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Roofing in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Hail belt

Yes — a permit is required to replace a roof in Santa Fe, NM, issued by City of Santa Fe, New Mexico - Building Division (Land Use Department). The Building Division is part of the City of Santa Fe Land Use Department, on the 1st floor of Santa Fe City Hall, 200 Lincoln Avenue (southwest entrance facing Marcy Street nearest the Convention Center); mailing address City of Santa Fe, Building Permit Division, P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909. Building Division Director is Richard Trujillo ([email protected]); the permit counter is [email protected]. Land Use office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m.; the Building Division itself is by appointment only, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m. Re-roof permits - residential and commercial - are handled as "Express" permits through the City's Citizen Self-Service (CSS) portal, with online payment; the City states that "Submittal of building permit applications by email is currently not available (except for use under special circumstances and as pre-arranged with the Building Division Manager)." The re-roof submittal package is two sets of a roof plan showing "Type of roof system, the roof slope, and roof drainage" plus "Manufacturer's specifications and installation instructions"; the application also records construction valuation, roofing square footage, roof pitch, number of existing layers and roof classification. All commercial re-roof projects additionally require professional seals attesting that "The structure is sufficient to sustain the weight of the additional dead load for the new roof system", "The roof deck is structurally sound", "Roof drains and drainage are sufficient to prevent extensive accumulation of water", "The existing roof system is securely attached to the deck", "The existing roof assembly above the deck line is dry or otherwise not deteriorated" and "Fire retardant requirements are maintained" - those six are a commercial-only sealed-professional attestation, not a residential prescriptive standard. Properties in the Historic Preservation Districts or the Escarpment Overlay District need pre-approval before the re-roof permit issues, and the City publishes a separate Re-Roof Escarpment Acknowledgment Letter. Two corrected plan sets are required per re-roof revision. Permit fees are set by the governing body under Section 7-1.3 SFCC 1987 and, per that section, "The schedule of fees adopted by the governing body replaces fees adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division as set forth in the New Mexico Administrative Code." Statewide, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for Santa Fe 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. Santa Fe, New Mexico sits in one of the country's most hail-prone regions. This hub aggregates Santa Fe'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 Santa Fe

