Ask ten roofers whether you need a permit for a new roof in Bucks County and you'll hear "yes," "no" and "don't worry about it." The reason is that there is no Bucks County answer. The permit comes from the township or borough your house sits in, and they don't all ask for the same thing.
Here is what the offices around our base in Warminster actually require, and how to find out which one is yours.
Who issues roofing permits in Bucks County?
Your township or borough does, not the county. Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code lets each municipality decide how it enforces the code. Most run their own permit office or hire a certified code enforcement agency to do it for them. Bucks County itself doesn't issue building permits.
That makes your mailing address a poor guide. A few examples from the towns we work in most:
- Levittown isn't one municipality. Levitt & Sons built it across Bristol Township, Falls Township, Middletown Township and Tullytown Borough, and each has its own office.
- Doylestown can mean the borough around the courthouse, Doylestown Township around it, or a neighboring township that shares the ZIP code.
- Newtown Borough and Newtown Township are separate governments with different roof rules.
- Warminster shares the 18974 ZIP code with Ivyland, a small borough with its own codes office.
- Warrington Township is partly addressed with the Chalfont ZIP code, 18914.
- Southampton addresses can sit in Upper Southampton, Lower Southampton or Northampton Township.
So the first question is never "what does Bucks County require?" It's "which office covers this house?" For everything else about roofing work across Bucks County, start with the county page.
What do the townships around Warminster require?
These are the offices that cover our seven busiest Bucks County towns, and what we found when we checked each one's rules for a roof replacement. Where an office posts its rule, it's stated. Where it doesn't, we check with the office for each job before we set a date.
| Office | What we found |
|---|---|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Levittown, PA | |
| Permit offices in Levittown |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Bensalem, PA | |
| Bensalem Township |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Doylestown, PA | |
| Doylestown Borough |
|
| Doylestown Township |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Newtown, PA | |
| Newtown Borough |
|
| Newtown Township |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Warminster, PA | |
| Warminster Township |
|
| Ivyland Borough |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Warrington, PA | |
| Warrington Township |
|
| Roof Replacement & Repair in Southampton, PA | |
| Upper Southampton Township |
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The short version:
- Bensalem Township has a fee line just for residential reroofing, so a new roof needs a permit. If work starts before the fees are paid, the township triples them.
- Upper Southampton Township lists re-roofing among the jobs that need a permit before work begins.
- Doylestown Borough requires a permit for a full roof replacement.
- Newtown Township doesn't require one for a detached single-family house, but does for a townhouse or other attached home.
Does a roof repair need a permit?
Sometimes. Doylestown Borough draws a clear line: a repair under 20% of the roof doesn't need a permit, and a full replacement does. Most offices don't publish a number like that, so for a repair the safe move is to ask the office before anyone starts tearing shingles off.
What changes if your house is in a historic district?
You may need a review before the permit, and that takes time.
In Doylestown Borough, roof work inside the historic district that can be seen from the street and costs more than $2,000 needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. The Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB) looks at things like material and color, and Borough Council makes the final call. HARB meets the fourth Thursday of every month, and the application is due at least 10 business days before.
In Newtown Borough, a roof that isn't replaced in kind needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first. The borough's historic district is on the National Register, HARB meets the fourth Wednesday of the month, and the application is due 30 days before. The borough says it's common to need more than one meeting.
Elsewhere it's lighter. Bensalem has a few listed historic parcels that may need a certificate. Warrington's Historical Commission reviews demolitions, not roofs. Either way, if your house is in a district, plan on a few extra weeks before the start date.
Who should pull the permit, you or the roofer?
On our jobs, we do. The roofer is the one who knows the scope, the materials and the schedule, so it makes sense for the roofer to file. It also puts the responsibility for getting it right on the contractor instead of you.
When you're comparing estimates, ask two things: who pulls the permit, and is the fee in the price? A low bid that leaves the permit to you, or skips it, isn't as cheap as it looks. In Bensalem, starting before the permit is paid triples the fee.
