This is the City of Madison. Fitchburg, Middleton, Monona, Sun Prairie, Verona and the rest of Dane County issue their own permits.
The rule
The Development Services Center's Permits page (read 24 October 2026) lists four "building trades" jobs that go through the City's Accela portal as repair and replacement building permits: door replacement, roofing ("reroof house or garage"), siding, and windows and frames. Re-roofing a detached garage is in the same list. Questions go to Building Inspection at 608-266-4551.
| Question | City of Madison answer |
|---|---|
| Re-roof a house | Building permit (repair/replace) |
| Re-roof a garage | Same permit type |
| Siding, windows, doors | Same building-trades application, as separate permits |
| Fee | $11.00 per $1,000 of value or fraction, $25.00 minimum |
| Where to apply | Accela Citizen Access, Repair/Replace Construction |
| Help | 608-266-4551; 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Suite 017, by appointment |
The City's pages don't say whether an owner may file a re-roof permit for their own house, so ask Building Inspection if you plan to do it yourself.
What it costs
The City's Building Inspection Fees page sets "Alterations and repairs to existing structures" at $11.00 per $1,000 of value or fraction thereof, $25.00 minimum. Worked on our numbers:
| Declared value | Permit fee |
|---|---|
| $12,516 (bottom of the middle half) | $143 |
| $17,500 (usual Madison re-roof) | $198 |
| $25,483 (top of the middle half) | $286 |
A job declared at $2,000 or less pays the $25 minimum.
How to apply
- The roofer, or you if Building Inspection confirms you may, applies in Accela Citizen Access under the building trades repair and replacement form for roofing.
- Declare the value of the work; the fee is figured from it.
- Siding or new windows on the same job are separate building-trades permits.
- For general repairs over $500, the City's Permit Applications page says to contact Building Inspection.
What 10,858 Madison roofing permits show
From Madison roofing permits, permits issued October 2024 to September 2026:
| Measure | City of Madison roofing |
|---|---|
| Issued | 10,858 (23% of all permits) |
| Last 12 months / 12 months before | 8,352 / 2,506 (+233%) |
| May / June / July 2026 | 1,596 / 2,052 / 1,635 |
| Same months in 2025 | 181 / 240 / 489 |
| Usual declared value | $17,500 (middle half $12,516 to $25,483) |
| Busiest / quietest month (index) | June (253) / December (11) |
| Single-family homes | 9,488 (87%) |
| ZIPs with the most | 53704 (2,374, 22%), 53714 (992), 53718 (722) |
Roofing in Madison is a warm-season trade: May to September hold most permits and December to February very few. The 2026 jump is the story. From May 2026 the City's re-roofing and siding permits ran at about 2,000 building permits a month, against 500 to 900 a year earlier, and 53704 alone had 2,374 roofing permits. The file does not say why. When roofers are this busy, the City's permit search is the quickest check that your roofer actually filed: search your address in Accela. Year, month and ZIP counts are on Madison permit statistics and the rows on browse Madison permits; the roofing page also lists the contractors named on the most permits, which is volume, not quality.
Before you hire
Use the Madison building permit search guide to look up the permit and any past roofs on the house. Rules elsewhere: roof replacement and siding. Costs: roof replacement cost.
What this does not tell you
The City's reports have no status or final inspection date, so we can't say which re-roofs passed final. Declared values are written at application, not the final bill. Roofing permits are picked out of the City's repair and alteration permits, so a roof filed with a broader description may count as a remodel.
How we know this
The permit list and building-trades route are from the City of Madison Development Services Center's Permits page, the fee from its Building Inspection Fees page and the repairs note from its Permit Applications page, all read 24 October 2026. Our counts and declared values are the City's Construction Summary permit report (CSV export), read 19 October 2026: roofing permits issued October 2024 to September 2026. Fee examples are our arithmetic from the City's rate.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Madison, WI?
Yes. The City of Madison's Development Services Center lists 'Reroof your house or garage' as permit work, filed online in Accela with the building trades (doors, roofing, siding, windows).
- How much is a roofing permit in Madison?
The City's fee for alterations and repairs to existing structures is $11.00 per $1,000 of value or fraction thereof, with a $25.00 minimum. On the usual declared re-roof value of $17,500 that is $198.
- Do I need a permit to re-roof a garage in Madison?
Yes. The City's permit list covers reroofing a house or a garage, both through the same Accela building trades application.
- Why are there so many roofing permits in Madison in 2026?
The City's re-roofing and siding permits jumped from May 2026, to about 2,000 building permits a month in May to July 2026 against 500 to 900 a year earlier. Roofing permits went from 2,506 (October 2024 to September 2025) to 8,352 (October 2025 to September 2026). The City's file does not give a reason.
- What is the usual cost of a re-roof in Madison?
The usual declared value on a City of Madison roofing permit from October 2024 to September 2026 was $17,500, with the middle half between $12,516 and $25,483. That is the value written at application, not the final bill.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
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