Inkster, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In the City of Inkster, the Building Department at City Hall, 26215 Trowbridge (313-563-7716), issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, reviews plans for zoning and code compliance, and runs the city’s home sale and rental inspections. Applications carry a $40 fee, plan review is charged at 0.13% of the first $300,000 of construction cost with a $100 minimum, and every house sold in the city needs a Certificate of Approval before closing.

What requires a building permit in Inkster?

The Building Department’s Permit Required page asks owners to check before tearing down walls, running wire, adding a bathroom or replacing a furnace, and lists the projects that usually need a building permit. Electrical, plumbing and heating or air-conditioning work always needs its own trade permit on top of it. The permit is the city’s permission to build to the approved drawings and specifications, and the department also keeps information sheets for homeowners on most projects around the house.

Other city forms cover a zoning permit and zoning verification, an address assignment application, vacant property registration and a permit to haul a prefabricated or modular home through the city. New houses also need water and sewer tap fees, sewer line inspection fees and a driveway approach permit paid before work begins.

What Inkster decides and what the state holds

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List shows Inkster enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, and Wayne County has no building program. The Building Department administers the laws and ordinances on construction, maintenance and safety, including zoning compliance, electrical, housing, mechanical and plumbing, and its Code Enforcement Division, under the Community Development Director, enforces property maintenance codes and the city’s Dangerous Buildings Ordinance. Zoning is Chapter 155 of the city code. After a Planning Commission public hearing on March 23, 2026, City Council approved the updated Chapter 155 zoning ordinance on April 20, 2026 (Resolution 04-26-49GH, 6-0), according to the meeting minutes in the May 4, 2026 council packet; ask the Planning Department for the current text and its effective date.

Inkster building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department issues every permit and does the plan reviews and inspections, with building and trade inspectors who answer questions about whether a job needs a permit. Housing and building inspectors handle the home sale and rental inspections, and Code Enforcement also runs an ordinance hotline.

Inkster permit types

All permit applications are on the city’s Forms & Applications page: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire alarm, demolition and sign permits, contractor registration, a zoning permit and zoning verification, and the site plan and special land use applications. Contractors must attach a signed contract to a building application.

Residential permits

• Additions, alterations and accessory buildings need two copies of drawings showing elevations, floor plans, construction, foundation and the electrical, heating and cooling and plumbing layouts, plus one plot plan and the application. Exterior projects always need a plot plan; the city posts a sample plot plan and templates for left- and right-hand driveways.
• New houses need three copies of site grade elevations by a licensed surveyor or engineer, three complete sets of construction documents with sealed truss drawings, and a property identification number; applications without an address are not accepted. A design professional’s seal is needed only for a new house with more than 3,500 square feet of living area. The building application itself asks for an electronic file of the plans with two sealed site grade plans and two complete plan sets, fewer paper copies than the Come Prepared page lists, so bring what the current application asks for.
• Contractors bring their state residential builder’s license, a state photo ID and proof of liability insurance, and must put the license number on the application.
• Homeowners bring a photo ID and proof of residency. A homeowner re-roofing files the city’s homeowner roof specifications sheet, which requires ice and water shield at least 24 inches beyond the interior walls, new flashing, new pipe boots and drip edge.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial plans must be stamped and signed unless the Building Official approves otherwise in writing, and apartments and condominiums count as commercial (use group R-2). Submit two stapled hard copies between 8.5 by 11 and 24 by 36 inches, or one hard copy with a PDF. For businesses, the city also posts a commercial re-occupancy application and an annual business inspection application.

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

• Zoning. Check the parcel on the city zoning map (February 2021 edition). A zoning verification or zoning permit confirms the use, and a rezoning or text change uses the application to amend the zoning ordinance; the building application’s zoning review checks lot coverage and whether planning approval or a variance is needed.
• Site plans. The city offers a preliminary plan review request, preliminary and final site plan review checklists and a planning pre-application form before a site plan or special land use goes to the Planning Commission.
• Appeals. Variances go to the Zoning and Housing Appeals Board, on its own application form; property maintenance orders can be appealed to the Property Maintenance Board of Appeals.
• Soil erosion. The building application says a separate soil erosion application goes to Wayne County, which is the soil erosion agency for Inkster.

Inkster permit costs and fees

The Permit Required page says the permit fee covers the application, the review and the inspections; ask the Building Department for the permit fee on your job. The fee items the city publishes are below.

Worked example. For a $100,000 addition, building plan review is $100,000 × 0.0013 = $130, above the $100 minimum, and each trade review is 25% of that, $32.50, so plan review for building plus all three trades is $227.50 before the $40 application fee and the permit fees. The city’s 2014 fee page lists rental registration at $185 every three years, while the newer rental program page prices it by building type, so confirm the current figure with the department.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Inkster issues and inspects electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits itself, and the Permit Required page says separate trade permits are needed for electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems.

