How do I know if a roofing company is legit?

Check records you can open yourself. Ask for the company's local address and phone, then call two recent customers. Look up complaints and reviews online, and confirm with your city or county building office that the company pulls permits under its own name. The Texas Department of Insurance advises using a local company and checking references. A legitimate estimate also arrives on letterhead with a phone number and address.

How much does roof tear-off cost?

Tear-off is the labor and disposal of removing the old roof, and it varies with the number of layers, the pitch and local disposal fees. Ask for it as its own line with the layer count written down. Sourced local per-square tear-off rates are on each metro cost page in the reading list below, so you can test a bid against a dated number.

Do I need a permit to replace a roof and how much is it?

Many cities and counties require one for a full replacement, and the fee is set locally. Call your building department or search its fee schedule. The estimate should say who pulls the permit and show the fee as its own line. Sourced re-roof permit fees for the metros we cover are on the cost pages in the reading list below.

What is the roof replacement cost per square?

A square is 100 square feet of roof surface, and price per square changes with material, pitch, tear-off and local labor. A single national figure would mislead you. Use the metro cost pages in the reading list below for dated, sourced local ranges, then check that each bid prices the same material and the same number of squares.

How much does a roof replacement cost?

Multiply the measured squares by the per-square price, then add tear-off, underlayment, flashing, decking repairs and the permit. Those extras are why two bids with the same per-square price end at different totals. Ask for the total and every part of it in writing so you can compare bids on the same footing.

Should an estimate name the shingle brand and product line?

Yes. "Architectural shingles" is a category, not a product. The estimate should name the manufacturer, the product line and the color. The Texas Department of Insurance tells homeowners to make sure the contract lists the materials, because defective or lower quality materials are a known scam.

What is the difference between an estimate and a contract?

An estimate is a priced description of the work. A contract binds both sides to it. Scammers sometimes call a contract an "estimate" or a "release" so you sign before anyone has measured the roof. Read every page before signing and never sign anything with blank spaces.

What is a change order on a roofing job?

A change order is a written addition to the price after work starts, usually because the crew found rotted decking under the old roof. A good estimate states a unit price for decking repair in advance, so a change order is a quantity times a price you already agreed to, not a new negotiation.

Why do two estimates for the same roof differ so much?

The usual causes are different measured squares, a different shingle line, tear-off left off one bid, or a missing permit and flashing. Put the bids side by side and match them line by line. The Texas Department of Insurance advises caution when one bid comes in a lot lower than the others.

How many estimates should I get?

Get at least three. The Texas Department of Insurance says three bids help you spot offers that are too high or too good to be true. Ask each roofer to bid the same material and the same tear-off so the totals are comparable.

How Do I Read A Roofing Estimate?

By Aaron Whittaker, site owner & editor. Updated October 10, 2026. How we research and rank: methodology.

What Is A Roofing Estimate Supposed To Tell Me?

It should tell you what will be installed, what will be removed, what it costs and who is responsible if something fails. That is four answers, and a short estimate usually skips two of them. The Texas Department of Insurance advises that bids come on the company's letterhead with a phone number and an address, and that you keep a copy of every agreement and warranty term.

Read the estimate once for the total, then again for what the total buys. The second read is where a bad bid shows itself. If the document is one paragraph and a number, you cannot compare it with anything, and that is the point of writing it that way.

What Is A Roofing Square And Why Does It Matter?

A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Contractors price shingles, tear-off and labor per square, so the number of squares on the estimate drives the total more than any other figure. Two bids with different squares are not bids on the same roof.

Pitch changes the count. A steeper roof has more surface than the footprint of the house suggests. At a 6 in 12 pitch the surface is about 1.118 times the footprint, so a 2,000 square foot footprint becomes about 2,236 square feet of roof, or just over 22 squares, before any allowance for cuts and waste. That is arithmetic, not a market figure, and it holds in any city. The roof pitch calculator does it for your pitch.

Ask each roofer how the squares were measured and what waste factor was added. Then run your own version in the shingle calculator. If a bid is far from yours, ask why before you ask about price.

Which Costs Should Be Priced As Separate Lines?

Every cost that can change after work starts should have its own line. The list below is the minimum worth asking for.

