The Roofing Book

Permitting Authorities / Travis County Development Services (Transportation and Natural Resources)

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Travis County, TX?

Adopted code

Travis County Development Services (Transportation and Natural Resources)

The permitting authority for unincorporated areas of Travis County, Texas. Travis County Development Services, under the Transportation and Natural Resources department, requires a "Basic Development Permit" for construction outside incorporated city limits (Travis County Code §482.901), and its own application form treats "Remodel/Repair" as a covered project category. No page on the county's site names roofing or reroofing specifically, and the county's adopted residential code (Chapter 480) applies only to new construction or additions that grow a home's square footage or value by more than 50% — so whether a routine roof replacement is treated as permit-triggering "construction/repair" in practice is not clearly documented from the county's own published materials. This record deliberately does not assert a firm roofing-permit-required answer; confirm directly with the Permit Center (512-854-4215) before relying on it for a specific job. No county-level contractor-registration requirement was found (Texas has no statewide roofing license, and Austin's city contractor-registration program does not reach unincorporated county land).

Jurisdiction
Travis County, Texas
Jurisdiction type
county
Address
700 Lavaca St, Suite 540, Austin, TX 78701
Contact
  • url: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/tnr/development-services/permitting-center
  • phone: 512-854-4215
Contractor registration required
Not required
Permit process note
Travis County Code §482.901: "Permits. The County requires permits for the construction of all driveways accessing public roads, utility installation and servicing within public rights-of-way, and Basic Development Permit for all construction outside incorporated areas for residential and commercial development and soils disposal sites." The official Basic Development Permit application (form BP-01) states "A Travis County Basic Development Permit is required for all development outside corporate city limits in Travis County," and its project-type field lists "Remodel/Repair" as a category, along with a separate "Substantial Improvement" flag for repairs valued at 50% or more of the structure's value. No page found on traviscountytx.gov names "roof," "reroof," "roofing," or "shingles" as its own permit category, as exempt, or as included work — the applicable bucket, if any, would be the generic "Remodel/Renovation Permit." A widely-repeated claim that Travis County exempts simple repair/replacement work does not trace back to any official county page, so it should not be relied on.
Adopted code
Travis County Code Chapter 480 ("Residential Construction Standards"), §480.004(a): "New residential construction of a single-family house or duplex shall conform to the version of the International Residential Code published as of May 1, 2008, or the version of the International Residential Code that is applicable inside the corporate limits of the City of Austin." Applicability (§480.002-.003) is limited to new construction on a vacant lot or an addition that increases square footage or value by more than 50% — the chapter does not mention roofing or reroofing and does not apply to ordinary repair/replacement on an existing structure short of that threshold.
Drip edge
Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. The county imposes no drip edge requirement on that work. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. The county imposes no ice barrier or ice-and- water-shield requirement on that work. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county. About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. Because no county permit or inspection process attaches to reroofing an existing home, no mid-roof inspection occurs. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — Travis County Code Chapter 480, "Residential Construction Standards," read in full — nine sections, 480.001 through 480.009. The chapter does not reproduce or amend any International Residential Code text; it requires new residential construction in the unincorporated county to conform to either the edition of the IRC published as of May 1, 2008 or the edition applicable within the corporate limits of the City of Austin, and sets inspection and builder-notice duties around that requirement. No UL 2218, Class 4, or impact-resistance provision appears anywhere in it. The incorporated alternative was checked as well: Austin's local amendments to the 2024 IRC, City Code Section 25-12-243 as adopted by Ordinance No. 20250410-040, amend only Sections R905.7.4 and R905.8.5 (wood shingle and wood shake material standards) in Chapter 9 and likewise carry no impact-resistance requirement. Scope matters here: by Sections 480.002 and 480.003 the chapter reaches only new construction on a vacant lot and additions increasing a dwelling's area or value by more than fifty percent, so ordinary roof repair and replacement on an existing home falls outside it, and the county's authority does not extend into municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Wind design criteria
Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single- family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. Having adopted no residential code for that work, the county has adopted no design wind speed governing it either. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county.
Roof layer limit / recover
NO COUNTY CAP STATED. Travis County's residential construction authority runs through Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, which was read in full and which sets no roof-covering, roof-layer or reroofing provision of any kind - the chapter does not mention roofs at all, and it does not use the word permit anywhere. Texas counties hold far narrower building-regulation authority than Texas municipalities, and nothing in the County's code supplies a limit on how many layers of roof covering may remain on a house in unincorporated Travis County. A roofer working inside a municipality's limits or its extraterritorial jurisdiction should look to that municipality's code instead.
Deck & sheathing requirements
Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single- family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. The county sets no roof deck or sheathing requirement for that work. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county.
Sales & use tax
Base state sales and use tax is 6.25% statewide. Travis County does not appear on the Texas Comptroller's list of counties that impose a Chapter 323 county sales and use tax (comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/county.php), so the county government itself adds no sales tax on top of the state rate. Unincorporated Travis County is nonetheless covered by numerous special-purpose districts, most prominently a series of numbered Travis County Emergency Services Districts (No. 1 through No. 14, individual rates ranging from 0.5% to 2.0%) plus a couple of community library districts, all listed individually on the Comptroller's special-purpose-district rate page (comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/spd.php) and each coded there as covering "Other" (a sub-area), not the whole county. No single combined rate applies to all of unincorporated Travis County -- the actual combined rate at a given unincorporated job site depends on which, if any, of these districts cover that specific parcel, and ranges from 6.25% (state only, outside every district) up to the state's 8.25% statutory cap on combined state-plus-local sales tax (some individual Travis County ESDs, such as No. 3, are already at the 2.0% local ceiling on their own). Separately, on the tax treatment of the work itself: Texas Comptroller Publication 94-116, "Real Property Repair and Remodeling," states labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable, and specifically that repair or remodeling "includes reroofing." On the lump-sum contract typical of residential re-roofing, the roofing contractor pays sales tax on materials and supplies at the point of purchase and does not collect sales tax from the homeowner on the job -- so the combined rate above is the roofer's own cost basis on materials, not a rate charged to the customer.

