Cheboygan County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Cheboygan County is one of the Michigan counties that runs its own construction code program, and it covers the whole county: the state’s jurisdiction list shows the county enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes in the City of Cheboygan, the Villages of Mackinaw City and Wolverine and all 19 townships. The Department of Building Safety, led by Building Official Matthew J. Cronk at 870 South Main Street (231-627-8813), takes applications by email, fax, mail or drop box. Under the 2026 fee resolution, a building permit costs the project’s building permit value times 0.0105 plus a $40 to $600 base fee.

What requires a permit in Cheboygan County?

The Department of Building Safety says most new construction needs a building permit, names only two kinds of new structure that are exempt, and lists the finish work that needs nothing at all. Changing the structure, the walls or the use of a space always needs a permit.

Those exemptions cover the building code only. County zoning still requires a zoning permit for every building erected, moved, added to or altered, agricultural buildings included, and each trade has its own permit triggers (see the trade section below).

What the county decides and what the state holds

Michigan writes the construction code and the county cannot change it. The Board of Commissioners controls the enforcement program, its fees, county zoning in the townships it zones and the Part 91 soil erosion program; in October 2025 it backed Cheboygan Area Schools’ request to have Building Safety review and inspect school work. Local design inputs: three ground snow load zones of 50, 60 and 70 pounds per square foot, and footings at least 42 inches below finished grade.

Cheboygan County building department: who handles permitting

The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) shows Cheboygan County enforcing all four codes in each of its 22 local units, so no township office or state inspector handles any trade here. Zoning is where the county splits, and it decides who signs the zoning permit the county needs first.

Cheboygan County permit types and application documents

Building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing each have a 2026 application form, and simple projects can be described on the county’s specification sheets (residential, cross-section, stair, deck, garage and pole building) instead of full drawings. First-time contractors also file a one-time registration form. The owner, the lessee or an agent of either may apply.

Residential permits

• New homes and additions. Two sets of plans: foundation, floor plans naming every room, bearing-wall cross section, elevations, roof loading data, window schedule, beam specifications and the energy worksheet; truss specifications follow once ordered. Homes over 3,500 square feet of habitable area need a Michigan architect’s or engineer’s seal.
• Pre-manufactured homes. A site plan, foundation and anchoring method, and for state-approved modulars the Building Systems Approval Report; setting fees are $75 for a single-wide and $150 for a HUD sectional.
• Garages and pole buildings. The specification sheet; pole buildings with walls over 12 feet high or more than 40 feet wide must be sealed.
• Flood zone work. An elevation certificate from a registered design professional.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and public assembly buildings need two sets of plans sealed by a registered architect or engineer, with energy compliance documents. Remodels and changes of use carry flat fees plus a charge per inspection, and all trade work on commercial or rental property goes to licensed contractors.

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 permit. From County Planning & Zoning (Room 103, 231-627-8489) or from Burt Township, the city or the village. A county zoning permit stays valid if work starts within six months. Most non-residential uses go to the Planning Commission (first and third Wednesdays, 7 p.m.); variances to the Zoning Board of Appeals (fourth Wednesday).
• Soil erosion. Planning & Zoning is the County Enforcing Agency under Part 91: a permit is needed for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream, or of one acre or more, and an EGLE-permitted seawall still needs one.
• Septic. District Health Department No. 4 (825 South Huron Street, 231-627-8850) must approve septic for a new house, added bedrooms, or a garage with living quarters or a bathroom.
• Driveway. Cheboygan County Road Commission (231-238-7775) on county roads; MDOT’s North Region office on state trunklines.
• EGLE. Wetland, high-risk erosion and floodplain permits, listed on the procedures sheet before the building permit.

Cheboygan County permit costs and fees

The Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution #2025-19, the 2026 Fee Resolution, on November 12, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. It raised the building multiplier from 0.0100 to 0.0105 and some smaller fees. Each part of a project gets a building permit value (BPV) from a per-square-foot figure; the total BPV times 0.0105, plus a plan review base fee, is the permit fee.

Worked example from the 2026 schedule: a 24 by 24 foot detached garage is 576 square feet × $18.66, a BPV of $10,748.16. Multiplied by 0.0105 that is $112.86, and the base fee for a BPV between $10,001 and $20,000 is $60, so the permit comes to $172.86. The schedule does not say which permits carry the $70 administrative fee; ask when you apply. No refunds are given six months after issue or after the calendar year ends, and plan review, application and administrative fees are never refunded.

Planning & Zoning’s schedule (revised January 1, 2026) charges 11 cents per square foot or $60, whichever is greater, for a zoning permit, $35 for a fence, $250 for site plan review and $300 for an appeal. A soil erosion permit for a house disturbing up to one acre is $260 for two years; an addition, garage, pole barn, septic or shoreline job is $150.

