Short answer: Exchange lists 8 roofing and waterproofing companies in Oregon. Every roofer bidding or working for pay in Oregon must hold a Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license, typically a Residential Specialty Contractor endorsement with a $20,000 bond and $300,000 liability insurance. Residential jobs over $2,000 need a written contract plus three CCB consumer notices, and liens must be recorded within 75 days. The 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code took effect October 1, 2026 and becomes mandatory April 1, 2027.
Who licenses
The Oregon Construction Contractors Board licenses all roofing contractors; there is no separate state roofing trade license.
Typical endorsement
A residential roofer usually holds the Residential Specialty Contractor endorsement, which requires a $20,000 bond and $300,000 per-occurrence liability insurance.
Training and exam
The Oregon Responsible Managing Individual must complete 16 hours of pre-license training and pass an 80-question open-book exam with 70 percent.
Written contract trigger
Oregon residential work over $2,000 requires a written contract under ORS 701.305 and delivery of three CCB consumer notices.
Lien deadline
An Oregon construction lien must be recorded within 75 days after the last work or substantial completion, whichever comes first.
Code change
The 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code took effect October 1, 2026 and becomes mandatory April 1, 2027 after a six-month phase-in.
Do roofers need a CCB license in Oregon?
Yes. Oregon requires anyone who bids, advertises or works for pay on roofing to hold an active license from the Construction Contractors Board, whether the job is a small repair, a full tear-off or a commercial membrane.
Oregon does not issue a stand-alone roofing trade license. Instead, the CCB licenses businesses under endorsements that describe the kind of property and the number of trades involved. A Residential Specialty Contractor, the endorsement most roofing firms hold, may work on residential or small commercial projects involving one or two unrelated building trades, so a company can roof one house and pour concrete on another. Where a single property involves three or more trades, the specialty endorsement only allows it if the labor and materials contract is $2,500 or less, which is why roofers who also take on siding, windows and gutters on the same job often move up to a Residential General Contractor endorsement.
Firms that work on larger commercial buildings need a commercial endorsement as well. Roofing businesses that only do occasional jobs may qualify as a Residential Limited Contractor, but that endorsement is aimed at part-timers: the applicant must expect gross construction sales under $40,000 in the next year and cannot contract for any job over $5,000. A limited contractor whose volume exceeds $40,000 must change endorsements and increase bond and insurance. Homeowners and general contractors can check any license, endorsement and bond status on the CCB online search before hiring, and should do so again if the job is delayed.
How does a roofing company get licensed by the Oregon CCB?
To license an Oregon roofing company, a Responsible Managing Individual completes 16 hours of approved pre-license training, passes the CCB exam, and the business files a CCB bond, liability insurance certificate and online application.
The exam has 80 multiple-choice questions, allows three hours, is open-book and requires 70 percent, or 56 correct answers, to pass; it costs $60 and is administered by PSI. The person who completes the training and exam becomes the company Responsible Managing Individual and must be at least 18. Corporations, LLCs and assumed business names must be registered with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division first, and the CCB application must be filed within 24 months of passing the exam. Roofers who let that window lapse have to retake the exam before applying.
The bond must be on a CCB form with a power of attorney, and the liability certificate must name the Construction Contractors Board as certificate holder. Workers compensation is required once the company has employees. The application fee rose from $325 to $400 on July 1, 2025, renewal is $400 every two years, and processing takes six to eight weeks. Bond and insurance minimums depend on the endorsement: $25,000 and $500,000 for a Residential General Contractor, $20,000 and $300,000 for a Residential Specialty Contractor, and $15,000 and $100,000 for a Residential Limited Contractor, according to the CCB endorsement chart.
Which licenses, permits and registrations apply in Oregon?
