How Much Does a New Roof Cost in North Dakota in 2026
The one sourced job figure is national: $31,871 for the asphalt-shingle roof replacement in the Remodeling 2025 Cost vs. Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com). North Dakota roofers out-earn the U.S. median, $28.72 an hour against $26.65 (BLS, May 2025). When insurance pays, NDCC 26.1-39.2 bans deductible rebates and gives five business days to cancel.
A national job average and a North Dakota wage
The report averages costs over 119 U.S. markets. Its 2025 national job cost is $31,871 for its defined asphalt-shingle roof replacement project and $51,865 for its metal-roof project; at resale those projects recouped 68% and 50% of cost. It is not a Fargo or Minot price.
© 2025 Zonda Media, a Delaware Corporation. Complete data from the Remodeling 2025 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 estimates count 290 wage-and-salary roofers in North Dakota. Both their averages sit above the national line: a mean of $29.11 an hour ($60,540 a year) against $27.95 ($58,140), and a median of $28.72 ($59,740) against $26.65 ($55,440). Self-employed roofers are not counted, and a wage is not a bid.
Jobs over $4,000 need a Secretary of State license
NDCC 43-07-02(1) bars anyone from acting as a contractor “when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds the sum of four thousand dollars” without a license. The Secretary of State issues it. Section 43-07-08 exempts only two groups: government representatives, and a person who supplies a product that the same person does not attach to the real property. Working unlicensed is a class A misdemeanor, and the unlicensed contractor may not “maintain any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in any court of this state” tied to its contracting.
Licenses come in four classes by the value of a single project; class D stops at $100,000. The contractor year runs March 2 through March 1, and a license not renewed by March 1 is “not in good standing.” Check the name in the Secretary of State’s FirstStop contractor search. When a contractor pulls a building permit, 43-07-24 requires the license number to go on it.
Paid a deposit and nothing happened? Section 43-07-14 presumes abandonment if work does not substantially start within sixty days of a written start date (ninety days from the contract date if none was written), or is not finished within ninety days of a written completion date (180 days from the contract date if none), unless circumstances beyond the contractor’s control caused the delay. A verified complaint to the Secretary of State can lead to restitution of up to $5,000 (43-07-15).
When a claim pays for the roof: chapter 26.1-39.2
House Bill 1219 (2019 Session Laws, ch. 239, approved April 8, 2019) created this chapter. Its “residential real estate” is a home built for one to four families, detached garage included, and a roofer replacing a “roof system” there is a “residential contractor.”
- Cancel. Where claim money funds the job, the owner’s exit runs “before midnight on the later of the fifth business day” counted from signing or from the insurer’s written notice that all or part of the claim or contract “is not a covered loss.” Cancel in writing, signed and dated; attach the insurer’s letter when the denial is your reason. Payments come back within ten days, except that the contractor keeps “the reasonable value” of work you agreed in writing was necessary to prevent damage.
- Deductible. Section 26.1-39.2-03 forbids promising to rebate any part of the deductible, including an allowance, a discount, or compensation to anyone tied to the property, “except for an item of nominal value.” The contract must carry a capitalized warning, signed by you and sent to your insurer before payment.
- Paperwork. An itemized list of work, materials, labor and fees goes to both owner and insurer before the crew starts. An assignment of benefits must reach the insurer within five business days after it is signed.
- Penalty. A contract “is void if the residential contractor violates this chapter” (26.1-39.2-07).
Reopening a hail claim: the 2025 deadline
Senate Bill 2374 (2025 Session Laws, ch. 279, effective August 1, 2025) added 26.1-39-30. A reopened property claim is barred unless notice reached the insurer “within one year after the date of loss.” A supplemental claim is barred unless notice came “within twelve months after the date of the last payment” for that element of the loss. Both limits pause while a named insured service member is deployed to a combat zone or combat support posting that materially affects the ability to file.
Door-to-door sales without insurance: chapter 51-18
A roof sold at your home after a phone or in-person pitch can be canceled until midnight of the third business day after you sign. A buyer 65 or older gets fifteen business days on a product priced over $50; alternatively, under 51-18-04, the agreement may promise a full refund if that buyer contacts the seller within at least thirty days. The chapter does not reach a sale that follows prior negotiations at the seller’s fixed business location, or a job you initiated and asked to start without delay once the seller has in good faith begun substantial work and the goods cannot be returned in substantially as good condition. Section 51-18-08 also excludes insurance, sales under $25, cable, newspaper, broadcast and regulated telecom sales, and sellers that disclose a full refund on request within fifteen days.
Permits come from a local code program
NDCC 54-21.3-03(6): “The governing body of a city, township, or county that elects to administer and enforce a building code shall adopt and enforce the state building code,” which it may amend “to conform to local needs.” A reroof permit is that local program’s call.
North Dakota roof questions
The roofer offered to cover my deductible. Is that allowed?
No. Section 26.1-39.2-03 prohibits the promise, and a contract that breaks the chapter is void.
Does a $3,500 roof repair need a licensed contractor?
Not under state law. The license requirement starts when the price per job exceeds $4,000.
The insurer denied part of my claim after I signed. Can I get out?
Yes, until midnight of the fifth business day after you received the written denial, if the contract was to be paid from the insurance proceeds.
Can I reopen a closed hail claim two years later?
Not as a reopened claim: 26.1-39-30 requires notice within one year after the date of loss.