Tear-off of the old roof, with the number of layers written down
Disposal and cleanup, including a magnet sweep for nails
Underlayment, named by type
Flashing, drip edge and pipe boots, replaced or reused
Ventilation, ridge and intake
Decking repair, with a unit price per sheet
The permit, with the fee shown and who pulls it
The shingle or panel product, by manufacturer, line and color

When these are folded into one lump, you cannot tell which bid left something out. You find out when the crew arrives and a "change order" appears. The California Contractors State License Board states that a change to the contract price or scope of work must be made with a written change order, signed by the customer and the contractor before the change, and that the change order then becomes part of the contract. The linked cost pages below give a sourced local number for tear-off and the permit so you can test a bid against them.

How Do I Compare Three Estimates?

Put the bids in one table with the same rows and fill in what each one says. Material, tear-off, underlayment, flashing, ventilation, decking, permit, warranty and total. A blank cell is a finding. The bid with the most blanks is rarely the cheapest job, only the cheapest paper.

The Texas Department of Insurance advises getting at least three bids and being careful when one is a lot lower than the others. A very low number usually means a thinner product, a skipped line or a plan to recover the difference in change orders. Ask the low bidder to confirm each row in writing. A real price survives that question.

A bid is also not an inspection. The National Roofing Contractors Association tells homeowners to look at a roof only from the ground, because the fall risk without proper safety systems is too great, and to have every roof that severe weather passed over inspected whatever it looks like from the yard. So ask each bidder who walked the roof and what that person found up there. The same association tells consumers to treat the lowest bid with caution, which is the same advice the state gives from the other direction.

What In The Contract Should Make Me Stop?

The Texas Department of Insurance lists four patterns. Each applies to any state, because each is about how a document is written.

A form you are asked to sign before anyone goes on the roof, called an estimate or a release but written as a contract
Any blank space, which can be filled in later with higher costs or different work
Wording that says you agree to the repairs "for the value of insurance proceeds", which hands over every dollar of the payout
A materials line that is vague or missing

Add one more from the same source. An offer to waive or absorb your insurance deductible, or to work it into the bid, is a reason to hire someone else. In Texas it is a crime for the contractor. Other states set their own rules, so ask your state insurance department.

The place you sign also changes your rights. A contract signed in your home after a door knock is a door-to-door sale, and federal rules treat it differently from one signed at a showroom. Under the Cooling-Off Rule at 16 CFR part 429, the seller has to hand you a fully completed contract or receipt and a cancellation statement saying you may cancel, without penalty, until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Ask to see that statement before you sign, not after.

How Much Should I Pay Up Front?

Pay as little as the roofer will accept, and tie any deposit to a specific event such as materials delivery. The Texas Department of Insurance says to be wary of a large or full down payment. Full payment before the work starts is a reason to walk away.

Write the payment schedule into the estimate: the deposit, what it covers, and the final payment due after the work and the permit sign-off. A roofer who has filed the permit will give you the number without fuss.

If the job is an insurance claim, one more party sets the order of events. The Insurance Information Institute's guide to settling a claim warns about contractors who ask for a large amount of money up front and about bids that come in very low, and it describes the adjuster as professionally trained to assess the damage. It also says not to authorize extensive permanent repairs until the adjuster has seen the roof, and to keep the receipts for any temporary repair, because those payments count toward the settlement rather than adding to it.

What Does The Warranty Line Actually Promise?

Most bids carry two warranties and the line on the estimate usually blurs them. The manufacturer warrants the product. The installer warrants the labor. Ask for both documents by name, and check that the product named on the estimate is the product the manufacturer's warranty covers.

Federal law sets a floor for the written one. Under 15 U.S.C. 2302 a written warranty has to disclose its terms and conditions fully, conspicuously and in simple language, which is why a real warranty document runs to several pages and a phrase on a bid does not.

Read the term beside the maker's fine print, not instead of it. One manufacturer's product page offers lifetime limited transferable coverage on most residential roofs, and describes separate protection that covers replacement costs for early defects for a set number of years. Another maker's page for its impact-rated shingles says the laboratory test results do not guarantee that the shingle will resist all weather conditions, and that hail damage is specifically excluded from coverage under its warranty. A shingle sold as impact resistant is a better product, not an insurance policy.

Extended coverage can depend on the crew as well as the product. One maker's warranty center says contractors in its loyalty program can offer longer protection and register it for the homeowner, so the same shingle can carry different paper depending on who installs it. If a bid promises an extended warranty, ask which program the installer belongs to and who files the registration.

Do I Need A Permit And Who Pulls It?

Many jurisdictions require a permit for a full replacement, and the fee and the process are set locally. Your estimate should state who pulls it, which is normally the roofer, and should show the fee as its own line. If the permit line is missing, ask for it before you sign.

