Cass County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Cass County has no county building department. The county’s own permit page says building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits “are administered by the township, village or city in which the property is located,” and the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) agrees: the City of Dowagiac, four villages and 15 townships each enforce all four codes. Around the building permit, Cass County GIS assigns new addresses ($150), the Cass County Road Commission issues driveway permits, the Cass County Conservation District runs soil erosion permits, and the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department issues well and septic permits.

What requires a building permit in Cass County?

The local unit that enforces the code for the parcel decides what needs a building permit under the state code; there is no county-wide list. Ontwa Township’s forms page gives a sense of the local permits a unit may require on top of the building permit: zoning compliance, accessory buildings, accessory dwelling units, fences, farm buildings, demolition and even an ice retardant system on a lake.

A driveway on a private road needs no driveway permit, the address form says, but even an existing driveway on a county road should be checked with the Road Commission before a new address is issued.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code and, through its list, records who enforces it. In Cass County that is never the county: every unit enforces all four codes itself. The county sets its own address fee, links to every local permit office from one page, and keeps a 2026 Cass County Master Plan through its Planning Commission, which reviews local plans and ordinances sent to it; a local unit’s submission needs a signed cover letter and the minutes of its public hearing, and is due by the third Wednesday for that month’s meeting.

Cass County building department: who handles permitting

Use the county’s address search if you are not sure which unit a parcel is in, then go to that unit’s permit page; the county’s building permit page links to all 20.

The City of Niles reaches over the county line into Cass, but the Census counts no residents on the Cass side and the state list files the city under Berrien County, where Niles runs its own building, electrical and mechanical programs and the state handles plumbing.

Cass County permit types

Local units publish their own applications; the county page links to each unit’s forms, from Dowagiac’s building and planning page to township forms pages and, for Newberg Township, a shared document folder.

Residential permits

• Address: the county’s online address application costs $150. A GIS technician drives to the site and takes a GPS point at the driveway entrance, and the owner receives a green metal address sign. Before applying, get the driveway permit and mark the center of the driveway with a stake, cone or ribbon.
• Driveway: a Cass County Road Commission permit for every driveway on a county road; permits can be bought online. On a state or federal highway the driveway permit comes from MDOT.
• Well and septic: residential well permits and sewage system construction permits from the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department, applied for and paid online or at the Dowagiac office.
• Septic replacement: the health department points owners of failing or near-failing septic systems to the state’s Septic Replacement Loan Program, low-interest financing run with EGLE and managed by Michigan Saves.
• Building and trades: from the township, village or city.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work follows the same split. The health department issues Type III and Type II well permits, and its Type II application covers installing or altering a noncommunity public water supply. The Drain Commissioner approves drainage in new developments and subdivisions, so those projects need its approval as well as the local unit’s site plan review. A commercial driveway on a county road costs $200 with a $300 deposit.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Local zoning: zoning compliance from the township, village or city; Dowagiac’s office administers the city zoning ordinance and staffs its Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Soil erosion: the Cass County Conservation District reviews control plans, issues soil erosion and sedimentation control permits under Part 91, inspects sites and issues violation notices, with oversight from EGLE’s Water Resources Division. The Board of Commissioners moved the program there from the Drain Commissioner by resolution on November 17, 2016; the Drain Commissioner’s page still names that office as administrator, but the transfer notice is the newer statement.
• County drains and lake levels: the Drain Commissioner administers county drains and maintains court-decreed lake levels.
• Short-term rentals: where a local code requires it, the health department inspects the well or septic system of a short-term rental.

Cass County permit costs and fees

There is no county building permit fee: each local unit sets and posts its own, for example on Ontwa Township’s “Township Approved Fees” sheet. The county-level charges an applicant will meet are set by separate agencies.

