Benzie County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Benzie County is one of the Michigan counties that enforces the state construction code itself: the state’s jurisdiction list shows the county handling building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work in the City of Frankfort, all six villages and all twelve townships. Permits come from the Building Safety & Code Enforcement, Soil Erosion department at 448 Court Place, Suite 149, Beulah (231-882-9673, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), under a fee schedule that took effect on February 1, 2026. Septic and well permits come from the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, and driveways on county roads from the Benzie County Road Commission.

What requires a building permit in Benzie County?

The county department issues construction, demolition, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and reviews plans for all of them. Its forms show what it handles: new homes and additions, remodeling, pre-manufactured homes with or without a basement, residential and commercial demolition, and commercial work of every size. Electrical work is priced by visits, from a single inspection to a new house with three.

Benzie County also has an ordinance requiring homes to carry an address sign that is visible from the street; the Equalization Department assigns addresses and takes sign requests.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The construction code itself is the state’s. Benzie County decides who enforces it here (its own department, set up in 1974), sets the permit fees, runs the soil erosion program under its own ordinance, and appoints the Building Official. The department also administers the code in Springdale Township in neighboring Manistee County, which has its own building application.

Benzie County building department: who handles permitting

Unlike most Michigan counties, Benzie has a county building program, and the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes, revised November 6, 2026) marks the county as the enforcing agency for all four codes in every local unit. The Building Official, Nick Keck, also does plan review and soil erosion work; the office has two full-time contract staff and two contract inspectors, and it uses BS&A software linked to the county’s Equalization records.

With 18,568 residents (Census 2025 estimate), the county is small enough that one office covers every parcel. Zoning is not on the department’s list of services. Michigan townships, villages and cities zone their own land, and a county zones only townships with no zoning ordinance of their own, so zoning approval comes from those bodies rather than from the building department.

Benzie County permit types

The department posts a building application, residential and commercial electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, a soil erosion application, a homeowner permit form, a permit extension request, the agricultural building notice, a Construction Board of Appeals application and a street addressing form. Completed applications can be emailed or brought to Court Place, and permits can be paid online.

Residential permits

• Houses and additions. Fees are based on a “determinant” value worked out from the International Code Council’s Building Valuation Data of February 2025, which the county adopted with the new schedule.
• Pre-manufactured homes. Flat fees of $352 without a basement and $440 with one, in a park or on private land.
• Smaller work. Jobs not priced by square footage cost an $88 base fee plus $88 per inspection, or the fee on the project’s estimated cost, whichever is higher.
• Homeowner permits. The homeowner form explains that the state licensing law lets owners act as their own general contractor when building their own home for their own use; it does not apply to an apartment building or a duplex, and the owner takes on liability for code corrections, injuries, workers’ compensation and payroll taxes.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work has its own fee scale and its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing forms. Commercial demolition is charged by floor area. Plan review fees apply on a separate scale tied to the same determinant value.

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

• Septic and well. The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department issues permits for new, replacement, enlarged or repaired septic systems and for wells, and does site evaluations for vacant land. Its rules say no local government may issue a building permit for a property that needs a sewage system until the Health Officer approves. The Benzie office is at 6051 Frankfort Highway, Suite 100, Benzonia (231-882-4409), and the department also evaluates existing systems at a sale or transfer and reviews remodeling plans on septic lots.
• Soil erosion. The county’s soil erosion ordinance (adopted 2002, amended 2005) requires a permit for earth changes of one acre or more, any earth change within 500 feet of a lake or stream, environmentally sensitive home sites, all industrial and commercial sites, and subdivisions. The Building Official handles these permits; the site plan review fee is non-refundable.
• Driveways. Work in a county road right-of-way needs a Benzie County Road Commission driveway or right-of-way permit, priced on its schedule revised April 24, 2025: $50 for a residential driveway, $100 or $200 for a commercial one depending on parking, and $150 for an encroachment such as a fence, well, septic part or retaining wall in the right-of-way. Work started before the permit costs three times the fee, and fees for denied permits are not refunded. A land division reviewed by the Road Commission includes driveway permits at no extra cost if the drives are built within a year.
• Drains and addresses. The Drain Commissioner (231-218-1433) handles county drains, and Equalization assigns 911 addresses.

