Leelanau County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Leelanau County the Department of Building Safety, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, Suite 109, Suttons Bay (231-256-9806), is the state-listed enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work in every township and in the villages of Empire, Northport and Suttons Bay. Apply in BS&A Online or with the county’s current forms, before 3 p.m. for building applications, and pay a $125 base payment ($150 for commercial work) to start plan review. Township land use, Conservation District soil erosion and health department permits come first.

What requires a building permit in Leelanau County?

The county’s forms cover new buildings, additions, alterations, repairs, demolition, mobile home set-ups, foundations, premanufactured and relocated buildings, post-frame buildings and garages, and every commercial use group. Plumbing, mechanical and electrical work each need their own application, and a seasonal use permit covers temporary structures and uses.

Farm buildings can be exempt from the building code, but only after an application with a site plan, the land use permit and any soil erosion permit. The property must be classified agricultural or carry a qualified agricultural exemption (the township assessor confirms this), and the building must be used for farming, not retail trade or residential storage; otherwise a building permit is needed. Schools are permitted and inspected by the state unless the school board, the local unit and the county file the state’s annual delegation form.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code; the department’s page notes that houses remain under the 2015 residential code while the court order on the newer rules stands. Leelanau County chose to enforce the code, and the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List names it for all four trades in every unit. Zoning belongs to the townships and villages, soil erosion to the Conservation District, and well and septic permits to the health department.

Leelanau County building department: who handles permitting

The Department of Building Safety covers the townships of Bingham, Centerville, Cleveland, Elmwood, Empire, Glen Arbor, Kasson, Leelanau, Leland, Solon and Suttons Bay, and the villages of Empire, Northport and Suttons Bay, for all four trades. The only part of the county outside its reach is the small piece of the City of Traverse City inside Leelanau County (355 residents by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate), which the state lists as running its own program.

The FAQ page gives office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the department’s main page says 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; call ahead before a late visit. Since May 20, 2025 the department no longer accepts outdated versions of its applications, so download the current form each time.

Leelanau County permit types

The building application asks for the parcel number (all begin with 45-), the township or village, the owner, the contractor as shown on the state license with the builder license number and expiry, any design professional, the purpose of the project and the use group. A property owner authorization form is required when the owner does not sign.

Residential permits

• Plans: one set when applying electronically or two in person, with foundation and floor plans, elevations, a wall section from footing to roof peak, deck and stair details, truss design data and a scaled site plan. A truss data sheet can stand in at application, but the actual truss drawings must reach the department before the trusses are installed.
• Energy: state energy code documentation for new single-family homes and additions; the county lists approved blower door companies.
• Footings: at least 42 inches deep, measured from finish grade to the bottom of the footing.
• Seasonal use: two sets of plans, an owner authorization letter, a land use or special use permit, notice to the local fire department and an on-site inspection before approval, which a township fire chief may attend.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work follows the county’s commercial requirements sheet (revised October 29, 2026). The office may require a pre-construction meeting before the application, with a minimum fee of $150, and the plan cover sheet must show the use group, occupant load, floor and live loads, ground snow load, design wind speed, seismic design category, flood design data in a flood hazard area and the edition of the Michigan Building Code used. Construction documents must be sealed by an architect or engineer, except one- and two-family homes under 3,500 square feet and public works under $15,000. Trade plans must be reviewed by the design professional of record before the county reviews them; electrical plans are needed for services over 400 amps in buildings over 3,500 square feet, and mechanical plans for homes over 375,000 Btu and for business, mercantile and storage buildings over 3,500 square feet with HVAC only.

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

• Land use permit: from the township or village under its zoning; in Solon Township a demolition also needs a township permit first, which does not replace the county permit.
• Soil erosion: a permit for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake or stream, within 100 feet of a regulated wetland, of one acre or more, for driveways with slopes of 10% or more, for all commercial projects and for any work in subdivisions and site condominiums (231-256-9783).
• Health department: water and sewer permits, public or private (231-256-0200); village approval for connections to village water or sewer.
• Driveway: required for new construction, from the Leelanau County Road Commission (231-271-3993) or MDOT (231-941-1986).
• EGLE: state environmental permits where they apply (231-383-5952).

Leelanau County permit costs and fees

The department does not post its full permit fee schedule online; the office (231-256-9806) gives the fee for a specific job. What the county does publish is below. A building application enters plan review only after the $125 base payment, and the rest of the permit fee is due before the permit is issued.

