St. Clair County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In St. Clair County, building permits do not come from the county. The state’s jurisdiction list shows no county construction code program: all seven cities, the Village of Capac and all 23 townships enforce the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes themselves, and the state Bureau of Construction Codes handles the Village of Emmett. What the county does handle is septic, well and soil erosion permits (Health Department, 220 Fort Street, Port Huron), county-road driveways (Road Commission) and county drains (Drain Commissioner).

What requires a building permit in St. Clair County?

The state construction code’s permit rules apply in every unit, but the permit itself, its fee and its inspections come from the local building department. Marysville’s page states the usual scope: permits are needed to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building or change its occupancy, and to install or alter electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems. Local lists differ in the details; the City of Port Huron, for example, publishes these:

County permits are needed on top of the local permit where the project has a septic system or well, disturbs soil near water or over a large area, adds a driveway on a county road, or connects to or crosses a county drain.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code and, for the Village of Emmett, enforces it. Each other city, village and township chose to enforce the code itself and sets its own fees and procedures. The county’s own role is public health (septic, wells, soil erosion), county roads, county drains and county-wide planning.

St. Clair County building department: who handles permitting

Under the state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes, revised November 6, 2026), St. Clair County has no county program, and every unit except one enforces all four codes itself:

The Village of Emmett and Emmett Township are separate: the village uses the state, the township its own program. A sliver of the City of Richmond lies in St. Clair County; the state lists Richmond under Macomb County with its own program. Examples of local offices, from their own pages:

• City of Port Huron (28,273 people): Building Department, City Hall, 100 McMorran Blvd., Port Huron; Building Official Paul Bilicki; 810-984-9733. Applications are accepted in person, by email or by mail, and fees are paid by check or money order or through the city’s online payment portal. Port Huron notes that commercial demolitions (and homes being converted to commercial use) need EGLE Air Quality Division approval, that floodplain lots may need EGLE water resources approval for exterior work, and that exterior work in its historic district needs Historic District Commission approval.
• City of Marysville (9,868): Building Department, 200 East 14th Street; Building Official Sean Quain; 810-455-1310; weekdays 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The city’s Planning Department handles site plans, rezonings, subdivision plats and right-of-way vacations, under a Master Plan updated in late 2025.
• Fort Gratiot Charter Township: Building Department, 3720 Keewahdin Road; 810-385-4489.

The county’s Metropolitan Planning Commission (by appointment, 810-989-6950, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) keeps the St. Clair County Master Plan; it does not issue building permits. For other units, call the township, city or village office. To find which unit a parcel is in, the county Equalization office (810-989-6925) and GIS office (810-985-2262) can help.

St. Clair County permit types and what comes first

Building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications, plan requirements and fee schedules are set by each local department. Zoning, site plan review and variances also come from the local unit’s zoning administrator, planning commission and zoning board of appeals. The county permits below are the ones a local building department typically asks to see before it issues a building permit; Fort Gratiot’s building application, for example, lists the county road, health department and drain approvals as required before approval.

Residential permits

For a house on a septic system and well, apply first to the Health Department’s Environmental Health Division at 220 Fort Street, Port Huron (810-987-5306). A new residential septic permit is $325 and a private well permit $225 including the water sample; a raw-land soil evaluation is $225 per parcel. The same schedule lists a county soil erosion permit for new single-family or duplex construction at $300, and for additions, garages, road ditch enclosures and ponds at $210; small earth changes under 225 square feet may qualify for a $55 waiver. Lakefront owners building a seawall pay $175 for the soil erosion permit.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial soil erosion permits are priced by disturbed area, from $525 under one acre to $2,500 plus $25 an acre over 20 acres, with a cash bond of $1,000 per acre or 100% of the engineer’s estimate for the controls. Commercial driveways on county roads need a Road Commission permit with a surety bond of $5,000 on gravel roads or $10,000 on asphalt, and all Road Commission plan reviews require three sets of engineered plans. On the health side, a commercial septic permit is $400 up to 1,000 gallons a day and $450 above that, a condominium or subdivision plat review is $525 plus $55 per lot, and a preliminary evaluation of a site under 50 acres is $315.

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

• Driveways and culverts: St. Clair County Road Commission, 21 Airport Drive, St. Clair (810-364-5720; permits@stclaircounty.org; weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). State trunklines need MDOT instead.
• Drains and stormwater: the Drain Commissioner, also at 21 Airport Drive (810-364-5369), reviews stormwater drainage for developments under its published rules and holds drain easements; it advises checking every visible waterway for easement restrictions. The office manages 407 county and intercounty drains, about 850 miles of waterways; most road ditches belong to the Road Commission, though some are county drains, and township drain maps show which watercourses are official drains.
• Oversize loads and road closures: transportation permits for oversize or overweight vehicles, including building and modular-home moves ($30), are filed through the Road Commission’s online Oxcart system.
• Land divisions: the Road Commission charges $50 for a land division or lot split review, plus $25 for each additional split.
• State permits: EGLE permits for high-risk erosion areas, shoreland work, wetlands and floodplains where they apply.