Requirement
Who issues it
When it applies
What it involves
CCB license with endorsement
Oregon Construction Contractors Board
Any roofing bid, advertisement or paid work
16 hours of training, open-book exam, bond, liability insurance, $400 application fee, two-year term
Residential Specialty Contractor bond and insurance
Surety and insurer, filed with the CCB
Residential roofers working in one or two trades
$20,000 residential bond and $300,000 per-occurrence general liability
Written contract and three notices
Required by ORS 701.305 and CCB rules
Residential work over $2,000
Lien information notice, Consumer Protection Notice, Notice of Procedure; keep delivery proof two years
Three-day right to cancel
ORS 83.720
Home solicitation contracts for repairs or remodeling signed away from the business
Notice of the buyer right to cancel within three days
Building permit
City or county building department under the ORSC or OSSC
Multifamily and commercial reroofs; residential reroofs outside the R105.2 exemption
2026 ORSC effective October 1, 2026, mandatory April 1, 2027
Construction lien
County recorder, then circuit court
Unpaid roofing contractors, subcontractors and suppliers
Record within 75 days, notify owner within 20 days, foreclose within 120 days
How do I check a roofing contractor in Oregon before I sign?
7 checks, in order, using the Oregon registers and rules described on this page:
Search the roofer on the Oregon CCB license lookup and confirm the license is active, the endorsement fits the job and the bond and insurance are current.
Check that a Residential Specialty Contractor carries at least the $20,000 bond and $300,000 liability insurance the CCB endorsement chart lists for that endorsement.
For any residential job over $2,000, insist on a written contract showing the CCB number and receive the lien notice, Consumer Protection Notice and Notice of Procedure.
If you signed at home, confirm the contract includes the ORS 83.720 three-day right-to-cancel notice for home solicitation sales of repair work.
Ask your city or county building department whether the reroof falls under the ORSC R105.2 exemption or needs a permit for sheathing, wildfire hazard zone or townhouse rules.
If the house is in a locally adopted R327 wildfire area, require a Class B or better roof covering and noncombustible gutters in the written scope.
Collect lien releases from suppliers who sent a Notice of Right to a Lien before final payment, remembering roofers have 75 days to record a lien.
What notices must an Oregon roofer give homeowners?
For Oregon residential work over $2,000, a roofer must use a written contract and deliver the Information Notice to Owner About Construction Liens, the Consumer Protection Notice and the Notice of Procedure.
ORS 701.305 sets the written contract requirement. If a job starts below $2,000 and grows past it, for example when rotten decking is found after tear-off, the contractor must provide a written contract within five days. The contract itself must list the contractor name, address, phone and CCB license number as shown in CCB records, the customer name and job address, a description of the work, the price and payment terms, the owner rights including the ability to file a CCB complaint, and any mediation or arbitration clause. Change orders for added decking, flashing or ventilation work should be put in writing for the same reason.
Contractors must keep proof that the notices were delivered for two years. The stakes are practical as well as regulatory: under ORS 87.037, a contractor who skips the written contract or required notices may lose the ability to claim a lien. Other notices apply in specific situations. Work on target housing built before 1978 requires the EPA Renovate Right lead pamphlet, and a home solicitation contract accepted somewhere other than the contractor permanent place of business needs a three-day right-to-cancel notice under ORS 83.720, which covers remodeling and repairs such as reroofing but not new construction.
Does reroofing a house need a permit in Oregon?
Usually not. The Oregon Residential Specialty Code exempts most reroofing of one- and two-family dwellings from building permits, but local offices still require permits for larger sheathing replacement, wildfire hazard areas, townhouses and multifamily buildings.
Section R105.2 of the ORSC carries the exemption, and cities apply it with their own guidance. Salem, for example, treats residential reroofing as exempt when the roofing and sheathing work does not exceed 30 percent of the required live load design capacity, but requires a permit when more than 30 percent of the roofing and sheathing is replaced, when the house is in a wildfire hazard zone, when the building is a townhouse because of fire-rated roof construction, and when integrated solar shingles are installed. Electrical permits are still required for any wiring work.
