordinance itself never names a year and does not go stale. THE YEAR COMES FROM THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH PUBLISHES IT TWICE. The Vertical Construction Packet, updated 1-1-2026, gives "Adopted Codes: January 1, 2026" and lists the 2024 International Building, Residential, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Plumbing, Swimming Pool and Spa and Fire Codes with Georgia Amendments, the 2023 National Electrical Code, the 2024 Edition of NFPA 101, the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code and the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code. The Residential Inspection Reference Checklist repeats the same list against section 14-1 and adds the 2018 International Existing Building Code. The Department of Community Affairs amendment packet for the 2024 Residential Code is dated "Revised January 1, 2026" and matches. ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT THE GEORGIA PACKET BEFORE READING A CODE BOOK. It deletes Part IV Energy Conservation, Part VII Plumbing and Part VIII Electrical from the Residential Code outright and substitutes the separate Georgia energy, plumbing and electrical codes, so those chapters of an off-the-shelf 2024 Residential Code do not apply in Statesboro. Nothing in the packet touches the Code roofing chapter. APPENDIX U IS NOT PART OF THE STATESBORO CODE. The Department adopts Appendix U, Disaster Resilient Construction, "as optional", lists the Disaster Resilient Building Code IRC Appendix among its permissive rather than mandatory codes, and the appendix itself provides at AU101.3.1 that "The provisions of this appendix are not mandatory unless specifically referenced in an adopting ordinance of [NAME OF JURISDICTION]." Section 14-1 references it nowhere: it names ten codes and none of them is that appendix, although its "and all appendices" wording is broad. If it were adopted it would reach only new development and substantial improvements in any event, by AU101.3.1. Confirm with the Chief Building Official if a job is either of those.

Required — STATESBORO PUTS THIS ON ITS OWN INSPECTION CHECKLIST, WHICH IS BETTER EVIDENCE THAN MOST GEORGIA CITIES OFFER. The Residential Inspection Reference Checklist published by City Building Inspections lists, among the items an inspector checks at the Building Final, "Drip edges required IRC R905.2.8.5". So the requirement is not merely in force here in the abstract; the City has written it down as something it inspects for, and named the section it comes from. THE LEGAL FOOTING UNDER THAT. The International Residential Code is a mandatory Georgia state minimum standard code, and the Department of Community Affairs states that any structure built in Georgia must comply with the mandatory codes "whether or not the local government chooses to locally enforce these codes", under O.C.G.A. Section 8-2-25(a). Statesboro does enforce: Code of Ordinances section 14-1 directs the City to enforce the latest edition of those codes, and the City requires a permit for a residential re-roof. The Department amendment packet for the 2024 Residential Code carries no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, so the Chapter 9 drip-edge provision at Section R905.2.8.5 stands as written, neither deleted nor rewritten for Georgia. Statesboro has not rewritten it either: Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, all three articles and every section from 14-1 to 14-71, was opened in full for this entry and contains no mention of drip edge, roof covering, shingles, underlayment or Chapter 9 of any code. Appendix U Disaster Resilient Construction, which the Department adopts as optional and lists among its permissive codes, is not referenced in section 14-1 and by its own AU101.3.1 is not mandatory unless specifically referenced in an adopting ordinance; it could not remove a drip-edge requirement in any event. The operative ICC text of R905.2.8.5, which sets the extent, lap and fastening specifics, sits behind the ICC paywall; this record does not restate it and does not rely on any third-party republication of it. What is recorded is the sourced fact that the requirement is in force in Statesboro unamended, and that the City inspects for it. About drip edge

Not required — NO IN-PROGRESS ROOFING INSPECTION IS PRESCRIBED, AND THE CITY PUBLISHES ITS INSPECTION STAGES BY NAME SO THE NEGATIVE IS CHECKABLE. The Residential Inspection Reference Checklist opens with a table of contents listing every residential inspection type the City runs: Prior to Requesting First Inspection, Saw Pole, Footing/Stem Wall, Plumbing Under-Slab, Slab-Stem Wall, Monolithic Slab, Sub-Floor, Nailing, the four Rough In Inspections (Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical and Framing), Insulation, Power Release, the four Certificate of Occupancy inspections (Building Final, Electrical Final, Mechanical Final and Plumbing Final), Manufactured Homes and Pool. There is no dry-in, felt, underlayment, roof-sheathing or post-tear-off stage anywhere in that list, and the one roofing item in the whole checklist, "Drip edges required IRC R905.2.8.5", sits under the Building Final. So on a re-roof the roof is looked at when the job is done, not part way through. THREE THINGS THAT STILL BITE. The checklist states on its own first page that it "is only a reference guide and shall not be interpreted to be an all-encompassing checklist of requirements", and that "The building inspector may require additional documentation, testing and/or clarification from the applicant, design architect/engineer and/or testing company/lab, at any time in order to ensure code and/or approved plan compliance" - so the inspector may ask for more than the list. Each inspection carries a $35.00 fee and re-inspections escalate to $50.00, $75.00 and $100.00, so a failed final is not free. And the Vertical Construction Packet warns that work is to be completed before scheduling an inspection, with inspections booked before 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday generally performed the next business day.

