Grand Traverse County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Grand Traverse County is one of the Michigan counties that runs its own construction code program. Its Construction Code office (the county Building Department) at 2650 LaFranier Road, Traverse City (231-995-6044, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for the villages of Fife Lake and Kingsley and 12 of the 13 townships, with applications, payments and inspection requests handled online in EPIC-GT. Garfield Charter Township issues its own building permits, and the state list shows the City of Traverse City enforcing the codes itself. A building permit costs at least $165, and plan review takes at least two weeks.

What requires a building permit in Grand Traverse County?

The county office treats every building permit as a plan-review job: new homes, additions, remodels, garages, commercial buildings and fit-outs, and demolitions all go through review before a permit issues. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work needs separate trade permits, and larger trade jobs need their own trade plan review first.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The construction code and its permit rules are state law that no Grand Traverse office can amend. Under its Construction Code Enforcing Agency Ordinance (Ordinance No. 4, effective November 27, 2021) the county took on enforcement everywhere except the local units that named their own enforcing agency, and it set up a single Building Code Board of Appeals that hears appeals from the construction code official, the health official and the soil erosion official. The county also adds its own soil erosion rules on top of the state’s, and since January 2026 it requires well and septic evaluations when some homes near water are sold.

Grand Traverse County building department: who handles permitting

The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) splits the county three ways. Read it together with the county’s own Building Permit Process page, which says Garfield Township issues its own building permits and that “the trade permits are issued in our office for the whole county.”

Population figures are 2025 Census estimates; only part of Traverse City lies in Grand Traverse County. Guides for two of the larger townships give their own details: East Bay Charter Township and Garfield Charter Township.

No Michigan county is itself a flood insurance community; East Bay and Garfield both take part in the National Flood Insurance Program on their own, with maps dated April 19, 2023.

Grand Traverse County permit types

Everything starts in EPIC-GT, the county’s electronic permit and inspection center: register once, then apply, upload plans, pay invoices and request inspections. Without an account, residents can still view limited information about development activity. Plans brought to the counter may be no larger than 11 by 17 inches.

Residential permits

• New house, addition or remodel. Building application, plans, energy code compliance documentation, the township land use permit, well and septic (or DPW) approval, driveway permit and soil erosion permit where needed. A new address comes from Equalization first.
• Demolition. Application, land use, soil erosion where it applies, a well and septic or DPW sign-off for capping, and shut-off letters from the electric and gas utilities.
• Trade work. Separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits; owner-occupants doing their own work may pull them.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work needs one paper set and one electronic set of plans sealed by an engineer or architect, the county’s commercial plan review application, an ASHRAE energy report and fire department plan review: Grand Traverse Metro Fire for East Bay and Acme townships, City Fire inside Traverse City and Blair Township Fire in Blair. Projects estimated at $1,000,000 or more pay a $1,500 plan review fee when they apply. Trade plans are reviewed separately on two full-size sealed sets per trade.

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

• Township land use permit. Most projects need one, and each township has its own rules; remodels sometimes do not, depending on the township.
• Road right-of-way. Under Act 200 of 1969 any use of a county road right-of-way other than travel needs a Road Commission permit, which a township may require before it issues a land use permit; allow 7 to 10 workdays, and the contractor needs insurance on file.
• Soil erosion. The county Health Department enforces the county soil erosion ordinance, and no township, village or county agency in its area may issue a building permit for an earth change that needs a soil erosion permit until that permit is issued.
• Well and septic. Environmental Health issues well and septic permits from the same LaFranier Road building, and its archived well and septic records are online.

Grand Traverse County permit costs and fees

The Construction Code office posts a short fee schedule for building items; trade fees are printed in the fee chart at the bottom of each trade application, and the county says those charts do not apply to building permits. Fees can be paid in cash, by check or by card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover), or online from the emailed invoice; the office takes no payments by phone.

