Clare County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Clare County runs a construction code program from its Building Development office (also called Community Development) in the Court House, 225 West Main Street, Harrison (989-539-2761), where Mark Fitzpatrick is the Building Official. On the county’s July 16, 2026 jurisdiction sheet it handles building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits in the Cities of Clare and Harrison, the Village of Farwell and 13 townships, while Grant, Sheridan and Surrey townships issue their own. Applications are emailed in, trade fees come from the fee chart on each form, and most inspections happen within three business days of the request.

What requires a permit in Clare County?

The county’s building permit application lists the work it covers: new buildings, additions, alterations, renovations and repairs, demolition, single- and two-family houses on crawl spaces, piers, slabs, frost-free foundations or basements, attached and detached garages, pole structures, carports, accessory buildings and manufactured homes, for owner-occupied or rental use. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire suppression work each need their own application. The department posts no list of work exempt from a building permit.

The application warns that any site may be subject to FEMA floodplain rules and asks for the nearest lake, river or stream and the distance to it. The county’s new home check sheet adds that porches, pools, sheds and other structures that take up more land also need a review of the existing well and septic before a permit.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code. Clare County chose to run its own enforcement program, and it sets its own trade fee charts, forms and inspection days. Zoning stays with each township, city and village, and several townships have no zoning at all.

Clare County building department: who handles permitting

Two official lists answer this, and they do not quite agree. The county’s own Code Enforcement Officials and Jurisdictions sheet, dated July 16, 2026, shows county inspectors for every trade everywhere except Grant, Sheridan and Surrey townships, which it marks as townships where the county issues no permits. The state Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) agrees on most units but differs on three.

The City of Clare’s own building page says county Community Development handles all its building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, and that forms can be left at Clare City Hall to be forwarded; that matches the county sheet. Part of the City of Clare lies in Isabella County.

Clare County permit types and application documents

The building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications were all reissued on July 7, 2026, as fillable forms you save and email to the office. The building application asks who is applying (owner, builder, architect or engineer, or agent), and an architect, engineer or agent needs the owner’s written authorization with their name, address and phone. It also records whether the owner will act as the designated contractor and permit holder, and if a builder is the permit holder or only a subcontractor.

Residential permits

• New homes. The new home check sheet asks for a scaled site plan with north at the top showing every building, its distance to each lot line and the driveway; the legal description and property code number; two sets of plans at 1/8 or 1/4 inch per foot with floor plans, all elevations and a foundation-wall-roof section; a copy of any signed general contract; and the Michigan Energy Code/New Home Affidavit. The energy section of the application must be completed for every new house, addition and alteration.
• Manufactured and modular homes. A second permit covers installing the unit, with the manufacturer’s floor plan and the installer’s state license on file. In a mobile home park the licensed installer obtains the permit, unless the owner supplies a notarized letter naming the installer as responsible. An approved modular home is permitted like a site-built house, and the homeowner may take out the permit.

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

Commercial permits

Since June 1, 2023, every new commercial project must be filed with one full set of prints and one electronic copy. Most commercial and industrial buildings need more detail and may have to be sealed by a Michigan engineer or architect. Electrical plans go with an Application for Plan Examination unless the service is 400 amps or less and the building is no larger than 3,500 square feet; plumbing plans are needed except for small houses, minor work and buildings with fewer than 12 required fixtures.

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

• Zoning. Get the zoning administrator’s approval first and attach a copy. The county sheet lists zoning officials for Arthur, Freeman, Frost, Hamilton, Hatton, Hayes, Lincoln, Summerfield, Surrey and Winterfield townships, the Cities of Clare and Harrison and Farwell; Franklin and Garfield have mobile home ordinances but no zoning, and Greenwood, Redding, Grant and Sheridan show none.
• Well and septic. Central Michigan District Health Department review for new buildings, added bedrooms and other additions (989-539-6731); final well and septic approval is needed before an occupancy certificate.
• Soil erosion. Disturbing more than an acre, or within 500 feet of a lake, pond, stream, river, open county drain or wetland, needs the county Soil Erosion Commissioner’s approval of a site management plan (989-539-6401), and the Drain Commissioner, as enforcement agent, wants its own copy of the site plan.
• Driveway. A permit from the road authority: the Clare County Road Commission (3900 East Mannsiding Road, Harrison, 989-539-2151) on county roads.

Clare County permit costs and fees

Trade fees are printed on each 2026 application as an itemized chart. The building permit application has no fee chart and the department’s site posts no building fee schedule, so ask the office at 989-539-2761 for the building fee on your project. Payment goes through the county’s online payment link or by check to the county as each form directs.

Worked example from the electrical chart: a homeowner replacing a 200-amp service and adding four circuits pays the $70 residential application fee, $10 for the service and $20 for the circuits, plus one $50 final inspection, for $150. The mechanical form warns that the total fee may be doubled when work starts before the permit is issued, and the inspection instructions add re-inspection fees for failed inspections, locked-out sites and cancellations after 9 a.m. on the day.

