St. Joseph County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

There is no county building department in St. Joseph County. The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List marks the county “no county program”, so building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits come from the city, village or township where the land lies, or from the state Bureau of Construction Codes in the two units where the state enforces the code (the Village of Constantine and Florence Township) and, for the trades, in Sturgis. The county’s own role is soil erosion and drain permits through the Drain Commissioner in Centreville (269-467-5600), addressing through its GIS office, and parcel records; driveways go to the St. Joseph County Road Commission and wells and septic systems to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency.

What requires a building permit in St. Joseph County?

Whether a job needs a building permit, and what it costs, is decided by the unit that enforces the code at that address, not by the county. The county is made up of 2 cities and 16 townships, with 6 villages inside the townships, and each of these 24 units appears on the state’s jurisdiction list with the agency that enforces the code there. The county adds its own permits for work that affects soil, drains, county roads and addresses.

Agricultural earth changes are outside the county’s soil erosion oversight, which the Drain Commissioner applies to non-agricultural work only. A driveway needs a road commission permit when it is new and when the use of the land it serves changes, for example from residential to commercial.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the construction code and, in Constantine village and Florence Township, enforces it directly. The county decides its soil erosion program (set up by county resolution under Part 91 of the state’s environmental code), its drain permits and its address ordinance, and the road commission sets the driveway and right-of-way rules on county roads. Zoning belongs to the cities, villages and townships.

St. Joseph County building department: who handles permitting

The state list, revised November 6, 2026, puts the county’s 24 units into three groups.

The two cities are the largest units. Sturgis (10,900 people in 2025) issues building permits through its Community Development Department at City Hall, 130 N. Nottawa Street (269-659-7230), and its page sends electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits to the state. Three Rivers (7,910) processes building, plumbing and mechanical permits at City Hall, 333 W. Michigan Avenue, and its Building & Zoning page refers building questions to SAFEbuilt at 269-729-9244. A city and the township of the same name are separate units: Sturgis Township, for example, runs its own program apart from the city.

Permit types in St. Joseph County

Building, trade and zoning applications are on each local unit’s own forms, or with the state for Constantine village, Florence Township and the Sturgis trades. The county-level permits below apply across the county wherever their trigger is met.

Residential permits

• Soil erosion. Building a house within 500 feet of a lake, pond, stream, creek or county drain, or disturbing an acre or more, needs a county soil erosion permit. The county’s sample plan for a minor project, a home on a 30,000 sq ft lake lot with about 12,000 sq ft disturbed, shows the silt fence, stockpile and grass buffer the plan should mark.
• Driveway. A residential driveway onto a county road costs $100 plus a $500 escrow; whoever installs it must carry insurance, and existing driveways are inspected at no charge to confirm they are approved.
• Well and septic. Permits come from the district health agency and can be applied for and paid online through its environmental health portal; a well or septic system placed in the county road right-of-way needs a $250 road commission permit backed by a health department statement that no other location exists, or a township-approved alternate system.
• Address. A new home gets its number from the county GIS office, but the request goes through the city, village or township with a site plan or survey and the parcel ID.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial driveways cost $200 plus the $500 escrow, and a change in the use of the land served, or in the type of commercial use, needs a new driveway permit. Commercial, multi-family, industrial and land-balancing projects use the same county soil erosion application as houses, and the County Enforcing Agent may require a compliance bond or irrevocable letter of credit. Building plans, plan review and trade permits follow the rules of the enforcing unit.

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 from the city, village or township.
• Soil erosion plan approved by the Drain Commissioner where the 1-acre or 500-foot trigger applies.
• County drain permit for any connection, crossing or work through a county drain.
• Driveway permit from the road commission before any work starts on a county road approach.
• Well and septic permits from the health agency where there is no public water or sewer.

Permit fees in St. Joseph County

Building and trade permit fees are set by each enforcing unit (or by the state where it enforces), so there is no county building fee schedule. The fees the county agencies publish are below. The road commission’s schedule was approved after a public hearing on April 1, 2026 and took effect that day, along with new insurance requirements.

