How to start a roofing company

This guide covers opening a roofing company in the US in the order a founder meets each step: the state license or the lack of one, insurance and fall protection, the cash gap on insurance jobs and the first customers. The rule that surprises most new owners is how much changes at a state line: California makes even a one-person C-39 roofer carry workers' compensation, while Texas issues no roofing license at all and does not require most private employers to carry workers' comp.

By Niomi AscotUpdated October 3, 202616 min read

Licensing: Set by each state. California issues the C-39; Texas has no state roofing license
Experience bar: Four years in California, Florida and Arizona
Workers' comp: Required for every California C-39 roofer, with or without employees
Fall protection: OSHA requires it from 6 feet up; the most-cited OSHA standard in fiscal 2025
Competition: 65% of 25,519 roofing establishments with payroll had under 5 employees (Census, 2023)
Google screening: About 3 to 4 weeks for Local Services Ads checks

What a roofing company sells, and the models to choose from

California’s license board defines the trade in one line: a roofing contractor “installs products and repairs surfaces that seal, waterproof and weatherproof structures” (California CSLB, C-39 Roofing). Google’s Local Services category description adds gutters and venting: roofers “install, repair, and maintain the shingles, gutters, and venting on your roof, among other services” (Google Local Services, roofer requirements).

New roofing companies usually start in one of four shapes, and the choice decides the license, the insurance and how fast you get paid:

Residential retail. The homeowner pays for a repair or a replacement directly. Roofing replacements came to “a third ($46 billion) of energy-related improvement spending” in 2023 (Harvard JCHS, Improving America’s Housing 2025).
Insurance and storm work. The same JCHS report found insurance settlements paid for 18 percent of homeowner spending on exterior replacements, roofing among them, in 2023. This work follows hail and hurricanes, pays in installments and has its own advertising laws.
Commercial low-slope roofing. Different systems, different OSHA rules and, in Texas, different sales tax. California’s C-39 exam gives low-slope projects 17 percent of its content and steep-slope projects 26 percent, so the state expects a licensed roofer to know both (CSLB C-39 study guide).
A selling owner with subcontracted crews. In our experience many owners begin this way. It costs less to launch, but tax and workers’ comp rules decide whether those crews really count as subcontractors.

The outlook: pay, demand and who you will bid against

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on O*NET OnLine (47-2181.00) put the median roofer’s wage at $26.65 an hour, or $55,440 a year, in 2025. There were 166,700 roofers employed in 2024, employment is projected to grow 5 to 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, faster than average, and O*NET lists 12,700 projected job openings for that period.

For the companies, the Census Bureau counted 25,519 roofing contractor establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 215,242 people on $15.19 billion of annual payroll (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). Of those, 65.3 percent had fewer than five employees and 80.3 percent fewer than ten, while only 26 had between 250 and 999. A new roofer bids mostly against other owner-run shops, not national brands.

Demand comes from three places:

Old houses. The median owner-occupied home was 42 years old in 2023 (Harvard JCHS, above).
Storms. Almost 62 percent of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center’s hail reports from 2021 to 2025 fell in April, May and June (NOAA SPC severe weather data). Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 (NOAA National Hurricane Center), and ISO data published by the Insurance Information Institute put the average homeowners wind and hail claim at $14,747 from 2019 to 2023.
Insurers. Before a Florida insurer can require a new roof on a home with a roof 15 or more years old, it must let the owner pay for an inspection, which a roofing contractor approved by the insurer may perform (Fla. Stat. 627.7011).

Licensing and certification

There is no federal roofing license. Each state decides, and some leave roofing to cities and counties or fold it into a general contractor threshold. Besides OSHA, covered in the hiring section, federal rules reach a roofer in three places:

Lead paint. Anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 must be certified under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, and that covers “all firms, even sole proprietorships.” A tear-off rarely disturbs paint; replacing painted fascia or trim usually does. Exterior work disturbing 20 square feet or less is exempt, and EPA’s contractor rules bar an uncertified firm from even advertising covered work.
A USDOT number. A vehicle or combination rated at 10,001 pounds or more that carries property across state lines is a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR 390.5). A heavy pickup towing a loaded dump trailer to a storm in the next state can qualify.
Drones. Flying one for roof measurements or inspection photos is business use under the FAA’s Part 107 rules.

