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Roofing in Marple Township, Pennsylvania

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Marple Township, PA, issued by Marple Township - Code Enforcement Department. Marple Township's enacted code treats residential roof replacement as permit work. Section 116-9 of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026), "Permit requirements for residential construction," says "An owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a residential building" must "first apply to the Code Enforcement Officer and obtain the required permit," and continues "The following shall require a permit:" Item F of that list is "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any twelve-month period." The section names no larger roof job separately; its opening sentence covers anyone who intends to "alter, repair" a residential building. The department's Code Enforcement page (read October 6, 2026) says "A permit is required for most construction work that you may be doing on your home." 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). In practice, expect the Township to require a permit for a reroof of any size: Section 8-13.C of the Township Code says "Failure to secure a permit as required in Chapter 108, Building Construction, and Chapter 116, Uniform Construction Code, of the Township Code, will result in a fine or penalty of 100% of the cost of the required permit plus the cost of the permit fee," and Section 8-16 sets a fine of "not more than $1,000" for each violation. Applications go in on paper: "Electronic submissions are not accepted," and the packet must include the application form, the signed contract between contractor and homeowner, plans or scope of work, each contractor's certificate of insurance with Marple Township listed as the certificate holder, a copy of the contractor's Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration, and a check. The permit form adds "All Commercial jobs and New Builds require Contractors License with Marple Twp (General and all Subs)," and Chapter 118's definition of a contractor names "reroofing." For a building on the Township's Historic Resource Inventory, Section 300-64 counts "Removal of any portion of any roof" and "Covering of any portion of any roof" as examples of demolition, which has its own permit review. Read for this answer: Chapter 116 of the Township Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Sections 116-1 to 116-9), in full; Chapter 108, Building Construction, in full; Chapter 8, Code Enforcement, Department of, including its permit and fee sections; Chapter 118, Contractors; the historic resources section of the zoning chapter, Section 300-64; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no other permit provision naming roof work; the department's Code Enforcement page; and its 2026 permit form. The Township's 2026 Fee Schedule is a scanned document and its fee lines were not read. The department is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, at 610-356-4040. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for Marple Township, Pennsylvania, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Marple Township

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Marple Township are set locally by Marple Township - Code Enforcement Department. Pennsylvania issues no state roofing licence, but its Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires a contractor to register with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection before doing home improvement work, which the Act defines to include roofs on jobs over $500, unless the contractor’s home improvement work totalled less than $5,000 in the previous tax year — and the Uniform Construction Code applies to buildings throughout the Commonwealth as a minimum a municipality may exceed but not fall below, with ordinary repairs to a house outside it unless a local ordinance brings them in, so whether a reroof needs a permit is a municipal question — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
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, Marple Township administers the code itself: Section 116-1 of the Township Code says "Marple Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999," and the Township's Code Enforcement Department, at 227 S. Sproul Road, Broomall, handles the "Issuance of permits, notices, certificates and orders" and the "Making of inspections to determine conformance with applicable codes and ordinances." Section 116-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as "the municipal building code of Marple Township," and Section 116-7 adopts appendixes of the International Residential Code and the other codes; Chapter 116 names no edition and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Article I of Chapter 108 of the Township Code (Ord. No. 80-11, as amended in 1988) still adopts the "BOCA Basic Building Code, 1988 Edition" and the "One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1986 Edition," and Section 116-5.A keeps building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 "which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code" in force; those older codes were not read for this record, and Chapter 108's own amendments name no roof work. The department's pages name no code edition.
Permit process
Marple Township's enacted code treats residential roof replacement as permit work. Section 116-9 of the Township Code (read October 6, 2026), "Permit requirements for residential construction," says "An owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a residential building" must "first apply to the Code Enforcement Officer and obtain the required permit," and continues "The following shall require a permit:" Item F of that list is "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any twelve-month period." The section names no larger roof job separately; its opening sentence covers anyone who intends to "alter, repair" a residential building. The department's Code Enforcement page (read October 6, 2026) says "A permit is required for most construction work that you may be doing on your home." 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). In practice, expect the Township to require a permit for a reroof of any size: Section 8-13.C of the Township Code says "Failure to secure a permit as required in Chapter 108, Building Construction, and Chapter 116, Uniform Construction Code, of the Township Code, will result in a fine or penalty of 100% of the cost of the required permit plus the cost of the permit fee," and Section 8-16 sets a fine of "not more than $1,000" for each violation. Applications go in on paper: "Electronic submissions are not accepted," and the packet must include the application form, the signed contract between contractor and homeowner, plans or scope of work, each contractor's certificate of insurance with Marple Township listed as the certificate holder, a copy of the contractor's Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration, and a check. The permit form adds "All Commercial jobs and New Builds require Contractors License with Marple Twp (General and all Subs)," and Chapter 118's definition of a contractor names "reroofing." For a building on the Township's Historic Resource Inventory, Section 300-64 counts "Removal of any portion of any roof" and "Covering of any portion of any roof" as examples of demolition, which has its own permit review. Read for this answer: Chapter 116 of the Township Code, Construction Code, Uniform (Sections 116-1 to 116-9), in full; Chapter 108, Building Construction, in full; Chapter 8, Code Enforcement, Department of, including its permit and fee sections; Chapter 118, Contractors; the historic resources section of the zoning chapter, Section 300-64; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no other permit provision naming roof work; the department's Code Enforcement page; and its 2026 permit form. The Township's 2026 Fee Schedule is a scanned document and its fee lines were not read. The department is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, at 610-356-4040.

View the full Marple Township permitting authority record →

Roofing materials for Marple Township

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

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Local permitting authority

Marple Township - Code Enforcement Departmentcity

Roofing guides

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