Pontiac, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In the City of Pontiac, building permits come from the Building Safety Division of the Community Development Department, on the first floor of City Hall at 47450 Woodward Avenue (248-758-2800), where Dennis Szymanski is the Building Official. The city enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself. Applications go in through BS&A Online, and since June 1, 2024 permit and plan review fees are paid up front. Under the city’s FY2026–27 fee schedule, a building permit for work costing $1,001 to $500,000 is $75 plus $20 for each $1,000 over $1,001.

What requires a building permit in Pontiac?

The Building Safety Division enforces the state construction code and the city ordinances tied to it, including the rental property code. Its form list and fee schedule show the work it permits: new buildings, additions, alterations and repairs, demolition, mobile home set-ups, signs, and separate electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire alarm work. Exterior site work is handled through a separate zoning compliance permit.

The zoning compliance permit costs $150 and applies to homeowners and contractors alike; it must be issued before work starts, and inspections are set when the permit is issued. Work done without a building permit carries a penalty of $250 on a residential job and $500 on a commercial one under the fee schedule.

What Pontiac decides and what the state holds

The construction code is the state’s, and neither the city nor any other local unit can change it. Under the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List, Pontiac is a local enforcing agency for all four codes, so the city reviews plans, issues permits, inspects and collects the fees. Oakland County runs no construction-code program of its own. What Pontiac adds is local: the fee schedule, contractor registration, zoning and site plan review, historic district review, rental registration and re-occupancy inspections.

Pontiac building department: who handles permitting

The Building Safety Division sits inside the Community Development Department with the Planning and Zoning Division, which shares its first-floor office. Walk-in service runs Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; City Hall itself is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The division also handles contractor registration, rental and vacant property registration, re-occupancy inspections and document retrieval. A vacant structure must be registered, at $500 for the first registration and inspection and $200 a year after that for registration and an exterior inspection. Appeals from a code decision go to the Construction Code Board of Appeals, with a $500 filing fee, and a code-compliance inspection of an existing property costs $250 for all trades.

Pontiac permit types

Pontiac uses separate applications for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire alarm and sign work. The building application is the state’s standard form carrying the city’s header, and it asks for the owner, the licensed residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor, the estimated project cost and a site plan.

Residential permits

• New homes and additions need two sets of drawings no larger than 24 by 36 inches, stapled and numbered in order, drawn at a scale of at least 1/8 inch to the foot. An architect is not needed for a smaller house, but hand-drawn rough sketches are refused; homes of 3,500 square feet or more need drawings signed and sealed by a registered design professional.
• Trade work on a house is priced item by item, with flat new-home fees of $215 for electrical, $205 for mechanical and $250 for plumbing.
• Demolition follows the city’s demolition standards and is charged by floor area.
• Rental homes must be registered with the division, which inspects them under the rental property code.

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

Commercial permits

Buildings regulated by the Michigan Building Code need two sets of construction documents filed with a separate application for plan examination, and the plans must be approved before a permit is issued. The city posts plan review checklists for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, energy, accessibility, sprinkler and engineering review. Occupying an existing building can call for a re-occupancy inspection, which has its own application and is priced by floor area from $250 for 2,500 square feet or less, and a certificate of occupancy.

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

• Zoning. The Planning and Zoning Division reviews site plans, special exception permits, rezonings and variances. Pre-application meetings are required for site plans and rezonings and encouraged for everything else.
• Planning Commission. It meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at City Hall and reviews site plans, planned unit developments, subdivisions and special exception permits.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. It meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers; a residential dimensional variance costs $400.
• Historic district. Work on a historic district property goes to the Historic District Commission ($200 application) or to administrative review ($100).
• Engineering. Plot plan review costs $400 for two reviews, and work in a street or alley right-of-way needs a $50 permit plus inspection costs drawn from an escrow of 10% of construction cost.
• Soil erosion. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner runs the Part 91 soil erosion program in Pontiac; a permit is needed for earth changes over one acre or more than 225 square feet within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or drain.

Pontiac permit costs and fees

Pontiac’s FY2026–27 fee schedule, posted on the Building Safety page, sets every building, trade, zoning and engineering fee. City Council adopted the 2026–2027 General Appropriations Act Ordinance (No. 2495) on May 19, 2026. Permit and plan review fees are due when you apply.

