Dearborn, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Dearborn is the largest Wayne County city outside Detroit and enforces the state code itself, through the Building Support Services division of its Department of Economic Development at the Dearborn Administrative Center on Michigan Avenue. The rule that shapes most transactions here is not a construction rule at all — it is an occupancy rule that attaches to sale and to re-letting.

The city ordinance makes it unlawful to occupy or reoccupy any building, or for an owner or agent to permit occupation or reoccupation for residential purposes, until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the department. That covers a purchaser moving in as much as it covers a new build.

This guide covers work inside the Dearborn city limits. Dearborn Heights is a separate city with its own building department, and Wayne County does not permit inside either.

What requires a building permit in Dearborn?

The code is the same statewide, but fee schedules, procedures and the choice of third-party agency differ from one municipality to the next, so an exempt list from a neighbouring township is not reliable. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, the energy code, or an electrical or plumbing permit. Confirm scope with Dearborn Economic Development before work starts.

Local rules worth knowing

On the rental side the clock is explicit: a rental property owner has 90 days from the date of the first inspection to complete every requirement the inspector identifies, all listed items count as code violations that must be corrected and reinspected, and the inspection report itself is valid for one year from the date of the first inspection.

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

Who handles permitting in Dearborn?

The Department of Economic Development issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, carries out construction, pre-sale and rental inspections, and issues the certificates of occupancy the city ordinance requires before a building may be used or re-let. Applications, payments and inspection requests go through the city’s BS&A online portal.

Contractor access to the portal takes a step most people miss. Creating and activating a BS&A account is not enough; the account has to be linked to the City of Dearborn before permit activity can be submitted, and that is done by e-mailing DBNInspections@dearborn.gov and waiting for staff to confirm. Starting this on the day you need to file will cost you the day.

The ordinance defines alteration and repair broadly for occupancy purposes, taking in changes to stairways, type of construction, class or kind of occupancy, light or ventilation, and means of ingress and egress. Work that feels cosmetic can therefore land inside the occupancy regime as well as the permit regime.

In 2025, building permits issued in Dearborn authorized 22 new privately owned housing units, all of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential permits follow the state residential code with city zoning applied. Accessory structures carry defined limits on footprint and height, and pools, spas and hot tubs holding water above a defined depth are permitted, including qualifying temporary and inflatable pools. The occupancy requirement sits alongside all of it and applies at sale as well as at completion.

How Michigan contractor credentials work

Commercial permits

Commercial work runs through plan review with sealed drawings and zoning review, and no permit issues for construction, alteration or remodelling until an application has been submitted showing that the proposed improvements comply. The certificate of occupancy is issued only on a joint determination by the city planner and the building official.

Licenses, trade classifications and design professionals

Practically, three credential layers appear on Michigan projects: the state residential builder or maintenance and alteration licence on residential work; separately licensed electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades, also licensed by the state; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings sealed by a Michigan-licensed architect or professional engineer, with plans reviewed by a state-registered plan reviewer; detached one- and two-family houses of 3,500 square feet or less need no architect or engineer seal. Confirm what Dearborn Economic Development requires for the specific building before filing.

Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors at state level, and the permit application must carry the licence number. Michigan rules

Dearborn permit costs and fees

Dearborn charges a $100 processing fee on every permit alongside the permit fee itself, which starts at $100 and rises with construction cost, with plan review, trade and project-specific charges added according to the work. Confirm the schedule in force at your filing date.

Michigan fees are set by whoever holds enforcement for the parcel — the local unit, the county, or the state where neither has taken it on — so the schedule follows the authority rather than the state. A figure from a neighbouring municipality is not reliable, and a figure from a neighbouring township can be wrong even where the county enforces both. Ask Dearborn Economic Development for the schedule in force on your filing date.

Fees are set by the enforcing agency — the local unit, a county program or the state — and may only fund that agency's work. Michigan rules

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors hold state licences valid anywhere in Michigan, and each trade follows its part of the state construction code. Michigan rules

How to apply for a Dearborn building permit

Review, corrections and what actually causes delay

In Michigan, the first cause of delay is uncertainty over who enforces the code — filing with the local unit when the county holds enforcement for it, or with the county when the state does. After that comes the edition question, because the trade parts and the building parts moved on different dates, and houses still follow the 2015 residential code, so a submission drawn to the wrong one is a correction cycle. Then a missing or expired state licence number on the application, energy-code and plan documentation, and floodplain requirements along the shorelines and rivers. Build the plan-review time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with Dearborn Economic Development before filing.