The after-the-fact penalty applies to owners or builders the Building Official finds knowingly went ahead without required permits, usually on finished projects that need extra inspections to confirm code compliance. Homeowner permits cost the same as contractor permits. Soil erosion fees are set by the Conservation District, and health department fees by that department.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits throughout its area, on separate applications or in BS&A. New contractors give the department copies of their licenses before or with the first permit: for electrical and plumbing contractors both the master and contractor licenses, and for building contractors the company and individual licenses. There is no registration fee.

• Homeowners: the department’s FAQ says a homeowner may act as general contractor and pull building and trade permits for work the homeowner does in the single-family home they live in or are about to occupy, and takes on responsibility for code corrections, injuries on the job and completing the work.
• Licensed work: the same FAQ notes that residential work of $600 or more by others needs a licensed residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor, and recommends that a hired contractor pull the permit.
• Electrical: the county posts load calculation requirements and a sample handout with its electrical application.

How to get a building permit in Leelanau County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Outdated application forms are refused, and the residential checklist says the land use, soil erosion, health and driveway permits must accompany the building application, so gather them before you file. Trade plans must be reviewed and approved by the design professional of record before the county will review them. A job in a subdivision or site condominium always needs a soil erosion permit, even far from water.

Inspections in Leelanau County

Call the department 24 hours before you need an inspection, and do not proceed until the work is approved; asking for an inspection before the job is ready brings a re-inspection fee. The permit must be posted where it can be seen from the road, and the site must show the street number (hand-painted is fine until final). Inspectors are in the field from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and in the office for an hour at each end of the day.

The county’s required inspections sheet lists open footings when formed and ready to pour (which may need an electrical bonding inspection), footings and foundations before backfill, underground piping and ducts before they are covered, rough frame after the trade rough-ins pass and before insulation and vapor barrier, with no exceptions, and the final once plumbing, heating and electrical are approved. Buried or hidden piping is tested with the inspector present unless the inspector waives it, and trade work is not inspected until its permit is issued and paid. If you need to move in before every item is finished, ask for a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy: heat, running water, a working bathroom, cooking facilities, lights, smoke alarms and required handrails and guards must be in place, and every trade must approve.

Michigan building code in Leelanau County

Leelanau County enforces the state code as the county enforcing agency for every unit on the state list. No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community: each township and village joins on its own, and the county posts flood plain certificate information with its forms, so ask the township and the department about shoreline and flood rules for a lakefront lot.

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

Leelanau County permit search and official resources

Permits and inspection status can be looked up in BS&A Online, and the department’s Monthly Building Permits page lists, month by month, the permits it has issued. For copies of permit files or plans, send the county FOIA form to the FOIA Coordinator in the Prosecutor’s Office, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, Suite 202, Suttons Bay, by email to FOIA@leelanau.gov or by fax to 231-256-0133 (phone 231-256-9872). Restrictive covenants in subdivisions are not enforced by any government office; check your deed or the Register of Deeds (231-256-9682).

• Leelanau County Department of Building Safety
• BS&A Online, Leelanau County
• Applications, forms and permits
• Requirements for residential construction
• Building permit application
• Requirements for commercial construction
• Required building inspections
• Seasonal use permit requirements
• Building Safety FAQs
• After-the-fact permit fee policy
• Soil erosion and stormwater ordinance
• Address ordinance fee schedule
• County ordinances and resolutions
• Monthly building permits issued
• County FOIA requests
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List

Leelanau County building permit FAQs

Does Leelanau County issue building permits in every township?

Yes. The state list shows the county enforcing all four codes in all 11 townships and the villages of Empire, Northport and Suttons Bay.

How much does it cost to start a building permit?

A $125 base payment puts a residential application into plan review ($150 for commercial); the balance of the permit fee is due before the permit is issued.

Can I move in before the house is finished?

Possibly, with a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, once heat, running water, a working bathroom, cooking, lights, smoke alarms and required handrails are in place and every trade approves.

Can I pull my own permit as a homeowner?

Yes, for work you do yourself on the single-family home you live in or are about to occupy; the fees are the same as for contractors.

When do I need a soil erosion permit?

Within 500 feet of a lake or stream, within 100 feet of a regulated wetland, for an acre or more of disturbance, steep driveways, commercial projects and work in subdivisions or site condominiums.

Is there a deadline for dropping off applications?

Yes. Building applications must be submitted before 3 p.m.

How deep must footings be?

At least 42 inches below finish grade.

Who issues permits for school projects?

The state, unless the school, the local unit and the county file the annual delegation form and the state approves it.

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