Do I Need a Permit to Replace My Roof in San Antonio?

The city's home remodeling guidance is direct: re-roofing your home needs a permit, and any time you're replacing or installing a roof you need one.¹ The Development Services Department's residential permit page lists two re-roof permit types, one with no change in pitch and one with a change in pitch.² Roofing does not appear on the city's list of projects that typically don't need a permit.³

For a typical replacement, where the old shingles come off and new ones go on at the same slope, the permit is issued over the counter.² The FY 2027 development fee schedule, revised October 2026, lists a flat "Residential Repair Existing Re-Roof Fee" of $28.75. Unless the schedule notes otherwise, fees also carry a 4% Technological Improvement surcharge and a 4% Development Services surcharge.⁴ The permit ends with a final building inspection by the city's Inspection Division.⁵

The re-roof application also restates the model code's layer limit: a maximum of two layers of roofing is allowed.⁵ The code doesn't allow a new layer over two or more existing layers, or over a water-soaked or deteriorated roof.⁶ Whether a roof-over is a good idea even when it's allowed is a separate question, covered in roofing over existing shingles.

What about repairs?

The city's published guidance is clearer about re-roofing than about small repairs. Its residential permits page notes that some general repairs don't need a permit,² but its no-permit list doesn't mention roofing at all.³ If you're replacing a few shingles or a pipe boot, ask Development Services before assuming either way. For a full or partial re-roof, plan on a permit.

Texas does not currently require a state-issued license for reroofing contractors.⁷ In San Antonio, the city's contractor registration fills part of that gap, and it decides who can pull a re-roof permit:²

• Registered Home Improvement Contractor. Can obtain the no-pitch-change re-roof permit. The city says a Home Improvement Contractor registration is needed to receive a permit.⁸
• Registered Residential Building Contractor. Can obtain all residential building permits, including a re-roof that changes the pitch.
• Homeowner. Can pull either re-roof type with proof of ownership.

Home Improvement registration isn't a formality. The city requires an FBI background check, government-issued photo ID, a fee of $150 for two years, and a certificate of liability insurance naming the City of San Antonio as certificate holder, with minimums of $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate and $300,000 products and completed operations.⁸ A contractor who pulls your permit has met those requirements; one who can't pull it hasn't.

Be careful when a contractor asks you to pull it

A homeowner who applies attests that they own the home and will own and occupy or rent it for 12 months after completion, and takes responsibility for all required inspections.⁵ When a contractor applies, they sign as the owner's authorized agent. If a roofer asks you to pull the permit in your own name, ask why. One possible reason is that they aren't registered with the city. More on vetting in how to choose a roofing contractor.

A like-for-like shingle replacement is the simple case. These change it:⁵

• Changing the pitch. Full plan review, and a Residential Building Contractor or the homeowner as applicant.²
• Changing the slope or switching to tile. An engineer's assessment inspection report is required to clear the framing inspection. Tile is heavy, and the city wants confirmation the framing can carry it. See tile roofing.
• Pipes, vents and other penetrations extended above the new roofline. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits, secured by licensed trade contractors.
• Exposing the attic or ceiling. If existing insulation is inadequate, the energy code may require adding insulation.

Switching from shingles to standing seam metal at the same pitch doesn't appear on the application's list of triggers. If you're considering metal, confirm the permit path for your address with your contractor before you sign.

Properties zoned with an H, HS, HE or HL overlay are considered historic and are reviewed by the Office of Historic Preservation. All exterior modifications and repairs on those properties require a Certificate of Appropriateness.⁹ The roof is part of the exterior.

• Minor projects can usually be approved by OHP staff without a hearing.
• Projects that need a public hearing before the Historic and Design Review Commission have applications due 19 days before the meeting, and certificates are usually issued within 10 days after it.
• Residential applications have no fee.
• Work started without a certificate can bring a stop work order and a $500 post-work application fee.⁹

Properties in historic, neighborhood conservation or corridor districts can also face restrictions on design and materials.³ If your house is in one, settle the material and color before you schedule the work. Historic review adds calendar time, so start it early.

A San Antonio mailing address doesn't mean San Antonio city limits. Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills, Castle Hills, Windcrest, Live Oak, Universal City and other cities inside or beside San Antonio issue their own permits, and a San Antonio permit doesn't cover them. Check your city on your appraisal district record or tax bill.

• Alamo Heights uses its own master permit application, which lists roofing among the trades and asks for the trade license number.¹⁰
• Universal City requires a permit for all roofing projects of one square (100 square feet) or more, requires the permit to be posted where it's visible from the street, requires all existing layers to be removed before a new roof goes on, and requires anyone contracting in the city to register with it. Its bulletin lists fines of $200 to $2,000 a day for work without proper permits.¹¹ See our Universal City roofing guide.
• Schertz requires a permit for a roof replacement but not for a roof repair, and the contractor has to be registered with the city. See our Schertz roofing guide.
• Live Oak, Alamo Heights and Windcrest require roofers to hold a city roofing contractor license, much as Universal City requires registration, and these cities stop work by contractors without one.

Rules really do differ city to city. Austin, for comparison, exempts asphalt-shingle-for-asphalt-shingle replacement from a building permit unless the property is in its Wildland-Urban Interface area and half or more of the roof is being replaced.¹² Don't assume the rule from one city carries to the next.

HOA approval is separate from all of these. San Antonio's re-roof application states that the city enforces city and state rules, not covenants or deed restrictions.⁵ See how to prepare for a roof replacement for the HOA step.

A re-roof permit costs little and adds little time on a same-pitch job. What it gives you:

• A registered contractor. In San Antonio, a Home Improvement Contractor pulling the permit has passed a background check and filed liability insurance with the city.⁸
• A third-party final inspection. The city inspects the finished work.⁵
• Structural review when it matters. A pitch change or a heavier material triggers an engineer's report and framing inspection instead of a guess.
• A public record. The permit documents when the roof was replaced, which helps when you sell, refinance or answer an insurer's question about roof age.

Permits also screen out some of the worst post-storm actors. The Texas Department of Insurance warns that out-of-town scam artists may be the first to arrive at your door after a disaster.¹³ A contractor who isn't registered with the city can't pull a permit for you, so one who suggests skipping the permit deserves a second look.

Because Texas has no state license for reroofing contractors,⁷ local registration and permits carry more weight here than in states with statewide licensing. Each city in the San Antonio area decides for itself, which is why rules change across a single street at a city line.

The pressure point is spring hail. After a big storm, crews from outside the region arrive, and the ones who aren't registered with your city can't pull one. Asking "who pulls the permit, and what's the number?" before you sign is one of the simplest checks a homeowner can make.