Mecosta County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Mecosta County runs a full construction-code program. The Building & Zoning Department, Services Building, 14485 Northland Drive, Big Rapids ((231) 592-0105), led by Building & Zoning Director Annette Coles, issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits in the City of Big Rapids, the villages of Barryton, Morley and Stanwood and 13 townships, and administers the Mecosta County Zoning Ordinance. Mecosta and Morton townships and the Village of Mecosta enforce the codes themselves, and Big Rapids Township does too except for mechanical work, which the state handles. Soil erosion permits come from the Drain Commissioner, and wells and septic systems from District Health Department #10.

What requires a building permit in Mecosta County?

In the 17 units it serves, the county department applies the state construction code; its own page describes the job as receiving applications, reviewing construction documents, issuing permits for erecting and altering buildings and structures, and inspecting the work. Separate application forms cover electrical, mechanical and plumbing work (revised December 23, 2025), demolition (a demolition affidavit) and commercial projects (a commercial addendum).

In Mecosta Township, Morton Township, Big Rapids Township and the Village of Mecosta, the local unit decides what needs a permit and issues it.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The county department says the State of Michigan and the County of Mecosta direct it to enforce the Michigan Residential Code, the Michigan Building Code and the county zoning ordinance. The code itself is the state’s; the county sets its own fees (the schedule it lists took effect December 1, 2017) and runs zoning where its ordinance applies. Its Zoning Administrator issues zoning permits and checks zoning compliance before a building permit is issued, so the zoning step and the building step happen in the same office for parcels under county zoning.

Mecosta County building department: who handles permitting

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List splits the county’s 21 local units four ways.

The City of Big Rapids is served by the county for building and trade permits, unlike Big Rapids Township next to it, which runs its own program; check the parcel’s unit on the tax bill before applying. Zoning inside the city is the city’s own: its Community Development Department administers the city zoning ordinance, supports the city Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, runs rental inspections and code enforcement, and invites developers to a pre-application meeting with Community Development and Public Works staff; Community Development Director Michelle Stenger takes requests at (231) 592-4035.

Mecosta County permit types

The county pairs building and zoning on one form, the Application for Building / Zoning Clearance Permit, so the zoning check and the building application are filed together where county zoning applies.

Residential permits

• Houses, additions and garages: the clearance application with a site plan; the county posts residential site plan sheets, including one for corner lots, and a residential frame cross-section sheet.
• Decks: the county posts general requirements for residential decks and a deck specification sheet.
• Pole barns and storage buildings: their own handouts.
• Basements: a handout on emergency escape and rescue window wells.
• Contractors: the department posts a contractor registration form.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects add the county’s Commercial Addendum to the clearance application. Site condominiums, plats and mobile home parks also need their storm water drainage plans reviewed and approved by the Drain Commissioner.

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 Zoning Administrator for parcels under the county ordinance; a local zoning office where the township, village or city has its own.
• Soil erosion: the Drain Commissioner’s office is the county’s certified enforcing agency; it reviews plans, issues soil erosion permits and inspects sites.
• Well and septic: District Health Department #10, which also offers a building permit authorization application.
• Address: the county’s address request form (revised January 30, 2026).

Mecosta County permit costs and fees

County building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing fees follow the department’s fee schedule effective December 1, 2017, which is listed on the Building & Zoning page. Call the department at (231) 592-0105 for the amount on a specific project; its page has a “Pay for Building Permits” online payment link.

The schedule listed on the county page is the one dated December 1, 2017; no later county building fee schedule is posted with it.

On an unsewered lot the health department fees come first: a new house on a vacant parcel with a private well and a septic system needs DHD#10’s $180 well permit and $330 residential septic permit, and the district charges $275 for a combined well and septic evaluation when a property is sold or mortgaged.

Trade permits and who may pull them

In the 17 county-served units, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits come from the county on its own applications, revised December 23, 2025. In Mecosta and Morton townships and the Village of Mecosta, the local program issues all three. Big Rapids Township is the one split case: it issues electrical and plumbing permits, but mechanical permits (furnaces, air conditioning and gas piping, for example) come from the state Bureau of Construction Codes.

• Contractors: electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors hold state licenses, and the county posts a contractor registration form (revised April 2018).
• Septic installers: District Health Department #10 licenses them, but homeowners may install their own septic system under a DHD#10 permit.

How to get a building permit in Mecosta County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Zoning is checked before a building permit is issued, so a setback or use problem stops the permit; administrative variances and the Zoning Board of Appeals handle departures. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m. when it has cases, the Planning Commission on the first Thursday at 6 p.m., and the Building & Zoning Committee on the third Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.; the county notes that dates and times can change.

Inspections in Mecosta County

Inspections on county permits are carried out by the department’s own staff, who inspect the premises once a permit has been issued; ask the department at (231) 592-0105 how to book them. Units with their own programs schedule their own inspections: Morton Township’s Building and Zoning Department, for example, is led by Building Official Cory Zandstra, with the township office at 290 W. Main Street, Mecosta ((231) 972-7138). Big Rapids Township mechanical inspections are done by the state.

The Drain Commissioner inspects soil erosion sites separately. District Health Department #10 sanitarians inspect septic systems: call the local sanitarian 24 hours before covering or backfilling, and if no one can come within that time, the sanitarian may allow a contractor affidavit and covering.

Michigan building code in Mecosta County

The Drain Commissioner inspects and maintains seven lake level structures, the dams on Blue, Brady, Chippewa, Horsehead, Long, Pickerel and Pretty lakes, and maintains 39 county drains, many of them mapped on the county’s Fetch GIS viewer. No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each local unit joins on its own.

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

Mecosta County permit search and official resources

Permit records for county-served units are held by the Building & Zoning Department; ask there or file a Freedom of Information Act request under the county’s FOIA policy, which the Drain Commissioner’s page also links. Drain and soil erosion records sit with the Drain Commissioner, 14485 Northland Drive ((231) 592-0103, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

• Mecosta County Building & Zoning (forms, fee schedule, meetings)
• Mecosta County Drain Commissioner and soil erosion
• City of Big Rapids Community Development (zoning)
• Morton Township departments
• District Health Department #10 wells and septic
• District Health Department #10 environmental health fees

Mecosta County building permit FAQs

Does Mecosta County issue building permits?

Yes, for all four codes in the City of Big Rapids, the villages of Barryton, Morley and Stanwood and 13 townships.

Who issues building permits in Morton Township?

Morton Township, which runs its own program with a Building and Zoning Department.

Who issues a furnace permit in Big Rapids Township?

The state Bureau of Construction Codes; the township issues building, electrical and plumbing permits but not mechanical.

Where is the county building office?

The Services Building, 14485 Northland Drive, Big Rapids, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; phone (231) 592-0105.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The Drain Commissioner’s office, the county’s certified enforcing agency, at (231) 592-0103.

When does the Zoning Board of Appeals meet?

On the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m., as needed; the Planning Commission meets on the first Thursday at 6 p.m.

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