Crawford County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Crawford County runs its own construction code program from the Department of Building and Safety, 200 West Michigan Avenue, Grayling (989-344-3233). The state’s jurisdiction list shows it enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes in the City of Grayling and in Beaver Creek, Lovells, Maple Forest and South Branch townships, while Grayling Charter Township and Frederic Township enforce all four themselves. The department also handles county soil erosion permits and county zoning applications, and its 2026 trade forms start every electrical, plumbing and mechanical permit at a $75 application fee.

What requires a permit in Crawford County?

The county’s Application for Building Permit and Plan Examination covers new buildings, additions, alterations, repairs, demolition, mobile home set-ups, pre-manufactured homes, foundation-only work, relocation and special inspections, and it reminds applicants that plumbing, mechanical and electrical work each need a separate permit application. The department also posts dedicated forms for garages and sheds, pole barns and steel buildings, and demolition.

The county does not publish a list of exempt work. Its garages and sheds form sets local construction standards for small buildings, and a steel carport needs the manufacturer’s print showing a 50-pound snow load and 115 mph wind rating.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the code. The county chose to enforce it, sets its own fees and forms, and its Building and Safety office also carries the county’s zoning paperwork: petitions to amend the Crawford County Zoning Ordinance, special use permit and site plan review applications, an airport zoning application, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. A Michigan county zones only townships that have no zoning of their own.

Crawford County building department: who handles permitting

The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) splits Crawford County’s seven local units two ways, with no split by trade.

Grayling Charter Township is the county’s largest unit and is a separate government from the City of Grayling, which the county serves. Population figures are the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimates.

Crawford County permit types and application documents

The building permit application asks for the project and its township, the owner or lessee, any architect or engineer with license number, and the contractor’s builder’s license, federal employer number, workers’ compensation carrier and unemployment insurance number, or the reason for an exemption. The plan review fee and building permit fee are enclosed with the application. Contractors new to the county file the contractor license registration request form.

Residential permits

• Houses and additions. The residential building permit application, a typical wall section drawing and the energy code prescriptive worksheet (MUEC) are posted with it.
• Garages and sheds. The county form lists its standards: footings 6 inches wide by 14 inches deep, 24 inches below grade and 6 inches above; a 4-inch concrete floor; half-inch anchor bolts 9 inches long at 8 feet on center; for an attached garage, half-inch gypsum board between house and garage up to the roof peak, a 1 3/8-inch solid door, and no opening into a bedroom area; a detached garage at least 10 feet from the side or rear of the house.
• Pole barns and steel buildings. Their own application.
• Demolition. The 2026 demolition permit; plans may be required, and an owner may do the work or use a licensed contractor.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the commercial building permit application and the separate application for plan review. Projects reviewed by the Grayling Fire Department use its plan review application and required-inspections checklist, posted on the county’s fire inspection page.

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

• Address. County Equalization assigns new addresses from a sketch showing the property lines on the road side and the exact distance in feet from the lot lines to the driveway; the form can be scanned and emailed, mailed or delivered, and processing takes up to 15 business days.
• Zoning. County zoning forms and the Zoning Board of Appeals are handled through the Building and Safety office; townships and the city with their own zoning give their own approval for the application’s zoning box.
• Soil erosion. The county’s Soil and Sedimentation Pollution Control packet needs the application, an erosion control plan, a site location drawing, the legal description, the Part 91 checklist and earth change timing, signed by the landowner or an agent with the landowner’s written authority.
• Well and septic. District Health Department #10 evaluates the site, designs the septic system, locates the well and inspects the work; its forms include a building permit authorization application.
• Driveway. A right-of-way permit from the Crawford County Road Commission, 500 Huron Street, Grayling (989-348-2281), filed through Oxcart. Approved permits come back within about 24 hours, and the Road Commission needs proof of liability insurance on file.

Crawford County permit costs and fees

The department does not post a building permit fee schedule; the building application has lines for the plan review fee and building permit fee and a base fee filled in by the department, so ask the office at (989) 344-3233 for the building fee. The 2026 trade applications, revised January 2, 2026, print their full fee charts, and checks are made payable to Crawford County.

Worked example from the electrical chart: a homeowner adding four circuits with one final inspection pays the $75 application fee, $20 for the circuits and $75 for the final, a total of $170; a rough inspection, if called, adds $75. The electrical form warns that items not listed on the application are charged extra. Re-inspections for any trade must be paid before they are rescheduled.

Other agencies set their own fees: the Road Commission takes payment through Oxcart before a permit is issued and charges double the normal fee to anyone found working without one. On solar, the electrical chart charges $2 per panel where total inverter capacity is under 5,000 kW, and an electric vehicle charging station is $5.

