Permit rules for roofing get repeated as folklore almost as often as they get sourced correctly. Check your own roof below: who issues the permit, whether the LADBS Express Permit fits, and which cool-roof and fire-zone rules apply.
Your permit path
Choose the work and the sheet shows the permit, who issues it, the Express Permit answer and the cool-roof and fire-zone rules.
What's your reroof or repair project?
An Express Permit is a City of Los Angeles building permit issued without plan check. LADBS lists four kinds of roof work that qualify (Information Bulletin P/GI 2026-003):
| Roof work | Express Permit? | Conditions on the bulletin |
|---|---|---|
| Reroof over existing solid sheathing | Yes | Class A or B covering under 6 lb/sq ft; Class A in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone; a CRRC-certified cool roof product for a residential replacement over 50% of the roof |
| Reroof over new solid sheathing | Yes | The same conditions, so an older board deck re-sheathed in plywood still qualifies |
| Tile lift-and-relay: remove the tiles, new underlayment, reset the same tiles | Yes | The bulletin states that cool-roof compliance is not required |
| Approved coating on an existing roof | Yes | Coating product must be approved |
| Reroof in new clay or concrete tile | No | At about 6–12 lb/sq ft it's over the weight limit, so it goes through plan check |
Express Permits are issued online at dbs.lacity.gov, or by appointment at the LADBS counters in Metro (Downtown), Van Nuys, West Los Angeles, San Pedro and South Los Angeles. The permit still carries inspections: after the old roofing is removed, or before new roofing goes over an existing layer. Shingles, metal panels and single-ply membranes such as TPO are far under the 6 lb limit; the metal roofing page lists typical panel weights.
Not in the City of LA? The Express Permit doesn't apply. Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Long Beach and the county's other cities issue their own permits, and unincorporated areas go through LA County Public Works Building and Safety. Not sure which side of a city line you're on? ZIMAS shows City of LA parcels.
In the City of Los Angeles, a building permit is required to reroof more than 100 square feet of a residential building, whether the job is a full tear-off or a recover over the existing layer. Structural changes to the roof, or switching to a different roof material class (shingle to tile, for example), also require permit review rather than a simple reroof filing.
Many reroofs, such as most asphalt shingle jobs, qualify for LADBS's Express Permit: no plan check, issued online. It applies only to Class A or B roof covering weighing less than 6 pounds per square foot, installed over existing or new solid sheathing. A reroof in new clay or concrete tile (6 to 12 lb per sq ft) is over that limit and goes through regular plan check. A tile lift-and-relay (new underlayment, the same tiles reset) is on LADBS's Express Permit list too, with no cool-roof requirement. You apply through the e-Permit/PermitLA system, or in person at a Development Services Center counter, and either route requires an Angeleno account.
Inspection is required once all existing roof covering layers have been removed, or, for a recover job, before the new roofing material is installed. Skipping this step is one of the more common ways a reroof ends up out of compliance even when a permit was pulled.
LADBS only covers the City of Los Angeles. Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Culver City, Torrance, Long Beach, Inglewood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood each run their own building department, and unincorporated areas go through LA County Public Works.
LA County Public Works Building and Safety issues permits for unincorporated pockets, including the Lomita District Office covering areas near Torrance and Harbor City.
City of Burbank Community Development, Building & Safety. Reroofs typically qualify as a "Simple Permit," available over the counter or online, no plan check required. (818) 238-5220.
City of Beverly Hills Community Development Department, via its Online Permit Application (OPA) portal. (310) 285-1000.
City of Santa Monica Building and Safety Division. Reroof projects qualify for Same-Day Review at the public counter. (310) 458-8355.
City of Culver City Building Safety Permits division, which explicitly lists reroofs among the projects requiring a permit.
Building & Safety Division, 415 Diamond St. Over-the-counter reroof permits are processed through the city's iWorQ online portal.
City of Manhattan Beach Community Development, Building and Safety Division. Reroof permits are required.
City of Lomita's own Building and Safety Division now handles permitting directly, a change from the prior LA County contract arrangement.
The city issues building permits, but re-roofing on the Palos Verdes Peninsula also goes through the Palos Verdes Homes Association's Art Jury, a separate architectural review body with independent authority over exterior appearance, including roofing.
