Yes. You need a permit to reroof in Hillsborough County, under the Florida Building Code, whether the roof is shingle, metal or tile. There is no carve-out for small projects, budget materials or owner-occupied homes.
The permit is also what ties your roofer to the job. When a licensed roofing contractor pulls it, their license is on the public record for your address, and the passed final inspection shows the roof was installed to current code. That record is what your insurer and a future buyer's inspector will ask for.
Who issues the permit
It depends on where the house sits.
- Unincorporated Hillsborough County: Hillsborough County's building department, online through its permit portal.
- City of Tampa: the City of Tampa's own permitting office.
- Temple Terrace or Plant City: each city's own building department.
If you are not sure which side of a city line your address is on, your roofer should check before applying. Applying to the wrong office means starting over.
What the code requires
Florida Product Approval. Every roofing product installed in Florida must carry a Florida Product Approval for the wind speed at your address. The inspector checks that what went on the roof matches.
The deck and water barrier. A reroof is torn off to the deck, the deck is fastened to current code, and the underlayment goes down before the new roof covers it. That is why the county checks the work partway through.
No more than two layers. If your roof already has two layers, the next one is a full tear-off.
What the application includes
Your roofer normally applies for you. The application carries the contractor's state license, the scope of work, the roof size and the materials, and the Florida Product Approvals for the products being installed.
The inspections
A Hillsborough County reroof is inspected twice: a progress check of the deck and the underlayment before the new roof covers them, and a final inspection once the work is done. Your roofer books both. A passed final closes the permit and puts on record that the roof was built to current code.
The risks of skipping it
- Fines and stop-work orders. The county can halt the job and fine, and getting a permit after the fact costs more than pulling it up front.
- Insurance questions. A roof with no permit on record is hard to prove was built to code.
- Trouble at sale. Unpermitted work turns up in a buyer's inspection or the permit search and can delay or block a sale.
A permitted reroof is a documented, code compliant roof. If you are planning one, our guide to roof replacement cost in Tampa covers what sets the price, and every package on our roof replacement page includes the permit.
Can a homeowner pull their own reroof permit in Hillsborough County?
Yes. Florida lets a homeowner pull an owner-builder permit for their own primary residence, but the owner then carries the responsibility a licensed contractor would. Most homeowners have their roofer pull it.
Do small roof repairs need a permit?
A full reroof always does. A small repair may not, depending on its scope. We tell you whether yours needs one and pull it if it does.
What happens if my roofer skips the permit?
As the homeowner, you carry the risk. Unpermitted work can bring fines, and it surfaces when you sell or when your insurer asks for the roof's records. Make sure the permit is pulled before work starts.
Is the permit included in your price?
Always. We pull the permit, meet the county inspections and close it out. It is in every package price.
The service: Roof replacement