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Roofing in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Swarthmore, PA, issued by Swarthmore Borough - Borough Office. Swarthmore Borough's fee schedule lists a roofing permit for repairs and for an entire re-roof. The Borough's Resolution No. 13-2025, its schedule of fees for 2026 (resolved December 8, 2025, read October 9, 2026), lists a "Roofing Permit" at "Repair up to 50% of the roof $150.00" and "Entire re-roof $250.00". The Borough's Forms & Permits page lists the "Building Permit Application (Includes new buildings, additions and alterations, fences, sheds, roofing, driveways and demolition)", and that application has a Roofing section asking whether the work is a "Roof Repair" or a "New Roof/Total Reroof" and for the "Number of roofing layers when permitted work is complete." 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). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Swarthmore Borough filing requiring a building permit for utility and miscellaneous use structures and other accessory structures "which propose a building area greater than 200 square feet" (and smaller ones with electricity, HVAC or plumbing), with the note "Change found to be in compliance with 35 P.S. § 7210.503 (b); approval letter mailed 10 / 22 / 2013"; that filing names no roof work. In practice, expect the Borough to require a roofing permit for a reroof: its 2026 fee schedule prices an "Entire re-roof" at $250.00, and "All building permits carry a $4.50 Labor and Industry Fee." No Borough text read for this record states a penalty for roofing without a permit. The Borough Code is published on a host that refused automated access when read for this record, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code and any permit or exemption section in it were not read. The fee schedule says "the Building Code Official may require the applicant to provide a contract or other similar documentation to verify the estimated project cost," lists a Contractor License at $100.00, and says "All contractors, including those licensed exclusively by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, must carry minimum insurance of $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit (CSL) and Workers' Compensation Insurance as required by law"; the application asks for the contractor's insurance company and license number. The Borough office (610-543-4599) is open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read for this answer: the Borough's Forms & Permits page; Resolution No. 13-2025 with its 2026 fee schedule, all six pages; and the Application for Building Permit. The Borough Code itself was not read. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Swarthmore

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Swarthmore are set locally by Swarthmore Borough - Borough Office. 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, Swarthmore Borough in Delaware County issues building permits from the Borough office at 121 Park Avenue, on its own Application for Building Permit, which provides for sign-off by the Borough's Zoning Officer, Building Inspector and Building Code Official; the Borough's pages read for this record do not name a third-party inspection firm. The Borough Code is published on a host that refused automated access when read for this record, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code and any permit or exemption section in it were not read. The Borough's permit pages and forms name no residential code edition.
Permit process
Swarthmore Borough's fee schedule lists a roofing permit for repairs and for an entire re-roof. The Borough's Resolution No. 13-2025, its schedule of fees for 2026 (resolved December 8, 2025, read October 9, 2026), lists a "Roofing Permit" at "Repair up to 50% of the roof $150.00" and "Entire re-roof $250.00". The Borough's Forms & Permits page lists the "Building Permit Application (Includes new buildings, additions and alterations, fences, sheds, roofing, driveways and demolition)", and that application has a Roofing section asking whether the work is a "Roof Repair" or a "New Roof/Total Reroof" and for the "Number of roofing layers when permitted work is complete." 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). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists a Swarthmore Borough filing requiring a building permit for utility and miscellaneous use structures and other accessory structures "which propose a building area greater than 200 square feet" (and smaller ones with electricity, HVAC or plumbing), with the note "Change found to be in compliance with 35 P.S. § 7210.503 (b); approval letter mailed 10 / 22 / 2013"; that filing names no roof work. In practice, expect the Borough to require a roofing permit for a reroof: its 2026 fee schedule prices an "Entire re-roof" at $250.00, and "All building permits carry a $4.50 Labor and Industry Fee." No Borough text read for this record states a penalty for roofing without a permit. The Borough Code is published on a host that refused automated access when read for this record, so the Borough's ordinance adopting the Uniform Construction Code and any permit or exemption section in it were not read. The fee schedule says "the Building Code Official may require the applicant to provide a contract or other similar documentation to verify the estimated project cost," lists a Contractor License at $100.00, and says "All contractors, including those licensed exclusively by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, must carry minimum insurance of $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit (CSL) and Workers' Compensation Insurance as required by law"; the application asks for the contractor's insurance company and license number. The Borough office (610-543-4599) is open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read for this answer: the Borough's Forms & Permits page; Resolution No. 13-2025 with its 2026 fee schedule, all six pages; and the Application for Building Permit. The Borough Code itself was not read.

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Roofing materials for Swarthmore

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

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Local permitting authority

Swarthmore Borough - Borough Officecity

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Sources