How Old Is My Roof? 7 Ways to Find Out in Wisconsin in 2027
How old is my roof? If you bought your home from another owner, or you've simply lost track, you may not know. That's normal, and it's worth finding out, because roof age drives whether you should watch your roof, repair it, or plan to replace it. The knowledge can also be helpful during a potential insurance claim. At Sun Vault Roofing, it's one of the first things we check on an inspection.
Here are seven ways to find out, from easiest to most involved:
Paperwork: closing documents, invoices, and warranties often state the install date.
City permit records: show when a roof replacement was by the municipality.
The assessor's record: may list a "Roof Replaced" year, but only in some places (like City of Madison)
Google Earth: shows roughly when the roof changed.
Google Street View: a backup when aerial photos are blurry.
Your insurance company: may have a roof age on file (though double check it if you can)
A roofer: can estimate a range from the roof's condition.
No single source is perfect, so check two or three. Two sources that agree beat one you trust. Once you have an age, our guide to how long a roof lasts in Wisconsin shows what to expect.
How old is my roof? Where should I look first?
Start with paperwork. Look through the closing documents from when you bought the house, any home inspection report, old invoices, and warranty papers.
A roofing warranty or invoice usually shows the install date outright. If the previous owner replaced the roof, ask them or their agent. They often remember, and they may still have the contract.
Also check the basement and garage for a leftover bundle of shingles. Roofing contractors often leave extra shingles with the homeowner for future patches, so there may be one from the original build or the last reroof.
The exact brand and color name on the wrapper is often the most telling clue of all. Manufacturers don't make the same colors forever, and when they keep one, they sometimes rename it, so a roofer can often match that brand and color to a window of years.
Can city permit records tell me when my roof was replaced?
Often, yes. In the City of Madison and many other Wisconsin communities, a full roof replacement needs a building permit, and many let you search permits by address online. In Madison, that's the Licenses & Permits portal. Search your address and look for a roofing or reroof permit. The date tells you when the work was permitted.
Know the limits before you rely on it:
A permit date is when the work was approved, not always when the roof was finished. But it's usually close.
Small repairs often don't need a permit, so a missing permit doesn't prove the roof is original.
Many smaller towns and villages don't require a permit for a reroof, so no record can mean none was needed.
Work done without a permit won't show up.
Smaller towns and villages may keep records on paper, through the county, or through an outside inspection company, so you may need to call the building department.
If the online search comes up empty, call your city or village building inspection office and ask for the permit history for your address.
Does the Property assessor list roof age?
Sometimes, but only in the City of Madison. If your home is elsewhere, skip to the next section. Most county-level property lookups in Wisconsin don't show a roof year at all (e.g., Dane, Rock, and Green counties).
In Madison, the assessor's property record can include a "Roof Replaced" year. Open the assessor's property lookup, search by address, and scroll to the exterior construction section.
Treat this year as a clue, not proof. It populates from permit data, but we have noticed it is not 100% accurate. If the year matches a permit or another source on this list, you can trust it more.
Can Google Earth show me when my roof changed?
It can show you roughly when. Google Earth keeps older aerial photos, and you can step back through them.
Open Google Earth Pro on a computer. The free desktop version has the full time slider. Then search your address.
Click the clock icon at the top of the view, or choose View, then Historical Imagery.
Drag the slider back in time and look at your roof in each image.
Look for the point where the roof's color or texture changes. Here is the same neighborhood in 2020 and 2022.
Two of those roofs changed between the two images.
If a roof looks the same in a 2014 and 2016, but different in 2018 and 2020, that's a strong clue it was replaced between 2016 and 2018. Comparing multiple "before" images and "after" images is helpful because shadows, lighting, tree cover, and camera angle can hide detail. One thing to look for is not just changes in color, but also changes in ventilation. And a replacement in the same color can be hard to spot from above. Imagery isn't taken on a fixed schedule, so in some areas the slider jumps several years at a time, and the answer may be a two- or three-year window rather than a date.
This can matter more than you'd expect. A homeowner, Gary, in Black Earth had hail damage to the roof in 2026. The damage was clear, but the insurance company offered barely more than the deductible, because they considered the roof 18 years old and mostly worn out.
Gary had bought the house three years earlier and had been told the roof was brand new. We couldn't find a permit to prove it, which is a common problem when out-of-state storm chasers do the work, and we suspect that's what happened here. Instead, we found two satellite images, from 2020 and 2022, that clearly showed the roof's color had changed in between.
