Hamtramck, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In the City of Hamtramck, the Building Department on the mezzanine of City Hall, 3401 Evaline Street (313-800-5233 ext. 814), issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and inspects the work; Bruce Eck is the Building Official. Contractors and homeowners can apply through BS&A Online or email their applications, and the posted fee schedule charges $100 plus $7 per $1,000 or part thereof once construction value passes $1,000, with a $50 non-refundable application fee.

What requires a building permit in Hamtramck?

The Building Department’s permit list and fee schedule show what the city permits: building work, the three trades, and a set of smaller site permits for fences, concrete, dumpsters, signs and private water and sewer lines.

Work in a city street right-of-way, or storm water construction on city-owned land, needs a separate construction permit from the Department of Public Services engineering division, with at least three sets of plans. A dumpster placed in the right-of-way without a permit costs $75.

What Hamtramck decides and what the state holds

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List shows Hamtramck enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, and Wayne County runs no construction code program. Hamtramck sets its own fees in an administrative fee schedule, and its Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals were set up by city ordinance under the state planning and zoning acts. Hamtramck is a separate city from Detroit: a Hamtramck address is permitted at 3401 Evaline, not at Detroit’s offices.

Hamtramck building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department handles plan review, permits and inspections, with a permit technician for applications; code enforcement for grass, trash, junk vehicles and graffiti works from the same mezzanine on extension 813. Planning and zoning fees are listed under the Community and Economic Development department in the same city fee schedule.

Hamtramck permit types

The Building Department posts a fillable application for each permit (building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, concrete, fence, dumpster and sign), with fire alarm and fire suppression packets and a homeowner permit affidavit. The 2025 building application states that earlier versions are obsolete.

Residential permits

• Plans. Two sets of construction documents and a site plan showing the building and the other structures on the lot. An architect’s or engineer’s seal is not required for one- and two-family homes under 3,500 square feet of calculated floor area.
• Fences need the fence application and the neighbor consent form.
• Homeowner permits. An owner may take out the permit by signing the homeowner affidavit: the house must be, or on completion become, their principal residence, with no part rented for one year and no sale planned within a year of completion. The owner takes on a licensed contractor’s responsibility and may hire help only from people licensed by the state and registered with the city.
• Help with roofs. The Building page links a free roof replacement program application for owners in severe financial hardship with unsafe roofs, limited to three to five homes a year.

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

Commercial permits

Buildings under the Michigan Building Code need two sets of construction documents filed with a separate application for plan examination, and plan review must be approved before the permit is issued. Commercial plan review is 0.008 of construction cost, between $250 and $7,000; a commercial or industrial Certificate of Occupancy is $400 including one re-inspection and the fire inspection, and new businesses use the city’s new business guide and civil site engineering review checklist.

Opening or taking over a business adds two inspections to the building permits. The Building Department’s business license inspection is $175 for a commercial or industrial space, including one re-inspection, and the Fire Department charges $100 for its initial business license inspection, with $75 for each failed re-inspection, and its annual fire inspection is $100 including one re-inspection. A commercial building that has been empty is reopened through the commercial building re-occupation form.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning. A zoning determination costs $30, and the fee schedule also lists a $75 zoning review.
• Site plans and special land uses. Preliminary and final site plan approval cost $300 each, or $400 combined; a special land use or rezoning is $800, and planning consultant fees are billed to the applicant. The Planning Commission meets the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers, and the city charges $200 to meet with the commission.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. Seven members and two alternates appointed by City Council hear variances, special permits and appeals on the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m., unless there is nothing to hear; a residential variance request costs $650, commercial $800.
• Soil erosion. Wayne County is the soil erosion agency for Hamtramck: an earth change over one acre or within 500 feet of surface water needs a county permit first.

Hamtramck permit costs and fees

The fee schedule linked from the Building page is an ordinance exhibit for fiscal year 2026-27, modified October 20, 2026; its pages carry the July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 schedule with a revision column for 2026-27. Building valuation is the gross floor area times the ICC square-foot construction cost.

The 2025 building application shows a $50 application fee and a $75 residential plan review, and says the first $125 of an application is non-refundable. Public schools pay half of the listed building fees. The schedule’s page header still reads July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, so ask the department whether the 2026-27 revision column is in force for your application.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Hamtramck issues and inspects electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits itself. Each trade permit has a $50 non-refundable application fee, and the fee is then built from the inspections the job needs.