A permit also leaves a public record. Searching the permit index for the metros we cover shows which companies file under their own name, which is one of the cheapest checks of a stranger.

What Do The City Permit Files Say About Stated Job Value?

Some city permit files record the job value the applicant declared when filing. That figure is not the contract price, and the stored files attach no roof area to it, so it cannot tell you what your own roof should cost. It can still show the range of values other applicants declared in the same city, which is a useful test for a bid that looks far from the local pattern.

Declared valuations on re-roof permits, read from the stored city files
City file	25th percentile	Median	75th percentile	Permits used	File pulled
Dallas-Fort Worth: City of Dallas Building Permits	$7,990	$12,198.17	$20,000	9,390	October 13, 2026
Dallas-Fort Worth: City of Fort Worth Development Permits	$11,807.86	$21,425.93	$73,132.75	1,304	October 13, 2026
Austin: City of Austin Issued Construction Permits	$14,175	$23,150	$60,000	32	October 13, 2026

Every figure in the table is read at build time from the stored city file named on its row, pulled on the day shown. Only permits that state a value of at least $100 enter a percentile; rows that leave the field empty, state zero or state a lower figure are left out. These are filed permit records, not preliminary storm reports.

San Antonio records the valuation field as empty in its stored file, and Houston has no stored valuation dataset, so neither city has a percentile here.

A declared value can sit well below the price on a signed estimate, because a filer can leave the field low or empty. Read the table as a shape of local filings, not as a quote. The permit line on your own estimate is the number to check against the city fee, and the cross-metro cost comparison prints the same percentiles beside the sourced installed rates.

What If The Work Does Not Match The Estimate?

Start with the paper you kept. The signed estimate and any change orders are the deal, and the permit record is the public version of the same job, so pull all three before you call anyone.

Texas does not license roofers at the state level. The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas says on its licensing page that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not administer roofing licensure, and that anyone can call themselves a roofer in Texas without being registered with the state. A number on a bid that looks like a license therefore is not a state credential. Ask what it is and who issued it.

The state consumer office takes complaints. The Texas Attorney General's consumer protection division describes its work as accepting complaints, filing civil cases in the public interest and educating Texans on how to spot and avoid possible scams, and it publishes a complaint form. A complaint does not get a roof fixed, but it puts the job on a record the next homeowner can find, which is the same reason the permit record and the business reviews are worth reading before you sign rather than after.

When Does This Advice Not Apply?

It does not fit every job, and you should know where it stops.

A small repair, such as replacing a few shingles or a pipe boot, rarely needs three bids or a table
An insurance claim has its own estimate, written by the adjuster, and it will not match a contractor's line for line
Emergency tarping is priced on the spot and you cannot always shop it
A flat or commercial roof is bid by other units than the square
An estimate is not an inspection, so a thorough bid can still miss damage hidden under the old roof

The Texas sources cited here are state guidance. They show the pattern, but your state may add its own rules, and your policy may add its own terms. For a claim, the hail claim calculator shows how the deductible and depreciation interact with a bid.

What Else Do Homeowners Ask About Roofing Estimates?

How do I know if a roofing company is legit?: Check records you can open yourself. Ask for the company's local address and phone, then call two recent customers. Look up complaints and reviews online, and confirm with your city or county building office that the company pulls permits under its own name. The Texas Department of Insurance advises using a local company and checking references. A legitimate estimate also arrives on letterhead with a phone number and address.
How much does roof tear-off cost?: Tear-off is the labor and disposal of removing the old roof, and it varies with the number of layers, the pitch and local disposal fees. Ask for it as its own line with the layer count written down. Sourced local per-square tear-off rates are on each metro cost page in the reading list below, so you can test a bid against a dated number.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof and how much is it?: Many cities and counties require one for a full replacement, and the fee is set locally. Call your building department or search its fee schedule. The estimate should say who pulls the permit and show the fee as its own line. Sourced re-roof permit fees for the metros we cover are on the cost pages in the reading list below.
What is the roof replacement cost per square?: A square is 100 square feet of roof surface, and price per square changes with material, pitch, tear-off and local labor. A single national figure would mislead you. Use the metro cost pages in the reading list below for dated, sourced local ranges, then check that each bid prices the same material and the same number of squares.
How much does a roof replacement cost?: Multiply the measured squares by the per-square price, then add tear-off, underlayment, flashing, decking repairs and the permit. Those extras are why two bids with the same per-square price end at different totals. Ask for the total and every part of it in writing so you can compare bids on the same footing.
Should an estimate name the shingle brand and product line?: Yes. "Architectural shingles" is a category, not a product. The estimate should name the manufacturer, the product line and the color. The Texas Department of Insurance tells homeowners to make sure the contract lists the materials, because defective or lower quality materials are a known scam.
What is the difference between an estimate and a contract?: An estimate is a priced description of the work. A contract binds both sides to it. Scammers sometimes call a contract an "estimate" or a "release" so you sign before anyone has measured the roof. Read every page before signing and never sign anything with blank spaces.
What is a change order on a roofing job?: A change order is a written addition to the price after work starts, usually because the crew found rotted decking under the old roof. A good estimate states a unit price for decking repair in advance, so a change order is a quantity times a price you already agreed to, not a new negotiation.
Why do two estimates for the same roof differ so much?: The usual causes are different measured squares, a different shingle line, tear-off left off one bid, or a missing permit and flashing. Put the bids side by side and match them line by line. The Texas Department of Insurance advises caution when one bid comes in a lot lower than the others.
How many estimates should I get?: Get at least three. The Texas Department of Insurance says three bids help you spot offers that are too high or too good to be true. Ask each roofer to bid the same material and the same tear-off so the totals are comparable.

