Auburn Hills, Michigan Building Permit Guide

The City of Auburn Hills enforces the state construction code itself through its Community Development Department at City Hall, 1827 N. Squirrel Road (248-364-6900), where Jeffrey A. Spencer is the Building Official. Building permits take 2 to 4 weeks to process; electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sign permits and inspection requests can be filed online through BS&A. Under the city’s 2026 fee schedule a building permit starts at $86, plus a non-refundable $31 residential or $310 commercial application fee, and a new house is filed with $781, which includes a $750 engineering plot plan review.

What requires a building permit in Auburn Hills?

Plans must be submitted to Community Development for all commercial and residential construction in the city, and the department’s Building Services page describes the main permits.

Construction is limited to daylight hours by Ordinance No. 693; work outside those hours needs an $81 after-hours construction permit. The city also issues temporary use, temporary event, sidewalk café and backyard chicken permits through Community Development.

What Auburn Hills decides and what the state holds

The Statewide Jurisdiction List of the state Bureau of Construction Codes (revised November 6, 2026) shows Auburn Hills enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself; Oakland County runs no construction code program. The city sets its fees in its 2026 fee schedule, registers builders and trade contractors, reviews plans and inspects, and its zoning ordinance controls where buildings go, how big they are and how land is used. The technical requirements are the single state code, which the city cannot amend. Septic and well permits belong to the Oakland County Health Division, and soil erosion permits to the county Water Resources Commissioner.

Auburn Hills building department: who handles permitting

Community Development has five divisions — Planning, Zoning, Economic Development, Building Services and Code Enforcement — under the Director of Community Development. Building Services handles permits, plan review and inspections; the Planning and Zoning Division reviews site plans and supports the Planning Commission, which also serves as the city’s Recreation Commission.

Auburn Hills permit types

Auburn Hills uses a residential and multi-family building application, a non-residential building application, a tenant occupancy application and a tenant occupancy construction application, plus separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications (all trade and sign permits can instead be filed on BS&A Online).

Residential permits

• New houses are filed with $781: the $31 application fee and a $750 engineering plot plan review. Bring three copies of 24 by 36 inch plans, a plot plan with lot dimensions, every existing and proposed structure, setbacks, utility lines and features such as water, wetlands or steep grades, a copy of your driver’s license, the state contractor’s license and a liability insurance certificate. The form also asks for the square footage of each floor, basement, crawlspace and garage, the total cost of the improvement, the construction type and use group, and whether a fire suppression system will be installed.
• Additions, alterations and repairs are filed with the $31 application fee; the building permit fee is added later.
• Detached garages and sheds need three sets of plans with elevations, a wall section, floor plan and truss drawings, and three site plans showing setbacks, other buildings, the septic field, well, easements and rights-of-way.
• Contractor or owner: a licensed builder adds a copy of the license and the Act 135 form; a homeowner signs the homeowner affidavit.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit expediting, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

A commercial building application needs the signed application with a $310 application fee, three sets of construction drawings (including plumbing, electrical and mechanical) signed and sealed by a licensed architect or engineer, the applicant’s driver’s license, the city’s Hazardous Materials Form and a letter on company letterhead giving the business name and contact, the share of office, warehouse and other use, overnight storage, number of employees and the last use of the space. New tenants in existing space use the tenant occupancy applications; a special inspection or tenant occupancy inspection is $576. Spray booths and temporary trailers have their own handouts.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit applications through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Site plan and zoning. The Planning and Zoning Division encourages a pre-application meeting before a site plan is submitted; a zoning approval or verification permit is $26.
• Variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the second Thursday of each month at City Hall; the fee is $250 for one-family residential property and $1,500 in other districts, a fee that includes newspaper notice and mailings to properties within 1,000 feet.
• Land divisions. Splitting a parcel costs $875 for residential land and $1,030 for commercial land under the 2026 schedule.
• Engineering. New single-family homes need the $750 plot plan review; other engineering plan reviews are 2.2% under the fee schedule, and sidewalk, curb cut and drive approach inspections are $100.
• Septic, wells and demolition releases. The Oakland County Health Division (1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac; 248-858-1280) issues septic and well permits and must release a building before demolition, along with the utilities and the city’s Department of Public Works.
• Soil erosion. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner issues Part 91 permits for earth changes over one acre, or over 225 square feet within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or drain, in communities without their own program (248-858-5389).

Auburn Hills permit costs and fees

Fees come from the city’s 2026 fee schedule, posted as amended on June 15, 2026. The building permit is based on estimated value, which may not be lower than the ICC Building Valuation Data figures, and every building permit also carries a non-refundable application fee that is not credited toward the permit.

