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Roofing in Roswell, New Mexico

Hail belt

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Roswell, NM, issued by City of Roswell, New Mexico - Building & Inspections Division (Community Development). The Building & Inspections Division is part of Community Development at 400 W. 2nd St., Roswell, NM 88201; mailing address PO Box 1838, Roswell, NM 88202-1838; division phone (575) 637-6280. Miller Butts is the Certified Building Official ([email protected]) and Mike Christensen is the Building Inspector, (575) 637-6293, [email protected]. Applications are emailed to [email protected] or filed through CloudPermit, the City's online permitting system, which the City describes as "an online system to apply for, submit and track your permits anytime and anywhere." The Re-Roofing Permit Application, revised April 15, 2026, asks for the re-roofing address, owner and contractor details, NM State License #, City Business License #, a detailed description of the existing roof type, a detailed description of the re-roofing installation, and the re-roofing contract cost, which sets the fee under the valuation-banded Building Fee Schedule. ELECTRICAL PERMITS ONLY HAVE MOVED TO THE STATE, AND ROOFING IS NOT AFFECTED. The City's Building Inspections page carries a notice reading, verbatim: "NOTICE: ELECTRICAL PERMIT & PLAN REVIEW & INSPECTIONS - As of January 1, 2026, and until further notice, the State of New Mexico will conduct Electrical Permit and Electrical Plan Reviews and issue Electrical Permits." and "Paul Cordova (505-670-2025; [email protected]) will serve as the primary electrical inspector covering the Roswell area at this time." That transfer is confined to the electrical trade; the City continues to issue and inspect building, plumbing and mechanical permits, including all re-roof permits, and continues to publish its own Building Official and its own fee schedule. Section 60-13-41(G) NMSA 1978 is the mechanism behind that kind of transfer, providing that where a certified building official ceases to be employed, "the plan review, permitting and inspections overseen by that certified building official shall transfer to the state unless the county, municipality or other political subdivision, within sixty days or a longer period as approved by the division, replaces that certified building official." Separately, manufactured and mobile homes are outside the City re-roof permit: "*This permit does not include manufactured/mobile homes. Permits available through state office.*" Statewide, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for Roswell roofing work: added IRC Section R903.2.1 Locations requires, verbatim, that "Approved reglets or an approved flashing shall be installed at wall and roof intersections, wherever there is a change in roof slope or direction and around roof openings"; and the canale and scupper provisions added at R905.9.4/R905.9.5, R905.11.4, R905.12.4 and R905.13.4 require taper board at roof-deck transitions to crickets, valleys and canales and state that "All canales and scuppers must have a metal pan lining extending six inches minimum... All canales or scuppers must have positive drainage." Pumice and other granular fill are barred from roof assemblies. Roswell, New Mexico sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. This hub aggregates Roswell'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 Roswell

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Roswell are set locally by City of Roswell, New Mexico - Building & Inspections Division (Community Development). New Mexico licenses roofing contractors at the state level through the Construction Industries Division, which issues a dedicated GS-21 “Roofing” classification under 14.6.6 NMAC requiring two years of foreman-level experience — roofing is also authorised inside the general GB-2 residential and GB-98 building classifications, which subsume the specialty scopes — and every CID licensee carries a flat $10,000 statewide surety bond under NMSA 1978 § 60-13-49, with no roofing-specific variance and no dollar threshold below which the licence stops applying; permitting is the part that varies, because New Mexico’s default is state permitting by CID and a city issues its own building permits only while it employs a certified building official — always confirm the current requirements with the authority before starting work.

