Utah · Roofing licensing · official-source guide
Utah licenses roofing contractors through the Division of Professional Licensing under Title 58, Chapter 55 of the Utah Code. Roofing is the S280 specialty classification. It needs no division exam or experience, but requires public liability insurance of at least $100,000 per incident and $300,000 total, workers' compensation proof, and six continuing education hours every two years. Work under $7,000 is exempt.
State-level license
Yes
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-28. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Utah licenses roofing contractors. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing, known as DOPL and part of the Department of Commerce, issues the license under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act, Title 58, Chapter 55 of the Utah Code. Section 58-55-301 says a person engaged in a construction trade licensed under the chapter, or acting as a contractor, must become licensed before doing that work in the state, unless a specific exemption applies. Roofing is one of the specialty contractor subclassifications, coded S280 in the division's rules. The statute names a Construction Services Commission that works alongside the division on rules, and it says the commission acts with the concurrence of the director of the division. For a roofer, the practical point is simple. If you contract to install or repair a roof in Utah for more than the small-job threshold covered later on this page, you need a Utah license in a classification that covers roofing. Utah does not leave roofing to cities. It also does not fold roofing into a general home improvement registration. The state license is the license, and section 58-55-301 goes further: it says the state license plus the business license from the local jurisdiction where the licensee has its principal place of business are the only licenses required to engage in a trade the chapter covers. That sentence limits what a city can demand, and a later section explains it. This page describes the law in force on the verification date. Chapter 42 of the 2026 General Session repeals and re-enacts the chapter effective January 1, 2027, and it renumbers sections. The license requirement moves to section 58-55-105 and the small-job exemption to section 58-55-110, which still shows the $7,000 figure. DOPL's home page also flagged a new optional residential construction agreement, which this page did not read. Rules in R156-55a cite current numbers, so check before any 2027 renewal.
DOPL's administrative rule R156-55a-301 lists the classifications and their scope of work. S280 is titled Roofing Contractor. The rule describes it as the application and installation of asphalt, pitch, tar, felt, flax, shakes, shingles, roof tile, slate, and any other material or combination of materials that custom has established as usable for, or that are now used as, waterproof, weatherproof, or watertight seals or membranes for roofs and surfaces. The rule then says the classification includes any material attached to the roof, roof conversion, installation of non-electrical skylights, installation of electrical skylights when an electrical contractor performs the electrical connection, installation of insulating media in buildings for the sole purpose of temperature control, sound control, fireproofing and mechanical insulation of pipes, ducts and conduits, and incidental work such as installing a roof clamp ring to the roof drain. Two limits follow from that text. A roofer who wants to wire a skylight needs an electrical contractor for the connection. A roofer who wants to do structural framing beyond the roof system should look at a broader classification. The statute defines a specialty contractor as a person licensed under a specialty classification who is qualified to perform trades requiring specialized skill, and it adds that a specialty contractor may perform work in other crafts or trades if the work is incidental to the licensed craft. Section 58-55-501 makes acting beyond the scope of the license held a form of unlawful conduct, so the scope text above sets the edge of what you may contract to do. Keep your estimates and contracts inside that edge.
S280 is not the only classification that lets a contractor roof a building. The rule lists B100, General Building Contractor, and says its scope includes the scope of every specialty contractor except the electrical, plumbing, factory built housing, HVAC and elevator classifications and a limited scope classification. A B100 holder can therefore roof, subject to the limits in the rule. The statute also creates the residential and small commercial contractor license, listed in the rule as R100. Under section 58-55-102, that license covers single-family residences, multifamily residences up to four units, and commercial construction of not more than three stories above ground and not more than 20,000 square feet, or any component of that construction, except plumbing, electrical work, mechanical work and manufactured housing installation. Those exceptions must go to contractors licensed in the specialty. The rule also lists R101, a residential and small commercial non-structural remodeling and repair classification, for work that leaves the bearing parts of a structure alone and costs less than $50,000 including materials and labor. Which license fits a roofing company depends on scope. A company that only roofs fits S280. A company that also frames, sides, and remodels may prefer R100 or B100. Section 58-55-301 says an applicant may apply for one or more classifications, and a separate application and fee applies to each. That matters for hail and storm firms that add gutters, siding or interior repairs after a claim. Check your scope before you write the contract, because the statute treats work beyond the license as unlawful conduct.