State licensing for roofers

State	Who issues it	What you need	Key requirements, as the agency states them
California	Contractors State License Board	C-39 Roofing license	Needed when a job requires a permit, uses other workers or totals $1,000 or more; four years of journey-level experience; trade exam plus an asbestos open-book exam; $25,000 bond; workers’ comp even with no employees
Texas	No state agency; the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas runs a voluntary program	No state roofing license	Voluntary RCAT license: two continuous years as a principal in a Texas roofing company, a physical location, $300,000 general liability or a $100,000 bond (residential), exams passed at 70%
Florida	DBPR Construction Industry Licensing Board	Certified (statewide) or registered (local) roofing contractor	Age 18; four years of experience, one as a foreman; FICO 660 or a 14-hour course; $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage insurance
Arizona	Registrar of Contractors (A.R.S. 32-1122)	Contractor license	Four years of trade experience, two within the last ten; exam on the trade and state “building, safety, health and lien laws”; bond or cash deposit
North Carolina	Licensing Board for General Contractors (G.S. 87-1)	General contractor license for larger jobs	Required when “the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more”
Minnesota	Commissioner of labor and industry (Minn. Stat. 326B.805)	Residential roofer license	A residential roofer must be licensed “as a residential roofer, residential building contractor, or residential remodeler”
Pennsylvania	Office of Attorney General	Registration, not a trade license	Required at $5,000 or more of home improvements a year; $100 every two years

Fees here are as of October 2026. Confirm current requirements with the issuing agency before you apply, and with the city or county, which usually issues the reroofing permit whatever the state requires.

California. The C-39 is required where the project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or totals “$1,000 or more” in labor and materials (CSLB, before applying). Training can count for up to three of the four years of experience, but “At least one year must be practical experience” (CSLB experience requirements). The state charges $450 to apply, $32 and $17 for Justice Department and FBI fingerprint processing, and $200 for a sole owner’s initial license or $350 for any other business form (CSLB fee schedule). The license runs two years and needs a $25,000 contractor bond (CSLB, issuing your license), and the surety company sets the premium. Contracting without a license is usually a misdemeanor the first time: up to six months in jail, a $500 fine or both, plus an administrative fine of $200 to $15,000. Once licensed, the number goes on contracts and all forms of advertising (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7030.5).

Texas. “The Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation (TDLR) does NOT currently administer licensure for roofing contractors,” the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas says, adding that “Anyone can call themselves a roofer in Texas” (RCAT licensing). RCAT’s voluntary license goes to individuals, and a company run by a holder “may then market themselves as ‘licensed.’” Applicants must have been a principal in a Texas roofing company “for at least two continuous years immediately prior to the date of application,” so a brand-new company cannot claim it until its third year. Until then, proof of insurance and finished local jobs carry the weight.

Florida. A certified roofing contractor “shall be allowed to contract in any jurisdiction in the state,” while a registered one “may contract only in such jurisdictions” where it met local competency requirements (DBPR Construction Industry Licensing Board). College credit can replace up to three of the four required years of experience, never the year as a foreman (Fla. Stat. 489.111). The board refuses applicants without a FICO score of 660 or higher unless they complete a 14-hour financial responsibility course (Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G4-15.006), roofers must carry the insurance minimums in the table (R. 61G4-15.003), and every bid, contract and ad has to show the license number (Fla. Stat. 489.119).

Arizona. The exam covers the trade plus state lien and safety law (A.R.S. 32-1122). Specialty residential contractors post a bond or cash deposit of $1,000 to $7,500, and residential contractors add a $200,000 bond or pay into the residential contractors’ recovery fund (A.R.S. 32-1152). Anyone advertising without a license under the small-job exemption, for work below $1,000, must include the words “not a licensed contractor” (A.R.S. 32-1121).

North Carolina. The license there turns on job size rather than trade, though the board can also issue specialty classifications for “specialized building trades or crafts” (N.C. G.S. 87-10), so ask how it treats roofing before you rely on the $40,000 line.

Setting up the company

Entity and tax ID. The SBA’s guide to business structures says an LLC protects personal assets “in most instances,” and California adds an LLC employee/worker bond and LLC liability insurance for licensed LLCs where they apply (CSLB, issuing your license). Form the entity with the secretary of state, then get a free Employer Identification Number from the IRS and keep both records handy, because Google’s Local Services screening verifies a business through a D-U-N-S number or those state, IRS and revenue department registrations (Google Local Services screening).

