Midland County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Midland County itself issues no building permits. The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List marks it “no county program” and shows all 19 local units (two cities, one village and 16 townships) enforcing the code themselves. In practice ten townships and the City of Coleman share one office, the Township Code Authority of Midland County at 220 W. Ellsworth Street, Midland ((989) 837-6521); the City of Midland has its own Building Department; and the other townships and the Village of Sanford run their own. The county’s part is soil erosion permits (Drain Commissioner), wells and septic systems (Health Department) and, through the Road Commission, driveways.

What requires a building permit in Midland County?

The Township Code Authority (TCA) asks anyone planning to build, add on, demolish, rewire, replumb, repair a septic system or install a wood-burning stove to call its office first. Its fee sheet shows what it permits: new dwellings, additions, basements, garages, pole and accessory buildings, manufactured homes, enclosed or roofed porches, agricultural structures, signs, demolitions, new roofs, pools and window replacements, plus electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits are required for every manufactured home it sets.

Inside the City of Midland the list is the city’s own; see the City of Midland building permit guide. Townships outside the TCA set their own permit lists and fees.

What the local units decide and what the state and county hold

Michigan counties have no unincorporated land, so every parcel in Midland County sits in a city, village or township, and the jurisdiction list names that unit as the enforcing agency for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work. The state construction code applies everywhere. The TCA was organized on May 1, 1996 to provide plumbing, mechanical, electrical and building inspections to the county’s townships, and every member unit has one representative on it. Zoning is also local. The TCA’s checklist requires approved township zoning before a building permit in Edenville, Geneva, Homer, Hope, Jasper, Larkin, Lee, Mills and Warren townships, and its website lists Greendale’s zoning contact as well. County offices handle the environmental permits that come first.

Midland County building department: who handles permitting

Find which unit the parcel is in before calling anyone. A Midland mailing address does not mean the City of Midland: the city says it has no jurisdiction over building questions outside its limits and refers township residents to the TCA. The county’s interactive GIS map and the municipalities page, which links each unit’s website, show the answer.

The TCA also serves the City of Auburn in Bay County and the Village of Merrill in Saginaw County. Its office is closed on Fridays.

Midland County permit types

The TCA uses separate forms for building (2025 edition), electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, plus a permit extension request, all on its downloadable forms page. Fill a form in before applying.

Residential permits

• Houses and additions: one set of scaled plans before the permit is issued, with foundation and floor plans, a section view and two elevations; a garage or utility building needs a floor plan and section.
• Plot plan: the building’s location with distances to every property line and to existing structures.
• Alterations: the TCA asks for scale-size prints for any alteration to a home.
• Manufactured homes: charged by the square foot like a house, and always with mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits.

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 carry a design professional’s stamp. TCA commercial buildings pay the same $0.18 per square foot plus plan review at $50 an hour, and every rental unit and commercial building needs licensed contractors to secure the permits and do the work.

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. Approved township zoning goes in with the building application in the townships listed above; the TCA website gives each township’s zoning administrator.
• Well and septic. Midland County Health Department, Environmental Health, Midland County Services Building, 220 W. Ellsworth Street ((989) 832-6380; Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed noon to 1 p.m.). Its sanitarians do perc tests, permits and inspections, and existing wells and septic systems must be approved before a building permit; on public water, bring the paid water assessment.
• Soil erosion. The Drain Commissioner’s Office is the county enforcing agency everywhere except the City of Midland, which issues its own. The county requires a permit for any earth change within 500 feet of a lake, stream or county drain, or larger than one acre; the TCA checklist words its trigger as more than 225 square feet of disturbance within 500 feet of water, wetlands or a county drain. Apply with the permit form and a site plan or sketch; waterfront lots also need a profile of the lot from the road to the water’s edge, before and after. Work that touches a county drain also needs the Drain Commissioner’s drain permit.
• Address. New and existing buildings need an address before the permit; the TCA checklist sends applicants to (989) 832-6790.
• Driveway and road work. A Midland County Road Commission permit for any new driveway onto a county road ((989) 687-9060), on a separate application. Other right-of-way work, such as utility and construction permits, has been filed on the Oxcart online system since June 2021, and approved permits are invoiced by email and paid by card only, with Oxcart adding its own convenience and card charges. State highways go to MDOT’s Mt. Pleasant office, (989) 773-7756.

Midland County permit costs and fees

The county charges no building permit fees. Each unit sets its own, and the TCA posts its schedule on the 2025 building permit form. Every TCA permit carries a $50 application fee, a $10 technology fee and a $50 inspection fee, and residential construction adds $0.18 per square foot.