Section 58-55-305 lists the people who may do construction work without a license under the chapter. Two matter most to roofers. The first is a sole owner of property who builds on that property for the owner's own noncommercial, nonpublic use, within the yearly and five-year limits the statute sets. The second is a person doing alteration, repair, remodeling, addition or improvement work on a building with a contracted or agreed value of less than $7,000, including both labor and materials and all changes or additions to the agreed work. That figure counts the whole contract, so splitting one re-roof into several invoices does not fit the plain text. The exemption is also subject to section 58-55-501 and 58-55-502, and to a separate section of the general licensing act. The statute adds that plumbing, electrical, gas appliance, alarm and HVAC work on an exempt project still needs the licensed trade for that portion. Two consequences follow for a roofing company. First, a small repair below the threshold does not require the company to hold S280. Second, the moment a contract, with change orders, reaches $7,000 the exemption ends, and the work needs a licensed contractor. Hail restoration jobs often start as an inspection and become a full replacement, so plan for the larger number. The statute in force after January 1, 2027 carries the same $7,000 figure in its re-enacted exemption section. An exemption from licensure does not remove other duties. A person who claims an exemption still has to follow the workers' compensation, tax and consumer laws that apply to any business.
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The statute sets different entry requirements for different classifications, and roofing sits in the lightest tier. Section 58-55-302 says no division-administered examination is required for a specialty contractor license. The division-administered business and law examination applies to the general building, general engineering, residential and small commercial, and plumbing and electrical contractor classes, not to specialty licenses. The same section says no employment experience is required for licensure as a specialty contractor, while other contractor classes need two years of full-time paid employment in the construction industry. DOPL's rule R156-55a-302b defines two years full-time paid employment as 4,000 hours. The statute also requires, except as otherwise provided by rule, a 25-hour prelicense course taught by an approved provider, covering construction business practices, bookkeeping fundamentals and mechanics lien fundamentals, with a provider-administered test at the end for no added fee. This page could not confirm from a primary source whether a rule exempts specialty applicants from that course, so treat the course as required until DOPL tells you otherwise. Applicants must also complete a criminal background check. The statute applies it to the applicant, or for a business entity to the individual qualifier and each individual with at least a 10% voting interest. A business entity applying for a license names a qualifier, who must be an owner, officer or manager with material authority over the contracting business. The rule R156-55a-304 sets the working-hour and ownership tests for that person, and the next sections cover them. Confirm the current prelicense course requirement with DOPL before you apply.
A roofing company that holds a license as a business entity does it through a qualifier. Section 58-55-304 says the qualifier must be an owner, officer or manager who exercises material authority in the conduct of the business. That means making substantive technical and administrative decisions about licensed work, hiring, directing and discharging employees, and not holding other employment that conflicts with the duty to ensure the company's work does not jeopardize public health, safety and welfare. DOPL rule R156-55a-304 turns that into numbers. A qualifier must be paid for not less than 12 hours of work per week, with an owner's pay allowed as profit distributions if the owner holds at least 20 percent of the licensee, and an officer or manager paid in W-2 wages. The 12-hour floor can drop when the combined hours of owners and employees fall under 50 hours a week, but not below 20 percent of the total. A qualifier may hold up to three specialty classifications, and may qualify no more than three licensees at once unless the commission and division give written approval. If the qualifier leaves, the licensee must notify the division in writing within 10 days, and the license stays in force for 60 days from that separation while the company names a replacement, after which it lapses. For a roofer, this is a real hiring issue. Do not license the company on the strength of an employee who plans to leave, and do not treat the qualifier role as a name on paper.
Before the division issues a contractor license, section 58-55-302 requires proof of workers' compensation insurance covering the applicant's employees, proof of public liability insurance in the amounts and form set by rule, and proof of registration with the Department of Commerce, the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, the Unemployment Insurance Division of the Department of Workforce Services, the State Tax Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service. DOPL rule R156-55a-302d sets the insurance certificate terms. The certificate must name the division as certificate holder, provide coverage for the scope of work performed, stay in force for the entire duration of active licensure, and carry coverage of at least $100,000 for each incident and $300,000 in total. Rule R156-55a-501 lists failing to continuously maintain that insurance as unprofessional conduct, and requires a licensee to give proof of coverage, the insurer name, policy number, expiration date and limits within 30 days of a request from the division or from a person with a reasonable basis to claim on the policy. Section 58-55-306 adds financial responsibility. An applicant or renewing licensee must complete a division questionnaire and certify it, or submit a bond in an amount and form the commission sets. The division may audit financial responsibility on a random basis or when it finds reasonable need. The statute does not fix a dollar amount for a bond, and this page found no primary source that does, so ask DOPL if you would rather post a bond than complete the questionnaire.
