Adopted building 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, Cranberry Township administers the code itself: Section 5-101 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," Section 5-102 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as "the municipal building code of Cranberry Township," and the Township's Building & Zoning Codes page says its Code Administration staff "are responsible for building, zoning, sign, and fire prevention permit review, issuance, and inspection." The Township's Building & Zoning Codes page says "Cranberry Township adopted the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and will adhere to the 2018 International Codes" effective October 1, 2018, while Section 5-102 adopts the State code "as amended from time to time"; this record has not read the 2018 editions' roofing text. Section 5-105 keeps in force pre-1999 rules on sleeping-room doors, door widths and fire hydrants, and Part 1 of Chapter 5 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.
Permit process
Cranberry Township's Code Administration has published nothing read for this record that names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. The Township's Residential Building Permits page lists decks, sheds, un-enclosed porches and fences, and its online portal's "Residential Building Permit - Modifications to Existing" type covers "additions, alterations, decks, accessory structures (garages greater than 1000 square feet or with habitable space), porch and deck roofs, generators, solar panels"; neither names reroofing or roof replacement. The Township's Fee Resolution No. 2025-79, Section I, Codes and Building, read in full (a scanned document, read from its page images on October 6, 2026), lists under "Residential Accessory Structures: Attached decks, Porches, Roofs, Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs, Spas, and Utility Structures over 1,000 square feet - $75.00"; no fee line names reroofing or roof replacement on a house. Part 1 of Chapter 5 of the Township Code (Sections 5-101 to 5-112), read in full, adopts the State code by reference and has no clause on house repairs; the only pre-1999 rules it keeps in force (Section 5-105) concern sleeping-room doors, door widths and fire hydrants, not roofs. A search of the whole Township Code for "roof" found no permit provision naming roof work. 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." This record therefore does not state whether a Township ordinance requires a permit for a reroof. Applications go through the Township's online portal ("No paper applications or paper plans are required"), and inspections are scheduled there. Questions go to Planning & Development Services at 724-776-4806 ext. 2900; the Municipal Center at 2525 Rochester Road, Suite 400, is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.