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Permitting Authorities / Whitehall Township - Bureau of Planning, Zoning & Development

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Whitehall, PA?

Adopted code

Whitehall Township - Bureau of Planning, Zoning & Development

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Whitehall, PA, issued by Whitehall Township - Bureau of Planning, Zoning & Development. Read October 6, 2026, the Township's Roof Permit Checklist (revised August 2025) says "TO BE ACCEPTED, ROOF PERMIT APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING" and "Residential roof permit fees: The total permit fee for a RESIDENTIAL roof re-shingle with NO structural changes is $159.50 and must be paid at time of submission," and the Township's contracted fee schedule (Exhibit 2, March 24, 2025) lists under "Alterations/Repairs - One and Two Family Residential construction work" a fee of "$100.00 - Roof Replacement (includes a single site visit)." The Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "Permits are required ANY TIME alterations or additions are made to your property" and "Building Permits-For any proposed alterations, interior or exterior, a building permit must be secured." Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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." 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 Whitehall Township filings on oil burner shut-off switches, outdoor swimming pool barriers, ceilings under engineered wood I-joists, outdoor wood-burning furnaces and central furnaces; none of them concerns permits for repairs or alterations. In practice, plan on a Township permit for any reroof, as its checklist and fee line show. The Township's fee chapter says "Any person who commences any work requiring the issuance of a permit pursuant to the Uniform Construction Code" before obtaining it "shall be subject to 100% of the usual permit fee for such work in addition to the required permit fee," and Section 5-26 makes a violation punishable "by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days." The checklist asks for a completed building permit application signed by the contractor or person doing the work, a certificate of insurance showing workers' compensation coverage or a notarized exemption affidavit listing Whitehall Township as certificate holder, and "a detailed listing of materials to be used on the roof," and says "No faxed or emailed applications will be accepted." It also says "Contractor must contact the Treasurer (Ext. 1143) for business license status/requirements. No work can be done in the township without a valid license." The Permitting page says permits "may take anywhere from 15 to 30 business days to be issued," that questions on codes, plan review, inspections and permit status go to Keycodes at 610-866-9663, and "At this time the Township does NOT accept online permit submissions nor do we accept credit card payments." Submit to the Township at 3219 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, 610-437-5524 ext. 1131, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Roof code checklist: Township of Whitehall, PA

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofYesres_roof.pdf2026-10-06
Repair permit thresholdPublishedpacodeandbulletin.gov2026-10-06
Layer limit / roof-overPublishedR908.3.1.1pacodeandbulletin.gov2026-10-06
Deck & sheathingPublishedR905.2.1pacodeandbulletin.gov2026-10-06
Drip edgeNot published
Ice & water shieldNot published
Mid-roof inspectionNot published
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNot published
Wind design criteriaNot published
Adopted codePublishedSec. 5-28pacodeandbulletin.gov2026-10-06
Contractor license / registrationYespalegis.us2026-10-06
Sales & use taxPublishedpa.gov2026-10-06

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 Whitehall, Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
3219 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, PA 18052
Contact
  • url: https://www.whitehalltownship.org/permits
  • phone: 610-437-5524
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act 132 of 2008, 73 P.S. 517.1 et seq.: registration with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection before performing any home improvement over $500 (section 2, section 3(a)); persons whose home improvements totalled less than $5,000 in the previous taxable year are not "contractors" (section 2). Section 12 precludes local registration or licensing of home improvement contractors, with carve-outs for building permits, pre-existing tested trade licences, and local insurance standards adopted before January 1, 2006.
  • city_level: The Township's Roof Permit Checklist says "Contractor must contact the Treasurer (Ext. 1143) for business license status/requirements. No work can be done in the township without a valid license," and Section 5-26 of the Township Code makes a contractor's "Township business license" subject to revocation for starting work without a permit. The pages read describe it as a business license, not a contractor licence.
Permit process note
Read October 6, 2026, the Township's Roof Permit Checklist (revised August 2025) says "TO BE ACCEPTED, ROOF PERMIT APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING" and "Residential roof permit fees: The total permit fee for a RESIDENTIAL roof re-shingle with NO structural changes is $159.50 and must be paid at time of submission," and the Township's contracted fee schedule (Exhibit 2, March 24, 2025) lists under "Alterations/Repairs - One and Two Family Residential construction work" a fee of "$100.00 - Roof Replacement (includes a single site visit)." The Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "Permits are required ANY TIME alterations or additions are made to your property" and "Building Permits-For any proposed alterations, interior or exterior, a building permit must be secured." Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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." 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 Whitehall Township filings on oil burner shut-off switches, outdoor swimming pool barriers, ceilings under engineered wood I-joists, outdoor wood-burning furnaces and central furnaces; none of them concerns permits for repairs or alterations. In practice, plan on a Township permit for any reroof, as its checklist and fee line show. The Township's fee chapter says "Any person who commences any work requiring the issuance of a permit pursuant to the Uniform Construction Code" before obtaining it "shall be subject to 100% of the usual permit fee for such work in addition to the required permit fee," and Section 5-26 makes a violation punishable "by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days." The checklist asks for a completed building permit application signed by the contractor or person doing the work, a certificate of insurance showing workers' compensation coverage or a notarized exemption affidavit listing Whitehall Township as certificate holder, and "a detailed listing of materials to be used on the roof," and says "No faxed or emailed applications will be accepted." It also says "Contractor must contact the Treasurer (Ext. 1143) for business license status/requirements. No work can be done in the township without a valid license." The Permitting page says permits "may take anywhere from 15 to 30 business days to be issued," that questions on codes, plan review, inspections and permit status go to Keycodes at 610-866-9663, and "At this time the Township does NOT accept online permit submissions nor do we accept credit card payments." Submit to the Township at 3219 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, 610-437-5524 ext. 1131, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions. Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. The Township's code (Section 5-24) still names the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2000, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2000 edition's text was not read for this record. The Township names roof work as permit work by its own checklist and fee line, quoted in the permit entries of this record.
Repair permit threshold
Whitehall Township treats roof work as permit work and states no size threshold for it. Read October 6, 2026, the Township's Roof Permit Checklist (revised August 2025) says "TO BE ACCEPTED, ROOF PERMIT APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING" and "Residential roof permit fees: The total permit fee for a RESIDENTIAL roof re-shingle with NO structural changes is $159.50 and must be paid at time of submission," and the Township's contracted fee schedule (Exhibit 2, March 24, 2025) lists under "Alterations/Repairs - One and Two Family Residential construction work" a fee of "$100.00 - Roof Replacement (includes a single site visit)." The Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "Permits are required ANY TIME alterations or additions are made to your property" and "Building Permits-For any proposed alterations, interior or exterior, a building permit must be secured." The checklist adds "Replacements involving structural changes/repairs of any type will require additional inspections and will result in additional fees over and above the $159.50 amount." Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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." 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 Whitehall Township filings on oil burner shut-off switches, outdoor swimming pool barriers, ceilings under engineered wood I-joists, outdoor wood-burning furnaces and central furnaces; none of them concerns permits for repairs or alterations. 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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions.
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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions. The Township's roof checklist and fee schedule say nothing on roof layers. The Township's code (Section 5-24) still names the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2000, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2000 edition's 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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions. The Township's roof checklist prices a residential re-shingle "with NO structural changes" and says "Replacements involving structural changes/repairs of any type will require additional inspections and will result in additional fees over and above the $159.50 amount." The Township's code (Section 5-24) still names the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2000, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2000 edition's 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. Whitehall Township is in Lehigh County. Its Bureau of Planning, Zoning & Development, which administers the Uniform Construction Code there, states nothing on sales tax on the pages, checklist and fee schedules read for this record.