The Road Commission posts its driveway fees and deposits on its permit page, and every permit applicant must file a certificate of liability insurance for $1,000,000 in general liability naming the Road Commission as certificate holder; contractors must also name the commission, commissioners and employees as additional insured. The Conservation District and the health department quote their permit fees in their own application packets and online systems, so check each one when you apply. Dowagiac residents and Howard Township residents get addresses from their own unit instead of paying the county fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Since every Cass County unit enforces the electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, trade permits are bought from the same office as the building permit. Dowagiac’s Building & Planning office, for example, says it enforces all four codes, issues the permits and does the plan reviews and inspections; Ontwa Township posts separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications. Michigan licenses electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors and residential builders, and local applications ask for those license numbers. Whether a homeowner may pull a trade permit for their own home, and on what affidavit, is set out on each unit’s application, so read the form for your township, village or city.

Well drilling and septic installation are permitted by the health department, not the local unit, and the health department also offers well and septic inspections when a home is bought or sold.

How to get a building permit in Cass County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The address application cannot be completed without a driveway permit (or confirmation that none is needed), and the GIS technician must be able to find a marked driveway, so do those steps early. Under the Conservation District’s violation guidelines (revised April 2025), a minor problem such as an unposted permit or a missing erosion plan earns a notice at the site and five days to send photos of the fix, after which a $100 non-compliance fee applies; poorly installed or maintained controls draw the $100 fee straight away. An unpermitted site gets a mailed notice of determination with a deadline, and if the work is not done the district can install controls and charge up to $10,000, before civil infraction tickets of up to $2,500, or more for knowing violations.

Inspections and certificates in Cass County

Building and trade inspections, and certificates of occupancy, come from the local unit that issued the permit; in Dowagiac, for example, the Building & Planning office handles inspections and certificates of occupancy along with zoning compliance. County-level agencies inspect only their own permits: the Conservation District inspects soil erosion controls on permitted sites, the health department inspects new wells and septic systems, and the Road Commission oversees work in county road rights-of-way.

The health department also inspects existing wells and septic systems on request, for home sales and loans and, where a local code requires it, for short-term rentals.

Michigan building code in Cass County

No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; in Cass County, as elsewhere in the state, each city, village and township joins on its own, so ask the local unit about flood maps and floodplain rules for a lot near a lake, river or drain.

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

Cass County permit search and official resources

Building permit records are kept by the local unit that issued them. For county records, send a FOIA request by email to foia@cassco.org, through the online form, or by mail or in person to the FOIA Coordinator, Cass County Administrator’s Office, 120 N. Broadway Street, Suite 300, Cassopolis (main line 269-445-4420); Sheriff’s records have a separate process.

• Cass County building, mechanical and electrical permit links (all 20 units)
• New address application
• Soil erosion and sedimentation (Conservation District)
• Soil erosion violation guidelines (revised April 2025)
• Drain Commissioner
• Cass County Road Commission permits
• Van Buren/Cass District Health Department: wells and septic
• Cass County Planning Commission and 2026 Master Plan
• Cass County GIS and addressing
• County FOIA requests
• City of Dowagiac Building & Planning
• Village of Edwardsburg permits
• Ontwa Township forms and fees
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Cass County building permit FAQs

Does Cass County issue building permits?

No. The county says building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits are administered by the township, village or city where the property is, and the state list shows no county program.

How do I get a new address?

Apply online to Cass County GIS for $150 after getting a driveway permit and marking the driveway; in Dowagiac (269-782-2195) or Howard Township (269-684-0072), ask the local unit.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The Cass County Conservation District, 1127 E. State Street, Cassopolis (269-445-8641 ext. 5), which took over the program in 2016.

Do I need a driveway permit for an existing driveway?

Contact the Road Commission anyway; the county asks you to confirm with them before it assigns an address. A private-road driveway needs no permit.

Where do I get well and septic permits?

From the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department, online or at its Dowagiac office, 302 S. Front Street (269-782-0064).

Who issues permits in Dowagiac?

The city’s Building & Planning office at City Hall, 241 S. Front Street (269-782-8427), for all four codes.

When does the county Planning Commission meet?

On the fourth Wednesday of the month at 4 p.m.; items for review are due by the third Wednesday.

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