Worked example from the schedule: a project with a construction cost of $200,000 sits in the $1,001 to $500,000 band, so the building permit is $75 plus 199 × $20, or $4,055, before the $35 application fee and plan review. The higher plan review bands are printed in a way that does not join up with the first band, so ask the division to price plan review on a project above $1,000,000. Work done for the city by contracted inspectors or plan reviewers outside the normal schedule is billed at the contractor’s hourly rate plus 10%.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Pontiac issues all three trade permits itself, each on its own application with its own fee list. Contractors register with the division before pulling permits: the registration form asks for state license numbers and expiry dates, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance details, and a photo ID for the owner and each qualifying officer. Under the FY2026–27 schedule, registration costs $35 for building contractors, $45 for electrical, $15 for mechanical and $35 for plumbing contractors; the older registration form still shows $35, $35, $15 and $15, so expect the schedule figures.

• Electrical: $40 application fee and a $75 minimum; services, circuits, fixtures, generators and transfer switches are priced per item. Solar systems and EV chargers each carry a $90 application fee, with EV chargers at $190 each.
• Mechanical: $35 application fee and a $75 minimum; furnaces are charged per unit by size, and water heaters, chimney liners and fireplaces are $35 each.
• Plumbing: $50 application fee and an $85 minimum; most fixtures are $20 each and a water heater is $45.
• Fire alarm: $35 application fee with a $75 minimum.

The Building Safety page says homeowners and contractors can both apply online. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state, as are electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors, and the building application must carry the license number.

How to apply for a Pontiac building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Drawings that are hand-sketched, missing pages or missing items on the checklist are rejected or held until complete. A commercial job without its separate plan examination application cannot be permitted. If your project needs zoning compliance, historic district or engineering review, those approvals come from other divisions and are not part of the building plan review. A permit can be extended for $50 if the work runs long.

Inspections and certificates in Pontiac

The city’s current permit applications send inspection requests to inspections@pontiac.mi.us; give the permit number, job address and a contact. For zoning compliance permits, the city asks you to call 248-758-2800 with your permit number once the permit is paid and issued. Work that is not ready, or a violation not corrected by its deadline, costs $100 for the first re-inspection and $250 for the second.

Inspections outside regular business hours are charged at a minimum of $200. A certificate of occupancy costs $200 for residential or commercial buildings; re-occupancy inspections of existing buildings are a separate charge set by floor area. Rental properties are registered and inspected under the rental property code, at $300 per building plus per-unit charges.

Michigan building code in Pontiac

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the City of Pontiac (community 260177) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective September 29, 2006. The building permit application has a section where the city records whether zoning, fire district, health department, soil erosion and flood zone approvals are required and when they were given.

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

Pontiac permit search and official resources

BS&A Online offers Pontiac property searches covering permit lookups, inspections, violations and certificates. For Building Safety or planning documents that are not online, file the division’s Document Retrieval Application with its fee and allow 3 to 5 business days. The Planning and Zoning page says requests for building permit, certificate of occupancy and violation records go through the City Clerk as a public records request; the Clerk takes written requests in person, by email to foia@pontiac.mi.us, by fax or by mail at 47450 Woodward Avenue, and must answer within 5 working days, with a possible 10-day extension.

• Pontiac Building Safety Division
• BS&A Online: Pontiac permits, payments and record search
• FY2026–27 fee schedule
• Building permit application
• Contractor registration form
• Drawing requirements for one- and two-family homes
• Plan review checklists and flowcharts
• Zoning compliance application
• Planning and Zoning Division
• Planning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals
• City Clerk FOIA requests
• Oakland County soil erosion permits
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Pontiac building permit FAQs

Can I email my permit application to Pontiac?

No. The Building Safety Division stopped taking emailed building applications; homeowners and contractors apply through BS&A Online.

How much is a building permit for a $200,000 project?

$4,055 under the FY2026–27 schedule ($75 plus $20 for each $1,000 over $1,001), plus the $35 application fee and plan review, all paid up front.

Do I need a permit for a fence or driveway?

Yes, a $150 zoning compliance permit from the Planning and Zoning Division, issued before work starts.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Email inspections@pontiac.mi.us with the permit number and job address; zoning compliance inspections are requested on 248-758-2800.

Do contractors have to register with the city?

Yes. Registration goes to registration@pontiac.mi.us with license details and photo IDs; the schedule sets $35 for building, $45 for electrical, $15 for mechanical and $35 for plumbing contractors.

Who handles soil erosion permits in Pontiac?

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, for earth changes over one acre or more than 225 square feet within 500 feet of water.

When does the Zoning Board of Appeals meet?

On the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

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