Licenses under the chapter run on a two-year renewal cycle set by rule, and the division may lengthen or shorten a cycle by as much as one year to stagger renewals. Section 58-55-303 says a licensee must show continuing financial responsibility at renewal and, for a contractor, completion of six hours of approved continuing education. Section 58-55-302.5 sets the six hours per two-year cycle and allows one of them to be an energy conservation hour for cycles ending on or after January 1, 2020. The statute limits who may teach approved courses. The list includes the Associated General Contractors of Utah, the Utah Home Builders Association, and the Utah Roofing Contractors Association, along with state agencies, the workers' compensation carrier under Utah law, and accredited in-state colleges. A trade association may offer its courses only to its own members, with limited exceptions the statute spells out. Failing to complete the required education is itself listed as unlawful conduct in section 58-55-501. DOPL rule R156-55a-303a requires contractors to renew online unless the division allows otherwise. An inactive license status exists under rule R156-55a-312, but the licensee may not do construction trade work while inactive, and must complete the education before reactivating unless it was done for the last cycle. Fees are set by the department under the state fee statute, and this page found no primary source publishing the dollar amounts for the S280 application, the renewal, or the prelicense course, so it lists none.
A roofer licensed in another state cannot simply start work in Utah on the strength of that license. Utah licenses roofing contractors under its own act, and section 58-55-301 requires a Utah license before engaging in the trade, unless an exemption applies. What Utah does offer is license by endorsement under section 58-1-302 of the general licensing act, which applies across the professions the division regulates. Under that section, the division issues a license to an applicant licensed in another state, district or territory if three things hold. The division determines the other license covers a similar scope of practice. The applicant has at least one year of experience practicing under the license from the other state. The applicant's license is in good standing there. A second path lets the division license an applicant whose education, credentialing examination, experience and skills show competency, or whose home-state requirements were substantially similar to Utah's when the license was issued. The division may refuse an endorsement license for reasonable cause, and the section lists further conditions. DOPL rule R156-55a-302a adds a specific point for contractors: the Utah Contractor Business and Law Examination is not required for an applicant licensed by endorsement. The rules do not say what a roofer from a state with only a local license would need, and this page could not confirm the answer from a primary source. Roofers with a home license elsewhere should ask the division before bidding a Utah job, and should not advertise Utah licensure until it is issued.
Utah treats unlicensed roofing as unlawful conduct with criminal and civil consequences. Section 58-55-501 lists the conduct. It includes engaging in a construction trade, acting as a contractor, or representing oneself as one when not licensed or exempt, acting beyond the scope of the license held, hiring an unlicensed person to perform work on a project, applying for a building permit when not licensed or exempt, and submitting a bid for work that requires a license. Section 58-55-503 makes a person who commits most of those violations guilty of a class A misdemeanor. A person who violates the bidding provision may not be awarded and may not accept the contract for the work. The division may also issue citations. Under the statute, fines run up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $2,000 for a second offense, and a further offense carries up to $2,000 for each day of continued offense, subject to the exceptions in the section. Section 58-55-503 makes issuance of a citation for unlawful conduct grounds for immediate suspension of a licensee's license, and the recipient has 20 calendar days to ask for a hearing before the citation becomes final. The civil side is direct. Section 58-55-604 bars a contractor from bringing or maintaining a court action to collect compensation for work that required a license unless the contractor alleges and proves it held the proper license when the contract was made and when the cause of action arose. For a roofer, an unpaid invoice from a job done without the proper license may be uncollectable in court.
Sourcesle.utah.gov
Utah's statute is specific about where a contractor's license number must appear, and it is narrower than many roofers assume. Section 58-55-304 says the contractor's license number shall be made a part of all permit applications, contracts, agreements or bids when a license is required. DOPL rule R156-55a-501 lists failing to timely provide a copy of a current license or license number, upon request by any person, when performing construction trades work as unprofessional conduct. Section 58-55-310 requires each political subdivision or state agency that issues a construction permit to require the applicant's contractor license number on the application and to require the contractor to affix that number to the permit for public display. Section 58-55-501 lists as unlawful conduct doing business under a name other than the name on the license, except as permitted by rule, and representing oneself as a contractor in a trade requiring licensure without the license. That last item matters to marketing. A website, truck lettering or flyer that presents the company as a roofing contractor before the license issues, or under a trade name the license does not carry, invites a citation. This page found no Utah statute or rule that requires the license number on vehicles, websites or general advertisements, and lists that as an open point. The safe practice is to put the number on every contract, bid and estimate, print it on the site if you like, and use only the business name that appears on the DOPL record. Write "licensed" only for the classification you hold.