Sales tax. The Texas Comptroller says “Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable,” that repair “includes reroofing,” and that on a residential lump-sum contract you pay tax on materials when you buy them and charge the customer none, while the total charge for a commercial reroof is taxable (Texas Comptroller Publication 94-116). Other states draw the line elsewhere, so ask before your first commercial bid.

Insurance. Google’s Local Services ads require roofers to carry general liability and professional liability insurance (Google requirements, above), and Florida sets its own minimums. In our experience a roofer also needs commercial auto coverage for trucks and trailers from the first job.

Workers’ compensation is where the states differ most:

California: C-39 Roofing is one of five license classes that must carry it “whether or not they have employees” (CSLB workers’ compensation).
Florida: in construction, one employee makes you an employer, against four in other industries (Fla. Stat. 440.02).
Texas: “Texas doesn’t require most private employers to have workers’ compensation,” though government contracts do and general contractors may demand it of their subcontractors (Texas Department of Insurance). In 2022, 31 percent of Texas employers with one to four employees went without it, against 16 percent in the mining, utilities and construction group (TDI 2022 study).

Crews. An employee classified as a contractor with “no reasonable basis for doing so” can leave you owing that worker’s employment taxes, and the IRS test for contractors and employees weighs behavioral control, financial control and the relationship. Start with the crew that works only for you, on your schedule, with your materials.

Trucks, safety gear and software

From what we see across the trade, a new roofing company buys these first:

A truck and trailer: a pickup or box truck with a ladder rack and a dump trailer for tear-off debris.
Fall protection: harnesses, anchors and lifelines, warning lines for low-slope work, and ladders that meet OSHA’s ladder standard, 29 CFR 1926.1053. Buy it before the second nail gun.
Tools: nail guns and compressors, tear-off shovels, roof jacks, a magnetic sweeper, a brake for bending flashing and tarps for emergency dry-ins.
Estimating: the trade measures in squares of 100 square feet. Aerial vendors such as EagleView sell remote measurements they say help contractors “bid faster,” which for a small company means a same-day number.
Software: estimating, a CRM that follows each lead to final payment, job photos filed for adjusters, and call tracking.
Space: home works at first. Google does not accept a rented virtual office as a Business Profile location (Google Business Profile guidelines).
Suppliers: a distributor account early, since material terms are working capital, and a manufacturer program for extended warranties.

Pricing, deposits and cash flow

No public source with a stated method gives typical roofing prices or startup costs, so none is printed here. In practice, replacements are priced per square, with line items for extra tear-off layers, decking, flashing, ventilation and steep roofs; repairs per job; commercial work by bid. The SBA’s startup cost checklist lists what to budget, and for a roofer the big lines are usually the truck, insurance and bond, and the materials float on the first jobs.

Four rules decide how much cash you need on hand:

Insurance pays in two checks. The Texas Department of Insurance tells homeowners the insurer “will pay with two checks,” the second “after you’ve started repairs,” and that “As roofs age, some companies will switch to actual cash value” (TDI, replacing your roof). You buy materials and pay crews before the second check.
Deposits are capped. California limits a home improvement down payment to $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract, “whichever amount is less” (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7159.5). A Florida contractor taking more than 10 percent up front on residential work must apply for permits within 30 days and start within 90 days of their issue (Fla. Stat. 489.126).
Sales at the door can be cancelled. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule allows cancellation until midnight of the third business day, and the FTC’s own example is “a home improvement like a new roof that you’re not sure you really need” (FTC Cooling-Off Rule). Hold the material order until the window closes.
Financing is regulated. Residential PACE loans fall under a CFPB ability-to-repay rule that took effect March 1, 2026.

The SBA says loan eligibility for a new business “is typically based on its owner’s personal credit score” (SBA, fund your business), and in Florida the same score decides whether you take the 14-hour course. Save for winter: January and December together hold 1.3 percent of national hail reports (NOAA SPC, above), and in the North the NRCA notes asphalt shingles “become brittle in cold temperatures” (NRCA cold-weather guidance).

Hiring crews and keeping them safe

Most roofing hires need no more than a high school diploma: on O*NET, 58 percent of respondents said one is required and 36 percent said less. “Roofer” is approved for Registered Apprenticeship, which means at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning and a recommended 144 hours of related instruction a year (29 CFR 29.5), and the Department of Labor says “In many states, businesses can qualify for tax credits” for running one (Apprenticeship.gov).