Related guides

DFW Permits City-by-City Hail-Belt Rules by State Denver-Metro Roofing Permits Filing a Hail Insurance Claim Colorado Hail Season Prep Hiring a Contractor

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Roofing questions — Travis County, TX

Is ice & water shield required in Travis County, TX?

Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. The county imposes no ice barrier or ice-and- water-shield requirement on that work. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county..

Is drip edge required?

Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. The county imposes no drip edge requirement on that work. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county..

Is a mid-roof inspection required?

Not required — Travis County has adopted no building code that reaches reroofing an existing single-family home. Travis County Code Chapter 480, Residential Construction Standards, applies by its Section 480.003 only to "new residential construction," which Section 480.002 defines as "Residential construction of a single-family house or duplex on a vacant lot" or "Construction of an addition to an existing single-family house or duplex, if the addition will increase the square footage or value of the existing residential building by more than 50 percent." Ordinary roof repair and replacement is neither. The county's Fire Code, Chapter 201, is capped by the same statutory scope and does not reach these dwellings either. Because no county permit or inspection process attaches to reroofing an existing home, no mid-roof inspection occurs. Note that under Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153(c) a municipality's own building code controls inside that municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so a home in an ETJ may be governed by a city's code rather than by the county..

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Travis County, TX?

Not required.

What building code does Travis County, TX use?

Travis County Code Chapter 480 ("Residential Construction Standards"), §480.004(a): "New residential construction of a single-family house or duplex shall conform to the version of the International Residential Code published as of May 1, 2008, or the version of the International Residential Code that is applicable inside the corporate limits of the City of Austin." Applicability (§480.002-.003) is limited to new construction on a vacant lot or an addition that increases square footage or value by more than 50% — the chapter does not mention roofing or reroofing and does not apply to ordinary repair/replacement on an existing structure short of that threshold.