Madison Heights, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Building permits in the City of Madison Heights come from the Building Services division of the Community & Economic Development Department at City Hall, 300 West Thirteen Mile Road (248-583-0831). The city enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, takes applications in person (some by mail or online) and will not accept one without payment. Under the FY 2027 fee schedule, in force since July 1, 2026, every permit carries a $30 non-refundable filing fee and a home remodel costs $75 plus $6.30 for each $1,000 above the first $1,000.

What requires a building permit in Madison Heights?

The city tells owners that remodeling, adding on or building a garage all need permits, obtained by the owner or the owner’s builder. The residential application lists the job types it covers: new homes, additions, interior and exterior alterations including roofs and exterior windows, detached garages and accessory buildings, porches and decks, pools and demolition. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire alarm and suppression work and exterior concrete each need a separate permit with their own drawings.

These small-structure rules come from the city’s accessory-structure handout, revised in 2017, and the current fee schedule; the handout’s older dollar amounts no longer apply.

What Madison Heights decides and what the state holds

The technical rules come from the single state construction code, which no city can amend. The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List shows Madison Heights enforcing all four parts of it locally, and the Building Division also enforces the property maintenance code and the city’s sign, landlord licensing and zoning ordinances. Fees, contractor registration, plot plan rules and the inspection schedule are city decisions.

Madison Heights building department: who handles permitting

Building Services sits inside the Community & Economic Development (CED) Department, directed by Giles Tucker, alongside planning, engineering, code enforcement and rental licensing. City building staff will meet builders and architects during design and construction, and every plan is reviewed in-house before a permit is issued; inspections are made by state-registered inspectors employed by the city.

Madison Heights permit types

The city posts separate residential and commercial building applications, a homeowner affidavit and stand-alone forms for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, concrete, fire alarm, fire suppression, signs, water and sewer, right-of-way and demolition bonds. Each residential building application needs two copies of the drawings plus one PDF: one full size at 24 by 36 inches, one no larger than 11 by 17 inches, and no reversed-text sheets.

Residential permits

• New homes are priced by finished floor area, including habitable basement space and attached garages, and need a separate certificate of occupancy application.
• Remodels, additions and accessory buildings are priced by improvement cost; the cost entered must include driveways and site work but not land, with a copy of the contract.
• Homes in a site condominium or association need written association approval with the application.
• Home businesses are flagged on the form because home occupations fall under Section 7.03 of the zoning ordinance and may need separate approval.

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

Commercial permits

Multi-family, commercial and industrial work uses the commercial application and is charged $78 up to $6,000 of construction cost and 1.3% of the whole cost (0.013 × cost) above that, plus a plan review of 0.5% of cost (between $200 and $5,000). Any outside architectural or engineering review is billed to the applicant on top. A change of use, owner or occupant needs a $210 certificate of occupancy, and mobile food vendors need an annual one. When only the ownership of a multi-tenant building changes, the owner obtains a new certificate for each tenant at 20% of the regular fee, and the fee and inspection are waived for any space certified within the past year.

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

• Plot plan and zoning review. Accessory buildings and additions pass three checks: plot plan (drainage, sidewalks, driveways, utilities), zoning (coverage, setbacks, height) and building plan review. A residential site or plot plan review is $75.
• Site plans and pre-application meetings. Conceptual meetings with CED staff are free; a Technical Review Committee concept meeting is $100. Major site plans cost $700 (multi-family) or $850 (non-residential) at the committee, or $1,000 before the Planning Commission; a minor site plan is $200.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. A dimensional variance costs $400; a rezoning is $1,500.
• Driveways and soil erosion. A drive approach on a county or state road needs a Road Commission for Oakland County or MDOT permit. Soil erosion permits for earth changes over 1 acre, or more than 225 square feet within 500 feet of water, come from the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner (248-858-5389).

Madison Heights permit costs and fees

Fees come from the FY 2027 City of Madison Heights Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026. Its listed changes this year include a new $90 re-inspection charge on certificates of occupancy and a deposit of 1% of site construction cost with engineering plan review. Every permit also carries a $30 non-refundable application fee.

