How to find out how old your roof is

Most people don't know how old their roof is. If you bought the house, the roof probably came with it, and the seller may not have known either. The good news is that a roof replacement leaves a paper trail, and most of it is public.

Work down this page in order. The first two methods usually give you a date. The rest help when they don't.

Why your roof's age matters

Insurance. Many insurers look at roof age when they write or renew a policy. SageSure, which writes homeowners policies, says that as roofs reach 15 to 20 years old, many insurers may limit coverage, settle at actual cash value, or inspect before renewing. Actual cash value (ACV) means replacement cost minus depreciation, so an older roof pays out less.

Some policies go further with a roof payment schedule, an endorsement that pays a set percentage of replacement cost based on the roof's age and material. Kin publishes one example: shingles lose 4% a year, down to 25% of replacement cost at 19 years. Openly, an insurer, moves roofs past a set age in several states onto its schedule automatically at renewal. Those are each company's own terms, not Colorado rules.

Colorado law defines recoverable depreciation as the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value (C.R.S. 10-4-110.8). We found no Colorado statute or Division of Insurance rule on roof-age payment schedules as of October 2026, so your policy language controls. Check your declarations page and endorsements, and ask your agent how your roof's age is recorded. More in insurance in plain English.

Planning. InterNACHI's guideline lifespans are about 20 years for 3-tab shingles and 30 for architectural shingles. Those are national ranges, not promises, and Colorado hail often ends a roof's life early.

Selling. Colorado's standard seller disclosure form asks the seller to state the roof's age. Knowing it now saves a scramble later; see buying or selling a home.

Start with the papers you already have

• The seller's disclosure. If you bought through a Colorado real estate broker, look for the Seller's Property Disclosure in your closing documents. The Colorado Real Estate Commission's current form (SPD19, required from January 1, 2026) has a roof section that asks the seller to give the roof's age and material in the comments, and whether the roof is under a transferable warranty. It also asks about roof leaks, roof damage and any property insurance claim. Older versions of the form may word this differently.
• The home inspection report. Inspectors often estimate roof age or note the roof covering. An estimate isn't a date, but it's a starting point.
• The previous roofer's paperwork. A contract, invoice or warranty certificate has the install date on it. Ask the seller or their agent if you don't have it.
• The manufacturer warranty. If you know the roof's brand, the manufacturer may have a warranty on file. GAF, for example, says new owners must notify it within the time set in the warranty to keep coverage, and you'll need to prove you own the house. Call GAF at 1-877-423-7663 with questions.

Look up the building permit

Every Colorado city and county we checked requires a permit to replace a roof. Small repairs are exempt in many places, such as under 100 square feet in Fort Collins, Lakewood and the Pikes Peak region. So a full reroof done by a legitimate roofer should have left a permit on file at your address.

When you search:

• Search by street number and street name. If nothing comes up, try the number alone and pick your street from the list.
• Look for permit types or descriptions with "reroof," "re-roof," "roofing" or "roof." Some systems file roofs with siding or under a general residential permit.
• Note the issued date and the final inspection date. The final date is the closest record of when the roof was finished.
• No permit doesn't prove the roof is original. Some roofs go on without permits, and older records may not be online. If you find nothing, ask the building department.

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Check your insurance claim history

If a past roof was paid for by insurance, it shows up in your CLUE report. CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is a LexisNexis database insurers use. It holds about seven years of home insurance claims, with the date, the type of loss and the amount paid.

You can get your own report free once every 12 months under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j). Request it at the LexisNexis Consumer Center or call 1-888-497-0011.

• A hail claim with a large payout a few years back often means the roof was replaced around then.
• The report covers claims tied to you and your property. To see a house's history before you buy, the owner has to request it and share it with you.
• It won't show a roof the owner paid for without a claim. If something in it is wrong, you can dispute it with LexisNexis.

Scroll back in Street View

Google Street View keeps older photos for many streets. On a computer, open Google Maps, drag the yellow person icon onto your street, and click "See more dates." Then scroll the thumbnails at the bottom to go back in time.

Look for the year the roof's color or texture changes, a dumpster in the driveway, or a roofing company's sign in the yard. Google notes that past imagery isn't available everywhere, and photos may be years apart, so this gives you a range rather than a date.

Look for codes on leftover bundles

Roofers often leave a bundle or two of spare shingles in the garage, attic or shed. Check the bundle ends. GAF prints a date code and time on one end of each bundle, along with the color, plant code and packaging line. Other brands use their own codes.

A date code points to when the shingles were packaged, which is before they went on the roof. We couldn't confirm a reliable way to date a shingle already on the roof, so don't pull shingles up to look.

Ask the neighbors, and match it to a storm

After a big hailstorm, whole streets often get new roofs within a year or two. If your neighbors know when they reroofed, and your roof looks the same age, there's a good chance yours went on then too.

Our Roof Report lists the days hail was reported near your address since 2010. A big storm a year or so before the neighbors' reroofs is a strong clue. It's a clue, not proof: check it against a permit or a claim.

What county assessor records can and can't tell you

County assessors value property for taxes. Their records show the year the house was built and basic features such as size. That tells you the oldest the roof could be if it's original.

Assessor records aren't built to track roof replacements, and value changes don't say what was done. Treat any roof detail there as a description, not a date. The permit record is the better source.

Read the wear as a last resort

If the paperwork comes up empty, the roof itself gives rough clues. Granule loss, curling and cracking all point to an older asphalt roof. Hail bruises and sun exposure can make a young roof look older, though, so wear gives you a range at best.

See reading your roof for what to look for from the ground, or ask a roofer for an inspection. Once you have a date, write it down in your roof file with the permit number.

Common questions

How can I find out when my roof was replaced?

Start with the building permit. Search your address on your city or county's permit site and look for a reroof or roofing permit; the final inspection date is close to when the job was finished. If there's no permit, check your closing papers, your CLUE report and old Street View images.

Is a CLUE report free?

Yes, once every 12 months. LexisNexis must give you a free copy of your own report on request under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It lists about seven years of home insurance claims, so it can show a past roof claim but not a roof that was paid for out of pocket.

Does the county assessor know how old my roof is?

Usually not. Assessor records are built to value property. They show the year the house was built and its basic features, which tells you the oldest your roof could be if it's original, but they aren't a record of roof replacements.

Why does my insurer care how old my roof is?

Many insurers price and limit coverage by roof age. Some pay older roofs at actual cash value or on a payment schedule that shrinks each year. Check your declarations page and endorsements, and see insurance in plain English.