Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Upper St. Clair, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of Upper St. Clair, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Upper St. Clair, PA?

No, Township of Upper St. Clair, PA does not require a permit to replace a roof. Upper St. Clair Township's Department of Planning and Community Development says roof replacement needs no permit unless changes are made to the structure; in an identified floodplain area the Township Code requires a building permit for all construction, including repair. The department's Building Permit Applications page (read October 7, 2026) lists under "Permits are not required for the following:" the line "Roof replacement (unless changes are made to the structure)," beside "Replacement of gutters, soffit, downspouts, facia and siding" and "Replacement of existing windows and/or doors with same size." The same page says "residents should call the Department of Community Development (412-831-9000 ext. 5010) to discuss their building and remodeling plans so that permit requirements can be determined." Its list of work that needs a permit names no roof work. Chapter 51 of the Township Code names no roof work either way. Its list of work for which "a building permit shall be required" under the residential permit section names fencing, retaining walls over 30 inches, water tanks, driveways, replacement of porches, decks and replacement of air conditioning equipment (Section 51.1.2.7.3), and its amendments to the International Residential Code change nothing in the permit or roofing sections. In a flood zone the rule differs: Section 51.1.2.1 says "Within the IDENTIFIED FLOODPLAIN AREAS, a building permit shall be required for all CONSTRUCTION and DEVELOPMENT unless a permit or approval is otherwise required under another section of the TOWNSHIP CODE," and Chapter 51 defines CONSTRUCTION to include "repair." Chapter 57, Fees, and the department's Applications Fees page charge residential building permits for additions, alterations and new dwellings by construction cost, and small projects at "Base fee of $50 + $4 for each $1,000 of estimated value of construction"; neither has a roofing line. The no-permit line is the department's stated practice; 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," 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." 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 St. Clair Township administers the code itself: its Building Inspection and Permitting page says "The Building Inspection and Code Enforcement personnel are primarily responsible for building, zoning, and fire prevention permit review, issuance and inspection" and that on July 6, 2004 the Township adopted Ordinance No. 1914, amending Chapter 51 of the Township Code "to adopt the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and permit applications go to the Department of Planning and Community Development at 1820 McLaughlin Run Road. The department's no-permit line for roof replacement, quoted at the start, turns on whether "changes are made to the structure"; Chapter 51 sets no area or cost threshold for roof work, and in an identified floodplain area Section 51.1.2.1 requires a permit for all construction.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Upper St. Clair, 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, Upper St. Clair Township administers the code itself: its Building Inspection and Permitting page says "The Building Inspection and Code Enforcement personnel are primarily responsible for building, zoning, and fire prevention permit review, issuance and inspection" and that on July 6, 2004 the Township adopted Ordinance No. 1914, amending Chapter 51 of the Township Code "to adopt the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and permit applications go to the Department of Planning and Community Development at 1820 McLaughlin Run Road. Chapter 51 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the department says roof replacement needs no permit unless changes are made to the structure; its pages say nothing on roof layers. Chapter 51 of the Township Code amends "the International Residential Code" without naming an edition, and the department's Building Inspection and Permitting page says the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code "presently adheres to the 2015 International Codes"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2015 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Upper St. Clair, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Upper St. Clair, 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, Upper St. Clair Township administers the code itself: its Building Inspection and Permitting page says "The Building Inspection and Code Enforcement personnel are primarily responsible for building, zoning, and fire prevention permit review, issuance and inspection" and that on July 6, 2004 the Township adopted Ordinance No. 1914, amending Chapter 51 of the Township Code "to adopt the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and permit applications go to the Department of Planning and Community Development at 1820 McLaughlin Run Road. Section 51.3 of the Township Code fills in the climatic design criteria, including "Roof Snow Load: twenty five(25) lbs. per sq. ft." and "Ice Shield Under-Layment Required: Yes," and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Chapter 51 of the Township Code amends "the International Residential Code" without naming an edition, and the department's Building Inspection and Permitting page says the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code "presently adheres to the 2015 International Codes"; this record has not read the 2015 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.