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How to Choose a Roofer in Berks County: Questions to Ask

Three roofing quotes that don't match? Put them on the same written scope, then ask each Berks roofer the same questions: PA registration number, insurance, tear-off or roof-over, decking, the layers under the shingles, cleanup, warranty and payment. What a Pennsylvania roofing contract has to say.

Berks Connect Blog|Published November 4, 2026
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You've got three roofing quotes that don't agree. Make all three describe the same roof, ask every roofer the same handful of questions, and hire the registered one whose answers come back in writing. The quote you can read line by line is the one you can hold somebody to, and roofers in Berks County is where a fresh name comes from.

Make the three roofing quotes describe the same roof first.

When one quote includes things another left out, the numbers can't match, so put all three roofers on the same page with a written scope: a one-page list of what the job includes, from the tear-off (stripping the old shingles off) and a price per sheet of decking (the wood under them) to the sticky waterproof sheet at the eaves, the layer under the shingles, the vents, the flashing (the metal where the roof meets a chimney or wall), the permit, the cleanup and the warranty. There's one in our roof replacement post's written scope. Give each the same copy and ask for a price on exactly that, permit, dates and payment terms included.

When the new quotes come back, the one far below the others is the one to question. A quote far above the others may include things the others left out, and pricing the same scope shows which.

Ask for the roofer's PA registration number and insurance certificates.

Pennsylvania doesn't license roofers. It registers home improvement contractors, and anyone doing $5,000 or more of this work a year has to register with the state Attorney General. Anyone can check a number at hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov (use a desktop) or by calling 1-888-520-6680. The number starts with PA and already has to be on the roofer's advertisements, estimates, proposals and contracts, so the roofer should be able to point to it at the top of the quote. We've written up how to verify a contractor license in Berks County step by step.

The Attorney General's office says registration isn't an endorsement of skill, and tells you to check references and get more than one bid.

Insurance comes next, and the answer is paper: a certificate of insurance, a one-page summary from the roofer's insurance agent. It names the insured business, which should match the legal name on your quote, and the insurer. It lists each policy's number, its limits and its dates, and the dates should cover your job. To verify it, call the agent or carrier printed on it.

Ask for two certificates, liability and workers' compensation, both in effect through the job. In Pennsylvania any employer with even one employee, part-time or family, has to carry workers' comp; a sole proprietor working alone doesn't, so ask whether a crew will be on your roof.

Ask whether the old roof comes off, and what goes under the new shingles.

Under the building code Pennsylvania uses, roof replacement means the old layers come off down to the deck, a tear-off. The code also allows a roof-over, new shingles over the old ones, where the manufacturer's instructions allow it. The code bars a roof-over over two or more existing layers, over slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or over a roof that's water soaked or so deteriorated it isn't an adequate base. So don't rely on the word "replacement" on a quote: ask each roofer to write down which one they priced.

The decking can't be judged until the old roof is off; a good roofer says so and prices a replacement sheet on the quote now.

Shingle makers describe a roof as six parts, and a full quote names each one:

  • an ice and water barrier (a self-sticking waterproof sheet along the eaves and valleys)
  • underlayment (the water-resistant layer under the shingles)
  • starter shingles (the first course at the edge)
  • the shingles
  • hip and ridge shingles (the caps along the peak)
  • intake and exhaust ventilation (air in at the eaves, out at the ridge)

A good roofer looks at the deck, attic, flashing, chimney and pipes before quoting, and explains the ventilation unprompted; done wrong, it can damage the shingles and void the maker's warranty.

What Berks roofers' websites tell you, and what the quote has to say.

Fourteen Berks roofers' own websites say this much about these questions.

What the fourteen websites say about their own work Sites that say it
A free estimate 14
Tear-off named as how they work 10
The water-resistant layer under the shingles (underlayment) named 9
The sticky waterproof sheet at the eaves (ice and water barrier) named 5
Ventilation named as part of their own work 8
Cleanup mentioned 11
Running a magnet over the yard for nails mentioned 3
A warranty stated 13
The roofer's own labor warranty printed in years (10 to 25) 5
Their PA registration number printed 6
"Insured" stated 10
A coverage amount or insurer named 0
A payment schedule printed 1
A price for replacing a sheet of decking 0

Fourteen Berks roofers' own websites, read October 30, 2026.

