Most city offices and the yard waste drop off site are closed Friday, July 4th for Independence Day. Refuse, recycle, and yard waste curbside services are delayed one day after the holiday.
If you are you looking to completely demolish a structure, you will need to apply for a demolition permit. Permits ensure your work will meet our community's standards as defined in the Grand Rapids City Code and the Michigan Building Code.
If you are only looking for the partial demolition of a structure, you will need to apply for a Renovation Building Permit instead.
We use a third party application called Citizen Access for our Demolition Permit applications. If you've never used Citizen Access, we recommend that you review how to create an account before starting your application.
We can only issue a Demolition Permit in these situations:
This application will take about 30 minutes once you've gathered the required information identified in the steps below.
During the application process you will need to upload the following attachments:
You'll need to enter your credit/debit card information to pay the permit fee. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
The demolition permit fee varies based on the type of structure. The Sewer Lateral Service Demo/Cap Off Inspection fee is included in the permit fee.
Apply Online
Expect to hear from us within 1-2 business days. We'll email you to confirm receipt of your application. Keep in mind that you might need to revise your application or attachments if we notice any missing or incorrect information.
Once we accept your application, we'll notify the public utilities. You should also contact them directly to request utility cut-off.
We need confirmation of gas, electric, and water utility cut-off before we can issue a Demolition Permit. Typically, the utility companies provide this to us. If you receive a utility cut-off notification, forward it to devcenter@grcity.us. We can't issue permits without these confirmations.
You'll need to attach the following to your application:
You'll need to pay the permit fee - give us a call at the number in the Contact Us section of the page to get the current permit fee. We accept cash, check or money order, or Visa, MasterCard and Discover.
Download, print, and fill out the printed application.
Download the Application
You can find our number in the Contact Us section of this page. We'll get you all the information you need to apply for your Demolition Permit. We don't take applications over the phone, but we'll make sure you have everything you need to get your application approved.
You'll need to pay the permit fee - give us a call at the number in the Contact Us section of the page to get the current permit fee.
You'll find our address in the Contact Us section of this page.
We need confirmation of gas, electric, and water utility cut-off before we can issue a Demolition Permit. Typically, the utility companies provide this to us. If you receive a utility cut-off notification, email it to us. You can find our email address in the Contact Us section. We can't issue permits without these confirmations.
How to use Citizen Access
Schedule an Inspection
Demolition Information Packet
Planning and Permits for Commercial Building Projects