Section 58-55-301 limits local government in a way most states do not. It says the state license and the business license issued by the local jurisdiction where the licensee has its principal place of business shall be the only licenses required for the licensee to engage in a trade the chapter covers. It then says neither the state nor its political subdivisions may require a licensee to obtain additional business licenses, registrations, certifications, contributions or donations to qualify to do business in that jurisdiction, other than contract prequalification procedures required by state agencies and the payment of any fee for the license, registration or certification a local jurisdiction sets as a condition to do business. In plain terms, a Utah roofer with a DOPL license and a business license in the city where the company is based should not face a separate contractor registration exam in each town. Cities and counties still issue building permits, and section 58-55-310 requires them to collect the contractor license number on permit applications. Section 58-55-501 makes it unlawful to apply for a building permit when not licensed or exempt, and unlawful for a permit issuer to issue a permit to a person with no evidence of a current license or exemption. This page did not fetch the permit rules, fee schedules or business license terms of Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo or any other Utah city from those cities' own sites, so it publishes none. Call the building department in the city where the roof sits before you pull a permit.
Sourcesle.utah.gov
Utah regulates storm roofing through Title 13, Chapter 50, the Residential Construction Contracts Act. Section 13-50-102 defines repair work as work done to siding, gutters, a roof system or a window system to repair damage caused by wind or hail, and a residential contractor as a person who contracts, arranges, manages or processes that repair work on a building of up to four units, or acts as the owner's representative, agent or assignee for it. Section 13-50-202 gives the owner a right to cancel when the contractor knew or should have known the owner intended to pay with property and casualty insurance proceeds and the insurer denies any part of the claim. The owner has five business days after receiving written notice of the denial to cancel, and the contractor must return payments within 10 business days, though it may keep the reasonable value of work the owner expressly told it to do without waiting for the insurer's answer. Section 13-50-203 requires every such written contract to carry a notice of that right in substantially the statutory form, the mailing address for cancellation notices, and a detachable notice of cancellation. Section 13-50-302 bars a residential contractor from rebating or offering to rebate any part of an insurance deductible as an inducement. Section 13-50-303 requires a notice of that ban, in capitalized 14-point type, in any contract, estimate or work order paid from insurance proceeds, signed by the named insured and delivered to the insurer before the contractor may be paid. Section 13-50-304 voids a post-loss assignment if the contractor violates that part.
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Utah draws a line between repairing a roof and adjusting the claim that pays for it. Section 31A-26-102 defines insurance adjusting as directing or conducting the investigation, negotiation or settlement of a claim under an insurance policy on behalf of an insurer, policyholder or claimant. Section 31A-26-201 says a person may not perform, offer to perform or solicit the opportunity to perform an act of insurance adjusting without a valid adjuster license. It exempts a person who gives advice or assistance without compensation or expectation of compensation, and an individual, including an estimator, who is specially employed to obtain facts about a loss for or furnish technical assistance to a licensed adjuster. A roofer who documents damage for its own estimate is doing repair work. A roofer who negotiates the value of the claim with the insurer for pay, or offers to, is close to the statutory definition and needs to talk to the Utah Insurance Department first. A 2026 enactment, Chapter 45 of the 2026 General Session, tightened the rules from both sides. Section 31A-26-405 bars a public adjuster from allowing a home repair contractor or roofing company to obtain the insured's signature on the adjuster's contract, and from taking part in the repair work on a claim it adjusts. Section 31A-26-403.1 lets a property insurance policy prohibit assigning benefits to a roofing company and bars getting around that ban with a power of attorney. Section 31A-26-402 caps public adjuster compensation at 10% for a catastrophic claim settlement and 20% for other claims.