We shared them with the insurance company as evidence of the roof's real age, and the insurer reversed its decision and covered the full replacement.
Can Google Street View help?
A little. In Google Maps, open Street View on your street, and where older photos exist, you'll see an option to view other dates. Street-level photos show the roof at a steep angle, so they're best for obvious changes, such as a different color or a dumpster and ladders in the driveway. They're a good backup when the aerial photos are blurry or years apart.
Will my insurance company know how old my roof is?
Often. Insurers care about roof age, so many ask for it when you apply, and some check it with an inspection or aerial imagery. Ask your agent what roof age they have on file for your policy. If it's wrong, it's worth correcting.
Can a roofer tell me how old my roof is?
Yes, as a range. A roofer can't read a date off shingles, but we can narrow it down from clues like these:
3-tab shingles: these are the flat, single-layer kind. They haven't been widely installed in the Madison area for about the past 10 years, so a 3-tab roof around here is at least 10 years old and usually closer to 15.
Shingle brand and color: if you have a leftover bundle in your garage or basement, the exact brand and color name is a surprisingly specific clue, because colors get discontinued and renamed over the years.
Wear: granule loss (the gritty surface wearing off), curling, cracking, and the condition of flashing and vents.
Spaced sheathing: this is the roof deck under the shingles, built from boards with gaps between them. It means the house was likely built before the 1960s and originally had wood shakes. If the roof no longer has shakes, it was probably replaced between about 2000 and 2010, when cedar shake roofs abruptly fell out of style in Wisconsin because of maintenance and cost.
Plywood type: the type of deck panel, plywood (CDX) or OSB, can tell us whether the deck was last replaced before or after the mid-1990s.
Nails: the pattern, style, and material of the nails can also point to an era.
The deck and nails are hard to see unless the attic is accessible or there's exposed damage from something like a storm or a fallen tree, so those clues help less often. Sun exposure, attic ventilation, and past storms all change how fast a roof wears, so this is always an estimate. We usually come back with something like "this roof is likely in its second decade" rather than an exact year. It's most useful when it matches a paper trail from the steps above.
This is one of the first things we check on a Sun Vault Roofing inspection, and the inspection is free. You can schedule a free roof inspection here.
Can my roof be a different age than my house?
Yes. Many homes have had at least one roof replacement, and additions, garages, and sheds often have roofs of different ages. Some homes have had one slope redone after storm damage or a leak. If you only find one date, make sure it covers the whole roof, and ask a roofer to check each section. Your roof also can't be older than the house.
What should I do once I know my roof's age?
Compare it with how long roofs last here. 3-tab shingles last about 15 to 20 years, and in our experience a standard, reasonably maintained 3-tab roof in Wisconsin averages closer to 15. Modern architectural shingles should last 30 years or more when they are well installed and properly maintained. How often to have your roof inspected depends on its age:
Under about 5 years: no routine check needed unless a storm hits.
Around year 5: a first inspection is worthwhile.
From about year 15: inspect every other year.
Past 20 years, 3-tab shingles, or known problems: inspect every year, or twice a year if you're seeing issues.
For more, see the benefits of periodic roof maintenance. If your roof is older and you're seeing problems, when to repair vs. replace your roof can help you decide.
Related reading:
Is your home a good fit for solar? Roof age matters here too, because panels on an old roof often have to come off when the roof is replaced.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out how old my roof is? Check paperwork first, then city permit records, the assessor's property record where it lists a roof year, and Google Earth's historical imagery. If those don't agree or come up empty, a roofer can estimate the age from the roof's condition.
Can I look up my roof's age by address? Sometimes. Many Wisconsin cities let you search permits by address, and the City of Madison assessor's record may list a Roof Replaced year. Not every town or county shows roof information online.
Can a building permit tell me how old my roof is? Often. A permit shows when a reroof was approved, which is usually close to when it was done. Small repairs and some towns' reroofs don't need a permit, so no record doesn't prove the roof is original.
Is the Madison assessor's Roof Replaced date accurate? We haven't been able to verify how it is filled in, so treat it as a clue and compare it with a permit or other records. It only appears in the City of Madison records we've seen.
Does my insurance company know how old my roof is? Often. Insurers commonly ask for roof age when you apply. Ask your agent what is on file.
Who can tell me how old my roof is if there are no records? A roofer can estimate it from the roof's condition and give you a range. Sun Vault Roofing offers free roof inspections in Madison and Southern Wisconsin.
Not sure how old your roof is, or whether it's time to plan for a new one? Schedule a free roof inspection and we'll tell you what we see.
