Roofing in Williston, North Dakota

Required

The City of Williston publishes its adopted code on its own Building Safety FAQ, which states that as of January 1, 2026 the City follows the North Dakota State Building Code, consisting of the 2024 International Building Code, 2024 International Fire Code, 2024 International Residential Code, 2024 International Mechanical Code, 2024 International Fuel and Gas Code, 2024 International Energy Efficiency Code and the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, together with the Laws, Rules and Wiring Standards of North Dakota, being the 2026 edition of NFPA 70 (National Electrical Code) and the 2018 edition of NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code). Residential roofing therefore runs on the 2024 International Residential Code as adopted through the state code. Note the North Dakota framework this sits in, because it decides how far the answer travels: NDCC 54-21.3-03 provides that 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, and that the state building code may be amended by cities, townships and counties to conform to local needs. North Dakota attaches no stringency limit, no state-approval step and no notice requirement to that local amendment power, so a North Dakota roofing answer is a per-city question and the state code is a starting point rather than a ceiling or a floor. Williston's own adoption is expressly floating rather than frozen: Code of Ordinances Section 5-11 adopts "the regulations contained in the State Building Code adopted under N.D.C.C. Section 54-21.3-03" without naming an edition, and Section 5-31 provides that those provisions "may be amended, supplemented, added to and modified" by rules promulgated by the State and by subsequent amendments approved by the membership of the International Code Council. That is why the City moves to a new edition without passing a new adopting ordinance. Two cautions follow. First, the North Dakota State Building Code states that no appendices are adopted at state level, so any ICC appendix in force in Williston is there because Williston itself adopted it. Second, while the base code floats, the City's own amendment text did not float with it: its building and residential amendment lists, Code of Ordinances Sections 5-13.1 and 5-14.1, were enacted in 2014 by Ordinances 997-A and 997-B and are written against the 2012 editions by section number. Both are still on the books.

Williston's Building Safety Division sits within City Development Services at 113 4th Street East, 2nd Floor, Williston, and takes permit applications by email at [email protected] or at the counter; the department line is 701-577-8115. To apply the City asks for the address and legal description of the property, the intended use, the estimated cost of construction, and a site plan showing the size and location of all existing buildings together with the proposed project; basic construction drawings help, and new homes need two sets of drawings, a complete set of truss drawings and a completed application. The City states that a permit generally takes less than an hour to issue depending on the information provided and the complexity of the project, that new homes and garages need a minimum of three weeks, and that failing to allow enough time for approval before starting work will result in a fine. Approved plans must be kept on the job site from the beginning of construction until the building is complete and all final inspections are made. Williston will not issue the permit until it has a copy of the contractor's North Dakota contractor licence and current liability insurance on file.