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Whitehall Township's Bureau of Planning, Zoning & Development, at 3219 MacArthur Road, takes and issues building permits, with plan review and inspections done by its contracted agency, Keycodes Inspection Agency, and publishes its own Roof Permit Checklist with a fixed residential re-shingle fee. The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code applies statewide, but the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (Act 45 of 1999) says the Act "shall not apply to" "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(6)).

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Roofing questions: Township of Whitehall, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Whitehall, PA?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Whitehall, PA. Whitehall Township treats roof work as permit work and states no size threshold for it. Read October 6, 2026, the Township's Roof Permit Checklist (revised August 2025) says "TO BE ACCEPTED, ROOF PERMIT APPLICATIONS MUST INCLUDE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING" and "Residential roof permit fees: The total permit fee for a RESIDENTIAL roof re-shingle with NO structural changes is $159.50 and must be paid at time of submission," and the Township's contracted fee schedule (Exhibit 2, March 24, 2025) lists under "Alterations/Repairs - One and Two Family Residential construction work" a fee of "$100.00 - Roof Replacement (includes a single site visit)." The Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "Permits are required ANY TIME alterations or additions are made to your property" and "Building Permits-For any proposed alterations, interior or exterior, a building permit must be secured." The checklist adds "Replacements involving structural changes/repairs of any type will require additional inspections and will result in additional fees over and above the $159.50 amount." Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, 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." 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 Whitehall Township filings on oil burner shut-off switches, outdoor swimming pool barriers, ceilings under engineered wood I-joists, outdoor wood-burning furnaces and central furnaces; none of them concerns permits for repairs or alterations. 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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Whitehall, 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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions. The Township's roof checklist and fee schedule say nothing on roof layers. The Township's code (Section 5-24) still names the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2000, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2000 edition's text was not read for this record.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Whitehall, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Whitehall, 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, Whitehall Township administers the code itself through a contracted agency: Section 5-28 of the Township Code says "Whitehall Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Permitting / Codes Enforcement page says "As of 2012, Whitehall Township has contracted ALL INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW for all new construction, alterations and additions to a third party agency," names Keycodes Inspection Agency, and says "all paperwork is still submitted to, and issued by the Township." Chapter 5 of the Township Code, Code Enforcement, was read in full for Article I (Building Code), Article VIII (International Residential Code, Sections 5-24 to 5-27, amended as recently as March 11, 2024, by Ord. No. 3342) and Article IX (Uniform Construction Code, Sections 5-28 to 5-33); none of them changes the code's roof covering, reroofing or roof sheathing provisions. Section 5-26 of the Township Code amends the residential code's permit section to read "Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure" or its systems "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and adds "If work is commenced by any contractor or his agent without first applying for a permit, said contractor's Township business license shall be subject to revocation." Section 5-29 adopts the Uniform Construction Code with modifications, among them that "Sections 403.62 (d) and (e) shall be deleted in their entireties" and that several items of the State's residential permit exemption list in Section 403.62(c) are deleted; those deletions were enacted in 2004 against the regulation's numbering at the time, and this record does not decide which current subsections they reach. The Township's code (Section 5-24) still names the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2000, and the Township's pages name no edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2000 edition's text was not read for this record. The Township names roof work as permit work by its own checklist and fee line, quoted in the permit entries of this record.