Bedford Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Bedford Township in Monroe County (the Temperance area, not Bedford Charter Township in Calhoun County) runs its own Building Department at the township hall, 8100 Jackman Road, Temperance (734-224-7330), where Dennis Kolar is the Building Official. The state’s jurisdiction list shows the township enforcing building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work itself. Under the fee table effective March 1, 2025, a $250,000 project costs $1,165, and plan review comes back with any required changes before fees are collected.

What requires a building permit in Bedford Township?

The township’s building application is blunt: no construction may be started without a permit. Building permits cover new buildings, additions, alterations, accessory buildings and industrial work, and plumbing, mechanical and electrical work each needs its own permit and inspections. Small accessory buildings and some site work use shorter township forms.

The township’s accessory building rules (Section 400.1903 of its code) also govern portable storage containers: one at a time, on a driveway or other paved or gravel area, for no more than 14 consecutive days, at least 10 feet from the house and 5 feet from any lot line, and no taller than 8 feet. Accessory buildings may not sit in a front yard or required side yard, may cover no more than 25% of the required rear yard, and all structures together may cover no more than 30% of the lot. On a corner lot an accessory building must stay at least 30 feet from a street right-of-way, every accessory building must stay out of drainage, power and other easements, and none may be built on a vacant lot. In the AG Agricultural district an accessory building may reach the district’s full height limit if it is at least 25 feet from every property line, 100 feet from a neighboring house and 150 feet from the front line of the parcel. Where the use matters, the Building Official may require a sworn affidavit from the owner stating how the building will be used.

What Bedford decides and what the state holds

The construction rules are the state’s. Bedford chooses to enforce all four trades itself, sets the fee table, writes its zoning ordinance and accessory building table, and decides site plans, rezonings and special approvals through its Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals and Township Board. The township’s code of ordinances is published on Municode.

Bedford Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department works alongside the township’s Community Development and Planning Department, which handles rezoning, site plans, subdivision plats and the township’s GIS. Both departments help owners with FEMA flood map questions and keep copies of elevation certificates filed with them. The Building Department also holds occasional seminars where contractors and builders hear from the people who regulate and interpret the code.

Two Michigan townships carry the Bedford name. The one in Monroe County, served by the Temperance office, is filed in BS&A Online as “Bedford Township, Monroe”; Bedford Charter Township in Calhoun County is a different government with its own office.

Bedford Township permit types

The township posts its forms on the Forms and Documents page, grouped by department. The Building Department’s list includes the building permit application, residential and commercial electrical and mechanical applications (February 2025 editions), a plumbing permit (April 2025), pool handouts, contractor registration and re-roofing registration, an inspection request form, a credit card authorization form and Board of Zoning Appeals forms.

Residential permits

• New houses and additions need two sets of construction drawings and two sets of plot or site plans, plus the county well and septic permit where there is no sewer or water, a Road Commission driveway permit, a soil erosion permit or addendum, and paid sewer and water taps.
• Accessory buildings of 200 square feet or less use the administrative application (dated June 17, 2025), signed off by either the Building or the Planning Department; larger ones use the full building application and must meet the accessory building table.
• Pools have separate above-ground and in-ground handouts; pool bonding is one of the inspections listed on the request form.
• Owners doing the work sign the homeowner’s affidavit on the building application.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects go through site plan approval first: $2,500 for sites under 5 acres and $3,500 for larger ones, each split between a $500 fee and an escrow that pays for the township’s engineer, planner, attorney and inspections. The township also publishes a Commercial Site Architectural Design Manual. Subdivisions, planned unit developments and mobile home parks pay $3,500 plus $10 a lot at the preliminary plat stage and $1,500 for a final plat, and a pond needs its own site plan and special approval ($2,500). Commercial electrical and mechanical work uses the commercial versions of the trade forms, and industrial work is a box on the same building application.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning and planning. Variances go to the Board of Zoning Appeals ($375; a special meeting is $600), and special approvals ($950) and rezonings ($2,500 plus $10 an acre) go through the Planning Commission.
• Soil erosion. The Monroe County Drain Commissioner’s office, 1005 South Raisinville Road (734-240-3105), issues Part 91 permits and waivers; a house without a pond is $175, a garage, pole barn or addition $125, and a limited earth disruption permit for work more than 100 feet from a body of water $50.
• Septic and wells. Monroe County Environmental Health, 2353 S. Custer Road (734-240-7900), for lots without public sewer or water.
• Driveways. Monroe County Road Commission permit (734-240-5132) for work in a county road right-of-way.
• Flood plain. The application asks whether the site is in a flood plain, and Planning keeps elevation certificates and an elevation certificate application.