Roof assemblies in any Fire Hazard Severity Zone, including Very High, must carry a Class A rating tested to ASTM E108 or UL 790, under CRC §R337 / CBC Chapter 7A. This applies to new buildings with permit applications submitted on or after July 1, 2008. Materials commonly cited as meeting Class A: concrete tile, clay tile, metal roofing, and Class A-listed composition asphalt shingles, where the whole roof assembly (not just the surface layer) has to be listed.
CAL FIRE released updated 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Southern California, including the City of Los Angeles, on March 24, 2025. State law requires LA County to adopt the recommended maps by ordinance within 120 days of issuance, and coverage is expected to expand into parcels that weren't previously classified as a fire hazard zone. Reroofs in these zones also tend to overlap with Title 24 cool-roof compliance on the same permit, so plan for both at once rather than two separate trips to the counter.
See our roofing materials guide for which materials meet Class A and which, like wood shake, generally don't. Roofing Los Angeles works on the basis that permits are pulled where the city requires them.
Not sure what permit your project needs? Send us a note before you pull one.
LADBS doesn't publish a single "25% rule". The phrase gets used for several different things in roofing marketing, and most of them can't be traced to a code section. Here is what actually exists:
California Building Code §1505.1's Class A fire-rating requirement does not apply to a partial reroof that repairs, replaces or overlays less than 25% of the roof area of the structure. If the work covers 25% to 50% of the roof area, the Class A requirement does apply, though a waiver application can be filed with the building official. This is a fire-rating exemption specifically, not a general rule about when a whole roof must be replaced.
The City of Santa Clarita's own residential roof recovering and replacement guidance uses 10% and 50% thresholds instead of 25%, with different permit and compliance implications at each. So there is no universal 25% number. Confirm the threshold with your city's building department before assuming one applies to your project.
Two more points. In LA County, in-kind replacement of damaged roof sheathing up to 25% of the roof is allowed without a permit for single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses. That is a sheathing repair allowance, not a rule about when a whole roof must be replaced, and it is not the City of Los Angeles permit trigger, which is reroofing more than 100 sq ft. If a contractor cites a percentage rule for your job, ask which code section it comes from, and don't rely on the “25% rule” folklore.
Yes. A building permit is required to reroof more than 100 square feet on a residential building in the City of Los Angeles, whether it's a recover or a full tear-off. Structural changes or a switch to a different roof material class also trigger permit review.
A City of Los Angeles building permit issued without plan check. For roofs it covers a reroof in a Class A or B covering under 6 lb/sq ft over existing or new solid sheathing, a tile lift-and-relay (new underlayment, the same tiles reset), and an approved coating on an existing roof. It's issued online or by appointment at an LADBS counter.
It's normally handled as part of the job: your contractor pulls the permit and schedules the required inspections. If a bid leaves the permit out, ask why.
Inspection is required once all existing roof covering layers are removed, or, on a recover job, before the new roofing material goes on.
Yes, if you're outside the City of Los Angeles. Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Culver City, Torrance, Long Beach, Inglewood, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, among others, each run their own building department; unincorporated LA County areas go through LA County Public Works. LADBS doesn't handle these.
There is no single rule by that name, and LADBS doesn't publish one. The California Building Code has reroof-area provisions: the Class A requirement in section 1505.1 doesn't apply to a partial reroof covering less than 25% of the roof area, while 25% to 50% triggers it, with a possible waiver. LA County allows in-kind sheathing replacement up to 25% of the roof without a permit for single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses. The City of Los Angeles permit trigger is reroofing more than 100 sq ft, not 25%. Ask your building department, and don't rely on 25% rule folklore.
Yes. Roof assemblies in any Fire Hazard Severity Zone, including Very High, must carry a Class A rating tested to ASTM E108 or UL 790. Concrete tile, clay tile, metal roofing and Class A-listed composition asphalt shingles are the materials commonly cited as meeting it.
Unpermitted roofing work can create problems later, since the work has no inspection record to verify it was done to code. That can complicate things at resale, refinancing or an insurance claim, when a lender or insurer wants documentation the work was permitted and inspected.
Tell us your city, your roof type, and roughly how much of the roof needs work. The contractor who contacts you can explain which permit path applies before you commit.