Last reviewed October 31, 2026.
A homeowner in Nesconset reads a reroof contract twice, looking for the permit line. There isn’t one. The roofer shrugs and says Smithtown does not ask for a permit on shingles.
The roofer may be right. The town’s paperwork never says so in plain words, but it never lists roofing as permitted work either. Whether a full replacement counts as the kind of repair the code exempts is the one question the code leaves open.
What Smithtown’s code exempts
Chapter 112, the building construction chapter, opens wide. No one may begin the “erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, removal, improvement, demolition” of a building without first getting a separate permit from the Chief Building Inspector. Then the same sentence carves out two exceptions. One is a small shed. The other is the line roofers lean on: “no building permit shall be required for: 1) the performance of ordinary repairs which are not structural in nature.”
We read that text through a government search index in 2026 after the town’s ecode360 page refused our direct request, so it may lag the latest supplement.
Everything else the town publishes points the same way. The Building Department’s page says it issues “all permits for new construction, additions, and alterations,” plus sign permits. Its online portal takes 17 kinds of residential permit, from decks and fences to solar panels and generators. Roofing, siding and windows are not on it. The residential fee schedule revised June 3, 2026 has no roofing row at all.
Still, no town sentence settles reroofing outright, and the code’s opening rule lists “improvement” among the work that needs a permit. So before a tear-off, and always when the job is more than old covering off and new covering on, phone the Building Department at (631) 360-7520. Write down who answered.
Roof framing turns a reroof into an alteration
New rafters, sistered rafters, a dormer, a raised ridge, a roof over the patio. Each one changes the structure, and that is where the repair exemption ends. The town’s checklist for proposed alterations, revised January 21, 2022, asks for:
- two notarized applications signed by the owner, not the contractor
- three copies of the property survey with the work drawn on it
- three sets of plans, with architect’s plans for “all structural applications regardless of the square feet”
- working drawings to scale for roof-over patios
- the town’s truss notice, completed and signed
- Suffolk license photo IDs and workers’ compensation and disability papers for the contractor
The truss notice, revised April 14, 2025, has a box for roof framing and covers repairs and alterations as well as new houses. It is signed under an architect’s or engineer’s seal, or before a notary when the owner or contractor signs.
A homeowner doing the work can file an exemption form, CE-200, but the checklist limits it to “decks, sheds and minor alterations.” Structural roof work is not on that list.
Smithtown permit fees in the 2026 schedule
The schedule is a grid. A roof framing job most likely lands in one of these rows:
| Row in the June 3, 2026 schedule | Base fee | Per additional sq ft | Assessment | Certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations (interior) and conversions | $305 | $0.45 | $65 | $100 |
| Addition | $305 | $0.45 | $65 | $100 |
| Renewal | Half the original permit fee | |||
| Each inspection past the two included | $50 |
The “Built Prior Fee” column reads 3X for both of those rows. The permit application backs it up: “Fees will be assessed for any work done prior to issuance of required permits.” Frame first and file later, and the bill can run well past what the permit would have cost.
The schedule ends with a caution that it “is occasionally changed and is provided to determine an approximate fee.” Get the real number from the department before you build a budget on it.
The permit clock and the posted card
The application form revised April 10, 2025 says “All permits expire after one year.” The fee schedule agrees and adds that a permit can be renewed once for half the original fee, less the certificate and assessor charges. After that, any further permit counts as a new application at current fees.
The Chapter 112 text in the search index disagrees. It gives six months from issue, with up to two extensions of three months each for good cause. We could not confirm which one the town applies today, so trust the expiration date printed on the permit card.
While the crew works, that card has to be “prominently displayed on the job site,” where it can be seen from the street. The town’s applications page says inspections are booked at (631) 360-7522 or through an online request form.
Chapter 112 fines
The penalty section treats each violation as a misdemeanor for court purposes, and the numbers climb fast. As the indexed text reads, a first conviction carries a fine of $1,000 to $2,500. A second within five years runs $2,000 to $5,000. A third within five years of the first two brings $4,000 to $15,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Every day the violation continues after the town gives notice or serves a summons counts as a new offense.
Workers’ comp forms Smithtown accepts
The Building Department’s insurance sheet, last revised May 1, 2016, accepts workers’ compensation proof on three forms only: C-105.2, GSI-105.2 or U-26.3. Disability coverage goes on DB-120.1, or DB-155 for a self-insured employer. The certificate holder is the Town of Smithtown, 99 West Main Street, PO Box 9090, Smithtown, NY 11787. A company with no employees files form CE-200 instead, signed and dated for each new or renewed permit. Liability insurance is accepted on the ACORD form. Ask the department whether a newer sheet has replaced the 2016 one.
Historic districts and roofing hours in Smithtown
Chapter 185, the town’s historic districts law, says no one may make an “environmental change” inside a district without a certificate of appropriateness from the Chief Building Inspector. The definition reaches any alteration that will affect the exterior design or appearance of a building within or adjacent to a district. Read literally, that could reach a new roof color or a switch in material. The chapter’s procedure section exempts “ordinary maintenance or repair” of an exterior feature only when it involves no change in “design, material, color or outer appearance.” We did not find a published list of the town’s designated districts. The Planning Department reviews these applications, so ask there if your street might be in one.
Work hours are murkier here than in neighboring towns. Smithtown added a construction item to its noise code on November 1, 2016, and an editor’s note in the indexed Chapter 207 text says that item was repealed on November 18, 2021 by Resolution 2021-1016. We found no current town section that sets roofing hours. A village can still write its own.
The Branch, Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor
The town is blunt about it: its Building Department “does not accept applications” for projects in the Village of the Branch, Nissequogue or Head of the Harbor. Village numbers from the town’s page:
- Head of the Harbor: (631) 584-5550
- Village of the Branch: (631) 265-3315
- Nissequogue: (631) 862-9494
Everyone else goes to 23 Redwood Lane, Smithtown, NY 11787. The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from July 1 through August 31. The department’s page also warns about phishing scams involving permits. If an email or call asks for permit money, confirm it with the office before paying anyone.
Skipping the permit never means skipping the license. The town’s alterations checklist asks for the contractor’s Suffolk license photo ID, and a covering-only job still needs a licensed roofer. Our guide to the Suffolk lookup shows where to check. Wind, snow and ice-shield rules for the town are on the Smithtown roofers page.
