Permitting Authorities / Upper Allen Township - Community Development Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Upper Allen, PA?
Adopted code
Upper Allen Township - Community Development Department
No, Township of Upper Allen, PA does not require a permit for like-for-like roof replacement (Upper Allen Township - Community Development Department). In a historic district, Upper Allen Township's Community Development Department requires a building permit for roof work after a Certificate of Appropriateness; elsewhere it says residential roof replacements need no permit. The department's "Do I Need a Permit?" page (read October 6, 2026) says under ROOFS "Residential roof replacements do not require reviews or permits. Unless they are located within a Historic District." It adds "All non-residential roof repairs and replacements require a Building permit" and "If the property is located in a historic district, then a Building permit is required after receiving a Certificate of Appropriateness." For a property in a floodway, floodplain or other special flood hazard area the same page says "A Zoning Permit is required for ALL interior and exterior improvements, regardless of whether the list below says no permit is required." The page also says "If your project involves new construction, demolition, an addition or alterations, or extension of electrical, plumbing, or HVAC services, then the answer is yes," "If you do not see your proposed project, please contact the Township for more information," and "Please keep in mind, this information is intended as a guide only." Section 112-8.B(8) of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026) says "Building permits shall be required for all residential alterations and renovations, subject only to certain established exceptions set forth in the Uniform Construction Code," and names no roof work; Section 112-8 makes no change to the code's permit section, R105. The Uniform Construction Code's exceptions include "An ordinary repair does not require a permit" (34 Pa. Code 403.62), which defines no ordinary repair and sets no area or cost limit. For a building in a historic district, Section 155-8 says the code official "shall not issue a permit for any erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building in an Historic District until the governing body of Upper Allen Township has issued a certificate of appropriateness." The Township's 2025 Schedule of Fees (Resolution 1104) charges residential building permits "$75.50 minimum for the first $1,000.00 of construction cost" plus "$13.00 per $1,000.00 thereafter" and has no roofing line. The enacted text names no roof work either way; the no-permit line is the department's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the Uniform Construction Code's exceptions. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503"; section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied"; and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists an Upper Allen Township ordinance that "Requires a building permit for all residential alterations and repairs, and establishes certain exceptions," with an approval letter mailed November 7, 2006, "Enacted 4 / 18 / 07." Read for this answer: Chapter 112 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 112-1 to 112-8), its Uniform Construction Code ordinance with its amendments, in full; Chapter 133, Fees; Chapter 155, Historic Districts; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the department's Building, Community Development and "Do I Need a Permit?" pages; its residential building permit application; and the 2025 Schedule of Fees (Resolution 1104), the one its forms page links. Permit applications go to the Community Development Department during business hours, and some can be made online through the Township's Apply for a Permit page; the 2025 Schedule of Fees says "Permit fees double if work commences before permit is obtained and fees paid." The Township Office at 100 Gettysburg Pike is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the Community Development Department's telephone is 717-591-3767.
Roof code checklist: Township of Upper Allen, PA
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Township of Upper Allen, Pennsylvania
Address
100 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Contact
- url: https://uatwp.org/departments/community_development/index.php
- phone: 717-591-3767
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In a historic district, Upper Allen Township's Community Development Department requires a building permit for roof work after a Certificate of Appropriateness; elsewhere it says residential roof replacements need no permit. The department's "Do I Need a Permit?" page (read October 6, 2026) says under ROOFS "Residential roof replacements do not require reviews or permits. Unless they are located within a Historic District." It adds "All non-residential roof repairs and replacements require a Building permit" and "If the property is located in a historic district, then a Building permit is required after receiving a Certificate of Appropriateness." For a property in a floodway, floodplain or other special flood hazard area the same page says "A Zoning Permit is required for ALL interior and exterior improvements, regardless of whether the list below says no permit is required." The page also says "If your project involves new construction, demolition, an addition or alterations, or extension of electrical, plumbing, or HVAC services, then the answer is yes," "If you do not see your proposed project, please contact the Township for more information," and "Please keep in mind, this information is intended as a guide only." Section 112-8.B(8) of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026) says "Building permits shall be required for all residential alterations and renovations, subject only to certain established exceptions set forth in the Uniform Construction Code," and names no roof work; Section 112-8 makes no change to the code's permit section, R105. The Uniform Construction Code's exceptions include "An ordinary repair does not require a permit" (34 Pa. Code 403.62), which defines no ordinary repair and sets no area or cost limit. For a building in a historic district, Section 155-8 says the code official "shall not issue a permit for any erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building in an Historic District until the governing body of Upper Allen Township has issued a certificate of appropriateness." The Township's 2025 Schedule of Fees (Resolution 1104) charges residential building permits "$75.50 minimum for the first $1,000.00 of construction cost" plus "$13.00 per $1,000.00 thereafter" and has no roofing line. The enacted text names no roof work either way; the no-permit line is the department's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the Uniform Construction Code's exceptions. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503"; section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied"; and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists an Upper Allen Township ordinance that "Requires a building permit for all residential alterations and repairs, and establishes certain exceptions," with an approval letter mailed November 7, 2006, "Enacted 4 / 18 / 07." Read for this answer: Chapter 112 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 112-1 to 112-8), its Uniform Construction Code ordinance with its amendments, in full; Chapter 133, Fees; Chapter 155, Historic Districts; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the department's Building, Community Development and "Do I Need a Permit?" pages; its residential building permit application; and the 2025 Schedule of Fees (Resolution 1104), the one its forms page links. Permit applications go to the Community Development Department during business hours, and some can be made online through the Township's Apply for a Permit page; the 2025 Schedule of Fees says "Permit fees double if work commences before permit is obtained and fees paid." The Township Office at 100 Gettysburg Pike is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the Community Development Department's telephone is 717-591-3767.
