Hiring a roofer near Maplewood: the paperwork, in order

Start by looking the contractor up, which takes a minute on the state's online License Verification System; home improvement contractors are among its business searches.

What registration means, according to the Division: a business that makes home improvements or sells them in New Jersey registers with it, and its rule bars advertising as a contractor without a registration. A contractor hired by another contractor registers as well. Officers and employees of a registered contractor do not register separately. Since 1 January 2006 the Act has displaced municipal licensing of these contractors, so a town's own contractor license is not the thing to ask for.

The registration number is displayed at the place of business, in advertising, and on cards, work vehicles and paperwork. Applicants file proof of commercial general liability insurance at $500,000 per occurrence or more.

Above $500, New Jersey wants home improvement work in a written contract. The paper carries the seller's name and business address; the work to be done and the principal materials; the total price with any finance charges; the start and finish dates; any mortgage or security interest connected to financing; any written promise about products, materials or labor.

Changes made later are written and signed by every party. If a different business will be general contractor on the job, the contract discloses its name and address. The contract cannot be sold or assigned without the buyer's written consent.

Two more points matter for a roof. Work does not start until the permits the job calls for are issued, and the buyer receives inspection certificates before the final payment is due. If a town's office says who applies for the permit, put that name in the contract.

Some roof work is ordinary maintenance under rule 5:23-2.7 of the state's Administrative Code. It includes fixing or re-covering the roof of a detached dwelling with one or two units. A state alert dated 5 March 2018 reads that as including total replacement and any amount of repair. No permit application, notice or inspection applies, though the code itself still applies to the work.

The exemption has edges. Work that affects structural or fire safety is not ordinary maintenance, and neither is cutting loadbearing walls or removing structural beams. The alert does not address attached dwellings. The spring 2025 issue of the state's Construction Code Communicator repeats that reroofing is ordinary maintenance for these homes. A solar-panel reinstallation, it adds, needs an electrical permit only if the grounding is compromised after the rails come off.

Maplewood's own permit page points the other way. It lists "Replacing a roof" among changes that need a building permit from the Construction Division, and says nothing about repairs or exemptions. The page does not reconcile the two, which is why the question goes to the Construction Division before work starts.

For houses of one or two families, the state's page on current codes names the 2024 International Residential Code (New Jersey version), adopted 17 August 2026. The Fall 2026 Construction Code Communicator says the 2024 model codes took effect on that date. Applications under the previous codes can be submitted through 17 February 2027, the last day.

An ice barrier is a separate question. Bulletin 07-3 sets the line at 25 degrees or lower for the average daily temperature in January, and New Jersey's only named area is Sussex County. NOAA's 1991-2020 almanac gives Newark a January mean of 32.8 degrees, which puts Essex and Union counties above that line.

A federal rule gives a three-day right to cancel certain sales made at home. The third business day, counted to midnight, is the last day to cancel; Saturdays count, while Sundays and federal holidays are skipped. At the sale the seller is to say so aloud and hand over two copies of a cancellation form plus a copy of the contract.

Three kinds of sale fall outside the rule: one made to meet an emergency, one made because you asked the seller to come for repair or maintenance, and a home sale under $25. After Superstorm Sandy the roofing manufacturers' trade group urged caution with a contractor who wants money before the work starts, and urged a look at the contractor's standing with the Better Business Bureau.

The state insurance department advises calling your agent or insurer as soon as possible, taking pictures of damaged property before disposing of it, making necessary temporary repairs and keeping every receipt. The insurer assigns a claim adjuster to inspect the damage and decide coverage.

The same page adds that the insurer's recommended contractor is optional. Between 8:30 and 5:00 on weekdays, the department's hotline is 1-800-446-7467.