If you're a homeowner applying for your own permit, we're here to help. We strongly encourage you to stop in the office and apply in person. We find this helpful to get your permit to you faster. It reduces time for multiple reviews, email, and plan updates, between you and our review team. If you are a Licensed contractor, please use whichever method you are most comfortable with.
If you're not the owner, you must have a Residential Builders License issued by the State of Michigan, or written authorization from a license holder, to obtain a Building Permit.
Are you building or adding on to a single family home? You'll need to complete the Energy Code Worksheet in English (Energy Code Worksheet in Spanish).
Depending on the scope of your project, you may also need these other permits may also be required:
- Electrical Permit – A licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence is eligible to apply
- Mechanical Permit – A licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence is eligible to apply
- Plumbing Permit – A licensed contractor or a homeowner for their primary residence is eligible to apply
- Land Use (LUDS) Permit – If you're going to build or add on to a single family home or duplex only if located within 500 feet of a lake, river, stream, or open drain
- Demolition Permit – If you need to demolish a complete structure, such as for complete tear-down and rebuild
Plans are not required for re-roofing or re-siding.
Plans are required for most other types of projects. During the application process you will need plans showing the location, size, and details of the proposed project to upload to ePlan room. A helpful rule-of-thumb is that plans should have enough detail for another person to do the work without talking to the person who prepared the plans.
A site plan showing the location on the lot is required for a new building, addition, deck, or shed.
We have resources available to help you prepare plans:
- Project guides for various project types
- Development Center Plans Examiners are available 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM at our office. We're located on the third floor at the address listed in the Contact Us section. We can help to insure all plans go well and we hope to see you soon.
Include these costs to determine the value of improvements you'll make for this project:
- Building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, excavating, grading and other costs
- Construction labor costs
You won't need to include these in your calculation:
- Architectural fees, cost of lot, landscaping and/or personal property
For some types of Building Permits the fee is required up-front. For others, the fee is paid after the City has reviewed your application.
For in person payments, we accept cash, check or money order. We also accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
For most Building Permits, the fee is calculated based on the value of improvements. Use the Estimate Building Permit Fee Calculator to estimate fees.
There is a flat fee – not based on the value of improvements – for these project types:
If you apply online instead of submitting a paper form, the application fee will be automatically discounted by $10.
There are two additional forms to complete.
We only accept residential building permit applications in person. You can find our address in the Contact Us section of this page. We can't accept mailed, emailed, or faxed applications.
If you can't make it to our office, apply online using Citizen Access.
We need copies of your plans in an electronic format for Commercial Building Permit applications. You can either submit plans to us on a USB flash drive or upload them through ePlan Room after your permit application has been processed.
Learn more about using ePlan Room
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. When approved, we'll send you your permit by email.