Adopted code
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, Upper Allen Township administers the code itself: Section 112-2 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the PCCA," Section 112-5 has a Township employee serve as "the municipal Building Code Official (BCO) to act on behalf of the Township," and the Community Development Department at 100 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, says its "Building Inspectors are responsible for reviewing and issuing building and occupancy permits." Section 112-3 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the Municipal Building Code of the Township. Section 112-8 fills in the design data of Table R301.2(1), including "Ice shield underlayment required: yes," and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 112-8 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the text of the "2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings," and the department's Building page names the "International Building Code (IBC) and Uniform Construction Code (UCC)" without an edition; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text.
Repair permit threshold
Upper Allen Township's Community Development Department says residential roof replacements need no permit unless the house is in a historic district. The department's "Do I Need a Permit?" page (read October 6, 2026) says under ROOFS "Residential roof replacements do not require reviews or permits. Unless they are located within a Historic District." It adds "All non-residential roof repairs and replacements require a Building permit" and "If the property is located in a historic district, then a Building permit is required after receiving a Certificate of Appropriateness." For a property in a floodway, floodplain or other special flood hazard area the same page says "A Zoning Permit is required for ALL interior and exterior improvements, regardless of whether the list below says no permit is required." The page also says "If your project involves new construction, demolition, an addition or alterations, or extension of electrical, plumbing, or HVAC services, then the answer is yes," "If you do not see your proposed project, please contact the Township for more information," and "Please keep in mind, this information is intended as a guide only." Section 112-8.B(8) of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026) says "Building permits shall be required for all residential alterations and renovations, subject only to certain established exceptions set forth in the Uniform Construction Code," and names no roof work; Section 112-8 makes no change to the code's permit section, R105. The Uniform Construction Code's exceptions include "An ordinary repair does not require a permit" (34 Pa. Code 403.62), which defines no ordinary repair and sets no area or cost limit. For a building in a historic district, Section 155-8 says the code official "shall not issue a permit for any erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing of all or a part of any building in an Historic District until the governing body of Upper Allen Township has issued a certificate of appropriateness." The Township's 2025 Schedule of Fees (Resolution 1104) charges residential building permits "$75.50 minimum for the first $1,000.00 of construction cost" plus "$13.00 per $1,000.00 thereafter" and has no roofing line. The enacted text names no roof work either way; the no-permit line is the department's stated practice, and this record does not decide whether it is the department's reading of the Uniform Construction Code's exceptions. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503"; section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied"; and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists an Upper Allen Township ordinance that "Requires a building permit for all residential alterations and repairs, and establishes certain exceptions," with an approval letter mailed November 7, 2006, "Enacted 4 / 18 / 07." 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, Upper Allen Township administers the code itself through its Community Development Department (Sections 112-2 and 112-5 of the Township Code). The department's no-permit line for residential roof replacements is quoted at the start; the only line it draws for houses is the historic district, and Chapter 112 sets no threshold for roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, Upper Allen Township administers the code itself: Section 112-2 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the PCCA," Section 112-5 has a Township employee serve as "the municipal Building Code Official (BCO) to act on behalf of the Township," and the Community Development Department at 100 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, says its "Building Inspectors are responsible for reviewing and issuing building and occupancy permits." Chapter 112 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the department says residential roof replacements need no permit outside a historic district; its pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 112-8 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the text of the "2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings," and the department's Building page names the "International Building Code (IBC) and Uniform Construction Code (UCC)" without an edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2018 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Upper Allen Township administers the code itself: Section 112-2 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the PCCA," Section 112-5 has a Township employee serve as "the municipal Building Code Official (BCO) to act on behalf of the Township," and the Community Development Department at 100 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, says its "Building Inspectors are responsible for reviewing and issuing building and occupancy permits." Chapter 112 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and the department's no-permit line for residential roof replacements draws no separate line for roof sheathing. Section 112-8 of the Township Code makes its local changes to the text of the "2018 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings," and the department's Building page names the "International Building Code (IBC) and Uniform Construction Code (UCC)" without an edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2018 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Upper Allen Township is in Cumberland County. The department's pages and the 2025 Schedule of Fees say nothing on sales tax.
More roof permit pages in Pennsylvania
Related guides
Upper Allen Township's Community Development Department, at 100 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, issues building permits, and its permit guide says residential roof replacements need no permit unless the house is in a historic district. The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code applies statewide, but Act 45 section 104(b) lists "Repairs to residential buildings" and alterations that make no structural or egress change among work it does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503."
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