Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Summit County, OH?

Roofing questions: Summit County, OH

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Summit County, OH?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Summit County, OH. NO LOCAL THRESHOLD -- the County sets none, and the exemptions are the state's. Summit County's own Building Code was read in full: Part Thirteen of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, as amended by County Ordinance No. 2024-047 (enacted March 4, 2024, effective March 5, 2024) and by County Ordinance No. 2025-259 (enacted September 8, 2025). Section 1305.01(a) requires that no building or structure be "constructed, altered, removed or demolished" without first filing an application with the Building Official and obtaining a permit, and Section 1305.02(a), headed "Exceptions," states that "A permit, as required by Section 1305.01, shall be required for all work, subject to the exceptions stated in the OBC and the RCO." So the County publishes no dollar figure, square-foot figure or valuation floor of its own for roofing work, and no roofing-specific exemption: the only exemptions that apply are the state's. Those are RCO Section 102.10 (OAC 4101:8-1-01, effective July 1, 2019), read in full from the state's own copy, whose eleven numbered "Work exempt from approval" items under "Building" cover one-story accessory sheds up to 200 square feet, fences under six feet, small retaining walls, water tanks, sidewalks and driveways, finish work such as painting and tiling, playground equipment, window awnings, small detached decks, above-ground storage tanks and battery-operated alarms -- roofing appears nowhere in the list -- and RCO Section 102.10.2 ("Minor repairs"), which allows minor repairs to residential structures "without application or notice to the residential building official" but excludes work cutting away a wall or partition, removing or cutting a structural beam or load-bearing support, or altering egress, and which names no dollar or area threshold at all. The County's only other route around a prior permit is narrow and is not a threshold: Section 1305.02(a) allows emergency work to begin before a permit is obtained provided the person doing it "notifies the Building Official of the emergency and location of the structure and obtains permits as required by this Building Code," Section 1305.02(b) defines an emergency as a situation of "actual and immediate risk of failure or collapse of a structure or the existence of defective equipment or service facilities which endanger life or health," and Section 1305.03(a) then requires the permit application to follow "in no event more than three (3) working days after the repairs are begun," with a penalty fee beyond that. Working without a permit is expensive rather than merely irregular: Section 1305.04(a) makes failure to obtain a required permit a violation of the Building Code, and Section 1305.04(b) sets the fee for a permit the Building Official allows to issue for work already begun or completed at "three (3) times the permit fees as set forth in Section 1307.05." On the fee schedule, Section 1307.09(a) prices a residential "Re-Roof [total replacement only (tear-off)]" at $40.00 on top of the $50.00 residential application fee, while Section 1307.05(b)(4), added by Ordinance 2024-047, prices a residential building permit for "Repair and Replacements" at a $60.00 non-refundable application fee plus $40.00. A 1% Ohio Board of Building Standards regulatory fee is added to residential fees under Section 1307.05(e), and an online application adds $2.00 under Section 1307.15.

Is ice & water shield required in Summit County, OH?

Yes. SET BY STATE RULE, and required across the whole of Ohio by the code's own text. RCO Table 301.2(1) "Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria" (OAC 4101:8-3-01, effective July 1, 2019), read from the state's own copy, pre-fills "ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED" as "Yes" for the entire state rather than leaving it for each jurisdiction to complete, and its note h recites that "In accordance with Sections 905.1.2, 905.4.3.1, 905.5.3.1, 905.6.3.1, 905.7.3.1 and 905.8.3.1, all jurisdictions in Ohio have a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming." RCO Section 905.1.2 then sets the detail: the ice barrier is required for asphalt shingles among other coverings, "shall consist of not fewer than two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building," measured along the slope from where the projected outside face of the wall meets the deck, and on roofs of eight units vertical in 12 units horizontal or steeper it must also run not less than 36 inches measured along the slope from the eave edge. Section 905.1.2 carries one exception, worth knowing before quoting a detached garage: "Detached accessory structures and roof assemblies terminating at a vertical wall over unconditioned floor areas." Ohio Rev. Code 3781.01(B) lets a county add non-conflicting local regulations, so the County's own Building Code was read to see whether it expands this: Part Thirteen of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, as amended in full by County Ordinance No. 2024-047 (enacted March 4, 2024, effective March 5, 2024) and further amended by County Ordinance No. 2025-259 (enacted September 8, 2025), was read across all twelve of its chapters and states no ice barrier or underlayment provision. The state requirement stands unmodified in Summit County.

