Don't Start a Reroof in Ontario, CA Without a Permit

The Permit Is Not Optional in Ontario

The City of Ontario runs reroof permits for detached single family homes through an automated platform built with a company called Symbium. The city calls these permits streamlined, and its page says both contractors and homeowners can use the portal to pull one.¹

A streamlined permit is still a permit. It still comes with fees and inspections. Per the city's permit FAQ, fees are based on the value of the project, and a plan review fee equal to 80 percent of the permit fee is collected when you apply.²

The clock matters too. A permit expires if no work starts within six months of the day it was issued, or if work stops for more than six months.² A roof torn off in spring and left half done over the summer can lose its permit.

Ontario is not every city. Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Chino and Fontana each run their own building departments, so check the city named on your property tax bill. If you are not sure the address is inside Ontario city limits, the city asks you to confirm that before you start an application, and its main line is (909) 395-2000.¹

Can You Replace Your Own Roof in California?

Yes, it's legal. California calls this being an owner-builder. The city's FAQ says a homeowner can get a permit and do construction, alteration or repair work on the house if the owner lives there or will live there.²

State law sets the edges. Under Business and Professions Code section 7044, an owner can skip a contractor license when nothing is built for sale and the owner either does all the work alone or uses employees who are paid only wages.³ There is a separate route for your main home. It covers work done before a sale, when you lived in the home for the 12 months before the work was finished, and you have not used it on more than two homes more than once in any three year period.³⁴

Selling soon changes the math. If you sell or list the home within one year of finishing, the law presumes you did the work to sell it. You can push back on that, but now the burden is on you.³

Signing the permit as an owner-builder also signs you up for the whole job. The Contractors State License Board says you take full responsibility for every phase of the project, you must pull all the permits, and the work must pass every inspection.⁵

Who You Hire Changes Everything

This is where DIY roofs go wrong. A reroof is heavy, hot work, so few homeowners do it alone. The moment you bring in help, the law looks at who that help is.

The CSLB says using anyone other than a licensed subcontractor may make you an employer. Employers must register with the state and federal governments and handle income tax withholding, Social Security taxes, workers' compensation insurance, disability insurance and unemployment contributions.⁵

Skip those and the risk lands on you. The CSLB warns that if an unlicensed worker without insurance gets hurt, you could be asked to pay for the injury and rehab through your homeowner's policy, or face a lawsuit. It also warns that unpaid suppliers or subs can put a lien on your home.^6] Our post on [who pays if a roofer falls off your roof walks through how that plays out in California.

The cheap handyman route is closed too. Since January 1, 2025, California lets an unlicensed person take jobs up to $1,000 with no license, but only if the work needs no permit and the person hires no one to help.⁷ A reroof needs a permit, so an unlicensed person can't legally do it at any price.⁷

Before anyone touches your roof, look them up on the CSLB license search. You can search by license number, business name or the name of a person on the license.¹¹

What the Code Asks For on a Reroof

A permit means an inspector checks the work against the California Residential Code. A few rules catch DIY roofers off guard.

Tear off means all the way down. A roof replacement includes removing the existing layers down to the roof deck.^8] Laying new shingles over old ones is a recover, and it's not allowed when the roof already has two or more layers, or when the old roof is water soaked or worn out.8 Our post on [roofing over old shingles covers when a recover is even an option.

Broken tile stays off. Cracked, damaged or broken tile can't be put back on the roof.^8] On a 25 year old concrete tile roof, that can mean buying matching tile before the job starts. Our [tile roofing page covers what usually gets replaced under the tile.

Flashing gets rebuilt. The code says flashings must be rebuilt to the maker's installation instructions.⁸ Reusing bent old metal around a chimney or a wall is how a new roof leaks in its first storm.

Fire rating. Outside high fire hazard zones, the code calls for at least a Class C roof covering. Inside those zones it calls for at least Class A when more than half the roof is replaced within a year.⁸

Cool roof rules. All three Ontario ZIP codes, 91761, 91762 and 91764, are in state climate zone 10.¹⁰ The Energy Commission says its cool roof rules kick in when more than 50 percent of the roof is replaced, and the reroof rule covers steep roofs in zones 4 and 8 through 15. For a steep roof in zone 10, the sheet lists an aged solar reflectance of at least 0.20 and a thermal emittance of at least 0.75, or a solar reflectance index of at least 16, using values from a CRRC label.⁹ A few homes are exempt, for example ones with R-38 ceiling insulation, a radiant barrier, or no ducts in the attic.⁹

The Inspections You Will Book

On an owner-builder permit, you are the one who calls the inspector. The city's FAQ says the owner must tell the inspector when work is ready, work is inspected in order, and you can't move past an inspection point until it is approved.²

Roof nailing is one of the common inspections the city lists, and there is a final inspection when the job is done.² Plan your tear off so the deck is open and dry when the inspector arrives. A roof covered back up before it passes can mean pulling material off again.

Weather is the other half of the plan. A bare deck left open with rain in the forecast is a gamble. A licensed crew usually tears off and dries in one section at a time. If you are going it alone, work the same way, watch the forecast and keep a tarp on hand.

When DIY Makes Sense, and When It Doesn't

DIY can make sense on a small, low, single story shingle roof, when you have done roofing before, you have real fall protection, and you plan to stay in the home for years.

DIY rarely makes sense on concrete tile, on a two story home, when you need paid helpers, or when you might sell within a year. Each of those adds a legal duty or a safety risk that a licensed crew already carries.

Whichever way you go, get the permit, keep a copy of every inspection sign off, and take photos of the bare deck before it gets covered. That paper trail helps when you sell the home or file a claim later. A free roof inspection is a good way to find out what is under your roof before you decide.

If you'd rather hand the permit and the inspections to someone else, call Ontario Roofing at (909) 404-9464 for a free written estimate on your roof replacement.