Not required — No impact-resistant or hail-rated roof covering is required in Statesboro. Neither the Georgia State Amendments packet to the 2024 International Residential Code nor Chapter 14 of the Statesboro Code of Ordinances contains any UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 impact requirement. The Georgia packet does not amend the Code roofing chapter at all, and Chapter 14, read in full across all three articles and every section from 14-1 to 14-71, prescribes no roof covering, no material rating and no roofing standard of any kind. The City building documents are silent on it too: the Residential Inspection Reference Checklist has one roofing line and it is drip edge, and the Residential Code Updates sheet for the 2024 cycle lists no roofing change. TWO CAUTIONS ABOUT WORDS THAT LOOK LIKE AN ANSWER AND ARE NOT. The Georgia packet does carry asphalt shingle fastening rules, but they sit in Appendix U Disaster Resilient Construction, which is about wind and water rather than impact, is adopted by the Department of Community Affairs as optional, is not referenced in Statesboro section 14-1, and by its own AU101.3.1 is not mandatory unless specifically referenced in an adopting ordinance. And the Code Updates sheet has a heading "Protection from impact" which is about electric energy storage systems in garages being hit by cars, not about hail. An insurer may still credit an impact-rated shingle in coastal-plain Georgia, but that is an insurance matter and not a code requirement here.

STATESBORO NAMES THE RE-ROOF ON ITS OWN LIST OF WORK THAT NEEDS A PERMIT, AND PUBLISHES NO LOCAL EXEMPTION AT ALL. The Vertical Construction Packet carries a page headed "Projects Requiring Permitting" split into a residential column and a commercial column. The residential column reads, in order, "Residential New Single Family Dwelling", "Residential New Single Family Townhomes", "Residential New Duplex", "Residential Accessory Structure", "Residential Addition", "Residential Alteration", "Residential Re-Roof", "Residential Demolition", "Residential Electrical, Mechanical, & Plumbing/Gas", "Residential Solar" and "Manufactured Home". The commercial column separately lists "Commercial Re-Roof". So a residential re-roof is permitted work in Statesboro by name, and it is not being read into a general alteration line. WHAT THE CITY DOES NOT PUBLISH IS A THRESHOLD. Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, Buildings and Building Regulations, was read in full - Article I sections 14-1 to 14-6, Article II sections 14-36 to 14-40 and Article III sections 14-70 and 14-71 - and it contains no permit-exemption list, no dollar figure, no square-footage figure and no repair carve-out. Neither does the Vertical Construction Packet, which sets out application requirements, plan review, inspection scheduling and fees without stating any exemption. The exemptions that do apply are therefore the ones in the adopted International Residential Code itself, whose text sits behind the publisher paywall and is not restated here; ask the Building Inspections office which of them it reads as covering your job before assuming a small repair is free. AND NOTE THE GEORGIA POINT THAT CATCHES PEOPLE OUT. Even where a permit is not required, the substantive code still is: the mandatory state codes bind construction in Georgia whether or not the local government enforces them, so an exemption removes the inspection, not the requirement. THE FEE, WHICH IS NOT ON THE ROOF AREA. The published permit fee schedule prices single-family residential and townhome new construction at $0.46 per square footage and accessory structures at "$0.46 per Square Footage or $50, whichever is greater", with a plan review fee of "5% of Building Permit Fee (Applies to all permits)". Each inspection carries a $35.00 fee, a stand-alone inspection is $35.00, and re-inspections escalate at $50.00 for the second, $75.00 for the third and $100.00 for the fourth and beyond. All open fees must be paid before a final certificate issues.

118 MILES PER HOUR, STATED BY THE CITY ITSELF, IN A SENTENCE THAT COMPARES IT TO AN ULTIMATE DESIGN WIND SPEED. Statesboro Building Inspections publishes a Residential Code Updates sheet for the 2024 code cycle headed "Beginning January 1st 2026". Under its entry for section R301.2.1.1 the sheet reproduces the Code rule that the wind provisions do not apply where wind design is required by the Code wind-design figure "or where the ultimate design wind speed, in Figure R301.2(2) equals or exceeds 140 miles per hour in a special wind region", and then adds the City parenthetical: "(Statesboro is generally at 118mph & not in a special hazard area therefore plans do not require the use of alternate design criteria.)" READ THE BASIS CAREFULLY, BECAUSE THE SHEET DOES NOT LABEL IT DIRECTLY. The 118 is offered as the comparison against a 140 mph ultimate design wind speed threshold, which is the natural reading, but the parenthetical does not itself say "ultimate", "nominal" or "three-second gust". An ultimate design wind speed and a nominal one are different bases and are not interchangeable; a figure from one dropped into a fastening or uplift calculation expecting the other gives the wrong answer, and no conversion is performed here. Confirm the basis and the exposure category with Building Inspections before designing to the number. NOTE ALSO THE WORD "GENERALLY". The City says Statesboro is generally at 118 mph, not that 118 applies at every address, and it does not publish a completed climatic and geographic design criteria table of its own. TWO RELATED THINGS THE SAME DOCUMENTS DO SAY. The sheet warns that where a submittal needs supplemental engineering or structural design, every page must be stamped by a professional engineer or registered architect, and that resubmittals with redactions will not be accepted. And the Residential Inspection Reference Checklist requires, at the framing inspection, "Hurricane clips on every roof rafter" - a City-published requirement stated without a code citation, and one that bites on a re-roof only if you are opening up or replacing rafters.

