Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Steelton, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Steelton, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Borough of Steelton, PA?

State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Steelton Borough administers the code itself: Section 108-3 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Steelton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," residential permits are filed in person with the Borough's Codes Department at 123 North Front Street, Steelton, on the 3rd floor, and the Borough's Permits FAQs page says "Commercial permits are processed and inspected by CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection Services)." Section 2-5 of the Borough Code, part of the Code Enforcement Ordinance (Ord. No. 82-5, 1982), says "Permits are required to repair, construct, enlarge, alter or demolish a building or structure" and "Permits are not required for minor repairs not involving structural work to floors, walls, ceilings and roofs." The Borough Code does not define a minor repair. Section 108-7A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the code"; this record does not decide whether Section 2-5 is one of them. The Borough's Codes Department and Permits FAQs pages (read October 9, 2026) say nothing on roof work, and the Borough's residential permit application lists "Repair/Replacement" among its improvement types with no roofing box. The Borough publishes no permit fee schedule; Section 2-7 sets fees "by resolution of the Borough Council." No Borough text read sets an area, percentage or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Steelton, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Steelton Borough administers the code itself: Section 108-3 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Steelton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," residential permits are filed in person with the Borough's Codes Department at 123 North Front Street, Steelton, on the 3rd floor, and the Borough's Permits FAQs page says "Commercial permits are processed and inspected by CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection Services)." Chapter 108 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions. Chapter 44 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 82-10, 1982) adopts the BOCA Basic Building Code, 1981 Edition, and amends its Section 1225.9.1 to read "Not more than one overlay of asphalt shingles shall be applied over an existing asphalt shingle roof. Asphalt shingles shall not be applied over wood shakes." Section 108-7A keeps pre-July 1999 building code ordinances in force only where they "equal or exceed the requirements of the code"; this record does not decide whether that line still applies. The Borough's Permits FAQs page answers "What codes does the Borough of Steelton utilize?" with "The 2015 International Building Code 2015 (IBC 2015)" and names no residential code edition, and the Borough's residential permit application, revised in 2014, lists "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Steelton, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Steelton, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Steelton Borough administers the code itself: Section 108-3 of the Borough Code says "The Borough of Steelton hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," residential permits are filed in person with the Borough's Codes Department at 123 North Front Street, Steelton, on the 3rd floor, and the Borough's Permits FAQs page says "Commercial permits are processed and inspected by CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection Services)." Section 108-4 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 to 405, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Chapter 108 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Borough's Permits FAQs page answers "What codes does the Borough of Steelton utilize?" with "The 2015 International Building Code 2015 (IBC 2015)" and names no residential code edition, and the Borough's residential permit application, revised in 2014, lists "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.