What's Required in San Francisco
- A permit is required before installing, repairing or removing roofing material unless the work stays under 25 percent of the roof in 12 months with no sheathing work.
- Only a licensed C-39 roofing contractor registered with the City can apply for the online reroofing permit.
- The online permit is limited to work without plans and without replacing framing, decking or sheathing; structural work goes over the counter with plans.
- The reroofing permit fee is $320 for single-family homes and duplexes and $556 for other buildings, with the street space permit fee bundled in.
- Landmark historic buildings need a Planning Approval Letter (or confirmation none is required) and photos of the existing roof.
- The application must state existing and proposed materials, roof pitch, any hot work, and the street space needed.
- Commercial buildings replacing more than half the roof area or 2,000 sq ft must provide cool-roof information.
- Street space parking signs must be activated at Public Works after the reroofing permit issues, and inspections are requested from PermitSF.
Do You Need a Permit to Replace a Roof in San Francisco?
Yes. The Department of Building Inspection (DBI) says you need a permit before installing, repairing or removing roofing material, and it runs a dedicated online reroofing permit for it. The one exemption is small: Building Code 106A.2 item 13 lets you reroof without a permit only if no roof sheathing is installed, repaired or removed and the area reroofed in any 12-month period does not exceed 25 percent of the roof. A full tear-off and re-cover is a permit every time. If the job replaces framing, decking or sheathing, or otherwise needs plans, it is no longer a simple reroof and goes to the Permit Center as an over-the-counter building permit priced on valuation instead of the flat reroofing fee.
San Francisco Roof Replacement Permit Rules by Scenario
| What you are doing | City filing | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Patching leaks or recovering up to 25 percent of the roof in 12 months, no sheathing work | None | SF Building Code 106A.2 item 13 |
| Full reroof of a house or duplex, same materials, no structural work | Online reroofing permit | $514 and up on DBI's page; $320 reroofing fee in Table 1A-G |
| Full reroof of a 3-unit or larger building | Online reroofing permit | $714 and up; $556 reroofing fee in Table 1A-G |
| Replacing rotten sheathing, rafters or decking | OTC building permit with plans | Valuation-based plan review plus issuance fee |
| Reroof on a landmark or historic building | Reroofing permit + Planning Approval Letter | Staff review, target two business days |
| Adding skylights or solar with the reroof | Reroofing permit; separate solar or building permit | Solar PV 10 kW or less $320 electrical |
| Dumpster or materials on the street or sidewalk | Public Works street space permit | Fee bundled into the reroofing permit |
How Much Does a Roof Replacement Permit Cost in San Francisco?
Reroofing is one of the few DBI permits with a flat fee. Table 1A-G, effective July 12, 2026, sets the re-roofing permit fee at $320 for single-family homes and duplexes and $556 for all others. DBI's online reroofing page quotes a higher starting figure, $514 and up for houses and duplexes and $714 and up for other building types, and explains why: the Public Works street space permit fee is included in the reroofing permit fee, because a roofing job with a dumpster, scaffold or materials in the street or on the sidewalk needs one. Add the state's $4 per $100,000 valuation fee (minimum $1) and the strong-motion fee of 0.00013 times valuation. DBI's cost schedule values reroofing at $10 per square foot of roof area, so a 1,500 sq ft roof is valued at $15,000 for those small state fees. A structural reroof is priced differently: it becomes an over-the-counter building permit on the Table 1A-A valuation schedule, where a $15,000 job pays a $310 plus $28.35-per-$1,000 plan review fee and a $266 plus $8.56-per-$1,000 issuance fee, about $1,056 in all. If Planning must review a roof replacement, its fee for windows, roofs, siding and doors approved over the counter is half its normal building-permit application fee.
Who Can Pull a Reroofing Permit in San Francisco?
Online, only a licensed C-39 roofing contractor registered with the City can apply, and DBI recommends an AUTH number on PermitSF first. An authorized agent may file on the contractor's behalf by uploading the contractor's driver's license and a signed Licensed Contractor Statement. For non-historic residential buildings the permit issues immediately if the contractor authorization record was in place at least two business days earlier; otherwise, and for historic or commercial buildings, staff review it with a two-business-day goal. Property owners may pull building permits in San Francisco, but the online reroofing permit is a contractor product; an owner doing their own roof would file at the Permit Center, and state law still bars anyone unlicensed from taking a paid roofing job over $1,000 or any job that needs a permit.
How the Process Works
The PermitSF form asks for the building's occupancy, construction type and stories, the existing and proposed roofing material, whether the roof is flat or pitched, whether anything visible from the street changes, whether hot work such as torch-down will be done, how much street space is needed and for how long, the valuation, and photos plus a Planning Approval Letter for landmark buildings. Commercial buildings replacing more than half the roof or 2,000 sq ft must supply cool-roof information. Pay online or at the Permit Center kiosk, activate the street space permit and post its parking signs at Public Works, then request inspections from the PermitSF dashboard as the job proceeds.
How to Get a Roof Replacement Permit in San Francisco
Check the exemption and the scope
Under 25 percent of the roof in 12 months with no sheathing work needs no permit; a full reroof needs one, and any sheathing or framing replacement moves it to an over-the-counter building permit.
Have a C-39 contractor apply on PermitSF
The roofer, or their authorized agent, enters the building details, materials, pitch, hot work, street space needs and valuation; an AUTH number on file two business days ahead makes issuance immediate for non-historic homes.
Pay the fee
$514 and up for houses and duplexes, $714 and up for other buildings, paid online or at the Permit Center kiosk; the permit issues once paid.
Activate the street space permit
Get the no-parking signs from Public Works and post them before the dumpster or scaffold goes in; the fee is already in the reroofing permit.
Request inspections
Schedule inspections from the PermitSF dashboard as the roof goes on; a structural reroof follows the building permit's inspection sequence instead.