A Michigan permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days; confirm the expiry with Dearborn on phased or delayed work. Michigan rules

Inspections in Dearborn

Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation and energy-code compliance, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with a use-and-occupancy certificate before the building is used. On rental property, the compliance clock runs 90 days from the first inspection and the inspection report stays valid for one year from that date.

Ask the enforcing agency which edition applies to your application, especially around a code change date — because editions are adopted part by part, the answer can differ between the building inspection and the trade inspections on the same job. They are carried out by an inspector registered with the state, employed or contracted by whichever authority holds enforcement for the parcel. Keep the approved plans and the energy-code documentation on site for the inspector to check against, and confirm the notice Dearborn Economic Development needs and its inspection windows.

Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permit, the approved plans, product listings, energy-code documentation and your correction responses available on site.

Dearborn permit search and official resources

Permit records in Michigan sit with the authority that issued them — the local unit, the county, or the state bureau where neither took enforcement on. Where Dearborn Economic Development is the authority for the City of Dearborn, it holds the building permit, the inspection history and the use-and-occupancy certificate. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, confirm that past work was permitted rather than assuming it was — open permits and missing certificates are a common closing problem.

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• City of Dearborn registering a rental property
• Dearborn code of ordinances, permits and certificates
• Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes plan review and permits
• Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes licensing section
• Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes - current code books and effective dates

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a certificate of occupancy to sell a house in Dearborn?

The city ordinance requires a certificate of occupancy prior to occupancy or reoccupancy of any use of land, building or structure, and makes it unlawful for an owner or agent to permit occupation or reoccupation for residential purposes without one. In practice that puts a city inspection on the path of a residential transaction, so it belongs on the closing timetable rather than at the end of it.

How long do I have to fix items on a rental inspection?

90 days from the date of the first inspection to complete all requirements identified by the inspector. Every item listed on the report is treated as a code violation that must be corrected and reinspected, and the report is valid for one year from the first inspection date.

Is my state licence enough to pull a permit in Dearborn?

No. Contractors must hold the applicable state licence and also register with the City of Dearborn through the City Clerk’s Office, keeping licence, insurance and company information current. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state under Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980, administered by the Bureau of Construction Codes, and the plumbing, electrical and mechanical trades are state-licensed as well. The licence is valid statewide. The permit application must set out the licence number and its expiry date, and performing residential work that requires a licence without holding one is a civil violation the county prosecuting attorney or the Attorney General may pursue.

Which code edition applies to my work?

It depends which part of the code the work falls under. One Michigan point catches almost everyone: the commercial and residential codes are not on the same edition. The bureau moved the plumbing, mechanical and electrical parts to new editions on the twelfth of March, 2024, and the building and rehabilitation parts to their 2021 editions on the ninth of April, 2025; houses still follow the 2015 Michigan Residential Code. The residential code did not move with them. Replacement residential rules were filed for an August 2025 effective date, but the Court of Claims entered a stipulated order stopping the department from implementing them while a builders’ association challenge is litigated, so the bureau still lists the 2015 Michigan Residential Code as the code in force. That case was still live when this guide was written. Confirm the edition governing each part of your work on your filing date rather than assuming the newest one applies.

Why can I not submit anything on the permit portal?

Creating and activating the account is only half of it. The BS&A account has to be linked to the City of Dearborn before permit activity can be submitted: e-mail DBNInspections@dearborn.gov and wait for staff to confirm.

Is Dearborn Heights the same jurisdiction?

No. Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are separate cities with separate building departments, separate ordinances and separate fee schedules. Confirm which city the parcel sits in before filing anything.

Simplify Dearborn permitting with Alliance Permitting

In Dearborn the permit and the closing calendar are the same calendar. We work the occupancy requirement back from the closing date rather than forward from the permit.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Dearborn because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• 21+ years of filing, so the authority question gets answered before the application goes in
• We confirm the edition in force for each code part on your filing date, not the newest one published
• Licence numbers, expiry dates and the written authorisation instrument checked before submission
• Correction cycles handled directly with the reviewer so your crew is not waiting on a resubmission
• Inspection sequencing tracked through to the certificate, including trade sign-offs

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