Worked example from the schedule: a single-family addition valued at $100,000 pays $425 plus 50 × $7, or $775, for the building permit, plus the $31 application fee, $806 in all before trade permits; plan review does not apply to single-family additions. The trade schedules price a new house by floor area: mechanical $0.16 and electrical $0.15 per square foot up to 2,000 square feet, then $57 for each further 500 square feet, with a $155 minimum. The mechanical and electrical schedules each add a 50% surcharge when work starts before the permit is issued. Residential water and sewer laterals are listed at $1,000 and $2,000.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are city permits. They can be applied for on BS&A Online without a paper form, and each carries its own $31 non-refundable application fee. Contractors register with the city for each trade: $26 for electrical, $16 for mechanical and $6 for plumbing, and builders pay $27.

• Electrical: fees depend on service size, number of circuits and type of installation (for example $45 for a service up to 400 amps), with a $72 minimum and $34 for each underground, rough or final inspection.
• Mechanical: fees depend on the size of the units, the number of gas outlets and the type of installation, with a $72 minimum and $34 inspections.
• Plumbing: fees depend on the number of fixtures, drain lines, supply line sizes and type of installation.
• Homeowners: the residential application includes a homeowner affidavit for work the owner installs in the home they live in or are about to occupy, and the detached accessory building rules ask homeowners for the same affidavit.

How to apply for an Auburn Hills building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Residential and commercial building permits can take 2 to 4 weeks. Files come back when items on the city’s lists are missing: for commercial work the hazardous materials form, the use letter or sealed drawings, and for homes a plot plan showing setbacks and utilities. Demolitions wait for the utility, county health and public works releases. A permit is closed if no inspection is requested and completed within 180 days of issue or the last inspection; closed permits are not refunded, and reopening one costs $52.

Inspections and certificates in Auburn Hills

Inspections are required after any building, electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit is issued; trade permits usually need a rough and a final. Request them on BS&A Online or through the Inspection Line, 248-364-6949, by 4:00 p.m. the business day before, giving the date, inspection type, job address, permit number and a contact name and phone. Inspections are done Monday to Friday except city holidays, and the inspector leaves a sticker showing whether the work was approved. A re-inspection for a job that was not ready costs $59.

No building or part of a building may be occupied until a certificate of occupancy is issued, after construction is complete and all inspections are approved; the certificate can be picked up the next business day after the last approved inspection.

Rental and vacant homes are on a separate track, priced among the fee schedule’s ordinance enforcement fees: a rental home registration is $200, with a $50 permit to occupy, a vacant residential home registration is $200, and a staff inspection for either registration is $155. Anyone who disagrees with a building official’s decision under the construction code can ask for a Construction Board of Appeals meeting, which carries a $1,030 fee.

Michigan building code in Auburn Hills

Auburn Hills enforces the single state construction code for all four trades and posts a memo on the Michigan Uniform Energy Code with its handouts. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the City of Auburn Hills (community 260263) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community since July 16, 1979, with flood maps effective September 29, 2006.

Michigan enforces one statewide construction code under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230); local units cannot amend it, and enforcement sits with the city, village or township, a county program or the state Bureau of Construction Codes, sometimes split by trade. Michigan rules

Auburn Hills permit search and official resources

The city runs trade permits and inspection scheduling through BS&A Online; Community Development helps applicants set up an account. For copies of plans or permit files, send a written Freedom of Information Act request to the City Clerk’s Office by fax, e-mail, mail or in person, with your name, address and phone or e-mail; police records go to the Police Department.

• Building Services: permits, inspections and handouts
• 2026 fee schedule (as amended June 15, 2026)
• Residential and multi-family building application
• Non-residential building application
• BS&A Online permits and inspections
• After-hours construction permit
• Community Development Department and staff
• Planning and Zoning Division
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• ZBA variance application
• Freedom of Information Act requests
• Oakland County Health Division, environmental health
• Oakland County soil erosion and sedimentation control
• Statewide Jurisdiction List, Bureau of Construction Codes
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Auburn Hills building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Auburn Hills?

From $86, rising with value; a $100,000 addition is $775 plus the $31 application fee. Commercial applications carry a $310 application fee.

What do I pay to file for a new house?

$781 at application ($31 application fee and $750 engineering plot plan review), with the building permit, plan review and trade fees added later.

Can I apply online?

Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sign permits and inspection requests can be done on BS&A Online; building applications go to Community Development.

Does a shed or detached garage need a permit?

Yes. Every detached accessory building needs a building permit, three sets of plans and three site plans showing setbacks.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Online through BS&A or by calling 248-364-6949 by 4:00 p.m. the business day before.

Can I work after dark?

Construction is limited to daylight hours under Ordinance No. 693; an after-hours construction permit costs $81.

How much is a variance?

$250 for one-family residential property and $1,500 in other zoning districts; the Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the second Thursday of the month.

Simplify Auburn Hills permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Michigan. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Auburn Hills permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.