Aurora is the rare American city that spans three counties: about 336,000 residents on the Arapahoe side, 47,700 in Adams, and 2,500 in Douglas at the 2020 census. Homeowners reasonably assume the county runs building permits. In Aurora it does not. Here is how roofing permits actually work in this city, what the code requires on every roof, and how to use the system to protect yourself.
Who Issues Roofing Permits In Aurora
The City of Aurora Building Division, part of Public Works, issues roofing permits for every address inside city limits, whichever county the parcel sits in. The Permit Center operates at the Aurora Municipal Center on East Alameda Parkway; the permit counter is reachable at 303.739.7420, and applications are submitted through the city's online permitting system. A permit is required for re-roofs. Homeowners may pull their own permit and do their own work, but whoever holds the permit is responsible for calling the required inspections.
What Aurora Requires On Every Re-Roof
Aurora enforces the 2021 international codes with its own engineering design criteria layered on top. The items that show up on every re-roof:
- Ice barrier underlayment, city-wide. The design criteria table marks it required everywhere in Aurora. This is the single most commonly missed item by out-of-area crews, because Parker does not require it and unincorporated Douglas County requires it only above 7,000 feet.
- Design winds of 105 to 110 mph for typical homes, which drives six-nail fastening in high wind applications and shingle wind ratings.
- 40 psf ground snow load as the structural design basis, with a 36 inch frost depth and severe weathering classification rounding out the climate picture.
- Tear-off, not overlays. Existing roofing comes off before new roofing goes on, per the city's roofing guidance.
- Drip edge and kick-out flashing. Edge metal at eaves and rakes, and kick-out flashing at sidewall terminations extending past the wall, so runoff exits to the gutter instead of into the wall assembly.
- Inspections. A final inspection at minimum; tile, metal, stone-coated steel and low-slope systems can require a mid-roof inspection partway through. The permit holder schedules them.
What An Aurora Roofing Permit Costs
Aurora prices permits on project valuation through the city's online fee calculator rather than a flat roofing rate, so the fee scales with your job. Your contractor should itemize it in the bid. Treat a bid with no permit line the way you would treat a bid with no cleanup line: as a preview of corners to come.
The Aurora Contractor License Check Most Homeowners Skip
Colorado has no statewide roofing license, which makes city licensing the real gate. Aurora requires contractor licensing for roofing work and runs a public contractor lookup where you can verify anyone claiming to be licensed in the city. Paired with Colorado's SB 38 requirements, written contract, 72-hour rescission right, no deductible games, and verifiable insurance, you can vet any roofer in minutes. A company that cannot pass the city lookup has no business on an Aurora roof, and after major hail events the metro fills with exactly such companies.
Why Permits Protect You, Not Just The City
- Independent verification. A city inspector with no stake in the sale checks the work against code.
- A paper trail. Closed permits live in city records, where the next buyer's agent, appraiser or insurer can find them. Unpermitted roof work surfaces at the worst possible time: during a sale or a claim.
- Claim leverage. Code-required items like ice barrier are claimable under ordinance and law coverage precisely because they are documented requirements. The permit anchors that documentation.
How We Handle Aurora Permits On Every Job
On every replacement and every repair large enough to require one: we file the application, pay and itemize the fee, schedule the mid-roof inspection when the system calls for it, meet the inspector, and hand you the closed permit record in the closeout packet. It is your house's paperwork; you should have it.
We will tell you exactly what your job requires: (720) 555-0188 or write us.