Benzie County permit costs and fees

The county announced on January 5, 2026 that building department fees would change, and the new schedule took effect on February 1, 2026. It prices building permits on the determinant value, not on the contract price.

Worked example from the schedule: a new house with a determinant of $250,000 costs $401.50 plus 150 × $2.20, or $731.50 for the building permit, and the plan review scale would add 250 × $1.32, or $330. The two lower residential bands do not meet exactly (the $1,001 to $10,000 formula reaches about $177 at $10,000, while the next band starts at $154), so small jobs near $10,000 should be priced by the department.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Because the county enforces all four codes, there is no state or township trade office to deal with anywhere in Benzie County: electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits come from Court Place and are inspected by the county’s inspectors. Electrical inspections run Monday, Wednesday and Friday; plumbing and mechanical Monday to Thursday; building Monday to Friday.

• Electrical. The residential form asks for the contractor’s license, the master electrician’s license and workers’ compensation details. Plans are needed when a dwelling is 3,500 square feet or larger; otherwise they are not required for systems of 400 amps or less, unless the code official asks.
• Owner-occupants. The electrical form has a box for an owner who is, or will be, the occupant and will do the work personally, without letting anyone else work on it.
• Mechanical and plumbing. Separate residential and commercial forms, inspected Monday to Thursday.

An electrical permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days, and it is closed if no inspection is requested within 180 days of issue or of the last inspection; closed permits are not refunded.

How to apply for a Benzie County building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Without health department approval for a site that needs a septic system, no building permit can be issued. Soil erosion applications are returned if any of the three pages is incomplete or unsigned. If a project stalls, the permit extension request form asks for up to 180 more days and is approved or refused by the department.

Inspections and certificates in Benzie County

Inspection requests go to the 24-hour line, 231-882-9674; a call received by 3:30 p.m. is put on the next available inspection date for that trade. Building inspectors work Monday to Friday, electrical inspectors Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and plumbing and mechanical inspectors Monday to Thursday. Each reinspection costs $88.

A residential electrical fee buys a set number of visits: one for a single inspection, two for an addition or remodel, three for an addition with a service upgrade or for a new house. Inspectors record code violations and send correction notices to the applicant or design professional.

Michigan building code in Benzie County

No Michigan county joins the National Flood Insurance Program as a county; each township, village and city participates, or not, on its own, and FEMA’s Community Status Book lists them one by one. The county’s Equalization page links FEMA flood maps and letters of map change.

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

Benzie County permit search and official resources

Parcel maps, descriptions and values are on the county’s BS&A Online parcel search through the Equalization Department (231-882-0013), and the building department keeps its permit records in the same BS&A system. For copies of permits or inspection records, ask the building department at 231-882-9673.

• Benzie County Building Safety & Code Enforcement, Soil Erosion
• Building permit fee schedule, effective February 1, 2026
• Notice of building department fee changes
• Residential electrical permit
• Homeowner permit form
• Permit extension request
• Agricultural building notice
• Soil erosion (Part 91) permit application
• Soil erosion, sedimentation and stormwater control ordinance
• Pay building permits online
• Equalization: addresses and parcel search
• Drain Commissioner
• Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department on-site sewage program
• Benzie-Leelanau environmental health services
• Benzie County Road Commission permits
• Road Commission permit fee schedule (revised April 24, 2025)
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Benzie County building permit FAQs

Does Benzie County issue building permits for Frankfort and the villages?

Yes. The state lists Benzie County as the enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work in Frankfort, all six villages and all twelve townships.

How much is a building permit for a new house?

For a determinant of $250,000, $731.50 under the February 2026 schedule, plus $330 on the plan review scale.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call 231-882-9674 at any hour; requests made by 3:30 p.m. go on the next available date for that trade.

Can I build my own house without a builder’s license?

Yes, if it is your own home for your own use; the county’s homeowner form explains the exemption, which does not cover duplexes or apartment buildings.

Does a farm pole barn need a permit?

A pole building used only for agriculture is covered by a signed agricultural notice; a later change to another use requires a building permit.

When is a soil erosion permit needed?

For earth changes of an acre or more, any work within 500 feet of a lake or stream, all commercial sites and subdivisions; the county building department issues it.

Who issues septic permits in Benzie County?

The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, at its Benzonia office (231-882-4409).

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