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Roofing in Ray, North Dakota

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Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Ray, ND, issued by City of Ray, North Dakota - Building Permits. Building permits are handled at the Ray City Auditor's office, City of Ray, PO Box 67, Ray, ND 58849, on 701-568-2204, with the Williams County Building Division at 206 East Broadway, second floor, Williston, on 701-577-4567 and the county inspection line on 701-577-4576. The City publishes six documents in the Building Guidelines section of its Document Center: the Building Permit Application Process, the Residential Building Permit Application, the Commercial Building Permit Application, an Excavation Permit Application, the Residential and Commercial Site Inspection Checklist, and a Water-Sewer Connection Agreement form. FEES. The City's building permit fee is $25. The County's fees, as the City publishes them, run from a $75 minimum, or $4.00 per $1,000 of value up to $5,000,000 and $1.00 per $1,000 above that, with a commercial plan review fee of an additional 25% of the building permit fee on projects over $99,999 capped at $5,000; a temporary certificate of occupancy at $75 residential or $150 commercial; after-hours inspections at $75 an hour with a two-hour minimum; a $75 expired-permit reinstatement fee; a $75 special inspection fee; and a $75-an-hour plan review fee after a second incorrect submittal. Confirm the county figures with the County, since the City is republishing them. SEPARATE CITY PERMITS THAT CAN CATCH A ROOFING JOB. An excavation permit is $500, a street cut fee is $500, and the property owner is responsible for hiring a contractor to repair the street back to City standards, "which requires inspection and approval from the City Engineer." If a job needs a dumpster placement or lift set-up that breaks pavement, that is a separate permit and a separate fee. THE NORTH DAKOTA ONE CALL LAW is flagged on the City's own application wherever excavation will be performed. TIMING. The City permit is valid for one year from issue, and the final City approval is a vote of the Ray City Commission, so build the Commission's meeting calendar into any start date. Ray, North Dakota sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. This hub aggregates Ray'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 Ray

