Springfield Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Springfield Charter Township, the township’s own Building Department enforces the state construction codes and issues building and trade permits from the Civic Center’s lower level at 12000 Davisburg Road, Davisburg ((248) 846-6517, Monday to Thursday). A licensed contractor or a homeowner may apply, and a new home application must carry copies of the septic, well, driveway and, where needed, soil erosion permits. Under the fee schedule last amended April 1, 2026, a new house or addition is $150 plus $9 per $1,000 of construction value, with residential plan review at $145 an hour. Fees are paid by cash or check only.

What requires a building permit in Springfield Township?

The Building Department provides the construction permits and inspections the state building codes require. Its fee schedule shows the work it prices: new houses, additions and remodels, accessory buildings, decks and porches, pools, demolition, moving buildings, signs, mobile homes in parks, changes of use, and separate electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits.

Every attached and detached accessory building on a parcel counts toward maximum lot coverage, and the allowed floor area depends on parcel size, so call the department with your property’s square footage before planning a garage or barn. Work done without a permit is charged double the permit fee.

What Springfield Township decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code and licenses builders and trades; local units cannot amend the code. The Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List shows Springfield Township enforcing the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself, and Oakland County has no county construction-code program. The township sets its own fees, minimum house sizes and zoning setbacks, and the Township Supervisor handles planning and zoning. Restrictions in a subdivision’s master deed or bylaws are not checked at permit review, so check them with your association.

Springfield Township building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department works from the lower level of the Springfield Township Civic Center. You can drop off a permit application at any time; it is processed offsite or on the next business day and reviewed in the order received, and the department lets you know when the permit is ready to pick up or if more information is needed. Fees are paid by cash or check; the township takes no online payments and says it will never ask for a wired payment.

Springfield Township permit types

The township’s document center holds the building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sign permit applications, an insulation installed affidavit and the fee schedule. The building permit form, revised in April 2026, asks for the owner and contractor, the contractor’s license number and expiry date, and a breakdown of permit and plan review fees.

Residential permits

• New houses: a signed application, construction plans with a foundation plan, floor plan, elevations and a cross-section showing materials, a scaled plot plan showing easements, drainage, grades, property lines and existing buildings, and copies of the septic, well, driveway and soil erosion permits. The township’s building page asks for two sets of plans, while its permit information page and the April 2026 form ask for three, so bring three. One approved set comes back to you.
• Minimum house size: 1,000 square feet for one story, 1,250 for one and a half stories and 1,500 for two stories in every residential district; private restrictions may require more.
• Setbacks in the four residential districts range from a 75-foot road setback on 2.5-acre R-1-A lots to 50 feet in R-1, R-2 and R-3, with 35-foot rear setbacks throughout; lots in developments may differ.
• Association approval of plans and plot plan may be requested in subdivisions and condominiums.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multi-unit work is charged $200 plus $9 per $1,000 of construction value, with a $200 minimum, and plan review at 10% of the building permit fee. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits and their reviews are separate. Commercial buildings must pass a slab inspection, and inspectors may call for third-party inspections.

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

• Septic and well. The Oakland County Health Division issues on-site sewage and water system permits; the township needs the permit copies with the building application.
• Driveway. A driveway onto a public road needs a Road Commission for Oakland County permit.
• Soil erosion. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner administers the Part 91 program in Springfield Township, and a permit is needed for earth changes over one acre or of more than 225 square feet within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or drain.
• Zoning. Site plans and rezonings go through the Supervisor’s office to the Planning Commission; the first pre-application meeting is free. Township consultants review only plans forwarded by the township.
• Zoning Board of Appeals. It meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m., with application deadlines about a month earlier (for example, November 13, 2026 for the December 16 meeting); the fee is $300.
• Community sewer. New homes in Autumn Shores, Fountain Village, Hills of Kingston, Kingston Pointe and Sunset Bluff pay a per-unit sewer user fee of $2,700 to $5,000.

Springfield Township permit costs and fees

All Building Department fees are in Schedule III of the township fee schedule, last amended April 1, 2026. Residential fees are a flat base plus $9 per $1,000 of construction value, with plan review billed hourly on top.