Trade and specialty permits in Cheboygan County

The same county department issues trade permits during office hours on each trade’s 2026 form. Contractors need the matching state license and a one-time county registration; the electrical form asks for the license number, expiry date and workers’ compensation carrier.

• Electrical. Needed whenever wiring is added or replaced. The form charges a $75 non-refundable application fee that excludes inspections, then items such as $10 for a service through 200 amps, $5 a circuit and $50 each for rough and final inspections; extra inspections are $50, invoiced by mail. An overhead-to-underground change needs two days’ notice for the disconnect and reconnect.
• Mechanical. Heating, venting, gas appliances, chimneys and fireplaces need a permit; portable appliances, minor parts and gas piping up to 10 feet with six fittings or fewer do not.
• Plumbing. Altering drain, waste, vent or water piping or a fixture needs a permit; drain cleaning and faucet or toilet replacement do not.

Owner permits and licenses

An owner may take out a building permit for a project for their own use on their own property, and family or friends may help since the permit stays in the owner’s name. A homeowner may also pull electrical and plumbing permits for the home they live in or are about to occupy, and mechanical permits for a single-family dwelling they occupy or will occupy. Commercial, industrial, apartment and rental work needs a licensed contractor, and a hired contractor pulls the trade permit for its own work.

How to apply for a Cheboygan County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Missing outside approvals cause most delays: no application is accepted without the zoning permit and the other permits that apply. One plan set stays in the job file; the other returns with the permit, sometimes with plan review notes. Work started without a permit draws two letters, then a stop work order, then civil citations or prosecution.

Cheboygan County inspections and final approval

Give at least 24 hours’ notice. Email the request to buildingsafety@cheboygancounty.net, or call (231) 627-8813 and press 1 to leave a voicemail with the permit number, the address and a phone number or email. Field inspections run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and inspectors take questions in the office from 8 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. No electrical inspection is made before the permit is issued.

• Building stages. Footing and foundation before backfill, framing before it is covered, and a final; skipped stages can mean digging out a foundation or removing finishes.
• Trades. Rough and final inspections for each trade permit.
• Septic. District Health Department No. 4 inspects before the system is covered.

The Certificate of Occupancy follows once every trade has passed its final. A temporary certificate ($75 inspection) needs heat, running water, a working bathroom, cooking, lights, smoke detectors and required guards in place, with all trades signed off. A trade permit lapses if work does not start within six months or stops for six months, and one with no inspection for six months is cancelled without refund.

Michigan building code

The department’s posted code list matches the state’s: houses follow the 2015 Michigan Residential Code and other buildings the newer parts. No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each township, city and village joins on its own. The county says new flood maps for many of its townships took effect on August 16, 2012, and building in a mapped flood hazard area needs an elevation certificate.

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

Cheboygan County permit search and official resources

The department posts permit statistics for each year from 2016 to 2025, by township and by month, and a monthly building permit list. For copies of a permit file, plans or inspection records, use the county’s Freedom of Information Act request form under its FOIA policy; the FOIA page lists the County Administrator’s office at 870 South Main Street, (231) 627-8855.

• Department of Building Safety
• Building permits, forms and inspection requests
• Requirements for obtaining a building permit
• Permit fee schedule page (2026 fees)
• 2026 residential fee schedule
• 2026 commercial fee schedule
• Board of Commissioners minutes, November 12, 2025 (Resolution #2025-19)
• Electrical permits
• Mechanical permits
• Plumbing permits
• FEMA flood plain information
• Planning & Zoning applications and forms
• 2026 zoning and soil erosion fee schedule
• Soil erosion permit FAQ
• Road Commission permits and fees
• District Health Department No. 4 septic permits
• Permit logs and statistics
• Cheboygan County FOIA
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List

Cheboygan County building-permit FAQ

Does the county issue permits inside the City of Cheboygan and Mackinaw City?

Yes. The county Department of Building Safety enforces all four codes in the city, both villages and all 19 townships; only zoning is handled locally there.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not a building permit if it is a detached residential shed under 200 square feet. A larger one is valued at $18.66 per square foot, and any new structure still needs a zoning permit.

How much is a permit for a new garage?

A 576-square-foot detached garage works out to $172.86 under the 2026 schedule: its value of $10,748.16 times 0.0105, plus the $60 base fee.

Can I do my own electrical or plumbing work?

Yes, on the home you live in or are about to occupy. Rental and commercial work needs a licensed contractor.

When do I need a soil erosion permit?

For earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream or of an acre or more; $260 for a house site up to one acre.

How do I book an inspection?

Email buildingsafety@cheboygancounty.net or call (231) 627-8813 and press 1, at least 24 hours ahead, with the permit number and address.

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