The Building Permit Process page adds that every permit application needs a $55 plan review fee paid before review begins, while the fee schedule lists a $110 plan review and administration base fee; ask the office which applies to your job. Worked example from the fee schedule: a small job at the $165 minimum, which includes one inspection, that needs a second (final) inspection adds $55, for $220. On the electrical form, services through 200 amps add $11 and 240-volt outlets $7 each. Soil erosion, health, road and township land use permits are charged separately by those offices, and the Health Department posts a 2026 fee schedule for time-of-transfer evaluations.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for every unit it covers and, according to Garfield’s own page, for Garfield Township too. Apply in EPIC-GT, or pick up the application in the office and pay when you file.

• Homeowners. “If you are a homeowner, live in the home, and you are doing the work, then you may pull the permit.” A rental home counts as commercial work, so a licensed contractor must apply. The county’s homeowner sheet adds that an owner of a single-family home they will occupy can act as general contractor, but any subcontractors must hold the right license.
• Contractors. There is no county contractor registration. Each application asks for the contractor’s state license number, which the office checks against the state’s licensing database; builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state, as are the trades.
• Trade plan review. Needed for electrical work on buildings over 3,500 square feet with services over 400 amps, homes over 375,000 BTU of heating input, homes over 3,500 square feet for plumbing, plumbing in assembly, business, mercantile or storage buildings with more than 12 fixtures, and government jobs over $15,000.

How to apply for a building permit in Grand Traverse County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A trade plan review needs its application, two full-size sealed sets and, for electrical and mechanical plans, an energy report; a missing piece holds it up. A building permit cannot issue before a required soil erosion permit, and the Road Commission needs 7 to 10 workdays for its permit. Commercial jobs wait for the fire department’s plan review as well as the county’s.

Inspections in Grand Traverse County

Request inspections in EPIC-GT or by leaving a message on the inspection line with the site address, permit number, type of inspection, requested date and a site contact. For permits pulled before July 2020, call 231-995-6044 24 to 48 hours ahead. Electrical disconnect and reconnect inspections and sewer and water connection inspections are limited each day and need prior approval from office staff; voicemail and online requests are not accepted for them, and power company coordination is your job.

• Stages. Work that will be covered usually needs a rough and a final inspection; you can talk to an inspector between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays if unsure.
• Daily list. The county posts the day’s inspection list each weekday between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.
• Occupancy. Temporary occupancy needs a written request and a $55 permit; extension and termination request forms are on the Applications & Forms page.

Michigan building code

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

Grand Traverse County building permit FAQs

Does Grand Traverse County issue building permits?

Yes, for both villages and every township except Garfield, which runs its own building department. The county also issues the trade permits in Garfield, as Garfield’s page states.

How much is a building permit?

At least $165, which includes one inspection; each further inspection is $55 and the plan review and administration base fee is $110.

How long does plan review take?

The county estimates at least two weeks, with commercial review taking longer; trade plan reviews run separately, also at least two weeks each.

Can a homeowner pull electrical or plumbing permits?

Yes, if you own and live in the home and do the work yourself. Rental homes need a licensed contractor.

When is a soil erosion permit needed?

For earth changes of an acre or more, within 500 feet of a lake, stream or regulated wetland, within 500 feet of a county drain, on slopes of 20% or more, or on land in hydrologic soil group D.

What is the time of transfer evaluation?

Since January 2026, selling or transferring a home with a well or septic system within 300 feet of surface water requires an evaluation of those systems before the transfer is final.

Grand Traverse County permit search and official resources

Look up permits issued after August 2020 in the EPIC-GT search, and older ones in the county’s legacy permit records site; Garfield Township building permits are held by Garfield. The Construction Code office posts a FOIA request form on its Applications & Forms page for copies of records.

• Grand Traverse County Construction Code
• EPIC-GT self-service portal
• Building permit process
• Construction Code fee schedule
• When a trade plan review is required
• Construction Code FAQs
• Applications and forms
• Permit records search
• Permit records before August 2020
• Permit-requiring departments
• Construction Code Enforcing Agency Ordinance No. 4
• Soil erosion permits
• Soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance
• Environmental Health (wells and septic)
• Time of transfer evaluations
• Road Commission permits
• Drain Commissioner
• Traverse City Planning, Zoning and Code Enforcement
• Bureau of Construction Codes Statewide Jurisdiction List

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