What the Roofing permit covers
From the City's Do I Need a Permit? page (read 23 October 2026):
| Job | Permit in Waco |
|---|---|
| New shingles, felt and flashing | Roofing permit |
| Replacing up to 32 sq ft of decking | Roofing permit |
| Replacing more than 32 sq ft of decking | Repairs and Alterations permit: "Any work beyond the 32 square feet of decking requires a Repairs and Alterations permit." |
| Siding and sheetrock | Listed as not requiring a permit (roofing is not on that list) |
Thirty-two square feet is one 4-by-8 sheet. A tear-off that finds rotten decking across a slope is over the line, so ask the roofer what happens to the permit if they find more. The City builds to the currently adopted International Residential Code and Chapter 6 of its Code of Ordinances.
Who pulls it
Texas has no roofing license: the TDLR list of regulated trades has none, and in our file 0.5% of Waco roofing firms matched any TDLR license. The City's pages we read do not say whether a homeowner may pull the Roofing permit themselves; the homestead-owner rule Waco publishes is written for electrical, plumbing, mechanical and irrigation permits. Ask Inspection Services on (254) 750-5612 before you plan to do it yourself.
How to apply and get inspected
- Apply in the City's Citizen Self Service portal. The scope goes in the application; there is no separate roofing checklist.
- Request each inspection online by 4 p.m. the day before. The required inspections are "listed on the permit in the required sequence" (Inspection Procedures); the City does not publish a roofing-specific list.
- Make sure the final is called. This is the step Waco roofing permits skip most (see below).
What it costs
From the City's fee schedules (read 23 October 2026):
| Fee line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Roofing (Repairs & Alterations to Existing Residential Structures) | $125 |
| Technology Fee, building | $15 |
| Failed reinspection: 1st / 2nd / 3rd or later | $55 / $100 / $150 |
The page does not say whether the technology fee is added to the roofing line; the portal invoice is the final word. A job that turns into a Repairs and Alterations permit is priced differently.
What 1,855 Waco roofing permits show
| Measure | Waco roofing |
|---|---|
| Permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026 | 1,855 |
| Firms | 211 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months of the window | 101 |
| Usual filed value | $9,100 |
| Middle half of firms' usual value (3+ permits) | $7,550 to $14,000 |
| Permits that carry a value | 55.9% |
| Finaled (permits a year or more old) | 59.6% |
| Usual days from issue to final | 53 |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm's finaled share (10+ permits) | 5.9% / 97.0% |
| Firms under 70% finaled | 20 of 32 |
| Firms with a single permit | 107 (50.7%) |
| Busiest / quietest month | June (index 140) / January (68) |
The roofs that do get a final get it quickly (53 days is usual), so the low citywide share is about finals never requested, not slow inspectors. It is concentrated by firm: among Waco roofers with 10 or more permits, the 10th percentile finaled 5.9% and the 90th 97.0%, with 20 of 32 under 70%. With no state license to check, that share is the single most useful number on a Waco roofer. Half the firms (50.7%) filed one permit in three years; filing peaks in June. National prices: roof replacement cost; counts by year: Waco permit statistics.
See every Waco roofer by permits finaled →
Before you hire
Open the roofer on the Waco roofer list and read its finaled share. Then look up its recent jobs by address in the Waco building permit search. What to check without a license: Waco contractor license lookup. Rules elsewhere: do I need a permit for roof replacement.
What this does not tell you
Filed values are what the applicant entered and only 55.9% of permits carry one. Unpermitted reroofs leave no record. Days to final count open permits as unfinished. The fee page carries no effective date.
How we know this
Permit scope and the decking threshold are quoted from the City of Waco's Do I Need a Permit? page; fees from its Fee Schedules page and inspection rules from its Procedures page, all read 23 October 2026. Permit counts are City of Waco roofing permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026, with the roofing contractor from each permit's contact list; finaled share uses permits a year or more old.
Numbers come from City of Waco EnerGov building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits on homes (the city's June 9, 2026 permit extract, updated to October 22, 2026 from the city's Citizen Self Service permit search), with the contractor taken from each permit's public contact list on that site, data through October 22, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Waco?
Yes. Waco's Do I Need a Permit page says a Roofing permit covers replacing shingles, felt, flashing and decking of 32 square feet or less, and nothing on its exempt list covers roofing. More decking than that needs a Repairs and Alterations permit.
- How much is a roofing permit in Waco?
$125. The City's fee schedule lists Roofing at $125 under Repairs and Alterations to Existing Residential Structures. Failed reinspections are $55, then $100, then $150.
- Do roofers need a license in Waco?
Not a state one: TDLR's list of regulated industries has no roofer, and Texas has no roofing license. That makes the permit record the closest thing to a track record; check how many of a roofer's Waco permits reached final.
- How long does a roofing permit take in Waco?
Inspections must be requested online by 4 p.m. the day before. In our file the usual Waco roofing permit finaled 53 days after issue, but only 59.6% of roofing permits a year or more old finaled at all.
- Why is my Waco roofing permit still open?
Usually because nobody requested the final inspection. 20 of the 32 Waco roofers with 10 or more permits finaled under 70% of them. Ask the roofer to book the final in Citizen Self Service before you make the last payment.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Waco building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Do I need a roofing permit in Anaheim? The $375 reroof fee, the one-layer rule and two inspections
- Do I need a roofing permit in Bernalillo County? The re-roof application, the tile rule and two inspections
- Do I need a roofing permit in unincorporated Boulder County? Yes past one square, with a Class A roof and a photo final
For one city
- Do I Need a Permit? — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Fee Schedules — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Inspection Procedures — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Citizen Self Service — City of Waco (2026-10-23)
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation — home (regulated industries list) (2026-10-20)