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Utah couples contractor licensing with a consumer protection program for owner-occupied homes. Title 38, Chapter 11, the Residence Lien Restriction and Lien Recovery Fund Act, protects a homeowner who has paid the original contractor in full from liens by unpaid subcontractors and suppliers, and it lets those unpaid parties recover from a state fund instead. Section 38-11-301 says a person applying for a contractor license after July 1, 1995, in classifications that regularly provide qualified services, is automatically registered as a qualified beneficiary when the license issues. A person who is exempt from licensure may register separately by applying, showing registration with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, and paying a fee the division sets. Section 38-11-108 requires the original contractor to state in the written contract with the owner what actions the owner must take to be protected from a lien or civil action for unpaid qualified services. Section 58-55-501 lists two related duties as unlawful conduct: failing, as an original contractor, to include that notification in a written contract, and engaging in construction of residences of up to two units when not registered or exempt from registration under the act. For a roofer, the effect is practical. A re-roof of an owner-occupied home should carry the required lien notice language in the contract, and you should pay your suppliers and subcontractors from each draw. Section 58-55-501 also makes it unlawful to take funds for a specific project and exercise unauthorized control over them by failing to pay those owed. This page did not fetch any fee amount for the registration.
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Utah keeps a public license lookup, and homeowners, insurers and general contractors can use it before signing a roofing contract. The Division of Professional Licensing runs the Licensee Lookup and Verification System at secure.utah.gov, which lets a user search by name and profession or by license number, and which lists construction categories among the professions. The database screen on the page shows a current as-of date, so a searcher can see how fresh the data is. The statute adds a second directory. Section 58-55-702 directs the division to maintain a Construction Business Registry, a database of contact information for licensed contractors that the public can reach through an Internet website and that is indexed by the contractor's name, the licensed business name and the classification. A licensed contractor can specify contact information, amend it, or opt out at any time. Rule R156-55a-501 gives a customer one more tool: a licensee must provide a copy of its current license or license number on request. For a contractor, the lookup works in both directions. It shows what a customer will see, so check that your business name, classification and status read correctly before you print anything. If the record shows a classification that does not include roofing, or shows a lapsed status because insurance or a qualifier changed, fix the record before you sell work.
These are common details other guides publish about Utah, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing licenses roofing contractors under Title 58, Chapter 55 of the Utah Code. Roofing is the S280 Roofing Contractor specialty classification in rule R156-55a-301. Work valued under $7,000 including labor and materials is exempt under section 58-55-305.
S280 covers installing asphalt, tar, felt, shakes, shingles, roof tile, slate and other waterproof roof membranes. It includes material attached to the roof, roof conversion, non-electrical skylights, certain insulating media, and incidental work such as a roof clamp ring at the roof drain.
Not a division-administered exam. Section 58-55-302 says no division-administered examination is required for a specialty contractor license, and no employment experience is required either. The statute still requires a 25-hour prelicense course unless a rule provides otherwise, so confirm that requirement with DOPL.
Rule R156-55a-302d requires a certificate of public liability insurance naming the division as certificate holder, with coverage of at least $100,000 per incident and $300,000 in total. Section 58-55-302 also requires proof of workers' compensation insurance, and registrations with several state agencies.
Licenses renew every two years. A contractor must complete six hours of approved continuing education each cycle under section 58-55-302.5. The Utah Roofing Contractors Association is one of the listed course providers, though it may offer courses only to its own members.
Only if the contracted value is under $7,000 including labor, materials and all changes or additions. Section 58-55-305 sets that exemption. Once change orders push the total to $7,000 or more, a licensed contractor must do the work. The exemption is also subject to sections 58-55-501 and 58-55-502.
Unlicensed contracting is unlawful conduct under section 58-55-501, and most violations are class A misdemeanors under section 58-55-503. The division can cite for fines, and an unlicensed contractor generally cannot sue in court to collect pay for work that required a license under section 58-55-604.
Yes, in one case. Section 13-50-202 lets an owner cancel if the contractor knew the job would be paid from insurance and the insurer denies any part of the claim. The owner has five business days from the written denial notice, and the contractor must refund within 10 business days.
No. Section 13-50-302 bars a residential contractor from rebating or offering to rebate any part of an insurance deductible as an inducement. Any contract, estimate or work order paid from insurance proceeds must carry the statutory 14-point notice of that rule, signed by the named insured.
Not for pay without an adjuster license. Section 31A-26-201 bars insurance adjusting, including negotiating a claim, without a license. Section 31A-26-405 also bars a public adjuster from letting a roofing company obtain the insured's signature on the adjuster's contract.
Section 58-55-304 says the license number must be part of all permit applications, contracts, agreements and bids where a license is required. Rule R156-55a-501 also requires giving a copy of the license or number on request. This page found no rule requiring it on vehicles or websites.
Search the Division of Professional Licensing's Licensee Lookup and Verification System at secure.utah.gov by name or license number. The statute also creates a public Construction Business Registry indexed by contractor name, business name and classification. A contractor must provide its license number on request.
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