Worked example: a 1,200-square-foot pole barn in a TCA township costs 1,200 × $0.18, or $216, plus the $110 in application, technology and inspection fees, for $326. Payment is taken only after the building inspector has reviewed every document, and checks are made out to TCA.

County environmental fees come on top. The Drain Commissioner’s soil erosion packet lists $70 ($20 review plus $50 permit) for a single garage, pole building, residential addition, septic system or culvert, $140 for other individual residential sites such as ponds, seawalls, demolitions and land clearing, and $440 for an individual commercial site, with inspections charged extra.

Trade permits and who may pull them

In TCA communities, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits come from the TCA on its own trade applications, and its inspectors handle the trade inspections. In the City of Midland and the self-administered townships and village, the same unit that issues the building permit issues the trade permits. The TCA’s electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications are 2023 editions on its forms page. The electrical form (revised April 1, 2023) charges a $50 application fee, a $50 final inspection and a $10 technology fee, plus items such as $15 for a service through 200 amps, $5 per circuit and $60 for a temporary construction pole; a plain 200-amp service change therefore comes to $125. Sealed plans are not needed when the system is 400 amps or less and the building is 3,500 square feet or less.

• Homeowners: under the TCA’s rules, a homeowner may secure building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits if the homeowner is doing the work.
• Rentals and commercial buildings: licensed contractors must secure the permits and complete the work.
• Order of finals: the electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspectors must approve their work before the building inspector is called for occupancy.

How to get a building permit in Midland County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The TCA warns that missing documents delay permits. The common gaps are the well and septic permits, the zoning approval and the soil erosion permit, which come from three different offices. Payment cannot be made until review is complete, and the TCA has a written Request for Permit Extension form for work that runs long.

Inspections in Midland County

The TCA’s trade forms say to call the office when ready for an inspection, with as much notice as possible, the job address and the permit number; its website also lists separate lines for the building inspector and the plumbing and mechanical inspector. A trade permit lapses if work does not start within six months or stops for six months, and one with no inspection for six months is cancelled without refund. The certificate of occupancy is issued once every inspection is approved: the trade inspectors finish first, and where a well or septic permit was issued, Environmental Health must complete its final inspection before the certificate. The TCA states that occupying or using a structure before the occupancy permit is illegal.

Soil erosion sites are inspected separately by the Drain Commissioner’s office, which bills inspections on top of the permit fee. City of Midland inspections are booked with the city a day ahead, and the self-administered townships schedule their own.

Michigan building code in Midland County

No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each city, village and township joins on its own. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the City of Midland (community 260140, Community Rating System class 5) and Midland Township (260857) as participating, both with flood maps effective May 4, 2009. Floodplain work in the city follows its own substantial improvement rules.

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

Midland County permit search and official resources

Permit records stay with the office that issued them. For TCA permits, use the TCA’s Freedom of Information Act request form on its downloadable forms page; City of Midland records come from the city. Parcel ownership and location are on the county’s GIS map, and soil erosion and drain records sit with the Drain Commissioner, 220 W. Ellsworth Street ((989) 832-6770, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

• Township Code Authority of Midland County
• TCA downloadable permit forms
• TCA building permit checklist and fees (2025)
• TCA FOIA request form
• Midland County municipalities and their websites
• Midland County soil erosion permit
• Soil erosion application packet and fees
• Midland County Drain Commissioner
• Midland County Environmental Health (wells and septic)
• Midland County GIS
• City of Midland permit information

Midland County building permit FAQs

Does Midland County issue building permits?

No. The state lists Midland as having no county program; permits come from the TCA, the City of Midland, or the township or village where the parcel sits.

Which townships use the Township Code Authority?

Edenville, Geneva, Greendale, Homer, Hope, Jasper, Larkin, Lee, Mills and Warren, plus the City of Coleman.

How much is a TCA building permit for a garage?

$0.18 per square foot plus $110 in application, technology and inspection fees; a 1,200-square-foot building comes to $326.

Can I pull my own permit in a TCA township?

Yes, if you are doing the work yourself; rental units and commercial buildings need licensed contractors.

Who issues soil erosion permits?

The Drain Commissioner’s Office, for earth changes within 500 feet of a lake, stream or county drain or over one acre, except in the City of Midland, which issues its own.

Who handles wells and septic systems?

The Midland County Health Department’s Environmental Health division, (989) 832-6380, which also does the final inspection required before a TCA occupancy certificate.

Do I need a Road Commission permit for a driveway?

Yes, for a new driveway onto a county road; it uses a separate application, not the Oxcart online system used for other right-of-way permits. State highway driveways need MDOT.

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