Permitting Authorities / City of Zeeland - Building Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Zeeland, MI?
Adopted code
City of Zeeland - Building Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Zeeland, MI, issued by City of Zeeland - Building Department. In the City of Zeeland the building permit application is where roof work is filed: under "4. TYPE OF PROJECT" its "Roof" section asks for the "Number of squares" and "Are You Sheeting?" and "Are you installing Ice & water Sheild?", and the form states "NO WORK IS TO START PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF THE BUILDING PERMIT" and "Project started without a permit may be subject to additional administrative fee of $100". Residential projects submit 2 sets of plans. The Building and Zoning page says "Permit applications can be mailed, e-mailed or dropped off at City Hall" and recommends calling first "because many properties outside of the City limits still have a Zeeland address!" Its fee schedule reads "Base Permit Fee : $50.00" plus "$5.00 additional for each $1,000 in project value" for projects up to $500,000; the city's Code of Ordinances, Section 10-26 (Ord. No. 856, 8-6-2007), prints a different schedule ("$20.00 + $3.00 for each additional $1,000.00 over $1,000.00" from $1,001 to $25,000), and the department's published fee schedule is headed "As of February 2022", so confirm the current fee with the department. The page says all building and zoning fees "can be paid with cash, check, or by credit card". To ask about permitting or inspection, call the Community Development Department at 616-772-0872, and call the inspector's number printed on the permit at least two days before an inspection.
Roof code checklist: Zeeland, MI
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
City of Zeeland, Michigan
Address
21 S Elm Street, Zeeland, MI 49464
Contact
- url: https://www.cityofzeeland.com/building-zoning/
- phone: 616-772-0872
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In the City of Zeeland the building permit application is where roof work is filed: under "4. TYPE OF PROJECT" its "Roof" section asks for the "Number of squares" and "Are You Sheeting?" and "Are you installing Ice & water Sheild?", and the form states "NO WORK IS TO START PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF THE BUILDING PERMIT" and "Project started without a permit may be subject to additional administrative fee of $100". Residential projects submit 2 sets of plans. The Building and Zoning page says "Permit applications can be mailed, e-mailed or dropped off at City Hall" and recommends calling first "because many properties outside of the City limits still have a Zeeland address!" Its fee schedule reads "Base Permit Fee : $50.00" plus "$5.00 additional for each $1,000 in project value" for projects up to $500,000; the city's Code of Ordinances, Section 10-26 (Ord. No. 856, 8-6-2007), prints a different schedule ("$20.00 + $3.00 for each additional $1,000.00 over $1,000.00" from $1,001 to $25,000), and the department's published fee schedule is headed "As of February 2022", so confirm the current fee with the department. The page says all building and zoning fees "can be paid with cash, check, or by credit card". To ask about permitting or inspection, call the Community Development Department at 616-772-0872, and call the inspector's number printed on the permit at least two days before an inspection.
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the City of Zeeland as its own building code enforcer. Section 10-23 of the city's Code of Ordinances designates the building inspector as the enforcing agency under the state construction code act and the chapter adopts no residential code edition; the Building Department's page and building permit application name no code edition. The chapter adopts the "International Property Maintenance Code, 2006 edition" (Section 10-105), which is a property maintenance code and not a dwelling code.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Chapter 10 of the City of Zeeland Code of Ordinances, the Building and Zoning page and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Chapter 10 of the City of Zeeland Code of Ordinances, the Building and Zoning page and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier beyond a yes-or-no question on the building permit application.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Chapter 10 of the City of Zeeland Code of Ordinances, the Building and Zoning page and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
The City of Zeeland's building permit application lists roof work as its own block under "4. TYPE OF PROJECT": a "Roof" section headed "Projects" that asks for the "Number of squares", whether you are sheeting ("Are You Sheeting?") and whether you are installing ice and water shield ("Are you installing Ice & water Sheild?"). The same application says "NO WORK IS TO START PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF THE BUILDING PERMIT". The department publishes no size, square or dollar point below which roof work needs no permit. Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs, and the department has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. For a small roof repair, call the Community Development Department at 616-772-0872 before starting.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, the city's own building ordinance, Chapter 10 (Buildings and Building Regulations) of the Zeeland Code of Ordinances (codified through Ordinance No. 1035, April 21, 2025), was read in full: it designates the enforcing agency, sets permit fees, adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2006 edition, and covers electrical work, dangerous buildings, historic structures, building numbers, moving buildings, rental inspection, swimming pools and the fire code; it has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The roof provisions of the city's Zoning Ordinance concern building height and the pitch of the main roof of a dwelling, and the Building Department's page and permit application state no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. 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 must 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 may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "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" (R908.2). Chapter 10 of the City of Zeeland Code of Ordinances, the Building and Zoning page and the building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the City of Zeeland Building and Zoning page changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The City of Zeeland's Building Department, part of the Community Development Department at 21 S Elm Street in Zeeland, is responsible for administering and enforcing the building, property maintenance, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, energy, barrier free design and zoning codes in the city, and its building permit application has a dedicated roof section that asks for the number of squares. Section 10-23 of the city's Code of Ordinances designates the building inspector as the enforcing agency under the state construction code act. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code. The City of Zeeland is separate from Zeeland Charter Township, and the department warns that many properties outside the city limits still have a Zeeland address.
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