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Roofing in Upper Southampton Township, Pennsylvania

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Upper Southampton Township, PA, issued by Upper Southampton Township - Code, Building & Zoning Department. Upper Southampton Township's code requires a permit for replacement of existing roofing. Section 73-3 of the Township Code (amended by Ord. No. 453, October 2, 2018) says "Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary established in the Uniform Construction Code and as permitted by Section 403.102(1) in its entirety, permits shall be required for: A. Replacement of existing siding [403.62(c)] and roofing." The department's page says "A permit must be issued by the Township before work is begun on the following" and lists "Additions or alterations to existing structures or buildings (re-roofing, siding, etc.)", and the Township's fee schedule (Resolution #2026-11, resolved June 9, 2026) has a "REROOFING and RESIDING" category priced at "$125 per unit" for residential work. 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 Township to require a permit for a reroof. The fee schedule says "All Fees referenced within this section shall be doubled" where a project is started without the applicable permits. The department asks that permit forms not be emailed: "Permits are to be mailed or dropped off with payment between 9:00AM - 3:00PM," and its Documents, Forms & Permits page says checks and credit cards are accepted, not cash. The Application for Building Permit asks for the contractor's license and insurance. Chapter 75 of the Township Code, the Upper Southampton Township Contractor Licensing Ordinance, defines a contractor as one who "undertakes or offers to perform construction, repair, re-roofing, remodeling" and other work in the Township, and Section 75-4 says "No person shall act as a contractor in the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter." The department's telephone is 215-322-9700, ext. 123. Read for this answer: Chapter 73 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full, with Ordinance No. 487 (enacted March 10, 2026), which replaced Section 73-2 B; Chapter 75, Contractors; Chapter A188, Fee Schedule, which points to the fee resolution; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the department's page and its Documents, Forms & Permits page; the Application for Building Permit; and the June 2026 fee schedule, a scanned copy read from the page images. This hub aggregates roofing permit and contractor-registration requirements for Upper Southampton Township, Pennsylvania, along with sourced roofing material references — every fact linked to its directory record.

Roofing permits & building code in Upper Southampton Township

Roofing permit and contractor-licensing rules in Upper Southampton Township are set locally by Upper Southampton Township - Code, Building & Zoning Department. 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, Upper Southampton Township administers the code itself: Section 73-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby continues to elect to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Township's Code, Building & Zoning Department, at 939 Street Road, Southampton, "is responsible for receiving and processing permit applications and collecting fees related to all building and zoning within the Township," with a Code Enforcement Officer and a Permit Clerk in its staff directory. Section 73-2 A adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Ordinance No. 487, enacted March 10, 2026, replaced Section 73-2 B with the local entries for the 2021 editions of the International codes, including the International Residential Code's Table R301.2. Section 73-6 A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted on or before July 1, 1999 that equal or exceed the code; none is published with the chapter. Apart from Section 73-3's permit requirement, Chapter 73 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.
Permit process
Upper Southampton Township's code requires a permit for replacement of existing roofing. Section 73-3 of the Township Code (amended by Ord. No. 453, October 2, 2018) says "Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary established in the Uniform Construction Code and as permitted by Section 403.102(1) in its entirety, permits shall be required for: A. Replacement of existing siding [403.62(c)] and roofing." The department's page says "A permit must be issued by the Township before work is begun on the following" and lists "Additions or alterations to existing structures or buildings (re-roofing, siding, etc.)", and the Township's fee schedule (Resolution #2026-11, resolved June 9, 2026) has a "REROOFING and RESIDING" category priced at "$125 per unit" for residential work. 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 Township to require a permit for a reroof. The fee schedule says "All Fees referenced within this section shall be doubled" where a project is started without the applicable permits. The department asks that permit forms not be emailed: "Permits are to be mailed or dropped off with payment between 9:00AM - 3:00PM," and its Documents, Forms & Permits page says checks and credit cards are accepted, not cash. The Application for Building Permit asks for the contractor's license and insurance. Chapter 75 of the Township Code, the Upper Southampton Township Contractor Licensing Ordinance, defines a contractor as one who "undertakes or offers to perform construction, repair, re-roofing, remodeling" and other work in the Township, and Section 75-4 says "No person shall act as a contractor in the Township except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter." The department's telephone is 215-322-9700, ext. 123. Read for this answer: Chapter 73 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform, in full, with Ordinance No. 487 (enacted March 10, 2026), which replaced Section 73-2 B; Chapter 75, Contractors; Chapter A188, Fee Schedule, which points to the fee resolution; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the department's page and its Documents, Forms & Permits page; the Application for Building Permit; and the June 2026 fee schedule, a scanned copy read from the page images.

View the full Upper Southampton Township permitting authority record →

Roofing materials for Upper Southampton Township

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

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Local permitting authority

Upper Southampton Township - Code, Building & Zoning Departmentcity

Roofing guides

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