Trade and specialty permits in Clare County

The county’s electrical inspector and its plumbing and mechanical inspector cover every unit on the county list, including the City of Clare. Grant and Sheridan townships, and Surrey Township, take their own trade permits. Each county trade form asks for the contractor’s state license number and expiry date, the federal employer number, workers’ compensation carrier and unemployment insurance number, or the reason for an exemption; the plumbing form also asks for the master plumber’s license.

• Electrical. Work may not start until the application is filed with the county; a permit lapses if work does not start within six months or stops for six months, and is closed if no inspection is done in six months.
• Plumbing. Covers fixtures, stacks, sewers, water service and water distribution piping, with the fixture types listed on the form.
• Mechanical. Covers heating systems, fireplaces, chimneys, ducts, fans, air conditioning, water heater venting and gas piping.

Homeowner permits

Each trade form carries a homeowner affidavit. On the electrical and plumbing forms the owner certifies the work will be installed by the owner in their own home that they live in or are about to occupy, and agrees not to cover anything until the county inspector approves it; the mechanical form has a matching affidavit and asks for the owner’s driver’s license number. For the building permit, the owner can be the designated contractor and permit holder, and the application reminds owners that checking the licenses and insurance of hired trades is their own responsibility.

How to apply for a Clare County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The application says to fill it out completely to avoid delaying the permit, and a missing zoning copy, property code number or owner authorization for an agent are the usual gaps. Commercial work waits until plans are reviewed. Mechanical work started before the permit is issued may have its fee doubled, and work covered before inspection will not be approved.

Clare County inspections and final approval

Only the permit holder schedules inspections, by calling the inspection line at 989-539-2741 or faxing 989-539-7385, with the permit number, the holder’s name, the site address and unit, the trade and a phone number for the contact during inspection hours. Most inspections are done within three business days, first requested, first scheduled; no specific time is promised, and inspectors split the county by area each day. The address must be clearly marked at the road.

• Inspection days. Building on Tuesday and Thursday; electrical on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; plumbing and mechanical on Monday and Wednesday.
• Cancellations and access. Cancel by 9 a.m. on the inspection day; a later cancellation, a failed inspection or a locked-out visit draws a re-inspection fee, and an adult must be present if the building is occupied.
• Winter roads. If the road or driveway is impassable, tell the office when you book; in severe weather staff may reschedule.

When every trade has passed its final, request a Certificate of Use and Occupancy on the county form with the building and trade permit numbers and approval dates and the $5 fee. A homeowner must provide the Health Department’s final septic approval first.

Michigan building code

The application includes the energy code compliance table and prescriptive insulation values the office checks on new houses, additions and alterations. Floodplain programs are local in Michigan: no county is a National Flood Insurance Program community, so participation is up to each township, city and village, and the county application asks every applicant how close the work is to water.

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

Clare County permit search and official resources

To get copies of permits or inspection records, send a Freedom of Information Act request to the Clare County FOIA Coordinator by email to FOIA@clareco.net, by fax to (989) 539-2588, or by mail to 225 West Main Street, P.O. Box 438, Harrison, MI 48625; the county posts its FOIA request form and procedures. For a lost copy of your own building permit, the CO request form says to call or visit the office for a new copy.

• Clare County Building Development
• Inspections and permits
• Code enforcement officials and jurisdictions, July 16, 2026
• Building permit application (July 2026)
• Electrical permit application and fee chart
• Mechanical permit application and fee chart
• Plumbing permit application and fee chart
• New home check sheet
• Scheduling an inspection
• Townships where zoning permits are required
• Certificate of use and occupancy request
• Address request form
• City of Clare building, zoning and code
• Clare County Road Commission
• Conservation District and soil erosion
• Drain Commissioner
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List

Clare County building-permit FAQ

Does the county issue permits in the City of Clare?

The city and the county say yes, since July 25, 2016; the state’s jurisdiction list still shows the city as local.

Which townships issue their own permits?

Grant, Sheridan and Surrey on both lists; the state list also shows Freeman and Lincoln enforcing the building code locally.

How do I schedule an inspection?

The permit holder calls 989-539-2741 or faxes 989-539-7385 with the permit number and details; most are done within three business days.

Can I do my own electrical or plumbing work?

Yes, in the home you live in or are about to occupy, by signing the homeowner affidavit on the county form.

How much is an electrical permit?

A $70 residential or $100 commercial application fee plus itemized charges and a $50 final; a 200-amp service with four circuits comes to $150.

Do I need zoning approval first?

Yes where the unit zones; Franklin, Garfield, Greenwood, Redding, Grant and Sheridan show no zoning on the county sheet.

When is a soil erosion permit needed?

For more than an acre of disturbance or work within 500 feet of a lake, stream, open county drain or wetland; call 989-539-6401.

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