Houghton County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

One office covers all of Houghton County. The state’s jurisdiction list shows the county enforcing building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes in both cities, all five villages and all 14 townships, and the Houghton County Building Department, on the first floor of the Courthouse at 401 East Houghton Avenue in Houghton (906-482-2260, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), confirms it issues every one of those permits countywide, with Todd LaRoux as Building Official. There is no countywide zoning, soil erosion permits come from the Drain Commissioner, and the fee schedule in effect since October 2021 adds 50% to the fee when work starts before the permit.

What requires a building permit in Houghton County?

The department’s rule is simple: an application must be filed and the permit issued before any work begins, or the project pays an extra 50%. Its forms and specification sheets show the everyday scope: new homes and additions, basements, crawl spaces and slabs, garages and pole buildings, stairs, egress windows, demolition and commercial buildings, plus separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The construction code and its agricultural exemption are state law; Houghton County administers them, sets the fee schedule (in effect since October 2021) and publishes local design data, above all the ground snow load for each township and city, which ranges from 70 to 90 pounds per square foot. Zoning is not the county’s: the department’s notice says there is no countywide zoning and sends you to the municipality.

Houghton County building department: who handles permitting

Under the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026), every local unit in Houghton County is county-enforced for all four codes, and the department’s own page agrees that it issues all building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for the entire county. It also assigns 911 address (fire) numbers.

Populations are 2025 Census estimates. Electrical inspection is split between two inspectors, one north and one south of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, and plumbing and mechanical work has its own inspector.

The county is not itself a National Flood Insurance Program community; any participation is by the individual city, village or township.

Houghton County permit types

The department posts separate building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications, a fee schedule, and specification sheets for basement walls, crawl spaces, slabs on grade, garages, pole buildings, stairs, egress windows and roof loading. The trade applications ask whether the property is a rental.

Residential permits

• Homes under 3,500 square feet. Drawings that clearly describe the scope, including the foundation and floor plan, a wall cross section and the roof snow load; the application also notes that tie-downs or hold-downs are required.
• Homes over 3,500 square feet. Stamped drawings.
• Garages and pole buildings. Use the garage cross-section and pole building specification worksheets.
• Truss drawings. Required with the application and documenting the ground snow load for the township or city; final truss drawings must be submitted and approved before the rough-in inspection.

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

Commercial permits

All commercial work needs stamped drawings. Plan review is included in the permit fee only for use groups R-3 and R-4 (houses and similar dwellings); other plan review is charged at $125 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. The county lists the units with zoning: Adams, Calumet, Chassell, Duncan, Franklin, Hancock and Portage townships, the cities of Hancock and Houghton, and the villages of Calumet, Laurium and South Range. In those places attach a copy of the local zoning permit.
• Fire number. A 911 address from the Building Department, using its address application.
• Health department approval. Septic and well permits from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, which evaluates the site before issuing a septic permit.
• Soil erosion. A Drain Commissioner permit for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream or of one acre or more, wherever they are; the permit number goes on the building application. Part 91 rules require a scaled site plan on paper no smaller than 8½ by 11 inches showing the site, distance to the nearest lake or stream, soils and slope, limits of the earth change, drainage, timing, temporary and permanent controls and a maintenance program. The application counts the Great Lakes and any lake or impoundment of an acre or more as a lake, and a ditch or gully serving as a stream as a stream.
• County roads. A Road Commission permit to work within, occupy or temporarily close a county road right-of-way, including driveways. The applicant is the adjoining property owner, the owner’s authorized representative or a utility; a contractor applying for an owner must show written authority.

Houghton County permit costs and fees

The building permit fee schedule took effect in October 2021. The cost of improvement comes from the state Bureau of Construction Codes’ square-foot construction table for every use group except U (utility and miscellaneous), and the fee is then read from the bands below. The first $75 of any application fee is non-refundable.

Worked example. A project whose cost of improvement works out to $250,000 pays $435 plus $2 for each of the 150 thousands over $100,000, or $735. The same job started before the permit was issued would cost $1,102.50.

Building permits are valid for two years from the date of issue. Soil erosion permits expire after one year (five years for sand and gravel pits). Make soil erosion checks payable to Houghton County.

Trade permits and who may pull them

All electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits in the county come from the same Building Department, each on its own application and fee chart, and each carries the same 50% surcharge if work starts first. Some equipment needs two permits: a generator needs mechanical and electrical permits, and a water heater needs mechanical and plumbing permits.

• Inspectors. Two electrical inspectors divide the county at the Portage Lake Lift Bridge; one inspector handles plumbing and mechanical work.
• Contractors. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors hold state licenses, and residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state.
• Rentals and duplexes. The trade applications ask whether the property is a rental, and each unit of a duplex needs its own plumbing permit. Ask the department how it handles permits taken out by an owner who lives in the home.

How to apply for a Houghton County building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Three items often decide the timing: the truss drawings (there is no rough-in inspection without approved final truss drawings), the local zoning permit in a zoned unit, and the soil erosion permit, which the Drain Commissioner has up to 30 days to decide. Work covered before inspection may have to be opened up again.

Inspections in Houghton County

Every inspection request needs at least 48 hours’ notice. The department lists the inspections a typical house needs:

• Footing, and poured walls for ICF foundations.
• Foundation before backfill.
• Rough-in, after the electrical, mechanical and plumbing rough-ins have passed and the final truss drawings are approved.
• Final, plus any others the project calls for.

The Building Department may reject concealed work and require it to be exposed. Additional building inspections are $75 each, and the electrical schedule charges $75 for each service, rough-in and final inspection. The permit holder is responsible for meeting every condition of the permit.

Septic systems are inspected separately: once the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department has approved the site and issued the permit, the installer calls the health department when the system is built, and a sanitarian checks it against the permit and leaves an approved tag before it may be covered.

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

Houghton County building permit FAQs

Do Hancock and Houghton have their own building departments?

No. The county Building Department issues all building and trade permits in both cities and in every village and township.

What snow load do I design for?

It depends on the unit: 70 pounds per square foot in Adams, Chassell, Duncan, Elm River, Laird and Portage townships; 80 in Franklin, Hancock, Osceola, Quincy, Stanton and Torch Lake townships and the cities of Hancock and Houghton; 90 in Calumet and Schoolcraft townships.

What happens if I start before getting a permit?

The county adds 50% to the permit fee.

Does a farm building need a permit?

Not if it is used solely for agriculture and not for retail trade; the owner signs the county’s agricultural affidavit.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The Houghton County Drain Commissioner, for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream or of an acre or more. Applications are also available at the Building Department.

Who issues septic permits?

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, main office at 540 Depot Street in Hancock (906-482-7382). A site evaluation comes first, then the permit.

How long is a permit valid?

Two years from the date of issue.

Is there county zoning?

No. Zoning is local, and the county lists the townships, cities and villages that have it.

Houghton County permit search and official resources

Ask the Building Department about permits on file for an address. For copies of county records, the county’s FOIA procedures name the County Administrator as FOIA Coordinator; requests sent by fax or email count as received the next business day.

• Houghton County Building Department
• Building, electrical and mechanical fee schedule (effective October 2021)
• Building permit requirements and snow loads by township
• Building permit application
• Building permit compliance information
• Electrical permit application
• Mechanical permit application
• Plumbing permit application
• Agricultural exemption affidavit
• Application for a new address
• Roof loading data sheet
• Drain Commissioner and soil erosion permits
• Soil erosion permit instructions and application
• Road Commission right-of-way permit application
• Western UP Health Department offices
• Houghton County FOIA procedures
• Bureau of Construction Codes Statewide Jurisdiction List

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