Planning a spring roof in a Richmond historic district? CAR's last 2026 application deadline is November 27

We are an information site, not a roofing contractor.

The dates

The City of Richmond's Commission of Architectural Review, usually called CAR, meets on Tuesdays and publishes a calendar of meeting dates with an application deadline for each one. As of October 29, 2026, the remaining 2026 deadline is November 27, for the meeting on Tuesday, December 15. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review

• Meeting: Tuesday, December 15
• Application deadline: November 27

The City's listing also shows a meeting on Tuesday, November 24, whose application deadline was October 30. Our source covers 2026 dates only. After the December meeting, look at the City's page for the next calendar, and confirm every date with the City before you rely on it.

The practical meaning is simple. In a historic district, you cannot treat the roofing contractor's start date as the first date on the calendar. The meeting date comes first, then the permit questions, then the schedule. A homeowner who waits until March to ask about a roof for April may find the process has barely begun.

How to apply

The City's page says to send a signed application form and drawings by email to the CAR secretary, with the project address in the subject line. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review The Certificate of Appropriateness application is the form for a change such as new roofing material. The CAR office is at 900 E. Broad St., Room 510, and the phone number is (804) 646-6304.

Two details from the City's instructions matter for your timing:

• An incomplete application is returned. It is not invoiced and it is not scheduled for a meeting. The City says staff are willing to look at your application before the deadline to see whether it is complete, so use that offer well before November 27 rather than on the last day.
• Fees. Applications that staff can approve administratively, and conceptual reviews, are not charged a fee. For applications that are charged, the invoice has to be paid before the application can be scheduled for a meeting. The City's list of fee types does not name roof replacement, so ask CAR staff whether your project is charged.

What CAR reviews, and why a roof is included

CAR reviews exterior changes inside the City's Old and Historic Districts, using the Old & Historic Districts Handbook and Design Review Guidelines, last revised in 2016. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review A change to roofing material or color is the kind of change that needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before work begins. A roof is a large, visible part of the building, so it is not treated as an afterthought.

The City's CAR flyer lists the districts, from St. John's Church, established in 1957, to Union Hill, established in 2009. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review A district name on a street sign does not settle whether your address is inside the boundary. Our guide to roofing in a historic district explains how to ask the City to confirm that.

What the handbook says about materials

The roofing section of the handbook is worth reading before you collect any bids. It describes asphalt shingles as an inappropriate choice for most historic buildings. It calls slate, including Virginia's Buckingham slate, extremely durable and says its higher cost for materials and installation is offset by its long life. For metal roofing, it notes that most products need paint, and that prefinished products may be approved case by case. It also says gutters and downspouts should be kept clean and open. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review

Why does this matter in November? Because the bids you collect are only useful if they describe a roof CAR can approve. A quote for a standard shingle replacement may be a fine price for a house outside a district, and irrelevant for a house inside one. Ask each contractor to price the material you intend to apply for, and ask whether the company has worked with CAR before.

The porch roof exception

Some porch roof replacements move faster. In September 2018 CAR adopted an administrative guideline under which qualifying porch roof replacements can be approved by City staff without going before the full commission. City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review The guideline sets firm limits. It does not cover replacing historic roofing that could be repaired, using asphalt shingles or prefabricated standing-seam metal on a porch roof, changing the shape of the porch roof, or white membrane roofing. The starting point is repair with the same material, and a similar-looking new material is approved only when the original is failed or unavailable.

If your project is only a porch roof, ask staff whether it qualifies for administrative review. If it does, you may not need to wait for a meeting at all. Do not assume that it does.

A building permit is a separate question

Approval from CAR is design review. It is not the same thing as a building permit. Virginia's building code generally exempts replacing the roof covering on a house or townhouse from a permit, but it allows the building official to require one in a locally designated historic district or a special flood hazard area. Virginia regulations Richmond's Permits and Inspections office handles building permits and answers questions at 804-646-4169, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. City of Richmond Permits and Inspections Ask both offices about your address, and write down what each one tells you.

What to line up before you apply

• The address. Confirm with the City that your parcel is in a historic district.
• What you have now. Photograph every slope of the roof, the porch roof and the gutters, and write down the existing material and color.
• What you want. Write down the material and color you propose, with the product name if you have one.
• Two or three bids. Each should state the same material and the same scope, so you can compare them.
• The contractor's license. Check it on the Virginia DPOR license lookup before you sign anything.
• The calendar. Count backward from the meeting date, not forward from the day you would like the work to start.

You do not need to have signed a contract to apply, and it is wise not to sign one that commits you to a start date before you know whether CAR will approve the material. If you do sign, make sure the contract says what happens if approval is delayed or denied. Our contract checkup lists what Virginia requires a residential contract to say.

Questions? Call (804) 764-9710 — we are a local roofing information service, not a contractor.