Which Guides Should I Read Next?

Should I Repair Or Replace My Roof?: What decides between a repair and a full replacement, and what an insurer will and will not pay for.
Roof Permit Fees By Metro In Texas: Whether a re-roof needs a permit, the residential fee, who pulls it and the fee schedule behind it for each Texas city on the site, with Not published where a schedule states no flat fee.
Roof Replacement Cost By Metro In Texas: Installed cost per roofing square, city permit valuations and insurer Wind losses for every Texas metro on the site, each figure with its source and date.

Where Can I Read More Or Run The Numbers?

Roof replacement cost calculator: turn squares, pitch and tear-off into a total you can hold a bid against.
Roof pitch calculator: find the surface multiplier for your slope.
Shingle calculator: estimate bundles and squares for your roof.
Methodology: how this site researches and sources its numbers.
Should I Repair Or Replace My Roof?: What decides between a repair and a full replacement, and what an insurer will and will not pay for.
Metal Roof Vs Shingles: Which Holds Up To Hail?: How impact ratings work, what third-party hail testing covers, and why a dent is not always a leak.
How Do I Spot A Storm Chaser Roofer?: The door-knock, contract and deductible tells that separate a storm chaser from a local roofer.
How Do I Pick A Roofer After A Storm?: The inspection, the insurance claim steps, the contractor checks and the warning signs, with a public source behind every lookup.
How Long After Hail Do Roof Permits Rise?: The days between each hail day and the first week of unusually high re-roof permits, computed from public storm and city permit files.
Roof Replacement Cost By Metro In Texas: Installed cost per roofing square, city permit valuations and insurer Wind losses for every Texas metro on the site, each figure with its source and date.
Roof Permit Fees By Metro In Texas: Whether a re-roof needs a permit, the residential fee, who pulls it and the fee schedule behind it for each Texas city on the site, with Not published where a schedule states no flat fee.
Hail Damage Roof Repair By Metro In Texas: Hail days and insurer wind and hail losses for every Texas metro on the site, then the inspection, claim steps, contractor checks and warning signs after a storm.
What We Learned Reading BBB Files: what a BBB grade, an accreditation and a complaint count do and do not tell you about a roofer.
Roof replacement cost in San Antonio: sourced local per-square rates and the local permit fee.
Roof replacement cost in Dallas-Fort Worth: sourced local per-square rates and the local permit fee.
Roof replacement cost in Houston: sourced local per-square rates and the local permit fee.
Roof replacement cost in Austin: sourced local per-square rates and the local permit fee.
Roof replacement cost per square in San Antonio: the per-square rates by material, each with its source pages.
Roof replacement cost per square in Dallas-Fort Worth: the per-square rates by material, each with its source pages.
Roof replacement cost per square in Houston: the per-square rates by material, each with its source pages.
Roof replacement cost per square in Austin: the per-square rates by material, each with its source pages.
Roof tear-off cost in San Antonio: what the public permit files hold on tear-off, and what they cannot say.
Roof tear-off cost in Dallas-Fort Worth: what the public permit files hold on tear-off, and what they cannot say.
Roof tear-off cost in Houston: what the public permit files hold on tear-off, and what they cannot say.
Roof tear-off cost in Austin: what the public permit files hold on tear-off, and what they cannot say.
How to check a roofer in San Antonio: the public records to open before anyone signs.
How to check a roofer in Dallas-Fort Worth: the public records to open before anyone signs.
How to check a roofer in Houston: the public records to open before anyone signs.
How to check a roofer in Austin: the public records to open before anyone signs.
Sourced local rates for San Antonio, gathered 2026-08-25: architectural asphalt shingle $450 to $700 per square; tear-off, one layer $100 to $300 per square; residential re-roof permit $28.75 flat fee (FY 2027 schedule, read 2026-10-19). Rates differ by metro, so open the cost page for yours.

