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Roofing in New Britain, Pennsylvania

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in New Britain, PA, issued by New Britain Borough - Code and Zoning. New Britain Borough's Exterior Structure Permit sheet names roof replacement as permit work. Read October 10, 2026: The Borough's Exterior Structure Permit Procedures sheet says "An Exterior Structure permit is required for replacement, renovation or alteration of roofs, siding, stucco, windows, and doors." Its Residential Home Improvement building permit sheet says "(For roofing, re-roofing, stucco/brick, siding, outside windows & doors use *Exterior Structure Permit)", and the Exterior Structure Permit form's Type of Work line lists "Roofing*" with the choices "Tear Off Patch Emergency." The Borough's fee schedule (Resolution No. 2025-09) lists an "EXTERIOR STRUCTURE PERMIT" fee for "Roofing & Re-roofing" and the form's fee table prices it: "Residential 1 project $100.00 / 2 or more projects - $175.00 total fee." 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 Borough to require the permit for a reroof, as its sheet says; the permit form says "Work may not start until a permit has been approved and granted" and the form and fee schedule say "All Fees referenced within this section shall be doubled if the project is started without the applicable Permits and/or Approvals." The form's fee line adds a "$4.50 UCC Fee" to the permit fee. New Britain Borough takes permit applications at its Borough office, 45 Keeley Avenue, and its Code & Zoning page says "New Britain Borough contracts with" a consulting firm "for all building permit application reviews and inspections" and lists its Building Inspector and Zoning Officer at 215-622-1616. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 295, adopted May 11, 2004) says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" by reference "as the municipal building code of this municipality," and its Section 165-3 lets the governing body choose by resolution among a Borough employee, "third-party agencies" and other arrangements. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for residential repairs; the Borough Code is posted online with a search, and every page of a search of the Code and the Borough's public documents for "roof" (76 results; the code results are definitions, signs, height, stormwater and similar provisions, none a permit provision for roof work) and for "reroofing" (1 result, a Council packet) was read. Read for this answer: Chapter 165 of the Borough Code in full; every page of a search of the Borough Code and its public documents for "roof," "reroofing" and "re-roofing"; the Borough's Code & Zoning, All Permit & Application Packets and Forms & Applications pages; the Exterior Structure Permit procedures sheet and form; the Residential Home Improvement building permit sheet; and the fee schedule adopted by Resolution No. 2025-09 (scanned pages, read from rendered page images). The Borough office is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at 215-348-4586. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for New Britain, Pennsylvania, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in New Britain

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in New Britain are set locally by New Britain Borough - Code and Zoning. 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, New Britain Borough takes permit applications at its Borough office, 45 Keeley Avenue, and its Code & Zoning page says "New Britain Borough contracts with" a consulting firm "for all building permit application reviews and inspections" and lists its Building Inspector and Zoning Officer at 215-622-1616. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 295, adopted May 11, 2004) says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" by reference "as the municipal building code of this municipality," and its Section 165-3 lets the governing body choose by resolution among a Borough employee, "third-party agencies" and other arrangements. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for residential repairs; the Borough Code is posted online with a search, and every page of a search of the Code and the Borough's public documents for "roof" (76 results; the code results are definitions, signs, height, stormwater and similar provisions, none a permit provision for roof work) and for "reroofing" (1 result, a Council packet) was read. The Borough's pages name no code edition.
Permit process
New Britain Borough's Exterior Structure Permit sheet names roof replacement as permit work. Read October 10, 2026: The Borough's Exterior Structure Permit Procedures sheet says "An Exterior Structure permit is required for replacement, renovation or alteration of roofs, siding, stucco, windows, and doors." Its Residential Home Improvement building permit sheet says "(For roofing, re-roofing, stucco/brick, siding, outside windows & doors use *Exterior Structure Permit)", and the Exterior Structure Permit form's Type of Work line lists "Roofing*" with the choices "Tear Off Patch Emergency." The Borough's fee schedule (Resolution No. 2025-09) lists an "EXTERIOR STRUCTURE PERMIT" fee for "Roofing & Re-roofing" and the form's fee table prices it: "Residential 1 project $100.00 / 2 or more projects - $175.00 total fee." 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 Borough to require the permit for a reroof, as its sheet says; the permit form says "Work may not start until a permit has been approved and granted" and the form and fee schedule say "All Fees referenced within this section shall be doubled if the project is started without the applicable Permits and/or Approvals." The form's fee line adds a "$4.50 UCC Fee" to the permit fee. New Britain Borough takes permit applications at its Borough office, 45 Keeley Avenue, and its Code & Zoning page says "New Britain Borough contracts with" a consulting firm "for all building permit application reviews and inspections" and lists its Building Inspector and Zoning Officer at 215-622-1616. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 295, adopted May 11, 2004) says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act" and adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" by reference "as the municipal building code of this municipality," and its Section 165-3 lets the governing body choose by resolution among a Borough employee, "third-party agencies" and other arrangements. Chapter 165 of the Borough Code names no roof work and adds no permit clause of its own for residential repairs; the Borough Code is posted online with a search, and every page of a search of the Code and the Borough's public documents for "roof" (76 results; the code results are definitions, signs, height, stormwater and similar provisions, none a permit provision for roof work) and for "reroofing" (1 result, a Council packet) was read. Read for this answer: Chapter 165 of the Borough Code in full; every page of a search of the Borough Code and its public documents for "roof," "reroofing" and "re-roofing"; the Borough's Code & Zoning, All Permit & Application Packets and Forms & Applications pages; the Exterior Structure Permit procedures sheet and form; the Residential Home Improvement building permit sheet; and the fee schedule adopted by Resolution No. 2025-09 (scanned pages, read from rendered page images). The Borough office is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at 215-348-4586.

View the full New Britain permitting authority record →

Roofing materials for New Britain

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

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Local permitting authority

New Britain Borough - Code and Zoningcity

Roofing guides

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Sources