Is drip edge required in Summit County, OH?

No. SET BY STATE RULE, and a genuine deviation from most other IRC-based states -- confirmed from the state's own copy, and now confirmed against the County's own code as well. The entire text of RCO Section 905.2.8.5 (OAC 4101:8-9-01, effective July 1, 2019) is: "905.2.8.5 Drip edge. Refer to Sections 903.1 and 905.1." Those two sections carry no drip-edge mandate of their own: Section 903.1 requires that roof decks "be covered with approved roof coverings secured to the building or structure in accordance with the provisions of this chapter" and that roof assemblies "be designed and installed in accordance with this code and the approved manufacturer's instructions," and Section 905.1 requires that roof coverings "be applied in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section and the manufacturer's installation instructions." Ohio therefore prescribes no drip edge of its own, at eaves or rakes, with no dimensions, overlap or fastening spacing -- but it makes the shingle manufacturer's published installation instructions binding, and nearly every asphalt shingle manufacturer calls for a drip edge. A roofer who leaves one off against those instructions is still out of compliance, and against a warranty claim as well. Ohio Rev. Code 3781.01(B) lets a county add non-conflicting local regulations, so the County's own Building Code was read to see whether it does: Part Thirteen of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, as amended in full by County Ordinance No. 2024-047 (enacted March 4, 2024, effective March 5, 2024) and further amended by County Ordinance No. 2025-259 (enacted September 8, 2025), was read across all twelve of its chapters and contains no drip-edge, flashing or edge metal provision. So the manufacturer's instructions, not a county rule, are what govern the edge detail on a Summit County roof.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Summit County, OH?

SET BY STATE RULE, with no county addition. RCO Section 908.3.1.1 (OAC 4101:8-9-01, effective July 1, 2019), read in full from the state's own copy, states: "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur: ... 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." Section 908.3 (Roof replacement) separately requires that a full roof replacement "include the removal of existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck," with a narrow exception allowing an ice barrier membrane already adhered to the deck to remain in place and be covered with an additional layer of ice barrier membrane. Together these bar recovering over a roof that already carries two or more layers, capping a recovered roof at two total layers. Ohio's rule has three conditions and not the four found in some older model-code editions, so there is no severe-hail condition that would force a tear-off over a single layer. Ohio Rev. Code 3781.01(B) lets a county add non-conflicting local regulations, so the County's own Building Code was read to see whether it does: Part Thirteen of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, as amended in full by County Ordinance No. 2024-047 (enacted March 4, 2024, effective March 5, 2024) and further amended by County Ordinance No. 2025-259 (enacted September 8, 2025), was read across all twelve of its chapters and states no roof layer, overlay or recover provision of any kind. The state cap is therefore the whole of the answer in Summit County.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Summit County, OH?

No. COUNTY-LEVEL, replacing a prior annual registration as of March 2024. Summit County's Division of Building Standards, per its own department page and its own March 6, 2024 press release, converted from an annual contractor registration (formerly a $145 annual fee plus a $10,000 surety bond, both now eliminated) to a permit-based documentation process. The Division's own FAQ states, verbatim: "Do I need to register as a contractor? No, not as previously required. Registration is a permit basis only. When applying for a permit, include your Certificate of Insurance (COI), Federal ID number and if applicable, your State License with each application." The county's own "Do I need a bond?" FAQ answer confirms: "No, as of March 2024 a bond is not required." The COI must list Summit County Building Standards, 1030 E Tallmadge Ave, Akron, OH 44310, as the certificate holder. Plumbing, HVAC, and electrical contractors must still separately hold their state OCILB license (or, for fire-suppression work, a State Fire Marshal's license) per the standard state license-lookup requirement referenced on the Division's own page and its "Tips for Hiring a Contractor" PDF; roofing has no equivalent state trade license (see contractor_registration_required). Homeowners may pull their own permits except for gas lines, per the Division's own FAQ, by signing a notarized Homeowners Affidavit (HOA) available on the Division's own webpage.