Worked example from the schedule: a 2,000-square-foot new house with a construction value of $300,000 pays $150 plus 300 × $9, or $2,850, for the building permit, plus at least one hour of plan review at $145, $300 each for the electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and $100 for the certificate of occupancy. A cancelled permit is refunded at 80% after $85 is deducted for each inspection already made.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Springfield Township issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits itself. New one- and two-family homes pay a flat fee per trade by size, which leaves out extras such as generators, fireplaces, EV chargers, subpanels, pools, solar and additional HVAC appliances. Remodels and repairs are priced from a base fee plus items:

• Electrical: $60 base with a $156 minimum; a 101- to 400-amp service is $60, a first EV charger $78, a first solar array $78 and a generator $60.
• Mechanical: $60 base with a $65 minimum; a replacement furnace, air conditioner or water heater is $78 each, and gas piping $12 per appliance.
• Plumbing: $90 base with a $120 minimum; most fixtures are $11 each and a lawn sprinkler $60.

Commercial, industrial and multi-unit mechanical and plumbing permits start from a $120 base fee instead. A mobile home placed in a park pays $300 for a single-wide or $350 for a double-wide, which covers the building, plumbing and mechanical permits; the foundation and electrical permits are separate.

The township says a licensed contractor or a homeowner may apply for a building permit. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state, as are electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors, and each license filed with the township costs $25.

How to apply for a Springfield Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Applications are reviewed in the order received against township ordinance and the state codes. For a new home the township asks for a valid septic permit, well permit and driveway permit, and a soil erosion permit where needed, with the application, so get the county permits first. The township also notes that new additions increase taxable value and refers questions about that to the Assessing Office.

Inspections and certificates in Springfield Township

Call (248) 846-6517 at least 24 hours ahead to request an inspection; the department does not set specific appointment times, so the site must be ready. Building inspectors work Monday to Friday, early morning or late afternoon; plumbing and mechanical inspectors Tuesday and Thursday from late morning; and the electrical inspector Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. A sign with the address must be posted and visible from the road before any inspection.

• Building: house footing, backfill, garage footing, rough and final.
• Electrical: service and underground if needed, rough and final; low-voltage rough and final.
• Mechanical: fireplace, gas pressure, rough and final.
• Plumbing: pressure test, rough and final.

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing rough and final inspections must pass before the matching building inspection. The certificate of occupancy ($100) is issued after every permit is finaled and all fees are paid, and it also needs a final water test and septic approval from the county; contact Oakland County at least a month before the final inspections.

Michigan building code in Springfield Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Springfield Township (community 260478) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since April 15, 2009, with no special flood hazard area identified on its map. The township’s building page links to FEMA’s map service for owners who want to check a parcel.

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

Springfield Township permit search and official resources

The township has no online permit search. To see permit files or other township records, send a Freedom of Information Act request: on the township’s form or in any other writing, by email to clerk@springfield-twp.us with “FOIA” in the subject line, by fax to (248) 846-6538, or by mail or in person to 12000 Davisburg Road, Attn: FOIA Coordinator. The township also accepts verbal requests. Meeting minutes, public notices, the code of ordinances and the fee schedule are posted on the township site.

• Springfield Township Building Department
• Building permit requirements, inspections and county contacts
• Permit information
• Inspector schedules
• Fee schedule, amended April 1, 2026
• Building permit application
• Permits and forms
• Planning and zoning
• Zoning Board of Appeals 2026 dates and deadlines
• FOIA requests
• Oakland County Environmental Health (septic and wells)
• Oakland County soil erosion permits
• BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Springfield Township building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit for a new house in Springfield Township?

$150 plus $9 per $1,000 of construction value, so $2,850 at $300,000, plus plan review at $145 an hour and separate trade permits.

Can a homeowner apply for a building permit?

Yes. The township says applications are made by either a licensed contractor or a homeowner.

What do I need before applying for a new home permit?

Septic and well permits from the Oakland County Health Division, a driveway permit if the road is public, a soil erosion permit if needed, plans and a scaled plot plan.

Can I pay permit fees online?

No. The township takes cash or checks only, in person or by mail.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call (248) 846-6517 with 24 hours’ notice; re-inspections cost $85, paid before they are scheduled.

What is the smallest house allowed?

1,000 square feet for one story, 1,250 for one and a half stories and 1,500 for two stories.

When does the Zoning Board of Appeals meet?

On the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m.; the fee is $300.

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