How we measured this
The City of Orlando publishes every permit it issues, and each record carries the declared value of the work. We pulled all roof permits issued from 2023 through 2025, kept the ones whose job description is a roof replacement, removed duplicate sub-permits on the same parcel in the same month, and dropped values under $1,500 or over $200,000 — those are patch repairs and commercial jobs, not house re-roofs.
What's left is 5,038 real jobs, priced by licensed contractors and filed with the city. The median is $13,268. A quarter of jobs came in under $9,000 and a quarter over $19,890. The tails are wide in both directions — $5,170 at the tenth percentile, $33,009 at the ninetieth — and the section below is why.
This is a distribution of what roofs cost here, not a quote for your roof. Nobody can price your roof without seeing it.
| Year issued | Permits counted |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,689 |
| 2024 | 2,171 |
| 2025 | 1,178 |
Roof-work permits with a roof job description. Deduplicated by parcel and issue month; declared values under $1,500 or over $200,000 excluded. 2025 is a partial reflection of the year as filings continue to post.
Why costs move so much here
The spread between $5,170 and $33,009 in that permit data isn't noise. These are the things that decide where in the range your job lands.
Whether the 25% rule forces a full replacement
Largest single swingFlorida's code historically required the entire roofing system to be brought to current code once repairs passed 25% of the roof area. SB 4-D (2022) added an exception: if the existing roof was built or repaired in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, only the repaired or replaced portion has to meet current code. Which side of that line your roof falls on is the difference between a section repair and a whole re-roof.(source: The Florida Senate, 2022)
Tile vs. shingle vs. metal
UpTile is common on Orlando-area homes built in the 1990s and later. Tear-off, disposal weight, and per-piece replacement of matching tile all cost more than an architectural shingle re-roof of the same square footage, and tile work needs a crew that does tile specifically.
Decking and underlayment condition
Up, discovered mid-jobRotten or delaminated sheathing is not visible from a driveway estimate. Ask for the per-sheet price for replacement decking in writing before work starts, so a discovery mid-tear-off doesn't become an open-ended change order.
Existing layers and disposal
UpA second or third layer of shingles doubles tear-off labor and dump weight. Older Orlando neighborhoods are where you find them.
Roof pitch, height, and access
UpTwo-story, steep pitch, solar panels, screen enclosures, and tight lot access all add labor and staging. Detach-and-reset of solar is usually a separate line and a separate trade.
Insurance and wind mitigation documentation
Down, laterA permitted, inspected roof with a final inspection on record and a wind mitigation inspection afterward is what insurers price credits against. Skipping the permit to save money is what makes a roof hard to insure and hard to claim on.(source: Florida Legislature, 2024)
Post-storm demand
Up, temporarilyAfter a named storm, crews are scarce, materials tighten, and out-of-state operators appear. Contracting without a license during a declared state of emergency is a felony in Florida at any project value — check the license before you sign anything in a storm window.
Which jurisdiction your address is in
VariesPermit fees and review timelines differ between the City of Orlando, unincorporated Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties, and the cities that run their own building departments. Permits follow the property address, not the mailing city.
The rules and grants that change your number
Every figure here is published by a government body, for this metro or for Florida. Follow any citation to read it yourself.
| Item | Published figure | Scope & source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of commencement required | Job value over $5,000 | Orange County re-roof permits(source: Orange County Government, 2026) |
| Roof permit fee basis | Calculated from declared value of work | Orange County — published fee schedule(source: Orange County Office of Management and Budget, 2025) |
| Information the permit requires from you | Roof square footage, stories, material type, value of work | Orange County re-roof permits(source: Orange County Government, 2026) |
| Hurricane mitigation matching grant | $2 state for every $1 you contribute, up to $10,000 | Statewide, Florida homeowners, subject to appropriation(source: My Safe Florida Home, 2026) |
| Whole-roof vs. partial replacement rule | Roofs built to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later may repair only the affected section | Statewide, § 553.844 as amended(source: The Florida Senate, 2022) |
Permit office for your address
Fees and review timelines are set per jurisdiction, and jurisdiction follows the property address rather than the mailing city.
