Hillsdale County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Hillsdale County runs a countywide construction code program. The state’s jurisdiction list shows the county enforcing all four codes in the cities of Hillsdale, Litchfield and Reading, the six villages and 17 of the 18 townships; in Somerset Township the township enforces the building code and the county handles electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Permits come from Hillsdale County Inspection, Hillsdale County Office Building, 33 McCollum Street, Room 102, Hillsdale (517-437-4130, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), which is also the county’s soil erosion agency. Fees follow the schedule the Board of Commissioners adopted on February 24, 2009.

What requires a building permit in Hillsdale County?

The county’s fee resolution lists the work it permits for houses: new stick-built homes, basements and crawl spaces, manufactured and modular homes, enclosed porches, habitable additions, garages and pole buildings, decks with or without a roof, carports and pavilions, roofs over mobile homes, pools and miscellaneous jobs. Commercial and industrial buildings are permitted too, with fees set by the state fee structure.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The construction code is the state’s, and Hillsdale County cannot change it. The county chooses to enforce it almost everywhere, sets its own residential fees by board resolution, and makes its inspection department the county enforcing agency for soil erosion under Part 91 and the county grading ordinance. For commercial and industrial buildings, the county charges according to the state’s own fee structure rather than a local table.

Hillsdale County building department: who handles permitting

The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026) gives a simple map: the county for every code in 26 of its 27 local units, and a split in Somerset Township.

Populations are 2025 Census estimates. Somerset, on the county’s eastern edge along US-12 and US-127, describes itself as a zoned community; its building inspector works by appointment with 24 hours’ notice, and its building clerk keeps hours Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday until noon.

In the City of Hillsdale, the largest unit, the city’s Zoning Administrator issues a zoning compliance permit before any building is put up, enlarged, moved or changed in use; applications go to zoning@cityofhillsdale.org, fences need the administrator’s approval, and a sign needs both a city sign permit and, where required, a county building permit. Commercial projects and buildings of four or more units get a preliminary review with the zoning administrator, building inspector and city department heads at least 30 days before the Planning Commission’s final review, and a rezoning petition costs $500.

Flood insurance is handled community by community in Michigan: the county itself is not a member of the National Flood Insurance Program.

Hillsdale County permit types

Separate permits cover building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, each priced on its own exhibit of the 2009 fee resolution. Building permits carry an administrative fee, a site fee and, for every permit except pools, a residential plan review fee.

Residential permits

• New homes. Valued at $70 a square foot for every stick-framed level, plus the basement or foundation at its own rate, with a $35 plan review.
• Manufactured and modular homes. Valued at 60% of frame construction, or 35% for units more than 10 years old; modular plan review is $25 and a single-wide $10.
• Garages, pole buildings, decks and porches. Valued at $20 a square foot for garages and pole frames, $12 for open decks, $20 for roofed decks and porches and $35 for enclosed porches.
• Pools. A flat $80 above ground and $140 in ground, with no plan review charge.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial and industrial building permits and their plan reviews are charged “per State Fee Structure,” so ask Inspection for the current figure. Electrical plan review is billed at $35 an hour.

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

• Zoning. Get zoning approval from the township, city or village before you apply. The county Planning Commission’s page shows it reviewing local units’ zoning amendments on its own forms and keeping the county master plan, adopted in its current version in November 2025.
• Grading and soil erosion. A county grading permit is needed for earth changes within 500 feet of surface water that disturb more than 225 square feet, for any change of an acre or more, for logging and mining access roads, and for any new or altered pond regardless of size or distance from water. Earth changes more than 500 feet from surface water and under an acre, or within 500 feet but under 225 square feet and sending no sediment to the water, need a grading waiver instead, issued on the landowner’s signed affidavit.
• Well and septic. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency takes well and septic permit applications online with card payment.
• Driveways. The Road Commission issues driveway and right-of-way permits under its posted rules and standards for driveways, with its own permit and inspection fees.