What building code does Summit County, OH use?

SET BY STATE RULE, with the County's own Building Code now read in full and found to add no roofing-specific technical requirement. Ohio regulates one-, two- and three-family dwelling construction statewide through the Residential Code of Ohio (RCO), adopted by the Ohio Board of Building Standards under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3781 and codified at Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4101:8. The roof-assembly rule (OAC 4101:8-9-01), the administrative rule (OAC 4101:8-1-01) and the climatic and geographic design-criteria rule (OAC 4101:8-3-01) were each read in full from the state's own filed copies, and all three carry an effective date of July 1, 2019. Ohio Rev. Code 3781.01(B) lets a municipal or county legislative authority add non-conflicting local building regulations, so the state answer is a floor rather than the whole answer, and the County's own instrument was read as well. THE COUNTY LAYER. Summit County's Building Code is Part Thirteen of the Codified Ordinances of the County of Summit, entitled "BUILDING CODE," amended in full by County Ordinance No. 2024-047 (introduced February 12, 2024; enacted March 4, 2024; effective March 5, 2024; voice vote 10 to 1) and amended once since by County Ordinance No. 2025-259 (introduced, adopted and enacted effective September 8, 2025), which changes only Section 1305.07 to let the Building Official issue phased permits for public projects. Part Thirteen runs to twelve chapters -- administration and penalty, the building official, permits, fees, inspections, the contractor registration board, registration of contractors, the board of building appeals, appeal procedure, demolishing or moving buildings, unsafe buildings, and flood damage reduction -- and all twelve were read. The operative adoption clause is Section 1301.04(a), and Ordinance 2024-047 rewrote it: the earlier reference to a fixed pair of editions was struck out and replaced by "The current State of Ohio adopted version of the Ohio Building Code (OBC), Ohio Mechanical Code (OMC), Ohio Plumbing Code (OPC) and Residential Code of Ohio (RCO)," which together with Chapters 3781 and 3791 of the Ohio Revised Code and the rules of the Ohio Board of Building Standards are "incorporated by reference into this Building Code." Summit County's adoption therefore tracks whatever edition the State of Ohio has in force rather than freezing on a named one. The County states in its own enacted legislation what that presently means: by Resolution No. 2026-175 (enacted June 29, 2026, effective June 30, 2026) County Council recited that the Department of Building Standards, through Part Thirteen, "has adopted the residential and non-residential building regulations which incorporates both the 2019 Residential Code of Ohio and the 2024 Ohio Building Code." That matches the Division's own bulletins, which record the Ohio Building Code moving from its 2017 to its 2024 edition for applications submitted on and after March 1, 2024, an amendment to RCO Chapter 4 effective the same day, and the withdrawal on February 26, 2024 of proposed amendments to RCO Chapters 34 and 44 with re-adoption expected April 15, 2024 -- all of which concern electrical and related chapters, not roof assemblies, which sit in RCO Chapter 9. What Part Thirteen does NOT do is regulate roofing work technically: read end to end it states no roof covering material standard, no fastening, underlayment, ice barrier, drip edge, sheathing or roof layer provision of its own. Its roofing content is administrative -- Section 1307.09(a) prices a residential "Re-Roof [total replacement only (tear-off)]" permit at $40.00 on top of the $50.00 residential application fee -- so for the technical rules a roofer works to in Summit County, the Residential Code of Ohio is the operative document.