They all offer a free estimate. Past that the websites thin out: the registration number, the insurance limits, the payment schedule and the price of a sheet of decking are mostly not there. Those answers have to come from the quote.

What a Pennsylvania roofing contract has to say before you pay anything.

Pennsylvania's home improvement law requires a written contract, signed by both of you, for any job priced at more than $500, and lists thirteen things it has to contain or it's "not valid or enforceable against an owner." Those are the law's words for a contract that can't be used against you. Check the quote for each:

  • Legible, in writing, with the contractor's registration number.
  • You both sign it.
  • The entire agreement, with the notices the law requires attached, the cancellation notice among them.
  • The date.
  • The contractor's name, street address (a P.O. box alone doesn't count) and phone.
  • The approximate start and completion dates.
  • The work, materials and specifications, which can't change without a written change order: a signed add-on to the contract with the price change on it.
  • The total price (a time-and-materials job states its written estimate and can't run more than 10 percent over it without a signed change order).
  • The down payment and any special-order materials advance, listed separately.
  • Names, addresses and phones of subcontractors known when you sign.
  • Liability insurance of not less than $50,000 for personal injury and not less than $50,000 for property damage, with the current coverage stated.
  • The Attorney General's toll-free number.
  • Notice of your right to cancel.

You get a completed copy, free, when you sign. If the contract is missing one of these thirteen things, it can't be enforced against you, and the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection takes complaints. Our post on what Pennsylvania law requires in a home improvement contract takes each item in turn.

Now the money. On a job priced at more than $5,000 (a different $5,000 from the registration rule), the deposit is capped at one-third of the contract price, or one-third plus the cost of special-order materials the written contract names, and nothing may be demanded or paid before the contract is signed. The law says nothing about the rest, so negotiate payments as the work progresses, the last at completion. The Attorney General's office says legitimate contractors won't ask for large sums before signing, and they'll provide written estimates and contract copies before the contract is signed and work begins. Our post on Pennsylvania's contractor deposit law has the rest.

The same law lets you cancel without penalty regardless of where the contract was signed, at your kitchen table or at the roofer's office, within three business days of the date of signing, emergency work excepted. And once the roof is open, the contractor can't deviate from the specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both of you, with the price change for each deviation.

Ask which warranty is on the quote: the roofer's or the shingle maker's.

A quote's "warranty" means two different things: the roofer's promise on the labor, the workmanship warranty, and the shingle maker's promise on the shingles, the manufacturer's warranty. Ask for each by name, in writing, with its term in years.

The big shingle makers certify contractors, and each says its longer warranties come only through those contractors: GAF's Golden Pledge, Owens Corning's Platinum Protection, CertainTeed's SureStart Plus. If a quote offers one of those, ask the roofer to show the certification (each maker has a lookup on its site) and ask how many years of labor coverage it carries: GAF says its Golden Pledge includes 25 to 30 years of workmanship coverage on qualifying systems. GAF and Owens Corning also say those contractors are independent businesses they don't supervise, so a complaint about the work goes to the roofer first.

No Pennsylvania law requires a written warranty, so the one on the quote is the one you have. Our post on how long a contractor is liable for work in Pennsylvania explains why.

Questions Berks homeowners ask about choosing a roofer.

Is a PA registration number the same as a license?

No. Pennsylvania registers home improvement contractors with the Attorney General instead of licensing them, and the number it issues begins with PA.

How much deposit can a roofer ask for in Pennsylvania?

On a job priced at more than $5,000, one-third of the contract price at most, plus special-order materials named in the written contract, and nothing before the contract is signed.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Berks County?

It depends on the municipality. Spring Township requires no permit to replace the shingles on a house. Exeter Township charges $250 for reroofing over 25 percent of the roof. Wyomissing Borough exempts replacement of roof material up to 25 percent of the roof area in any 12-month period. The applicant is an owner or authorized agent, so your roofer can apply with your written OK. Ask who pulls it, and make sure the fee is in the quote.

The county roofers page has a third name if you need one. Hand each the same written scope, ask each the same questions, and hire the registered roofer whose answers come back on paper.

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