Brevard County Roof Permit Checklist: What to Confirm Before Work Starts

When permit questions come up

If someone is tearing off your roof and putting a new one on, Brevard County requires a permit. No exceptions, no gray area. Even some bigger repair jobs can trigger one, depending on how much of the system is being touched.

A patch on a few shingles? Probably not. A full reroof with tear-off? Always. The line between the two matters because permits aren't just paperwork — they trigger inspections. Those inspections confirm the work meets Florida Building Code, which exists to keep your house standing when a hurricane tries to take it apart.

Most homeowners don't need to manage any of this themselves. Your contractor should be pulling the permit, listing the products, and scheduling inspections. But you should know enough about the process to tell the difference between a contractor who's managing it properly and one who's cutting corners.

Who is handling what

Here's a simple rule: if your contractor asks you to pull the permit, find a different contractor.

That's not how it works. The licensed contractor pulls the permit because they're the one responsible for the work meeting code. When they put their license number on the application, they're putting their name on the line. A contractor who dodges that step is either unlicensed, trying to avoid accountability, or both.

Your job is simpler. Confirm the permit has been pulled before any work starts. It should be posted visibly at the job site — that's a legal requirement. If installation day arrives and there's no permit posted, stop and ask questions.

You should also have a clear understanding of the timeline. When do materials arrive? When does the crew start? How long will the work take? When does the final inspection happen? A contractor who can't answer these questions clearly hasn't planned the job well enough to start it.

What should be clear in the scope

"Install new roof" is not a scope. It's a sentence. A real scope tells you what's happening in enough detail that there's nothing to argue about later.

It should name the material — not just "shingles" but the manufacturer, product line, and color. It should say whether the old roof is being torn off or overlaid, and how many existing layers there are. It should specify the underlayment type, because "standard underlayment" can mean three different things at three different price points.

Flashing and trim details are where cheap jobs hide. Drip edge, pipe boots, wall step flashing, valley metal, ridge cap — every one of those is a transition point where water concentrates. If the scope says "standard flashing included" without naming what that means, you're trusting the installer to decide how much effort to put into the parts that matter most.

Deck repair is the big one. Once the old roof comes off, damaged sheathing often shows up underneath. The contract should include a per-sheet price for replacement plywood — agreed on before tear-off, not negotiated with your roof half-open and no leverage.

Questions to ask before installation day

What happens if the crew finds rotten decking? This is the single most common source of unexpected cost on a reroof. If the contract doesn't address it, you will have an uncomfortable conversation with your roof torn open and no good options.

How are change orders handled? If something unexpected comes up mid-project, who calls you, and how is the additional cost approved before the work continues? Get this in writing. Verbal agreements on a job site have a way of being remembered differently by each party.

What inspections are required, and who schedules them? In Brevard County, the final inspection is what confirms the installation meets code. Your contractor should handle this. If they suggest you "can call for it whenever," that's a sign they're not planning to be around for it.

How does cleanup work? Roofing generates a lot of debris — old shingles, nails, packaging, cut pieces. The job isn't done when the last shingle goes on. It's done when the property is clean, the magnetic sweep for nails has been run through the yard and driveway, and everything is hauled away. If that's not in the scope, add it.

Red flags

A one-page estimate with a bottom-line number and no detail? That's not a proposal. That's a napkin with a price on it.

Watch for vague language. "Reroof per discussion" doesn't protect anyone. Neither does "materials and labor as needed." You want specifics — product names, quantities, included and excluded items. The more specific the proposal, the harder it is for either side to dispute what was agreed on.

Pressure to sign today, start tomorrow, and put 50% down before a single shingle is ordered is a pattern. Legitimate contractors in Brevard County are busy, but they're not in a rush to lock you in before you've had time to think.

If the contractor can't explain the permit process, can't tell you when inspections happen, or gets vague about who's responsible for what — the project isn't organized well enough to protect you. A well-run reroof in Brevard County should feel organized from the first conversation. Clear scope, handled paperwork, and no surprises on installation day. That's the minimum.

We handle all Brevard County permitting in-house. By the time our crew shows up, the permit is posted, the scope is locked, and you know exactly what's happening. Talk through your project with us before work begins.