Roofing permit
Required
Contractor registration
Required
Adopted building code
Two instruments stack and they do not print the same edition year; the City's own current publication governs. STATE LAYER: New Mexico adopts a statewide residential code at 14.7.3 NMAC (2021 New Mexico Residential Building Code). 14.7.3.8 NMAC ADOPTION states, verbatim: "This rule adopts by reference the 2021 International Residential Code, as amended by this rule." 14.7.3.6 NMAC OBJECTIVE makes it a floor, verbatim: "The purpose of this rule is to establish minimum standards for the general construction of residential buildings in New Mexico." 14.7.3.5 NMAC makes the rule effective July 14, 2023 and provides that after December 14, 2023 permits may be issued only under it. CITY LAYER: the City of Roswell Building & Inspections Division publishes a one-page "City of Roswell Building Codes" sheet, revised August 29, 2025, which lists the codes it enforces as, verbatim: "2021 IBC (NMCBC)", "2021 IRC (NMRBC)", "2021 IEBC (NMEBC)", "2021 IFC", "2020 NEC (NMEC)", "2021 IECC (NMECC)", "2021 UMC (NMMC)", "2021 UPC (NMPC)" and "2017 ANSI A117.1 (ACCESSIBILITY)" - i.e. the 2021 International Residential Code as adopted and amended by New Mexico as the New Mexico Residential Building Code. The codified adopting ordinance, Section 6-11 of the Roswell Code of Ordinances (Buildings and building regulations - Building code - Adopted), has not been re-enacted to match: it still adopts by reference "the 2015 edition of the International Building Code" and, at subsection (b), the "2015 New Mexico Residential Building Code, which adopts and amends the 2015 International Residential Code (Chapters one through eleven)" along with 2015, 2017, 2012 and 2009 editions of the other New Mexico codes. The operative edition for a permit pulled today is the 2021 set the Division publishes and enforces, which is also the only edition the state rule allows a permit to be issued under after December 14, 2023; the codified 2015 list is stale text, not a competing requirement, and in any event New Mexico's residential rule is a floor that a municipality may add to but never fall below. Roswell's Chapter 6 adopts no IRC roofing-chapter amendment of its own.
Registration details
  • license: STATE LICENCE, administered by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department's Construction Industries Division (CID) under the Construction Industries Licensing Act, Chapter 60, Article 13 NMSA 1978. It applies in Roswell exactly as everywhere else in New Mexico, and the City enforces it at the counter: its Checklist for Residential Plans states, verbatim, "B. Eligibility. A person who is not appropriately, validly and currently licensed by the division is not eligible to apply for or be issued a permit. Provided however, a homeowner's permit may be issued to a residential property owner subject to the limitations of 14.5.2.18 NMAC and an annual permit is provided as noted in 14.5.2.19 NMAC." Both the Building Permit Application and the Re-Roofing Permit Application collect the "Contractor's NM License #" (or "NM State License #") on the face of the form. Roofing has its own dedicated specialty classification, GS-21, at 14.6.6.9 NMAC, verbatim: "(12) GS-21. Roofing. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Install, alter or repair roof systems on new or existing roof decks to create a weatherproof and waterproof protective membrane, with or without insulation, using asphalt, pitch, tar, sealants, felt, shakes, shingles, roof tile, slate, urethane or any other approved materials including the preparatory work necessary to bring a roof deck or an existing roof to a condition where roofing can be installed, and sealed or repaired; includes cutting, shaping, fabricating, and installing of sheet metal such as cornices, flashing, skylights (excluding alterations to structural framing), roof coatings, gutters, leaders, rainwater downspouts, pans, prefabricated chimneys, at or near roof lines, metal flues, or doing any part of any combination thereof, which relate to and are incidental to roofing projects." Roofing is also subsumed by the general building classifications at 14.6.6.9.B NMAC, verbatim: "(1) GB-2. Residential. Requires two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residences and apartment houses accommodating not more than four family units... includes all work described by the GS specialty classifications, provided the work is limited to residential construction as defined under this provision. (2) GB-98. General building. Requires four years of foreman level practical or related trade experience of which at two years must be commercial experience. Erect, alter, repair or demolish residential and commercial buildings, and certain structures; includes all work authorized by the GB-2, GF-5, GF-7 and GS classifications..." So a standalone roofing subcontractor holds GS-21, while a general contractor re-roofing as part of building or remodelling the whole structure holds GB-2 or GB-98 and needs no separate GS-21 for that work. BOND: Section 60-13-49(B) NMSA 1978 applies to every classification including GS-21 with no roofing-specific variance, verbatim: "B. Proof of responsibility shall be a bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) acceptable to the director and underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico." Section 60-13-51 NMSA 1978 bars a municipality from stacking an additional local bond on a CID licensee, verbatim: "No municipality shall require any person or corporation licensed under the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act to file or obtain as a condition of doing business as a licensed contractor within the municipality any additional license bond as proof of responsibility if the person or corporation has met the responsibility requirements of the commission." INSURANCE: workers' compensation coverage is required under the Workers' Compensation Act, and Section 60-13-23(I) NMSA 1978 makes "failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance as required by the Workers' Compensation Act" a ground for revocation or suspension of the licence. THRESHOLD: there is no roofing-specific dollar threshold. The only no-licence path is the general casual-work exemption at Section 60-13-3(D)(14) NMSA 1978, covering "an individual who works on one undertaking or project at a time that, in the aggregate or singly, does not exceed seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) compensation a year, the work being casual, minor or inconsequential, such as handyman repairs..." - conditioned on the work not being held out as a contracting business and on an annual declaration