Trade and specialty permits in Crawford County

In the City of Grayling and the four county-served townships, the county issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits on its 2026 forms. In Grayling Charter Township and Frederic Township, the township programs issue them. The building application asks for the builder’s license number and expiry date, and the demolition form for the contractor’s state license.

• Electrical. Plans are required except for alterations the electrical official finds minor, government work under $15,000, R-3 or R-4 buildings of 3,500 square feet or less, and wiring work under $10,000 unless requested.
• Plumbing. Fixtures, stacks, water service, sewers and distribution piping are charged by item; a direct replacement gas water heater is on the mechanical chart and also needs a plumbing permit.
• Mechanical. Furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, chimneys, generators (which also need an electrical permit), air conditioning and LP tanks.

Owner permits

The county’s demolition form lets the property owner sign a homeowner affidavit to do the work personally instead of using a licensed contractor. For septic systems, District Health Department #10 allows homeowners to install their own; all other installers must be licensed by the health department.

How to apply for a Crawford County permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Missing approvals in the application’s environmental control block, from zoning to septic and flood zone, hold up the permit. Work that runs ahead of an inspection is the other common problem: the county says building past an inspection level before it is inspected brings a stop work order until the inspection can be done properly, and a late inspection does not mean you may continue building.

Crawford County inspections and final approval

Call the Building Department at (989) 344-3233; the demolition form asks for 24 to 48 hours’ notice. The county’s inspection procedures notice lists the order every building project follows:

• Footing. Do not pour concrete until the formed footings are approved.
• Backfill. Basement and crawl space walls get a damp-proofing inspection before backfilling.
• Rough. Before walls are closed or insulated: house wrap, window and door flashing, roof felt and ice guard, truss engineering, and approved trade roughs.
• Insulation. Before walls are closed, with attic insulation cards installed.
• Final. When construction is complete and before occupancy, after the trade finals are approved. Accessory buildings need at least the footing and final.

For septic systems, the owner or installer must call the District Health Department #10 sanitarian 24 hours before covering the system; if the sanitarian cannot come within that time, they may allow a contractor affidavit instead. A Certificate of Occupancy must be issued before a building is occupied. A temporary certificate needs a re-inspection of all corrections and a re-inspection fee, and every re-inspection must be paid for before it is rescheduled. A demolition permit is cancelled when no inspection is requested within six months.

Michigan building code

The county enforces the state code in its five units, and Grayling Charter Township and Frederic Township enforce it in theirs. No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each township and city takes part on its own, and the county’s building application asks whether a flood zone approval is needed.

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

Crawford County permit search and official resources

For copies of permits, plans or inspection records, use the county’s Freedom of Information Act request form; the FOIA page posts the county’s policy, public summary, cost worksheet and appeal forms, and is run from the Controller’s Office, 200 West Michigan Avenue, (989) 344-3202.

• Crawford County Building and Safety
• Permits and forms
• Residential building permit application
• Commercial building permit application
• Garages and sheds permit and inspection procedures
• Pole barns and steel buildings application
• Electrical permit 2026
• Mechanical permit 2026
• Plumbing permit 2026
• Demolition permit 2026
• Soil and sedimentation permit packet
• Contractor license registration form
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• Fire inspection and plan review applications
• New addressing (Equalization)
• Freedom of Information Act
• Road Commission permits
• District Health Department #10 well and septic
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List

Crawford County building-permit FAQ

Does the county issue permits in Grayling Charter Township?

No. Grayling Charter Township and Frederic Township run their own programs; the county serves the City of Grayling and Beaver Creek, Lovells, Maple Forest and South Branch townships.

How much is an electrical permit?

A $75 application fee plus items such as $5 per circuit and $75 per inspection; four new circuits with one final inspection come to $170.

What inspections does a new house need?

Footing, backfill, rough, insulation and final, in that order, with the trade roughs and finals approved first.

Who issues septic and well permits?

District Health Department #10, which also inspects the system before it is covered; homeowners may install their own septic system.

What does a detached garage need?

The county’s garage form standards: 6-by-14-inch footings 24 inches below grade, a 4-inch slab, and at least 10 feet from the house.

Can I put a fence or boulders in the road right-of-way?

No. The Road Commission does not permit fences, retaining walls, sprinklers, boulders, berms, trees or filled ditches in the county road right-of-way.

How do I get a driveway permit?

From the Crawford County Road Commission through Oxcart as a right-of-way permit, paid in advance.

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