Detroit, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Detroit is the largest permitting jurisdiction in Michigan and the one where the usual Michigan shorthand breaks down. Elsewhere in the state the licence is issued by the state and the permit by the local unit. In Detroit the state licence is still required, and then the city requires its own contractor licence and registration on top of it.

Enforcement sits with the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, which enforces the state code under the city’s own administrative and licensing ordinances. Applications run through the eLAPS portal; drawings requiring plan review go through ePLANS. Trade permits and building permits are separate filings with separate queues.

This guide covers work inside the Detroit city limits. Wayne County does not permit inside the city, and the surrounding municipalities each run their own building departments.

What requires a building permit in Detroit?

Detroit enforces the Michigan construction code through its own Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) rather than leaving enforcement to the county or the state, with its own city ordinances on administration, contractor licensing and property maintenance. The construction code itself is the state’s; Michigan does not let a city change it. The state code is adopted under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230) and administered by the Bureau of Construction Codes within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. So the first question here is not who enforces the code — it is BSEED — but which of its divisions, local procedures and licensing requirements attach to your work type. Detroit’s own published plan-review pages have at times cited code editions that the bureau has since superseded, so the edition stated on a city page is not a safe basis for a submission — check the bureau’s current code book listing for the part your work falls under and confirm it with the plan reviewer.

An ordinary repair is defined more narrowly than owners expect, and an exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, the fire code or the energy code. Confirm the work type and the local licensing route with BSEED before work starts.

The local layers that apply on top of the state code

Because Detroit administers and enforces the state code itself, several local layers routinely catch projects owners assume are simple: municipal zoning and use registrations, city contractor licensing and trade permitting on top of the state licences, historic and design review in protected districts, and floodplain construction standards along its waterways. Michigan editions are adopted separately by code part: plumbing, mechanical and electrical moved on 12 March 2024, building and rehabilitation on 9 April 2025, and the residential code is still the 2015 edition.

Who handles permitting in Detroit?

BSEED holds building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, boiler and elevator enforcement for the city, together with zoning, special land use and property maintenance. The Development Resource Center on the fourth floor is the front door for most filings.

The department is organised in divisions — Development Resource Center, Licensing and Permits, Plan Review, Construction Inspection, Special Land Use, Environmental Affairs and Property Maintenance. Which division you need depends on the work type, and a project of any size will usually touch more than one.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a building permit and its trade permits are separate applications reviewed on separate timelines, so the trade filings should not wait until the building permit issues. Second, commercial and plan-review work must be prepared by a Michigan-licensed architect or professional engineer and submitted sealed; the review will not start without it.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential work in Detroit follows the state residential code, enforced by BSEED. Contractors must hold both the state residential builder licence and the city contractor licence and registration. Homeowners permitting work on their own residence do not need a contractor licence, but the work is inspected on the same basis. Expect zoning review alongside the building review, and expect separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing filings.

How Michigan contractor credentials work

Michigan does license at state level, and the licence is the substantive credential rather than a registration. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed under Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980, administered by the Bureau of Construction Codes, and the plumbing, electrical and mechanical trades are licensed by the state as well. A state licence is valid across the whole of Michigan; what does not travel is the local permit, fee schedule and inspection route.

Commercial permits

Commercial work runs through plan review with sealed drawings from a Michigan-licensed architect or professional engineer. Submissions go through ePLANS, and site plan review, special land use or conditional use hearings may attach depending on the property and the proposed use. Build the hearing calendar into the schedule where one applies — it is usually the longest single item.

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 drawings sealed by a Michigan-licensed architect or professional engineer on everything except detached one- and two-family houses of up to 3,500 square feet. Plans are reviewed by state-registered plan reviewers. Confirm what BSEED requires for the specific building before filing.

Detroit permit costs and fees

Detroit fees are set by city ordinance and vary by permit type, valuation and division. Plan review, revisions and re-inspections are charged separately from the permit itself, under the BSEED fee schedule.

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 BSEED for the schedule in force on your filing date.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Detroit also licenses some trades itself. BSEED runs its own licensing examinations for electricians, boiler and refrigeration, elevator, sign, wrecking and other trades, and states that these licences are required to work in the city. Plumbing and mechanical contractors work on their state licences, which the city registers. The work follows the current State of Michigan mechanical, electrical and plumbing codes (on houses and townhouses, the trade chapters of the 2015 Michigan Residential Code), and trade permits are filed separately from the building permit through the same Accela (eLAPS) portal; ask BSEED how it sequences them with the building permit.

• Electrical work follows the Michigan Electrical Code, pulled by a City of Detroit licensed electrician.
• Plumbing work follows the Michigan Plumbing Code, pulled by a state-licensed plumbing contractor registered with the city.
• Mechanical work, including gas piping, follows the Michigan Mechanical Code, pulled by a state-licensed mechanical contractor registered with the city; boilers and elevators have their own city licences and permits.

How to apply for a Detroit 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 building and rehabilitation moved to new editions on 9 April 2025, plumbing, mechanical and electrical on 12 March 2024, and the residential code is still the 2015 edition; 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 BSEED before filing.

Inspections in Detroit

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. Detroit inspections are booked by division, and trade inspections are scheduled separately from the building inspections on the same job. Confirm the notice each division needs.

Ask BSEED which code edition applies to your application, especially around a code change date; a structure begun under one edition is completed under it. Inspections 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 BSEED 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.

Detroit 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 BSEED is the authority for the City of Detroit, 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 Detroit BSEED building permits
• BSEED contractor licence application, registration and renewal
• BSEED electronic plan review (ePLANS)
• BSEED forms and applications
• Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes - current code books and effective dates

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a City of Detroit contractor licence if I already hold a state licence?

Yes, for the work the city covers. Detroit requires contractors performing certain construction and maintenance work within the city to hold a City of Detroit contractor licence and registration in addition to any state credential, and that registration must be renewed annually. 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 Detroit project?

It depends on which part of the code your work falls under, and the answer is not always what a city web page says. One Michigan point catches almost everyone: the commercial and residential codes are not on the same edition. The bureau moved the building and rehabilitation parts to their 2021 editions on the ninth of April, 2025, and the plumbing, mechanical and electrical parts moved together on 12 March 2024. 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.

What is the difference between eLAPS and ePLANS?

eLAPS is the permit application portal - it is where the application is filed and the record is managed. ePLANS is the electronic plan review system, where drawings and supporting documents are uploaded for review. A project needing plan review will use both.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Detroit?

A homeowner applying for a permit on their own residence is not required to hold a contractor’s licence. The work is still permitted and inspected on the same basis, and trade work still requires the appropriate trade permits.

Does Wayne County issue permits inside Detroit?

No. Detroit administers and enforces the code itself through BSEED. The county tier in Michigan’s enforcement ladder applies where a local unit does not administer the code, which is not the case here.

Do I need separate trade permits?

Yes. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and boiler work are permitted separately from the building permit, by contractors holding the City of Detroit electrical licence or, for plumbing and mechanical work, the state licence registered with the city. Filing them alongside the building application avoids a second wait.

Simplify Detroit permitting with Alliance Permitting

Detroit is the jurisdiction where the two-licence problem, the two-portal problem and the edition problem all land on the same project. We handle all three as a matter of routine.

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

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Detroit 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 Detroit permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.