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Massachusetts · 318 municipalities

Roof Replacement in Massachusetts: Code, Permits and Who May Do the Work

Every Massachusetts town requires an ice barrier, and the state publishes design wind and snow loads for each of its 351 cities and towns. The rules below apply statewide; each town page has its own numbers.

New Roofing Costs connects homeowners with independent local roofing contractors. We do not perform roofing work.

Call (833) 781-1806 Replacement and new roofs only · homeowners

This number connects homeowners who are planning a new roof or a full roof replacement with independent local roofing contractors. It is not for leak repairs or patch jobs. The call must come from the homeowner who decides on the roof. Calls may be recorded.

A Massachusetts Cape Cod house with a new shingle roof after light snow

What part of Massachusetts this site covers

All of Massachusetts except Nantucket and the towns of Martha’s Vineyard: every city and town with at least 1,000 residents and more than half of its land in the ZIP codes this site serves.

Which code applies

Massachusetts builds to the 10th edition of 780 CMR, based on the 2021 International Codes: in force since October 11, 2024, and the only edition since July 1, 2025.

Layers: when the old roof has to come off

A new roof may go over one existing layer only. Where the roof already has two or more layers, where the old covering is slate, clay or cement tile, or where it is water-soaked or deteriorated, everything comes off to the deck first. (IRC R908.3.1.1; the Massachusetts amendments to Chapter 9 leave R908 as written.)

Ice barrier

Massachusetts marks “ice barrier underlayment required: yes” for the whole state (780 CMR 51.00, Table R301.2(1)). On a reroof that means a self-adhering membrane, or two cemented layers of underlayment, from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the wall line (IRC R905.1.2).

Permit

Roof covering is not on the list of work the Massachusetts residential code exempts from a permit (780 CMR 51.00, R105.2), and a permit application for home improvement work carries the contractor’s HIC registration number (R105.3). Your town’s building department issues it.

Boston

Boston handles roof work that makes no structural change with a short-form permit. The fee, as the City states it:

$20, plus $10 per $1,000 of estimated cost

City of Boston, roof work and short-form permit pages

A homeowner may file it only for a one- or two-unit house they live in; for one floor of a triple-decker, only a contractor can.

In 2025 the City approved 963 roofing permits for one- and two-family homes. The median value declared on them was $14,000, and the middle half fell between $9,600 and $20,000. A declared value is the applicant’s own estimate on the permit, not a quote.

West Roxbury’s 02132 had the most, 120 permits with a median declared value of $12,560; then 02136 with 114, 02124 with 107 and 02131 with 101 (Analyze Boston, approved building permits, work type ROOF).

Roof replacement in Boston

How the six states compare: do you need a permit to replace a roof?

Design wind and snow, largest towns

Massachusetts lists the design values for all 351 cities and towns (780 CMR 51.00, Table R301.2(2)). The asphalt-shingle class follows from the wind speed by IRC Table R905.2.4.1. Every town page shows its own row.

TownDesign wind (Vult)Ground snowShingle class (ASTM D7158)
Boston120 mph40 psfG or H
Worcester117 mph50 psfG or H
Springfield115 mph35 psfD, G or H
Cambridge120 mph40 psfG or H
Lowell116 mph50 psfD, G or H
Brockton123 mph35 psfG or H
Quincy121 mph40 psfG or H
Lynn119 mph40 psfG or H
New Bedford129 mph30 psfG or H
Fall River128 mph30 psfG or H
Newton119 mph40 psfG or H
Lawrence116 mph50 psfD, G or H
Somerville119 mph40 psfG or H
Framingham119 mph40 psfG or H
Haverhill116 mph50 psfD, G or H

The houses, and how long a roof lasts in Massachusetts

The 318 municipalities on this site hold 2,989,895 homes; 62% of the occupied ones are lived in by their owners. 68% were built before 1980 and 31% before 1940. 6% are attached single-family houses: rowhouses, twins and townhouses. (ACS 2020–2024.)

How long a roof lasts depends on the material, not the state. HUD’s useful-life table for capital needs assessments gives asphalt shingles 20 years, metal 50, slate 75, clay or concrete tile 60, cedar 25 and EPDM or TPO membranes 15. On a house built before 1980, a shingle roof is on its second or later replacement by that measure. The full table and what to look for: when a roof needs replacing.

The most hail days on this site’s Massachusetts pages: Westfield, 21 days with hail of 1 inch or larger within 10 miles from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).

Contractor and contract

Work on an owner-occupied home of one to four units needs a contractor registered under the home improvement law (M.G.L. c. 142A); roofing on a permitted job is supervised by a construction supervisor licensed (CSL) for roof covering. Ask for both numbers.

Jobs over $1,000 need a written contract with the contractor’s registration number and payment schedule; the deposit can’t exceed the greater of one-third of the price or the cost of special-order materials (c. 142A § 2). The state guaranty fund pays up to $25,000 per claimant, only after a court or arbitration award the contractor has not paid (§ 7).

How the six states compare: checking a roofing contractor. Reading the paperwork: the estimate and the contract.

What a new roof costs in Massachusetts

No public source gives a statewide price, and a price no source backs is not printed here. What changes the number in Massachusetts, line by line: new roof cost in Massachusetts.

Municipalities by county

Largest: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge, Lowell, Brockton, Quincy, Lynn, New Bedford, Fall River, Newton, Lawrence.

Barnstable County 15

Barnstable · Bourne · Brewster · Chatham · Dennis · Eastham · Falmouth · Harwich · Mashpee · Orleans · Provincetown · Sandwich · Truro · Wellfleet · Yarmouth

Suffolk County 4

Boston · Chelsea · Revere · Winthrop

Before you call, have these at hand

  1. Your address or ZIP code in Massachusetts
  2. How many stories the house has, and whether it is detached, a twin or a rowhouse
  3. What is on the roof now and roughly how old it is
  4. How many layers are on it, if you know
  5. Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA
  6. That you want a new roof or a full replacement, and when
  7. That you own the home and decide on the roof

The full list, with what to do about a rowhouse, solar panels or a manufactured home: before you call.

Call (833) 781-1806

This number connects homeowners who are planning a new roof or a full roof replacement with independent local roofing contractors. It is not for leak repairs or patch jobs. The call must come from the homeowner who decides on the roof. Calls may be recorded.

Sources

Checked October 24, 2026. Laws and code editions change; the date says when these were last read at the source.

Call (833) 781-1806 New roofs and replacements · homeowners