Orange County Building Safety
Unincorporated Orange County — roof permit requirements and fee schedule published online
Official permit page →Seminole County Building Division
Unincorporated Seminole County; Sanford, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry and Winter Springs run their own departments
Official permit page →Osceola County Building Department
Unincorporated Osceola County; Kissimmee and St. Cloud permit their own city limits
Official permit page →Lake County Office of Building Services
Unincorporated Lake County — Clermont, Eustis and Tavares side of the metro
Official permit page →Get three quotes, itemized the same way
Bids are only comparable when they describe the same job. Ask every roofer for these lines in writing.
- Tear-off and disposal, stated as a separate line from installation
- Underlayment product and whether a secondary water barrier is included
- Per-sheet price for replacement decking, agreed before work starts
- Drip edge, valley metal, flashing, and vent replacement — new, not reused
- Product approval numbers for the shingle or tile system being installed
- Who pulls the permit (it should be the licensed contractor, never you)
- Manufacturer warranty vs. workmanship warranty, with the years for each
- Payment schedule tied to milestones — deposit, dry-in, final inspection
Roof cost questions homeowners ask
- Where does the median roof price on this page come from?
- From the City of Orlando's own permit records. The city publishes every permit it issues, and each one carries the declared value of the work. We took 5,038 roof-replacement permits issued between 2023 and 2025, removed duplicate sub-permits and values outside $1,500–$200,000, and measured the distribution: a median of $13,268, with the middle half of jobs between $9,000 and $19,890. It is not a national estimate or a self-reported survey figure. It covers permits inside city limits, not the whole metro.
- Is a declared permit value the same as what I'd pay?
- Close, but not identical. The declared value is what the licensed contractor writes on the permit application as the value of the work. It generally excludes sales tax and can sit slightly below the signed contract total. It is still the most honest local number available, because it is filed with the city by the contractor doing the job rather than self-reported to a lead-generation website.
- Does my whole roof have to be replaced if part of it is damaged?
- Not necessarily. Florida law was amended in 2022 so that if the existing roofing system was built or repaired in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, only the repaired, replaced, or recovered portion must meet current code. Roofs older than that generally still trigger the whole-system requirement once repairs pass the code threshold. Your permit office confirms which applies to your address.
- Can the state help pay for a stronger roof?
- My Safe Florida Home, run by the Florida Department of Financial Services, provides $2 in grant funds for every $1 the homeowner contributes, up to a $10,000 state contribution, subject to legislative appropriation. Eligibility runs through a free hurricane mitigation inspection first, and funding availability changes by program year.
- How much is the roof permit itself?
- In Orange County the roof permit fee is calculated from the declared value of the work, using the published county fee schedule, and a notice of commencement is required once the job value exceeds $5,000. Other jurisdictions in the metro publish their own schedules. Your contractor's bid should show the permit fee as its own line so you can check it against the schedule.
- How many quotes should I get?
- Three, all itemized the same way, all from contractors whose license you have checked yourself against the state license database. Identical scope is what makes the numbers comparable — a low bid that reuses flashing or omits decking allowance is not the same job as one that doesn't.
Sources
- City of Orlando Open Data (2026). Permit Applications dataset (declared value of work on issued permits)
- Orange County Government, Division of Building Safety (2026). Roof Permits — submission requirements
- Orange County Office of Management and Budget (2025). Fee Directory, FY 2025–2026 (building and construction support fees)
- The Florida Senate (2022). SB 4-D, enrolled text — amending § 553.844, Florida Statutes
- My Safe Florida Home, Florida Department of Financial Services (2026). Hurricane mitigation matching grants — maximum award
- Florida Legislature (2024). § 215.5586, Florida Statutes — My Safe Florida Home Program
Last reviewed September 2026. Permit fees, code editions, and grant funding change — follow the citation for the current text before you rely on a figure.
For homeownersPost a job, get bids
Instead of contacting contractors one at a time, describe your project once on Knuckl and let licensed Orlando-area subcontractors bid on it.