NO LOCAL LAYER CAP IS SET IN STATESBORO, AND NOBODY SHOULD READ THAT AS "PILE THEM ON". The question is answered entirely by the adopted state code. Chapter 14 of the Statesboro Code of Ordinances is the City building ordinance and it was read in full - all three articles, every section from 14-1 to 14-71 - and it prescribes nothing at all about roof coverings: no layer count, no tear-off trigger, no recover rule, no roofing material list. What section 14-1 does is direct the City to enforce the latest edition of the Georgia State Minimum Standard Codes, the International Residential Code among them. On the state side the Department of Community Affairs amendment packet to the 2024 International Residential Code makes no amendment to the Code roofing chapter, so the base Code reroofing and roof-recover provisions apply as published and Georgia adds no cap of its own. The operative Code text on when an existing covering may be recovered rather than removed sits behind the publisher paywall; it is not restated here, and no number has been borrowed from any republication of it. WHAT THIS MEANS ON A JOB. The layer rule you are working to is the one in the adopted Residential Code, not a Statesboro rule, so the answer will not change from one Bulloch County city to the next, and the person to settle it with is the Statesboro building inspector at plan review. The City does not publish a roofing-specific application form on which a covering or layer count is declared, so it is a conversation rather than a checkbox.

STATESBORO PRESCRIBES NO ROOF-DECK MATERIAL, THICKNESS OR FASTENING OF ITS OWN, AND THE TWO SHEATHING RULES IT DOES PUBLISH ARE FLOOR AND WALL RULES THAT MUST NOT BE APPLIED TO A ROOF. Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, read in full across all three articles, prescribes nothing about roof decks. The Department of Community Affairs amendment packet to the 2024 International Residential Code makes no amendment to the Code roofing chapter, so the base Code provisions on the deck beneath a roof covering apply as published, and no figure from them is restated here. THE TRAP, AND IT IS A REAL ONE ON THIS CITY DOCUMENT. The Residential Inspection Reference Checklist carries the line "Structural sheathing thickness per IRC Table R503.2.1.1(1)" twice. The first is under the "Sub-Floor" inspection, among joist spans, floor bracing and crawlspace ventilation; the second is under the "Nailing" inspection, among "Sheathing must attach to the top member of the double top plate", "Exterior sheathing must over lap at the floors" and "Purlin blocking required on all seams of the wall sheathing". Both are floor and wall sheathing, in a table the Code publishes for floor sheathing. Neither is a roof-deck rule. The same checklist puts nothing at all about deck material or fastening in its roofing line, which is a drip-edge item at the Building Final. WHAT IS ROOF-RELATED IN THAT CHECKLIST is framing rather than decking: at the framing inspection it requires "Hurricane clips on every roof rafter", tells the inspector to "Check spans of roof rafters IRC Tables R802.5.1(1) - (8)", and requires knee walls and roof purlins to be the same size as the roof rafters they brace, with the rafters supported by the narrow edge of the purlin rather than the flat side, citing Code section R802.5.1 and its figure. On a tear-off that matters when you open up and find something to put back. Replacing decking is not priced separately in the published fee schedule, which prices new construction by square footage and charges $35.00 per inspection.

9% in Statesboro. The Georgia Department of Revenue rate chart in force for July 1 through September 30, 2026 lists jurisdiction code 016 "Bulloch" at 9%, made up of the 4% Georgia state rate plus the local components the chart marks LOST, Educational, SPLOST, TSPLOST 2 and PTRLOST. The chart states the state component in its own first line: "Code 000 - The state sales and use tax rate is 4%. Other than 803 Fulton (Cent. Yards), state tax is included in the jurisdiction rates below." Statesboro lies wholly within Bulloch County and the chart gives Bulloch no city-level split, so 9% is the figure everywhere in the city and across the county. The row was confirmed against a rendered image of the chart rather than a text extraction, because a text extraction of a three-column rate table can shift rows and mis-attribute a rate to the wrong county. FOR THE ROOFER, WHO PAYS IT: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.26(1) makes anyone who contracts to furnish materials and perform services improving real property the consumer of the tangible personal property used in performing the contract, who pays the tax at the time of purchase, use, storage or consumption in the state, whichever occurs first - so the tax on the shingles is the contractor's, paid at the supplier, and not a line the homeowner is charged as a resale item.