All road commission permits require insurance, and the board may add escrows. Soil erosion permit fees are paid to the Drain Commissioner by check or cash with the application, plus a performance deposit where the agency requires one. Well and septic fees are paid to the health agency. Ask the local unit for its building fee schedule: Sturgis, for example, prices permits from a 2025 table by estimated project cost.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The state list is the guide to trade permits here. In 21 of the 24 units the local program issues electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits along with building permits. In Sturgis the city issues only the building permit and the state issues the three trade permits. In the Village of Constantine and Florence Township the state issues every permit, building included, and its inspectors do the inspections.

• Three Rivers processes plumbing and mechanical permits through City Hall, as its Building & Zoning page states.
• Sturgis names the state Bureau of Construction Codes as the permitting resource for electrical, plumbing and mechanical work.
• Townships and villages on their own programs take trade applications on their own forms, under their own fee schedules.

Licensing is the same across the county: residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors hold state licenses, as do electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors, and the permit application carries the license number. Whether a homeowner may pull a permit for their own house is set out by the agency issuing it, so ask that office before you start.

How to get a permit in St. Joseph County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A soil erosion permit is issued within the statutory 30 days once the application and site plan meet the rules, and the checklist warns that a plan missing any required item must be revised before approval. County GIS usually processes an address within one business day of receiving it from the local unit, but the county suggests allowing two to three days for the whole cycle. Road commission permits cannot be issued without insurance on file.

Inspections and approvals in St. Joseph County

Building and trade inspections are scheduled with the office that issued the permit: the local unit, the City of Sturgis for the building permit there, or the state. The county runs its own field checks for soil erosion. The County Enforcing Agent reviews each plan, visits the site, issues the permit with specific recommendations, and returns periodically and after significant rain until a final inspection.

• Soil erosion plans show the applicant and parcel, start and finish dates, a vicinity map, the limits of disturbance, contours, drainage, soils, vegetation, every temporary and permanent control measure, the installation schedule and a maintenance plan; the site plan is drawn at 1 inch to 200 feet or larger, or with exact distances marked.
• Designated agents. A builder applying for the owner needs the owner’s signed Designated Agent Form; the permit is issued in the owner’s name and the owner remains responsible.
• Address posting. Under county ordinance, numbers must be at least 3 inches high, in Arabic numerals contrasting with the background, 2 to 6 feet above grade, and posted at the driveway when the building is 100 feet or more from the road.

Address numbers are assigned by driveway location, so an owner cannot pick a number, and vacant land is not addressed until a meter or permanent structure is going in.

Michigan building code in St. Joseph 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 both the City of Sturgis and Sturgis Township as participating, with maps dated June 4, 2010 on which no flood elevations were determined. Floodplain questions for any other address go to the local unit.

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. Joseph County permit search and official resources

Building permit records are kept by the unit or state office that issued the permit. County records, such as soil erosion and drain permits, are requested under the Freedom of Information Act through the county’s JustFOIA public portal. Parcel ownership and tax history are on the county’s property records search.

• Drain Commissioner and soil erosion program
• Soil erosion permit application and plan requirements
• Property addressing (GIS)
• Equalization and property records
• GIS maps and data
• County FOIA requests
• Road Commission permits
• Road Commission permit and inspection fees (April 1, 2026)
• Driveway permit form
• Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, environmental health
• City of Sturgis Community Development
• City of Three Rivers Building & Zoning
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

St. Joseph County building permit FAQs

Does St. Joseph County issue building permits?

No. The county has no construction-code program; permits come from the city, village or township, or from the state in the Village of Constantine and Florence Township.

Who issues electrical permits in Sturgis?

The state Bureau of Construction Codes. The City of Sturgis issues only the building permit.

When do I need a soil erosion permit?

For any non-agricultural earth change of 1 acre or more, or within 500 feet of a lake, pond, stream, creek or county drain; apply to the Drain Commissioner.

How much is a driveway permit on a county road?

$100 for a residential driveway or $200 for a commercial one, each with a $500 escrow, under the fees effective April 1, 2026.

How do I get an address for a new house?

Ask your city, village or township office; it sends the request to county GIS. The county no longer takes direct requests.

Who issues well and septic permits?

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, Three Rivers office (269-273-2161).

Is Sturgis Township the same as the City of Sturgis?

No. The township runs its own program for all four codes; the city enforces only the building code.

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