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Roofing in Clare, Michigan

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Clare, MI, issued by City of Clare - Building, Zoning, and Code. In the City of Clare a reroof goes through two offices. The city's Building, Zoning, & Code page says "As of July 25, 2016, Clare County Community Development handles all building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits and inspections for the City of Clare." It says the permit forms are on the county's website and that a property owner or contractor can "send the completed and signed permit appliation with payment directly to the Clare County Community Development office. Alternatively, you may drop completed and signed forms off at Clare City Hall, and they will be forwarded to the county on your behalf." The city's Zoning Authorization Application, revised 2026.06.02, lists a Roof among its project types and tells the applicant that building permits come from the county afterward. The county's jurisdiction chart, dated 7/16/26, lists the county's Building inspector and its 539-2761 line under CLARE, so the building inspection is the county's. With neither office publishing a reroof exemption, the state's general rule applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." The same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs, and no city or county page applies that relief to roof work. The county's application says "ALL WORK SHALL BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE BUILDING CODE". The county office is at 225 W Main St., Harrison, MI 48625, 989-539-2761, open "7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed daily from noon to 1:00 p.m." per the city's page; Clare City Hall, 202 W. Fifth Street, is open Monday to Thursday, 7AM to 5:30PM, at 989-386-7541. Neither page posts a fee schedule for building permits and the city's master fee schedule lists no building permit fee, so ask the county for the current fee. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for Clare, Michigan, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Clare

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Clare are set locally by City of Clare - Building, Zoning, and Code. Michigan licenses residential roofers at the state level — the Occupational Code’s residential maintenance and alteration contractor licence names roofing among its trades, with exemptions that include a job whose whole contract price is under $600 — and some cities add a local contractor registration on top, while the Michigan Residential Code applies throughout the state, so a city, village, township or county enforces the state code rather than writing its own roofing rules — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building 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 Clare as its own building code enforcer. The city's Code of Ordinances (Municode, codified through Ordinance No. 2025-004, enacted August 4, 2025) designates the city manager and designees as the enforcing agency for the building, electrical, residential and energy codes in Section 10-31, and Section 10-61 adopts "the current Michigan Building/Residential, Rehabilitation and Energy Code Rules, as filed with the Secretary of State," which names no edition. Section 10-91 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2003 edition, a property maintenance code. The county's Building Permit Application, which handles the city's permits, has an energy page that lists "Michigan Uniform Energy Code--2009"; that is an energy code, and no city or county page says which residential code edition is enforced, so this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.
Registration details
  • state_level: Michigan licenses residential maintenance and alteration contractors under the Occupational Code, and that licence "includes the following crafts and trades" among which it names roofing (MCL 339.2404(3)); "A person shall not engage in or attempt to engage in the practice of an occupation regulated under this act" without the licence (MCL 339.601(1)). MCL 339.2403 lists who may work without one, including a project whose "aggregate contract price for the labor, material, and any other items for the undertaking or project is less than $600.00". This record does not decide whether a given roofer falls inside an exemption.
  • city_level: The City of Clare Code of Ordinances chapter on buildings and the city's Building, Zoning, & Code page name no city contractor licence, registration fee or bond. The county's Building Permit Application asks the contractor for a professional license number and expiration date and for proof of insurance or the reason for exemption.
Permit process
In the City of Clare a reroof goes through two offices. The city's Building, Zoning, & Code page says "As of July 25, 2016, Clare County Community Development handles all building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits and inspections for the City of Clare." It says the permit forms are on the county's website and that a property owner or contractor can "send the completed and signed permit appliation with payment directly to the Clare County Community Development office. Alternatively, you may drop completed and signed forms off at Clare City Hall, and they will be forwarded to the county on your behalf." The city's Zoning Authorization Application, revised 2026.06.02, lists a Roof among its project types and tells the applicant that building permits come from the county afterward. The county's jurisdiction chart, dated 7/16/26, lists the county's Building inspector and its 539-2761 line under CLARE, so the building inspection is the county's. With neither office publishing a reroof exemption, the state's general rule applies: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." The same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs, and no city or county page applies that relief to roof work. The county's application says "ALL WORK SHALL BE INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE BUILDING CODE". The county office is at 225 W Main St., Harrison, MI 48625, 989-539-2761, open "7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed daily from noon to 1:00 p.m." per the city's page; Clare City Hall, 202 W. Fifth Street, is open Monday to Thursday, 7AM to 5:30PM, at 989-386-7541. Neither page posts a fee schedule for building permits and the city's master fee schedule lists no building permit fee, so ask the county for the current fee.

View the full Clare permitting authority record →

Roofing materials for Clare

Compare roofing material families — service life, weight, cost band, and durability — for a Clare reroof. Every material entry in the directory carries a cited, dated source.

Start with all roofing materials or the asphalt vs. metal vs. tile comparison.

Local permitting authority

City of Clare - Building, Zoning, and Codecity

Roofing guides

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

Sources