• Applications. Each trade has its own form, plus a fire alarm permit application; contractors register with the city on its contractor registration form.
• Plan review. Where trade drawings are reviewed, each trade’s review fee is 25% of the building review fee.
• Furnace certification. Home sales and rentals require the heating system to be tested and certified safe by a licensed mechanical contractor on the city’s furnace or boiler certification form before final approval.
• Homeowners and contractors. The Building Department’s homeowner permit page notes that Michigan law lets homeowners take out permits for work on their own homes, but the city stresses that a contractor may not work under a homeowner’s permit. Homeowner permits cost the same, are processed no faster and are inspected to the same standard, and the owner becomes responsible for correcting any deficiencies, so the city asks owners to have their contractor pull the permit. The city warns that a contractor who asks the owner to pull the permit may be avoiding responsibility for the workmanship or may not be licensed, and that the city cannot step into a dispute between owner and contractor when the owner holds the permit.

How to apply for an Inkster building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A code official checks every application against local and state requirements; if the plans comply a permit is issued, and if not the official asks for corrections. Applications must be complete, including every email address, and a property without an address cannot be permitted. Changes after approval go in on the Plan Revision Request Form, and commercial drawings without a seal need the Building Official’s written approval first.

Inspections and certificates in Inkster

Schedule inspections with the online Building Inspection tool, by email to inspection@cityofinkster.com, by phone on 313-563-7716 or in person during business hours. More than one inspection is usually needed, and when the work is complete and code compliance is confirmed the city inspector issues documentation of the final approval.

Every house sold or transferred in Inkster needs a Certificate of Approval before the closing. The seller files the Home Sale or Transfer Application with the $180 fee, a housing inspector inspects the home against the pre-inspection checklist, and a licensed contractor must certify the furnace or boiler. Once the inspection process is finished the certificate is good for six months; if the seller does not finish it, the buyer buys a $40 Approval Letter to Close, returns the signed Remaining Violations Disclosure Form with the closing documents, and has 60 days from closing to make the repairs. A buyer can also sign the city’s roof inspection affidavit to accept a roof in its current condition.

Rental homes may not be occupied without a Certificate of Compliance. Owners register on the city’s rental registration form every three years, pass an initial and final inspection by a building inspector, and provide the furnace safety and carbon monoxide test; the certificate then lasts three years. The registration fee covers the initial and final inspections and the certificate itself, and the city posts a pre-inspection checklist so owners can fix common items before the inspector arrives.

Michigan building code in Inkster

All four construction codes are enforced by the city. Inkster has been in the regular phase of FEMA’s flood insurance program since March 2, 1979, with a current flood map dated December 3, 2013, and after a flood the city collects damage reports on a form it forwards to the State of Michigan; that form is not a claim for reimbursement.

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

Inkster permit search and official resources

The Building Department can tell you what permits are on file for an address, and fees can be paid on BS&A Online. For copies of records, send the city’s FOIA request form to the City Clerk’s Office by email at FOIA@cityofinkstermi.gov or by mail to 26215 Trowbridge, Inkster, MI 48141; the form asks whether you want the records mailed, emailed or held for pickup.

• Inkster Building and Structural Safety
• When a permit is required
• Come prepared: documents for a building permit
• Plan review submissions
• Building permit application
• Forms, permits and applications
• Homeowner permits
• Buying or selling a home
• Residential rental program
• Building Department fees (2014)
• Zoning code amendment hearing notice (2026)
• City Council packet, May 4, 2026 (April 20 minutes)
• Inkster on BS&A Online
• FOIA request form
• Wayne County soil erosion permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List

Inkster building permit FAQs

Should a homeowner or the contractor pull the permit?

The city asks owners to have their contractor pull it. A homeowner may take out a permit for work on their own home, but a contractor may not work under it.

How much is plan review?

0.13% of the first $300,000 of construction cost and 0.05% of the rest, with a $100 minimum, plus 25% of that for each trade reviewed and a $40 application fee.

Do I need an inspection to sell my house in Inkster?

Yes. A Certificate of Approval is required before closing; the seller pays $180 and the certificate lasts six months.

Does a new roof need a permit?

Yes. Re-roofing is on the city’s permit list, and homeowners file a roof specifications sheet with the application.

Do rental homes need a certificate?

Yes. A rental may not be occupied without a Certificate of Compliance, renewed every three years after inspection.

Who handles soil erosion permits?

Wayne County; the city’s building application asks for a separate soil erosion application to the county.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Online with the city’s inspection tool, by email to inspection@cityofinkster.com, by phone or in person.

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