Corvallis notes that re-roofing of most structures regulated by the Oregon Structural Specialty Code, including commercial, industrial and multifamily buildings such as apartments and townhomes, requires a permit. That means commercial and multifamily roofing contractors in Oregon should expect plan review and inspections even where single-family reroofing would be exempt. Because each jurisdiction publishes its own list of work exempt from permit, roofers working across Portland, Salem, Eugene and county jurisdictions should check the local building department before quoting, especially when deck replacement or structural repairs are likely, and should note the permit status in the written contract.
Which residential code edition applies to roofing in Oregon?
Oregon is moving from the 2023 to the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code: the 2026 edition took effect October 1, 2026, and either edition may be used until the 2026 code becomes mandatory on April 1, 2027.
The Building Codes Division adopts the ORSC statewide, so local jurisdictions do not pick their own residential code edition. Under the adoption schedule, Chapter 1, covering scope and administration, became effective and mandatory on October 1, 2026. Chapters 2 through 44 and the appendices took effect the same day with a six-month phase-in, during which a designer or contractor may follow either the 2023 or the 2026 ORSC. Section R109.1.7 is not mandatory until April 1, 2027 because it applies together with Chapter 11, the energy chapter. Local building departments enforce whichever edition the permit application names.
For roofers, the edition that applies on a given job determines the roof covering, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and reroofing rules in the roof assemblies chapter, plus the insulation requirements that apply when a roof is opened up. Projects permitted during the phase-in should state which edition they follow and stay with it. The Building Codes Division expects the integrated 2026 ORSC codebook to be published with the International Code Council and available for purchase before the end of 2026, and has listed a summary of amendments and update training as coming soon.
How do wildfire rules affect roof coverings in Oregon?
Where an Oregon city or county adopts section R327 of the Oregon Residential Specialty Code, new homes, additions and full replacements of roofs in mapped wildfire areas must meet minimum Class B roof assembly rules and cannot use wood shakes.
R327, the wildfire hazard mitigation section, was adopted by temporary rule effective August 5, 2025 and by permanent rule effective January 1, 2026. It lists acceptable coverings as asphalt shingles, slate, metal, clay or concrete tile, or other approved roofing equivalent to at least a Class B roof assembly, and it prohibits wood shingles and shakes in the designated areas. Gutters must be noncombustible, and any gap between the roof covering and the deck must be blocked against flame and ember intrusion, which affects how roofers detail tile and profiled metal at eaves and ridges.
R327 is a local option rather than a statewide mandate. It applies only where a municipality adopts it by ordinance, identifies the covered areas, publishes a map and sends it to the Building Codes Division, and sets a transition plan and appeal process. Replacing an existing exterior element in its entirety, such as a whole roof covering, triggers compliance, while partial repairs exempt under R105.2.2 do not. Roofers should therefore check whether a property falls in a locally adopted wildfire area before specifying materials, since a Salem house in a wildfire hazard zone also loses the usual reroof permit exemption.
What are the Oregon construction lien deadlines for roofers?
An Oregon roofing contractor must record a construction lien within 75 days after the last work or substantial completion, whichever comes first, and then file a foreclosure suit within 120 days of recording.
Subcontractors and suppliers under a prime roofer protect their rights with a Notice of Right to a Lien, sent within eight working days of starting work or delivering materials; sending it to the mortgage or trust deed holder within the same period preserves priority over a recorded mortgage. For residential work, the prime contractor gives the owner the Information Notice to Owner About Construction Liens on or before signing the written contract, or within five days of learning that a job has grown past $2,000. A roofer who fails to deliver it risks losing lien rights altogether.
After a lien is recorded, notice must be mailed to the owner and any mortgage or trust deed holder within 20 days. An owner who receives a Notice of Right to a Lien can send a demand letter, and the sender must respond within 15 days, excluding weekends and holidays. A lien recorded late is invalid, as is one not foreclosed within 120 days without an extension. ORS 87.058 lets a court stay foreclosure while a CCB complaint is pending, and the CCB brochure gives one year from the date of the debt to file a CCB complaint for unpaid amounts.