St. Clair County permit costs and fees

Building and trade permit fees are set by each city, village and township, so a deck in Port Huron and one in Kimball Township are priced differently; ask the local department for its schedule. County fees that apply across units are set by the Health Department (schedule effective October 1, 2026) and the Road Commission.

Road Commission inspection costs are billed separately for commercial approaches and for residential drives that do not comply with its standards, when inspection costs exceed the permit fees paid. The Drain Commissioner sells its stormwater rules for $15 in print (they are also free online) and township drain maps for $2 each. On the health schedule, moving an approved septic location costs $100 and a septic appeal $375.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits come from the same local department as the building permit in every unit except the Village of Emmett, where the state Bureau of Construction Codes issues them. Contractors hold state licenses; homeowner rules are set out on each local department’s forms. Two published examples:

• Port Huron: a homeowner may pull permits instead of a licensed contractor only if he or she is the registered legal owner and the home is the owner’s primary residence.
• Fort Gratiot: each trade form carries a homeowner affidavit for work in the owner’s own home, lived in or about to be occupied, and every trade permit starts with a $75 application fee.
• Marysville: the Building Department issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for all regulated work in the city and coordinates commercial plan review through the Building Official.

How to get permits in St. Clair County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Most delays come from sending an application to the wrong office or arriving without the county approvals the local department wants to see. Commercial projects also wait for Road Commission plan review (three engineered sets) and the Drain Commissioner’s stormwater review, and lakeshore projects for any state shoreline or high-risk erosion permit.

Inspections and occupancy

Building and trade inspections, and certificates of occupancy, are handled by the local department that issued the permit, under its own scheduling rules; in Fort Gratiot, for example, building inspections are on weekday mornings with 24 hours’ notice. In the Village of Emmett, state inspectors from the Bureau of Construction Codes inspect.

The county inspects its own permits. The Health Department inspects septic systems and wells (its schedule shows a $55 revisit fee and charges twice the permit fee for systems installed without one), and its soil erosion staff inspect erosion controls, with $80 for additional inspections. Road Commission inspection costs on commercial approaches are billed monthly, itemized to the applicant.

Michigan building code in St. Clair County

All 32 units of local government enforce the state code themselves except the Village of Emmett, where the state enforces it. No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each unit joins on its own. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the City of Port Huron, Port Huron Charter Township and Fort Gratiot Charter Township as participating, with maps effective July 19, 2022; ask other units about their status.

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

St. Clair County permit search and official resources

Building permit records are kept by the city, village or township that issued them; ask that office, or file a Freedom of Information Act request with it. Septic, well and soil erosion records are held by the county Health Department, road permits by the Road Commission and drain easements by the Drain Commissioner, whose easements from before 1956 may not appear at the Register of Deeds.

• Health Department Environmental Health fee schedule (Oct. 1, 2026)
• St. Clair County Health Department
• Road Commission permits
• Road Commission permit fees
• Drain Commissioner
• Metropolitan Planning Commission
• City of Port Huron building inspection
• City of Marysville Building Department
• Fort Gratiot Township Building Department
• State Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

St. Clair County building permit FAQs

Does St. Clair County issue building permits?

No. The county has no construction code program; your city, village or township issues them, or the state in the Village of Emmett.

Who issues permits in the Village of Emmett?

The state Bureau of Construction Codes, for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Emmett Township runs its own program.

Where do I get a septic or well permit?

The county Health Department’s Environmental Health Division, 220 Fort Street, Port Huron (810-987-5306): $325 for a new residential septic system, $225 for a private well.

Do I need a soil erosion permit for a new house?

The county Health Department’s schedule lists a $300 soil erosion permit for new single-family or duplex construction; a $55 waiver may be granted only for earth changes under 225 square feet.

Who handles driveways on county roads?

The St. Clair County Road Commission, 21 Airport Drive, St. Clair (810-364-5720).

Who issues permits in Port Huron?

The City of Port Huron Building Department at City Hall, 100 McMorran Blvd. (810-984-9733); Port Huron Charter Township is a separate unit.

Who reviews stormwater for a new subdivision or commercial site?

The St. Clair County Drain Commissioner, under its published rules for stormwater drainage, along with the local unit’s site plan review.

Can a homeowner pull permits?

It depends on the local department’s rules; Port Huron, for example, allows it only for the registered owner’s own primary residence.

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