Where Do These Facts Come From?

Texas Department of Insurance, Contractor scams. https://www.tdi.texas.gov/tips/contractor-scams.html. Fetched 10 October 2026. Page last updated 12/9/2025.
Texas Department of Insurance, Is it OK for a contractor to waive my deductible?. https://www.tdi.texas.gov/tips/can-a-contractor-waive-my-deductible.html. Fetched 10 October 2026.
Texas Business & Commerce Code section 27.02, text as published by Texas.Public.Law from the Texas Legislature statutes site. https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._bus._and_com._code_section_27.02. Fetched 10 October 2026.
Better Business Bureau, business search. https://www.bbb.org/. Fetched 10 October 2026. A grade and complaint history for a business under its exact name. Accreditation is voluntary and is not a license.
National Roofing Contractors Association, Storm damage repair caution for homeowners and business owners (July 27, 2022). https://www.nrca.net/RoofingNews/nrca-urges-homeowners-and-business-owners-affected-by-severe-weather-to-use-caution-when-repairing-their-roof-systems.7-27-2022.10442/details/story. Fetched 25 October 2026. The release says a roof system inspection should be done only from ground level, that every roof a storm passed over should be inspected whatever it looks like, and that a consumer should keep a healthy skepticism about the lowest bid.
16 CFR part 429, the Cooling-Off Rule for sales made at homes, text at the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-429. Fetched 26 October 2026. Section 429.1 requires the seller in a door-to-door sale to give the buyer a fully completed receipt or contract and, in immediate proximity to the signature space, a statement that the buyer may cancel before midnight of the third business day after the transaction.
15 U.S.C. 2302, rules governing contents of warranties, text at the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/2302. Fetched 26 October 2026. Requires a written warranty to disclose its terms and conditions fully and conspicuously in simple and readily understood language.
CertainTeed, residential roofing products (the warranty address redirects here). https://www.certainteed.com/products/residential-roofing. Fetched 26 October 2026. States that SureStart warranty protection covers replacement costs for early life defects, typically for ten years, and that lifetime limited transferable warranties accompany most residential applications.
Owens Corning, Impact resistance shingles, class rating. https://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/shingle-class-rating. Fetched 25 October 2026. The page lists the products it classifies as UL 2218 Class 4 and footnotes the list to say the test results do not guarantee the shingle will resist all weather conditions, and that hail damage is specifically excluded from coverage under the shingle warranty.
IKO, warranty information (the Spanish-language warranty centre this address served on the read date). https://www.iko.com/na/es/warranty-information/. Fetched 26 October 2026. States that longer protection is offered through contractors in its loyalty program, who register the extended warranty for the homeowner, and that a claim is processed under the limited shingle warranty in force at installation.
Roofing Contractors Association of Texas, Licensing. https://www.rcat.net/licensing.html. Fetched 10 October 2026. Used for the statement that Texas issues no state roofing license; the same page is read on each metro check-a-roofer guide.
Texas Attorney General, Consumer Protection. https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection. Fetched 26 October 2026. The division describes its work as accepting complaints, filing civil cases in the public interest and educating Texans on how to spot and avoid possible scams.
California Contractors State License Board, What is a Contract?. https://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/Hire_A_Contractor/Home_Improvement_Contracts/What_Is_A_Contract.aspx. Fetched 1 November 2026. States that if the contract price or scope of work needs to be changed, it must be done with a written Change Order, signed by the customer and contractor before the change, which then becomes part of the contract.
Insurance Information Institute, Settling insurance claims after a disaster. https://www.iii.org/article/settling-insurance-claims-after-a-disaster. Fetched 25 October 2026. The first steps it lists are to contact your agent or company, make temporary repairs to protect the property and save the receipts. It also warns about contractors who ask for a large amount of money up front.
Best Roofers Ranked methodology. How the site researches and ranks roofers. Rates and counts on metro pages carry their own dated sources.

How Do I Read ARoofing Estimate?