Hillsdale County permit costs and fees

The county’s posted fee schedule is the amendment package the Board of Commissioners approved on February 24, 2009 (Resolution 09-020), with Exhibit 1 for building, Exhibit 2 for electrical, Exhibit 3 for mechanical and Exhibit 4 for plumbing. For a house, the building fee works in two steps: the project is first valued with the county’s per-square-foot figures, and the value is then priced on the base fee table. The per-square-foot numbers are valuations, not fees.

Worked example (base fee). A 1,500-square-foot one-story stick-built house on a slab is valued at 1,500 x $70 = $105,000 for the living space plus 1,500 x $3 = $4,500 for the mono-pour slab, or $109,500. That value falls in the $105,001 to $110,000 band, a $415 base fee; the administrative, site and plan review fees are listed separately on the same exhibit.

The mechanical exhibit prices a water heater change-out alone at $50 and above-ground or underground tanks at $50, and the plumbing exhibit adds a $15 certification fee and a $50 special or safety inspection that includes certification.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Every electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit in Hillsdale County, including those in Somerset Township, is a county permit under the state list, applied for at the Inspection office. The 2009 resolution prices them on separate exhibits that reference the county’s older trade ordinances.

• Contractors. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors work under state licenses, and residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state; the electrical exhibit also carries a $200 annual fee for factory masters.
• Homeowners. Before doing your own wiring, plumbing or heating work on the home you own and live in, ask the Inspection office whether it will issue the permit to you as owner.
• Plan review. Electrical plans are reviewed at $35 an hour where review is needed.

How to apply for a building permit in Hillsdale County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plan review applies to every residential permit except pools, so drawings need enough detail to value each part of the house. Earth work near surface water adds a step, because any pond work and most grading within 500 feet of water need a county grading permit first. In Somerset, remember the 24-hour notice for building inspections.

Inspections in Hillsdale County

Call the Inspection office at 517-437-4130 during weekday hours to book county building and trade inspections. The electrical exhibit prices a final inspection at $50 and each additional inspection at $50, and a special review or safety inspection at $50. In Somerset Township, building inspections are by appointment only with 24 hours’ notice at 517-688-9223, extension 7.

• Grading permits. Under the county grading ordinance, soil erosion staff may inspect a site for which a grading permit has been applied for, is active or has expired.

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

Hillsdale County building permit FAQs

Does the City of Hillsdale have its own building department?

No. The state’s jurisdiction list shows the city, like the other cities, villages and most townships, under Hillsdale County Inspection for all four codes.

Which township issues its own building permits?

Somerset Township. The county still issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits there.

How is the building fee for a house worked out?

The county values the work by the square foot (for example $70 for stick-framed living space) and prices that value on its base fee table, with the administrative, site and plan review fees listed alongside.

Do I need a permit to dig a pond?

Yes. The county grading ordinance requires a grading permit for any new pond or change to an existing pond, whatever its size or distance from other water.

Who issues well and septic permits?

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, whose Hillsdale office is at 20 Care Drive; applications can be filed and paid online.

Who handles zoning?

Start with the township, city or village where the land is. The county Planning Commission’s posted role is reviewing local zoning amendments and keeping the county master plan; it meets every other month, next on November 18, 2026 at 1:00 p.m.

Hillsdale County permit search and official resources

Ask Hillsdale County Inspection about past permits at an address; for building permits in Somerset Township, ask the township. Requests for copies of county records can be filed through the county’s online FOIA portal, and parcel maps are on the county’s FetchGIS site.

• Hillsdale County Building Inspection
• Construction code permit fee schedule (Resolution 09-020, Feb. 24, 2009)
• Grading, soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance
• Hillsdale County ordinances
• Hillsdale County Planning Commission
• Hillsdale County Drain Commission
• Hillsdale County Road Commission permits and forms
• Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, environmental health
• Health agency office locations
• Somerset Township Building Department
• City of Hillsdale planning and zoning
• Hillsdale County GIS maps
• Hillsdale County FOIA requests
• Bureau of Construction Codes Statewide Jurisdiction List

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