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Ray are set locally by City of Ray, North Dakota - Building Permits. North Dakota licenses contractors at the state level under N.D.C.C. 43-07-02, which bars acting as a contractor on work costing more than $4,000 without a licence, and cities stack their own licensing on top of it — the city requirement is usually the one that bites first — while the State Building Code adopted under N.D.C.C. chapter 54-21.3 is administered locally, so a city may carry its own adopted edition and amendments — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building code
Ray adopts the North Dakota State Building Code on a FLOATING basis, and it lists no local exceptions to it. Ray Code of Ordinances Section 8-1(a), in Chapter 8, Buildings and Building Regulations, provides: "The erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, demolition, conversion, occupancy, equipment, uses, height, area and maintenance of buildings or structures in the city shall meet with the provisions of the rules and regulations of the state building code and any future updates and amendments to that code, a copy of which is on file with the county building inspector who acts as the city inspector. That code is hereby adopted and made a part of this chapter by reference with the exception of the following sections affecting local conditions in the city." THE SENTENCE PROMISES EXCEPTIONS AND THE CHAPTER LISTS NONE. Chapter 8 was read in full as codified through Ordinance No. 2-23.01, adopted 13 January 2026 - Article I, In General (Sections 8-1 and 8-2), Article II, Plumbing Code (Sections 8-23 through 8-26), and Article III, Dangerous Buildings (Sections 8-56 through 8-66) - and no list of excepted sections follows Section 8-1(a). So on the face of the codified chapter the state code applies to a house in Ray unmodified. WHAT THE FLOATING ADOPTION MEANS TODAY. Because the adoption takes "any future updates and amendments to that code," a change at state level reaches Ray without a new City ordinance. The 2026 North Dakota State Building Code Book states: "Effective January 1, 2026, the North Dakota State Building Code consists of the 2024 International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC), International Mechanical Code (IMC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), International Energy Conservation Code, and the International Existing Building Code as published by the International Code Council (ICC)," and adds "NO APPENDICES ARE ADOPTED." A one- or two-family dwelling in Ray therefore runs on the 2024 International Residential Code, with no appendix chapters. TWO CODES THE STATE CODE DOES NOT INCLUDE. The same code book states that the State Building Code "does not include the International Property Maintenance Code or the International Fire Code" and that those "to be in effect, must be adopted separately by each city, county, or township." Ray's Chapter 8 adopts neither, so neither is in force in the City by that route. Section 8-2 separately adopts the state electrical wiring standards set by the State Electrical Board, and Article II adopts the state plumbing code. THE STATE FRAMEWORK, FOR CONTEXT. North Dakota Century Code Section 54-21.3-03(6) provides: "The governing body of a city, township, or county that elects to administer and enforce a building code shall adopt and enforce the state building code. However, the state building code may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs." Section 54-21.3-05 allows cities and counties to "provide by agreement for joint administration and enforcement," which is what Section 8-1(a) describes when it puts the code on file with the county building inspector and makes that officer the city inspector.
Registration details
  • state_level: North Dakota requires a contractor licence from the Secretary of State above a dollar threshold, and the threshold is per job rather than per year. NDCC 43-07-02(1): "A person may not engage in the business nor act in the capacity of a contractor within this state when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds the sum of four thousand dollars nor may that person maintain any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in any court of this state related to the person's business or capacity as a contractor without first having a license as provided in this chapter." Roofing is not named in the chapter, but it falls inside the definition of contractor at 43-07-01(1), which covers "any person engaged in the business of construction, repair, alteration, dismantling, or demolition of ... buildings" and expressly "includes subcontractor," so a roofing sub is covered on its own account. The licence classes are value tiers, not trades, so there is no roofing classification, and the licence year runs "March second through March first" under 43-07-01(2). Working unlicensed above the threshold is a class A misdemeanour under 43-07-02(2) and bars the contractor from maintaining a court claim in North Dakota arising from the work, including a claim to be paid.
  • city_level: Ray runs no contractor registration of its own, and that is established by reading the City's building chapter rather than by failing to find a form. Chapter 8 of the Ray Code of Ordinances was read in full, Sections 8-1 through 8-66: it adopts codes, adopts the state electrical wiring standards, adopts a plumbing code and provides a dangerous-buildings procedure, and it imposes no contractor licence, registration or bond on the person doing building work. The one credential it does impose is on the plumbing side - work under the plumbing article is to be "undertaken and executed only by a master plumber or other persons as have obtained a general license for such work together with a permit for each separate job." WHAT THE CITY DOES CHECK AT PERMIT TIME. Ray's own Residential Building Permit Application has a Contractor's Information block with fields for the company, the job site supervisor and the "ND Contractor License #," so the state licence is asked for on the City's form. The same form conditions permission on all work conforming to "the ordinances governing building, plumbing, and electrical work," with water and sewer connections made by a licensed plumber or licensed water/sewer contractor and electrical work by a licensed electrician.
Permit process
Building permits are handled at the Ray City Auditor's office, City of Ray, PO Box 67, Ray, ND 58849, on 701-568-2204, with the Williams County Building Division at 206 East Broadway, second floor, Williston, on 701-577-4567 and the county inspection line on 701-577-4576. The City publishes six documents in the Building Guidelines section of its Document Center: the Building Permit Application Process, the Residential Building Permit Application, the Commercial Building Permit Application, an Excavation Permit Application, the Residential and Commercial Site Inspection Checklist, and a Water-Sewer Connection Agreement form. FEES. The City's building permit fee is $25. The County's fees, as the City publishes them, run from a $75 minimum, or $4.00 per $1,000 of value up to $5,000,000 and $1.00 per $1,000 above that, with a commercial plan review fee of an additional 25% of the building permit fee on projects over $99,999 capped at $5,000; a temporary certificate of occupancy at $75 residential or $150 commercial; after-hours inspections at $75 an hour with a two-hour minimum; a $75 expired-permit reinstatement fee; a $75 special inspection fee; and a $75-an-hour plan review fee after a second incorrect submittal. Confirm the county figures with the County, since the City is republishing them. SEPARATE CITY PERMITS THAT CAN CATCH A ROOFING JOB. An excavation permit is $500, a street cut fee is $500, and the property owner is responsible for hiring a contractor to repair the street back to City standards, "which requires inspection and approval from the City Engineer." If a job needs a dumpster placement or lift set-up that breaks pavement, that is a separate permit and a separate fee. THE NORTH DAKOTA ONE CALL LAW is flagged on the City's own application wherever excavation will be performed. TIMING. The City permit is valid for one year from issue, and the final City approval is a vote of the Ray City Commission, so build the Commission's meeting calendar into any start date.

View the full Ray permitting authority record →

Impact-resistant roofing materials for Ray hail

Ray, North Dakota 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 Ray, North Dakota - Building Permitscity

Roofing guides

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

Sources