filed with CID. That is not a "small roofing jobs are exempt" rule. Owner-builder exemptions at Section 60-13-3(D)(10)-(11) cover an individual working on their own owner-occupied dwelling, who must still comply with all codes and permits; Roswell also offers a Homeowner's Plumbing Permit for that trade. CITY LAYER: Roswell does not license roofing contractors separately and could not add a local bond on top of the CID bond, but it does require a general business registration, and both the Building Permit Application and the Re-Roofing Permit Application ask for the "City Business License #". Section 7-7 of the Roswell Code of Ordinances provides, verbatim: "There is imposed on each place of business conducted in the city a business registration fee of $35.00, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 3-38-3 as it now exists or is amended or renumbered, under this chapter. The business license registration fee shall not be prorated for businesses conducted for a portion of a year." Section 7-8 adds that "Any person proposing to engage in business or the providing of services within the city limits of the City of Roswell shall apply for and pay a business registration fee for each outlet, branch or location or place of business within the city prior to engaging in business, unless such person is required to obtain a business license under this chapter."
Permit process
The Building & Inspections Division is part of Community Development at 400 W. 2nd St., Roswell, NM 88201; mailing address PO Box 1838, Roswell, NM 88202-1838; division phone (575) 637-6280. Miller Butts is the Certified Building Official ([email protected]) and Mike Christensen is the Building Inspector, (575) 637-6293, [email protected]. Applications are emailed to [email protected] or filed through CloudPermit, the City's online permitting system, which the City describes as "an online system to apply for, submit and track your permits anytime and anywhere." The Re-Roofing Permit Application, revised April 15, 2026, asks for the re-roofing address, owner and contractor details, NM State License #, City Business License #, a detailed description of the existing roof type, a detailed description of the re-roofing installation, and the re-roofing contract cost, which sets the fee under the valuation-banded Building Fee Schedule. ELECTRICAL PERMITS ONLY HAVE MOVED TO THE STATE, AND ROOFING IS NOT AFFECTED. The City's Building Inspections page carries a notice reading, verbatim: "NOTICE: ELECTRICAL PERMIT & PLAN REVIEW & INSPECTIONS - As of January 1, 2026, and until further notice, the State of New Mexico will conduct Electrical Permit and Electrical Plan Reviews and issue Electrical Permits." and "Paul Cordova (505-670-2025; [email protected]) will serve as the primary electrical inspector covering the Roswell area at this time." That transfer is confined to the electrical trade; the City continues to issue and inspect building, plumbing and mechanical permits, including all re-roof permits, and continues to publish its own Building Official and its own fee schedule. Section 60-13-41(G) NMSA 1978 is the mechanism behind that kind of transfer, providing that where a certified building official ceases to be employed, "the plan review, permitting and inspections overseen by that certified building official shall transfer to the state unless the county, municipality or other political subdivision, within sixty days or a longer period as approved by the division, replaces that certified building official." Separately, manufactured and mobile homes are outside the City re-roof permit: "*This permit does not include manufactured/mobile homes. Permits available through state office.*" Statewide, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for Roswell roofing work: added IRC Section R903.2.1 Locations requires, verbatim, that "Approved reglets or an approved flashing shall be installed at wall and roof intersections, wherever there is a change in roof slope or direction and around roof openings"; and the canale and scupper provisions added at R905.9.4/R905.9.5, R905.11.4, R905.12.4 and R905.13.4 require taper board at roof-deck transitions to crickets, valleys and canales and state that "All canales and scuppers must have a metal pan lining extending six inches minimum... All canales or scuppers must have positive drainage." Pumice and other granular fill are barred from roof assemblies.
Inspections
A Roswell re-roof takes at least two inspections, and the first one happens with the deck open. The City's Checklist for Residential Plans, revised April 14, 2026, states under "E. Roofing", verbatim: "3. Inspections must include, at a minimum, decking inspection upon removal of existing roof and the roof system or application of roof coating systems as a final inspection upon completion of roofing project." The City's Re-Roofing Permit Application repeats the closing requirement in its own words, verbatim: "FINAL INSPECTION REQUIRED - You are required to call for a final inspection. Call the building inspector at (575) 637-6293. The installation detail you submit must not be deviated from without approval from the building inspector." and "PERMIT TO BE POSTED ON JOB SITE". The application requires the applicant to "Describe Existing roof type in detail" and "Describe Re-roofing installation in detail", and that submitted installation detail is what the inspector checks against. The same two-stage sequence is the statewide minimum: 14.5.3.9(B) NMAC lists the inspections required for work subject to the New Mexico Residential Building Code and includes, at (4), verbatim, "New and re-roofs, roof assembly inspection including decking, application of roof systems and application of roof coatings." 14.5.3.8(F) NMAC makes the sequencing binding, verbatim: "Work must be visible to be inspected and shall not be covered or used before approval is given by the inspector. Work that is covered before it is inspected, tested if applicable, and approved may be ordered uncovered by the inspector or AHJ. No work shall be performed beyond what is required for the next inspection without approval of the inspector." Notice of not less than 24 hours is required before work is to be inspected (14.5.3.8(D) NMAC), and no inspection is performed until the required fees have been paid (14.5.3.8(B) NMAC).
Portal
Permit portal

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Impact-resistant roofing materials for Roswell hail

Roswell, New Mexico 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 Roswell, New Mexico - Building & Inspections Division (Community Development)city

Roofing guides

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

Sources