• Inspection-based fees. Mechanical and plumbing permits charge $100 for the initial inspection and $75 for each re-inspection. The electrical initial inspection is $75 with $50 re-inspections, and the 2026-27 revision column raises those to $100 and $75.
• Minimum inspections. A new house needs at least three inspections per trade and a remodel two, at $75 each; commercial work is counted per unit, service or underground run.
• Contractor registration. Every contractor registers with the city for $15 per trade, with a notarized form, a driver’s license, MESC and federal ID numbers, and the state license for the trade: a residential builder’s license, an electrical or plumbing contractor’s and master’s license, a mechanical contractor’s license or a sign specialist license. Concrete, demolition, building-moving and underground contractors add liability insurance.
• Private water and sewer lines need their own $50 application, with $75 each for a sewer lead and a water service.

How to apply for a Hamtramck building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Commercial buildings cannot get a permit until plan review is approved, and using an out-of-date application form means filing again, since the city treats earlier versions as obsolete. Contractor registrations and authorization letters need original notarized signatures; photocopies are not accepted. A permit that has been closed can be re-opened within 60 days for $75, and renewing a permit costs $50.

Inspections and certificates in Hamtramck

Request inspections through the Building Department; under the homeowner affidavit the permit holder must apply for each inspection the codes require and keep work exposed until it is approved. A lockout or a failed visit that needs a return trip costs $75, extra inspections are $75 each and overtime inspections $110 an hour. A temporary Certificate of Occupancy for a one- or two-family home costs $250 plus a bond, and no part of a building may be occupied without a Certificate of Occupancy.

Hamtramck also inspects existing homes. A pre-sale inspection costs $275 for a single home, including one re-inspection, and $275 for the first unit of a multi-family building plus $75 for each other unit. Landlords pay a one-time $75 registration, then $150 per unit for a first two-year rental certificate and $225 per unit for a three-year renewal; late fees and non-compliance fees of $75 per unit apply when certificates lapse or repairs are not made within four months. The rental checklist covers items such as house numbers at least four inches high, weeds under five inches and trip hazards over half an inch. Vacant property registration costs $200 every six months for a home and $500 for a commercial building. On top of registration, the schedule sets a redevelopment ready fee of 3% of assessed value for a property vacant 12 to 24 consecutive months, 5% for 25 to 36 months and 9% for 37 months or more.

Michigan building code in Hamtramck

All four construction codes are enforced by the city. Hamtramck has been a participating community in FEMA’s flood insurance program since August 2, 2022, and FEMA shows no special flood hazard area mapped in the city.

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

Hamtramck permit search and official resources

Permit applications and payments go through BS&A Online, and the Building Department answers questions about an address’s permit history on 313-800-5233, extension 814, during City Hall hours. For copies of records, send a written Freedom of Information Act request: no particular form is required, though the City Clerk posts one. Deliver it to any city office, mail it, or email it; the city responds within five business days and may extend that by ten business days.

• Hamtramck Building Department
• Hamtramck on BS&A Online
• Fee schedule, FY 2026-27 (modified October 20, 2026)
• Building permit application (2025)
• Homeowner permit affidavit
• Contractor registration requirements
• Contractor registration form (2026)
• Right-of-way construction permit application
• Rental inspection checklist
• Planning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• FOIA procedures and guidelines
• Wayne County soil erosion permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List

Hamtramck building permit FAQs

Can I apply for a Hamtramck permit online?

Yes. The Building page has separate BS&A links for contractors and for homeowners, and applications can also be emailed to the Building Department.

How much is a building permit in Hamtramck?

$100 for up to $1,000 of construction value, and $100 plus $7 per $1,000 or part thereof above that, plus a $50 non-refundable application fee and plan review.

Does Detroit issue permits for Hamtramck addresses?

No. Hamtramck is a separate city with its own Building Department at 3401 Evaline Street.

Can a homeowner pull a permit?

Yes, for a house that is or will be the owner’s principal residence, not rented for a year and not for sale within a year of completion.

Do contractors have to register with the city?

Yes. Every contractor registers for $15 per trade with a notarized form and a copy of the state license.

Do I need an inspection to sell my house?

The fee schedule lists a pre-sale inspection of $275 for a single home, including one re-inspection.

What does a fence permit cost?

A $50 non-refundable application fee plus $100 for the rough and final inspection on a home; the application goes in with the neighbor consent form.

Do I need a permit for a dumpster on the street?

Yes. A right-of-way dumpster permit is $25 for one to five days and $5 for each extra day; a dumpster placed without one costs $75.

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