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Santa Fe are set locally by City of Santa Fe, New Mexico - Building Division (Land Use Department). 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. 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 frames it as 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 Santa Fe publishes its own adopted-codes list, which prints, verbatim: "The City of Santa Fe has adopted the following set of international and State of New Mexico construction codes, including Santa Fe-specific amendments to the Uniform Plumbing Code and International Fire Code. The City of Santa Fe has also adopted a Green Building Code that applies to the construction of new single-family residential dwellings and accessory dwellings (guest houses)." The residential line on that list reads, verbatim: "2021 NM Residential Building Code (2021 IRC as amended by the state of New Mexico) and City of Santa Fe Green Building Code." The same list adopts NMAC 14.5.1 General Provisions, 14.5.2 Permits and 14.5.3 Inspections, and "2017 ICC A117.1-2017 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities." The codified adopting ordinance is Section 7-1.1 SFCC 1987 (Adoption of codes), which adopts by reference "Section 14.5.1 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) General Provisions", "Section 14.5.2 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Permits", "Section 14.5.3 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Inspections" and, at subparagraph (5), "2015 New Mexico Residential Building Code adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division (NMAC 14.7.3), as may be amended from time to time, which adopts and amends the International Residential Code (IRC)". The codified text still names the 2015 edition, but its own "as may be amended from time to time" clause carries the adoption forward to the current 14.7.3 NMAC rule, which is the 2021 edition the City's adopted-codes page publishes and the edition the state rule requires permits to be issued under. Santa Fe's genuinely local additions are Section 7-4 SFCC 1987 (Green Building Codes) - a Residential Green Building Code and a Residential Addition and Remodel Green Building Code - and City amendments at Sections 7-1.8 and 7-1.9 to the Uniform Plumbing Code, plus a Section 7-16.4 amendment to IBC Section 2902.2. None of those amend the IRC's roofing chapters.
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 Santa Fe exactly as everywhere else in New Mexico. 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. CITY LAYER: Santa Fe does not license roofing contractors separately, and Section 60-13-51 NMSA 1978 would bar it from adding a local bond on top of the CID bond in any event. It does require a general business registration. Section 18-2.3 SFCC 1987 imposes "on each place of business conducted in the city and not licensed pursuant to Section 3-38-1, NMSA 1978, and Section 18-1, Business Licenses, an annual business registration fee in the amount of thirty-five dollars ($35.00)," and Section 18-2.4 requires any person proposing to engage in business to "apply to the city for a certificate of occupancy and pay a business registration fee of thirty-five dollars ($35.00), for each outlet, branch, location, or person doing business in the municipal limits of the city, prior to engaging in business." Contracting is not among the trades enumerated for a Section 18-1 SFCC 1987 business licence, so a roofing contractor falls under the Section 18-2 registration. Consistently with that, the City's Re-Roof Permit Application collects both a "State License #" and a "City License #" from the contractor.
Permit process
The Building Division is part of the City of Santa Fe Land Use Department, on the 1st floor of Santa Fe City Hall, 200 Lincoln Avenue (southwest entrance facing Marcy Street nearest the Convention Center); mailing address City of Santa Fe, Building Permit Division, P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909. Building Division Director is Richard Trujillo ([email protected]); the permit counter is [email protected]. Land Use office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m.; the Building Division itself is by appointment only, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m. Re-roof permits - residential and commercial - are handled as "Express" permits through the City's Citizen Self-Service (CSS) portal, with online payment; the City states that "Submittal of building permit applications by email is currently not available (except for use under special circumstances and as pre-arranged with the Building Division Manager)." The re-roof submittal package is two sets of a roof plan showing "Type of roof system, the roof slope, and roof drainage" plus "Manufacturer's specifications and installation instructions"; the application also records construction valuation, roofing square footage, roof pitch, number of existing layers and roof classification. All commercial re-roof projects additionally require professional seals attesting that "The structure is sufficient to sustain the weight of the additional dead load for the new roof system", "The roof deck is structurally sound", "Roof drains and drainage are sufficient to prevent extensive accumulation of water", "The existing roof system is securely attached to the deck", "The existing roof assembly above the deck line is dry or otherwise not deteriorated" and "Fire retardant requirements are maintained" - those six are a commercial-only sealed-professional attestation, not a residential prescriptive standard. Properties in the Historic Preservation Districts or the Escarpment Overlay District need pre-approval before the re-roof permit issues, and the City publishes a separate Re-Roof Escarpment Acknowledgment Letter. Two corrected plan sets are required per re-roof revision. Permit fees are set by the governing body under Section 7-1.3 SFCC 1987 and, per that section, "The schedule of fees adopted by the governing body replaces fees adopted by the state of New Mexico construction industries division as set forth in the New Mexico Administrative Code." Statewide, two Chapter 9 amendments in 14.7.3.17 NMAC are on point for Santa Fe 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 re-roof in Santa Fe takes at least two inspections: a decking inspection after the existing roof covering comes off, and a final inspection when the new roof system or coating is complete. This is local law in Santa Fe because the City adopts the state permitting and inspection rules by ordinance rather than leaving them to the state. Section 7-1.1(A) SFCC 1987 (Adoption of codes) provides that "the following provisions and codes are adopted by reference and incorporated as fully as if set out herein unless otherwise amended by the city" and lists at (1)-(3) "Section 14.5.1 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) General Provisions", "Section 14.5.2 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Permits" and "Section 14.5.3 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Inspections"; the City's own adopted-construction-codes page repeats the same three, as "New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC): 14.5.1 General Provisions; 14.5.2 Permits; 14.5.3 Inspections". 14.5.2.8(E) NMAC (Roofing) then provides, verbatim: "(1) All new roof installations and re-roofs require building permits and inspections. (2) All applications of roof coating systems require building permits and inspections. (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." 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." Notification must be given not less than 24 hours before the work is to be inspected (14.5.3.8(D) NMAC), and no inspection is performed until the required fees are paid (14.5.3.8(B) NMAC).
Portal
Permit portal

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Impact-resistant roofing materials for Santa Fe hail

Santa Fe, 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 Santa Fe, New Mexico - Building Division (Land Use Department)city

Roofing guides

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

Sources