Bedford Township permit costs and fees

Building permit fees come from the Bedford Township Building Permit Fees table, effective March 1, 2025, posted with the township’s forms. The value is the Building Official’s estimate of the cost to replace the building in kind at current replacement costs, not the figure for tax purposes. Fees are collected after plan review, when the reviewed plans go back to the applicant.

Worked example from the table: a $250,000 house is $640 plus 150 × $3.50, or $1,165. The table stops at $500,000, so a larger project’s fee comes from the Building Department. It lists $425 at $50,000 but $419 at $51,000, so check any value near that step with the office. The application has a separate line for a plan review fee, which the posted table does not price. Planning fees (updated December 5, 2023) mostly combine a fee with an escrow, and the township may ask for more escrow on complex plans.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Bedford issues and inspects all trade permits itself, so nothing goes to the state Bureau of Construction Codes for a Bedford parcel. Trade permits use the township’s residential or commercial electrical and mechanical forms and its plumbing permit, and contractors pay a $25 annual registration; roofers file a separate re-roofing registration. The building application lists the electrical, plumbing, heating and masonry contractors on the job and records the builder’s state license number and expiry date along with workers’ compensation, unemployment and federal ID details or the reason for an exemption.

• Trade inspections: the township’s request form lets you mark building, electrical, mechanical or plumbing and pick an inspection such as underground, T-pole, gas line, rough, rough and service, pool bonding or final.
• Licenses: residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors hold LARA licenses, and the electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades hold state licenses.

Owners may take out a building permit for their own home. The homeowner’s affidavit on the building application says the work will be done by the owner in their own home, which they live in or are about to occupy, under the state building code and township ordinances, and that the owner will arrange the necessary inspections 24 hours in advance.

How to apply for a Bedford Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The Building Official reviews setbacks, construction and code compliance on the drawings, so missing site plans or dimensions slow the file. The township does not determine property lines; on the shed application it puts the burden on the owner to show the building is on the owner’s property and to follow any deed restrictions, which a township permit does not override. Projects that need a Board of Zoning Appeals variance or a Planning Commission approval must wait for those meetings.

Inspections and certificates in Bedford Township

The applicant is responsible for requesting every inspection. Use the township’s Inspection Request Form or call 734-224-7330, giving the requested date, address, subdivision and lot, lock box number if any, permit number and the type of inspection. Owners working under the homeowner’s affidavit agree to arrange inspections 24 hours ahead.

Building inspections run from footer and foundation through pre-masonry, masonry, rough and final, with post-hole and ratwall inspections where they apply; electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits carry their own inspections. When every inspection on the building permit has passed, the township issues a certificate of occupancy or compliance. A manufactured dwelling permit includes up to two inspections.

Michigan building code in Bedford Township

Bedford enforces the state construction code for all four trades. On flood insurance the two official sources differ: the township’s flood plain page says Bedford has been in the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981 and that its Community Rating System participation gives homeowners an automatic 10% premium discount, while FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Bedford Township (community 260142B, maps dated June 19, 2020) at CRS class 9, which is a 5% discount. The FEMA list is the newer record.

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

Bedford Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Bedford Township, Monroe County?

The township Building Department at 8100 Jackman Road, Temperance (734-224-7330), for building and all trade permits.

How much is a building permit for a $250,000 house?

$1,165 under the fee table effective March 1, 2025 ($640 plus $3.50 per $1,000 over $100,000).

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

Accessory buildings of 200 square feet or less use the administrative application with a site plan; larger ones need a building permit.

Can I keep a storage pod in my driveway?

One container for up to 14 consecutive days, at least 10 feet from the house and 5 feet from lot lines, no taller than 8 feet.

Can a homeowner pull a permit?

Yes, for work the owner does personally on the home they live in or are about to occupy, by signing the homeowner’s affidavit.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The Monroe County Drain Commissioner’s office (734-240-3105); a new house without a pond is $175.

Is this the same as Bedford Charter Township?

No. Bedford Charter Township is in Calhoun County with its own office; Bedford Township in Monroe County is permitted from Temperance.

Bedford Township permit search and official resources

Permit records can be searched through BS&A Online’s Building Department Record Search for Bedford Township, Monroe County. For copies of files, use the township’s Freedom of Information Act request form; its FOIA page carries the instructions and costs that took effect on July 1, 2015, along with the notice-of-extension and appeal forms.

• Bedford Township Building Department
• Forms and permit applications
• Building and planning fee schedule (building fees effective March 1, 2025)
• Building permit application
• Accessory building administrative application (200 sq ft or less)
• Accessory buildings ordinance and table
• Inspection request form
• Soil erosion contact for waivers or permits
• Community Development and Planning
• FEMA flood plain information
• Freedom of Information Act requests
• BS&A Online, Bedford Township records
• Monroe County soil erosion fee schedule
• Monroe County Road Commission residential permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Simplify Bedford Township 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 Bedford Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.