Worked examples from the schedule: a $20,000 basement remodel is $75 + $6.30 × 19, or $194.70, plus the $30 filing fee ($224.70), and $55 more if plan review is required. A new house with 2,000 square feet of finished area is $850 + $1.15 × 1,000, or $2,000, plus $30. A pre-construction meeting with Building Services costs $210, limited to two meetings.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Madison Heights inspects its own electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, so every trade permit is filed with Building Services. The fee is $75 for each inspection the job requires plus the $30 application fee; the schedule sets the minimum number of visits. A new house needs service, rough and final electrical inspections, underground, rough and final plumbing inspections, and rough, final and gas-line mechanical inspections for each heating system.

• Registration. The city notes that residential builders and electrical, plumbing, mechanical and sign specialist contractors hold state licenses; Madison Heights adds a $30 city registration, checks licenses and insurance, and requires it before work starts. The registration form (revised June 2025) asks for a copy of the contractor’s driver’s license, the current contractor license and, for electrical, plumbing and sign firms, the master or specialist license of the person allowed to pull permits. Building and sign contractors list by name everyone authorized to obtain permits for them, and the form must be notarized unless it is handed in person.
• Homeowners. An owner who lives in the house may take out permits and do the work personally, with a notarized homeowner affidavit. The owner promises not to rent the home for a year or plan its sale within a year of completion, and any helper hired must be a licensed and city-registered builder or maintenance and alteration contractor.
• Hired trades. When a homeowner hires an electrician, plumber or mechanical contractor, that contractor pulls its own permit.
• Fire protection. Fire alarm permits are filed in person; fire suppression has its own application and design standards.

How to apply for a Madison Heights building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The city’s handout says plans are reviewed in the order received and that review time depends on workload; the applicant is told when the plot plan, zoning or building review finds a problem. Missing details, an unpaid fee or an unregistered contractor stop an application. Once issued, a permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stalls for 180 days; it can be renewed before then for $35, and a closed permit costs $75 to re-open.

Inspections and certificates in Madison Heights

Inspections are requested on the inspection line, 248-583-0831, with the address, permit number and type of inspection. According to the city’s handout, a request called in before 4:30 p.m. that the office has confirmed, with no fees owing, is booked for the next day between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (1:30 to 3:00 p.m. for plumbing and mechanical), Monday through Friday; cancel before 9:00 a.m. on the day. Inspectors do not enter an occupied home unless the owner or a representative is there.

The fee schedule lists the building stages: footing (with property lines marked), backfill, brick ledge, rough framing after the trade roughs pass, insulation, slab, masonry fireplace, drywall fasteners, final and a final site inspection for the certificate of occupancy. As-built drawings with approved, existing and final grade elevations must be in before the certificate issues, and it is illegal to occupy a building without one. A temporary certificate lasts up to 90 days with one renewal.

Michigan building code in Madison Heights

On the Statewide Jurisdiction List (rev. November 6, 2026), Madison Heights is a local program for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing; Oakland County runs no county program. In FEMA’s Community Status Book the City of Madison Heights (community 260174) participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, in the regular program since 1978, with no special flood hazard area shown on its map.

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

Madison Heights permit search and official resources

For copies of permits, plans or inspection reports, file a Freedom of Information Act request with the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall using the city’s FOIA request form. If a problem with a contractor’s work appears after final approval and cannot be settled, the department provides its inspection reports to help the owner file a complaint with the state.

• Madison Heights Building Services
• Building permits and application forms
• FY 2027 fee schedule (effective July 1, 2026)
• Residential building permit application and homeowner affidavit
• Commercial building permit application
• Contractor registration form
• Residential accessory structures guide
• Handouts and procedures
• AccessMyGov online payments
• FOIA requests
• Oakland County soil erosion permits
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Madison Heights building permit FAQs

How much does a building permit cost in Madison Heights?

For a home remodel, $75 for the first $1,000 of cost plus $6.30 per $1,000 above that, plus the $30 filing fee; a $20,000 job is $224.70.

Can a homeowner pull a permit?

Yes, for a home the owner lives in and does the work on, with a notarized affidavit; hired trades must take out their own permits.

Can I apply online?

Some applications can be filed by mail or online and fees can be paid on AccessMyGov, but the city recommends filing in person at City Hall, and fire alarm and right-of-way permits must be filed there.

How do I book an inspection?

Call 248-583-0831 before 4:30 p.m. for an inspection the next day.

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

A shed under 200 square feet needs a concrete permit for its ratwall unless it is portable and set on a driveway slab or an open foundation.

How long is a permit good for?

It lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days; renewal before expiry is $35.

What does a new house permit cost?

$850 plus $1.15 per square foot of finished area over 1,000 square feet, plus $30 and an $80 plan review if required.

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