What drives roofing and waterproofing work in Oregon?
Oregon roofing demand is shaped by long wet seasons west of the Cascades, moss and moisture damage on older composition roofs, wildfire risk that now feeds into locally adopted roof covering rules, and the 2026 residential code transition.
In the Willamette Valley and on the coast, persistent winter rain makes underlayment, flashing and ventilation details as important as the roof covering itself, and much of the work on older homes involves replacing decking softened by long-term leaks. That is one reason Oregon roofers often see jobs grow mid-project, and why the ORS 701.305 rule requiring a written contract within five days once a job passes $2,000 is relevant in practice. Low-slope membrane roofing and below-grade waterproofing are steady commercial markets in Portland and other cities with dense multifamily construction.
East of the Cascades and in southern Oregon, wildfire has become the dominant consideration. The R327 wildfire hazard mitigation rules, permanent since January 1, 2026, push homeowners in adopted areas toward Class B or better coverings, noncombustible gutters and ember-resistant eave details, and they remove the usual reroof permit exemption in places such as Salem wildfire hazard zones. For contractors, the CCB fee increase on July 1, 2025 and the code phase-in ending April 1, 2027 are the near-term compliance dates to plan around, alongside any new local wildfire maps adopted by their cities and counties.
Where can I verify a license and check the source in Oregon?
Every figure and rule on this page can be checked against the primary source. These are the offices that publish them. Confirm current requirements directly before you rely on any of them:
No. Oregon does not issue a roofing trade license. Roofing businesses are licensed by the Construction Contractors Board under an endorsement, most often Residential Specialty Contractor, which covers residential and small commercial work in one or two unrelated trades. Commercial roofing on larger buildings needs a commercial endorsement. Electricians and plumbers involved in roof-mounted equipment hold their own separate state licenses.
How much is the CCB exam and what does it cover?
The Oregon CCB exam costs $60, is administered by PSI, and has 80 multiple-choice questions to be answered in three hours. It is open-book and the passing score is 70 percent, or 56 correct answers. The exam follows 16 hours of required pre-license training on Oregon business practices, contracts, lien law and building rules, and the license application must be filed within 24 months of passing.
Can a handyman do roof repairs in Oregon?
Only with a CCB license. A part-time operator may qualify for the Residential Limited Contractor endorsement, which requires a $15,000 bond and $100,000 liability insurance, but the holder must expect gross construction sales under $40,000 a year and cannot take any single contract over $5,000. Larger roofing jobs require a Residential Specialty or Residential General Contractor endorsement.
What happens if an Oregon roofer skips the required notices?
The CCB can discipline the contractor, and under ORS 87.037 a contractor who did not provide a written contract and all required consumer notices may be unable to claim a construction lien. That can leave an unpaid roofer with only a breach of contract claim. Contractors must keep proof of notice delivery for two years after the contract is entered into.
Does Oregon ban wood shake roofs?
Not statewide. Wood shingles and shakes are prohibited only in areas where a city or county has adopted ORSC section R327 for wildfire hazard mitigation and mapped the covered areas. In those areas, new homes, additions and complete roof replacements need asphalt, slate, metal, tile or another approved covering equal to at least a Class B roof assembly. Elsewhere, standard code rules apply.
Which code edition should an Oregon reroof follow during the phase-in?
Between October 1, 2026 and April 1, 2027, Oregon allows either the 2023 or 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code for Chapters 2 through 44, while Chapter 1 administration rules of the 2026 edition already apply. From April 1, 2027 the 2026 ORSC is mandatory. Contractors should agree the edition with the building official at permit stage where a permit is required.
How long do roofing subcontractors have to send a lien notice in Oregon?
Oregon subcontractors and suppliers should send a Notice of Right to a Lien within eight working days of starting work or delivering materials. Sending the notice to the mortgage or trust deed holder within that same eight-day window protects priority over a recorded mortgage. The claim itself must then be recorded within 75 days of the last work or substantial completion.
