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Roofing in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Hail belt

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Albuquerque, NM, issued by City of Albuquerque, New Mexico - Building Safety Division (Planning Department). The Building Safety Division is at the Plaza del Sol Building, 600 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Building Permits & Plan Review, 505-924-3320, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical Inspections and Trade Permits, 505-924-3320, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; Division Manager James Perez, 505-924-3313; Planning Department reception 505-924-3860. The City lists re-roofing among the projects that require a building permit - "Re-Roofing - general permits are required for re-roof" - and applications, plan uploads, comment review, payment and status tracking are handled through the City's ABQ-PLAN online portal, with in-person service also available at the permit counter. As of a City notice dated July 28, 2026 the published permit timeline dashboard shows residential building permits at 12 business days, commercial at 18, express permits same day, and electrical and plumbing/mechanical permits next day. Under the Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), plan review fees are due at submittal and permit fees on approval; plan review fees for buildings are 65 percent of the building permit fee (Section 112.3). An application for which no permit is issued within 180 days expires by limitation, extendable once for up to a further 180 days on written request (Section 110.5). Section 103 resolves conflicts in favour of the most restrictive provision: "When conflicting provisions or requirements occur between this Code and any other codes or laws, the most restrictive shall govern." Section 104 lets the Building Official grant modifications in individual cases where strict compliance is impractical, provided the modification "does not lessen health, accessibility, life and fire safety, or structural requirements." Re-roof inspections may be satisfied in part by drone photography of the permitted work reviewed by a certified Building Inspector, with an on-site follow-up if necessary (Section 113.5.2, item 8). Starting from May 30, 2025 the Building Safety permit counter is closed every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., which does not affect portal access, inspection scheduling or permit applications. Albuquerque, New Mexico sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. This hub aggregates Albuquerque's roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements and impact-resistant material options — every fact linked to its sourced directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Albuquerque

