Ohio has no state roofing license, so there’s no state roofing exam to sit and no state license fee to pay. The state board licenses five trades and roofing isn’t one of them, so any roofing license you hold in Ohio comes from a city or other local government.
Two state laws still reach a roofer who never needs a state license. One covers residential contracts over $25,000 and the other covers sales signed at the homeowner’s door.
Ohio’s licensing board covers five trades, and roofing is not one
Section 4740.01 of the Ohio Revised Code defines the licenses the Ohio construction industry licensing board issues. Each goes to an individual as a “heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractor, refrigeration contractor, electrical contractor, plumbing contractor, or hydronics contractor.” Roofing isn’t on that list.
If you’re comparing Ohio with states that do license roofers, Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work covers how those states work and how a qualifier holds the license for a company. In Ohio, when a homeowner asks for your state roofing license number, the straight answer is that Ohio doesn’t issue one. Show them the local license you hold.
Your city decides whether you need a roofing license and what it costs
With no state license, any exam and any fee are set by the city where the job sits. Go by what each building department tells you.
Before your first job in a new city, call its building department and ask:
- whether it licenses or registers roofing contractors
- whether there’s a test, and who in your company has to take it
- what it charges and how often the license renews
- what bond or proof of insurance it wants on file
Keep the answers in one sheet with each city’s license number and renewal date, so the number is ready when a homeowner or an ad platform asks for it.
Residential jobs over $25,000 fall under Ohio’s home construction law
Chapter 4722 of the Revised Code covers “the repair, improvement, remodel, or renovation of an existing structure” on a residential building. It defines that as a one-, two- or three-family dwelling plus any accessory construction. It leaves out buildings with four or more units (except work on an individual unit inside one), condo common areas, manufactured homes and mobile homes.
It applies to a home construction service contract “for an amount exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars,” cost-plus contracts included. A typical residential reroof under that amount falls outside it.
On a covered job, the law says you must:
- sign a written contract that complies with the chapter before you start any work related to the job
- give the homeowner an estimate of excess costs before you do that work
- not charge for any excess cost the homeowner hasn’t approved
- tell the homeowner that refusing an excess cost may leave work unfinished, with a charge for taking things apart or for the partial work
It also bars you from saying work is needed to meet the residential building code when it isn’t, or calling an item dangerous when it isn’t. You can’t intentionally understate or misstate the estimated cost either, and work has to be done “in a workmanlike manner,” which Ohio measures against “the minimum quantifiable standards promulgated by the Ohio home builders association.”
The chapter defines a covered supplier as one “who maintains in force a general liability insurance policy in an amount of not less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars.” Have a lawyer read your contract and your policy against that definition before you sign a job above the threshold. Using one written contract for every residential job saves you from tracking which side of $25,000 each job lands on, and Roofing Contract Template: The Clauses a Residential Roofing Contract Needs covers what that contract should hold.
Door-to-door sales need a cancellation notice in bold type
If your reps sign homeowners at the door, for example after a storm, section 1345.23 sets out what that paperwork must show. The agreement has to be written in the same language as the sales pitch and include your name and address and the date the homeowner signs.
Next to the signature line, in 10-point bold type, it has to say the buyer “may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction.” A detachable “notice of cancellation” form must be attached, in duplicate.
Print that notice on the contract your canvassers carry, and attach both copies of the form before the contracts leave the office.
Michigan licenses roofers, so check before you cross the state line
Ohio’s neighbor to the north licenses roofing at the state level. Michigan’s residential maintenance and alteration contractor license lists roofing among its trades and names the trade on the license, and an individual qualifies by passing the exam.
If you take work across the Michigan line, get that license before you sign the first job there.
Claim “licensed” only with a city and a license number
Google’s Local Services Ads list two requirements for roofing, “Business license on state level*” and “Owner license on state level*”, with the asterisk meaning “Where applicable by local law.” Keep whatever local license you hold current in the account. An exterior remodeler on r/smallbusiness said their Local Services account was suspended for a while because they didn’t submit their new license in time.
Your website follows the same logic. If a city licenses you, put the city and the license number next to the word “licensed.” If no city does, leave “licensed” off the site.
Settle these six things before the next Ohio job
- Call the building department in every city you work in, and record each license number and renewal date.
- Use a written contract on every residential job, and have a lawyer check it against Chapter 4722 for jobs over $25,000.
- Put the bold cancellation notice and two cancellation forms on every contract your canvassers carry.
- Get a Michigan license before you sign a job across the state line.
- Keep your local license current in Local Services Ads.
- Use the word “licensed” only next to a city and a number.
A license number helps a homeowner trust you once they’ve found you, and Zentora’s free Google Maps heatmap shows where on the map they can. Pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.