Falls are the hazard the safety rules are built around:

OSHA requires fall protection at six feet in construction (OSHA fall protection).
On a steep roof with unprotected edges six feet or more up, each worker needs “guardrail systems with toeboards, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems,” while on low-slope roofs 50 feet wide or less a safety monitoring system alone is permitted (29 CFR 1926.501).
Fall protection was OSHA’s most-cited standard in fiscal year 2025, with construction ladders third and fall protection training seventh (OSHA top 10 cited standards).
Falls to a lower level caused 389 of the 1,034 construction deaths in 2024, and OSHA’s planning advice uses a roofing job as its example (OSHA Stop Falls).

Train each hire on the gear before the first climb and keep a written record, since training is its own cited standard.

Finding the first customers

Google Business Profile. If customers do not come to you, Google says to remove your address from the profile; you can list up to 20 service areas, kept within “about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based” (Google Business Profile service areas). Google picks the verification method and recommends video when it is offered, and codes sent by phone do not reach automated phone menus (Google Business Profile verification).

Local Services Ads. Roofers have their own category, and approved advertisers get the Google Verified badge, which replaced Google Guaranteed and Google Screened in October 2025. Screening covers background checks for some advertisers, general and professional liability insurance, state licenses where the law requires them and a verified profile, and Google says it “takes 3-4 weeks to complete after submitting your documents” (Google requirements, above), so apply as soon as the insurance certificate arrives. Roofing was named in the first phase of moving these ads into Google Ads, which began in August 2026 (Google Ads, Local Services migration).

Reviews. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 47 percent of consumers said they would not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 74 percent only care about reviews from the last three months (BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026). Ask after every job. The FTC’s August 2024 rule bans fake and bought reviews and incentives tied to a positive one, so a thank-you can never depend on the stars.

Referrals and partners. The FTC tells homeowners to “ask for recommendations from people you trust” (FTC home repair scams). In our experience the partners worth meeting early are real estate agents, home inspectors, property managers and gutter or siding companies, and a yard sign plus a note to the neighbors after each job costs almost nothing.

Storm canvassing. Advertising or promising to pay or waive a homeowner’s deductible is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 27.02). Florida fines up to $10,000 per violation for gifts or deductible waivers offered for an inspection or a claim, and requires printed disclosures on flyers that prompt one (Fla. Stat. 489.147).

When the company is open, our page on marketing for roofing companies covers the storm calendar, the claim-ad laws and the channels that sign roofs. Google Business Profile setup and review requests are the two pieces to get right first.

What trips up new roofing companies

Cash between checks. Deposit caps and two-check insurance payments mean carrying materials and payroll for weeks.
Storm-only work. Almost 62 percent of hail reports land in three months; without repair or retail work, winter is long.
A fall with no coverage. In Texas, where workers’ comp is optional, an uninsured injury lands on the company.
Claiming “licensed” too early. The RCAT license needs two years of company history, and an unlicensed Arizona advertiser must say “not a licensed contractor.”
One line on a flyer. A deductible offer is a crime to advertise in Texas and a fine of up to $10,000 per violation in Florida.

Questions people ask before starting a roofing company

Do you need a license to start a roofing company?

It depends on the state: California, Florida, Arizona and Minnesota license roofers, while Texas has no state roofing license at all. North Carolina requires a general contractor license from $40,000, and Pennsylvania requires registration once home improvement work reaches $5,000 a year.

How much experience do you need for a roofing license?

Four years is the common bar where roofers are licensed. California allows up to three of them from training, Florida requires one as a foreman, and Arizona wants two within the last ten years.

What does a California roofing license cost?

As of October 2026, the state fees are $450 to apply, $49 for fingerprint processing and $200 for a sole owner’s initial license or $350 for other business forms, plus a $25,000 bond priced by the surety. The initial license lasts two years.

Do I need workers’ comp if I am the only roofer?

In California, yes: C-39 roofers must carry it whether or not they have employees. Florida requires it from the first employee in construction, and Texas lets most private employers go without, except on government contracts or where a general contractor demands it.

Can a new Texas roofing company call itself licensed?

Not at first, because Texas issues no roofing license and the voluntary RCAT license requires two continuous years as a principal in a Texas roofing company. Until then, show your insurance certificate and finished jobs instead.

When is roofing busiest?

Where hail drives the work, April to June nationally, with May alone holding 26.5 percent of hail reports (NOAA SPC). Gulf and Atlantic coast roofers add hurricane season from June 1 to November 30, and cold northern winters slow shingle work.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. Rules and fees change, and many are set state by state or city by city: confirm the current requirements with the agency that issues them before you apply.

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