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Albuquerque are set locally by City of Albuquerque, New Mexico - Building Safety Division (Planning Department). New Mexico licenses roofing contractors at the state level through the Construction Industries Division, which issues a dedicated GS-21 “Roofing” classification under 14.6.6 NMAC requiring two years of foreman-level experience — roofing is also authorised inside the general GB-2 residential and GB-98 building classifications, which subsume the specialty scopes — and every CID licensee carries a flat $10,000 statewide surety bond under NMSA 1978 § 60-13-49, with no roofing-specific variance and no dollar threshold below which the licence stops applying; permitting is the part that varies, because New Mexico’s default is state permitting by CID and a city issues its own building permits only while it employs a certified building official — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building code
Two instruments stack, and in Albuquerque the city instrument is unusually substantial. STATE FLOOR: New Mexico adopts a statewide residential code at 14.7.3 NMAC, the 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code. 14.7.3.8 (Adoption) states, verbatim: "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule." 14.7.3.6 (Objective) makes it a floor rather than a ceiling: "The purpose of this rule is to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico." Under 14.7.3.5 the rule took effect July 14, 2023 and after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it; statutory authority is NMSA 1978 Sections 60-13-9 and 60-13-44. 14.7.3.2 (Scope) fixes what the rule reaches, verbatim: "This rule applies to all construction, alteration, relocation, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, removal and demolition of all detached one- and two-family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) not more than three stories high with separate means of egress, and their accessory structures that is performed in New Mexico on or after December 14, 2023, and that is subject to the jurisdiction of CID, unless performed pursuant to a permit for which an application was received by CID before that date." CITY LAYER: the Building Safety Division publishes, verbatim, "Effective December 14, 2023 the following codes have been adopted by the City of Albuquerque:" followed by "The 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code", "The 2021 New Mexico Residential Code" and "The 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code"; it adds that "On September 28, 2023 the 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code went into effect." and "On February 2, 2024 the 2023 Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque went into effect." The Uniform Administrative Code has since been reissued: the City's Current Building Codes page lists, under "City Codes", the "2024 Uniform Administrative Code", and that document's own cover page reads "UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE CODE / 2024 EDITION / CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE / BUILDING SAFETY DIVISION" over the heading "CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE AMENDMENTS TO THE NEW MEXICO BUILDING CODE, AS ADOPTED BY THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES DIVISION OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF January 1, 2025". Its list of amended codes includes "The 2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code including Appendix Chapters AH, AJ, AK, AR, AS, and AQ, as amended, and all other Appendices as written." and "The 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code". The mechanism is stated plainly: "Title 14, Chapter 5 of the New Mexico Building Code has been deleted and replaced with Chapter 1, on the following pages. Sections from various other parts of the Technical Codes have been amended, added, or deleted." Section 101.1 provides: "These regulations shall be known as the 'Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque,' may be cited as such and will be referred to herein as 'this Code.'" Section 101.2: "The purpose of this Code is to provide for the administration and enforcement of the Technical Codes adopted by this jurisdiction." Because New Mexico is a floor state, this stacking is permissible: Albuquerque substitutes its own administration for the state administrative chapter and adds requirements, but does not fall below the state technical code. As to the residential technical text itself, the UAC amends the New Mexico Residential Building Code only at Chapter 1 (administration, deleting Sections R102.5 and R102.7), Chapter 3 (adding the City's own Table R301.2 climatic and geographic design criteria and Manual J design criteria, and deleting Section R302.1.1 Zero Lot Line Separation). The IRC roofing chapters are not amended by the City, so the operative roofing text in Albuquerque is IRC Chapter 9 as amended by 14.7.3.17 NMAC.
Registration details
  • license: STATE LAYER - applies in Albuquerque exactly as everywhere else in New Mexico. Roofing is a licensed trade under the Construction Industries Licensing Act (NMSA 1978, Chapter 60, Article 13), administered by the Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department. The dedicated specialty classification is GS-21, defined at 14.6.6.9 NMAC, verbatim: "(12) GS-21. Roofing. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Install, alter or repair roof systems on new or existing roof decks to create a weatherproof and waterproof protective membrane, with or without insulation, using asphalt, pitch, tar, sealants, felt, shakes, shingles, roof tile, slate, urethane or any other approved materials including the preparatory work necessary to bring a roof deck or an existing roof to a condition where roofing can be installed, and sealed or repaired; includes cutting, shaping, fabricating, and installing of sheet metal such as cornices, flashing, skylights (excluding alterations to structural framing), roof coatings, gutters, leaders, rainwater downspouts, pans, prefabricated chimneys, at or near roof lines, metal flues, or doing any part of any combination thereof, which relate to and are incidental to roofing projects." Roofing is also subsumed within the general building classifications at 14.6.6.9.B: "(1) GB-2. Residential. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residences and apartment houses accommodating not more than four family units... includes all work described by the GS specialty classifications, provided the work is limited to residential construction as defined under this provision. (2) GB-98. General building. Requires four years of foreman level practical or related trade experience of which at two years must be commercial experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residential and commercial buildings, and certain structures; includes all work authorized by the GB-2, GF-5, GF-7 and GS classifications..." A standalone roofing subcontractor therefore holds GS-21; a general contractor building or remodeling the whole structure holds GB-2 or GB-98 and needs no separate GS-21 for roofing inside that scope. BOND: NMSA 1978 Section 60-13-49 applies to every classification including GS-21, with no roofing-specific variance: "B. Proof of responsibility shall be a bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) acceptable to the director and underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico." Workers' compensation coverage is required under the Workers' Compensation Act, and Section 60-13-23(I) makes "failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance as required by the Workers' Compensation Act" a ground for revocation or suspension. There is no roofing-specific dollar threshold below which a licence is unnecessary; the only no-licence path is the general casual-work exemption at Section 60-13-3(D)(14), covering "an individual who works on one undertaking or project at a time that, in the aggregate or singly, does not exceed seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) compensation a year, the work being casual, minor or inconsequential, such as handyman repairs...", which is conditioned on the work not being carried on as a contracting business and is not a "small roofing jobs are exempt" rule. Owner-builder exemptions at Section 60-13-3(D)(10)-(11) cover an individual working on their own owner-occupied dwelling, who must still comply with all codes and obtain all permits. CITY LAYER: Albuquerque enforces the state licence at the permit counter. Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), Section 111.1 (Issuance) states, verbatim: "Only an individual, firm, partnership, or corporation duly licensed as a contractor by the Construction Industries Division of the State of New Mexico, will be issued a permit unless such individual, firm, partnership, or corporation is exempt under NMSA Section 60-13-3 D." Its Exception 1 provides that "A homeowner may be issued a permit to build a single-family residence and or garage for their own use." Separately, the City requires a business licence: the Planning Department states that its Business License Section "is responsible for carrying out the duties described in the Business License Ordinance for the City of Albuquerque. The ordinance requires that all businesses apply for and pay a business license fee for each outlet, branch, location, or place of business within the municipal limits of the city prior to engaging in business," and that all applications and renewals require a current New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department registration certificate showing the physical business address. That is a municipal business registration, not a second construction licence or a second qualification exam. Note also NMSA 1978 Section 60-13-51, which limits how far a municipal requirement can reach a CID licensee: "No municipality shall require any person or corporation licensed under the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act to file or obtain as a condition of doing business as a licensed contractor within the municipality any additional license bond as proof of responsibility if the person or corporation has met the responsibility requirements of the commission."
Permit process
The Building Safety Division is at the Plaza del Sol Building, 600 Second Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Building Permits & Plan Review, 505-924-3320, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical Inspections and Trade Permits, 505-924-3320, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; Division Manager James Perez, 505-924-3313; Planning Department reception 505-924-3860. The City lists re-roofing among the projects that require a building permit - "Re-Roofing - general permits are required for re-roof" - and applications, plan uploads, comment review, payment and status tracking are handled through the City's ABQ-PLAN online portal, with in-person service also available at the permit counter. As of a City notice dated July 28, 2026 the published permit timeline dashboard shows residential building permits at 12 business days, commercial at 18, express permits same day, and electrical and plumbing/mechanical permits next day. Under the Uniform Administrative Code of the City of Albuquerque (2024 Edition), plan review fees are due at submittal and permit fees on approval; plan review fees for buildings are 65 percent of the building permit fee (Section 112.3). An application for which no permit is issued within 180 days expires by limitation, extendable once for up to a further 180 days on written request (Section 110.5). Section 103 resolves conflicts in favour of the most restrictive provision: "When conflicting provisions or requirements occur between this Code and any other codes or laws, the most restrictive shall govern." Section 104 lets the Building Official grant modifications in individual cases where strict compliance is impractical, provided the modification "does not lessen health, accessibility, life and fire safety, or structural requirements." Re-roof inspections may be satisfied in part by drone photography of the permitted work reviewed by a certified Building Inspector, with an on-site follow-up if necessary (Section 113.5.2, item 8). Starting from May 30, 2025 the Building Safety permit counter is closed every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., which does not affect portal access, inspection scheduling or permit applications.
Portal
Permit portal

View the full Albuquerque permitting authority record →

Impact-resistant roofing materials for Albuquerque hail

Albuquerque, New Mexico sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. For hail exposure, the highest impact rating a roof covering can earn is UL 2218 Class 4. These cataloged material categories reach Class 4:

Class 4 impact-resistant materials

Class 4 Impact-Resistant Shingle Corrugated Metal Panel Metal Shingle Rubber (Polymer) Shingle Standing-Seam Metal Roof Stone-Coated Steel Synthetic Shake Synthetic Slate Synthetic Tile

Browse every option on the Class 4 impact-resistant materials hub, and read the Class 4 impact-resistant shingles buyer's guide. Many insurers offer premium credits for a documented Class 4 roof — confirm terms with your carrier.

Local permitting authority

City of Albuquerque, New Mexico - Building Safety Division (Planning Department)city

Roofing guides

Class 4 Impact-Resistant ShinglesGuide Asphalt vs. Metal vs. TileGuide Wind & Fire RatingsGuide

Sources