Taylor, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Taylor sits in the Downriver band of Wayne County and runs its permitting from the municipal building on Goddard Road. Its rules are unusually explicit about what stops a file moving, which is helpful once you know them and costly the first time.

Applications are processed at the municipal building, with payment by cash, cheque or money order. Where an application is mailed and a paid permit or receipt is to come back, a stamped addressed envelope must be enclosed — permits processed without one are not returned. Contractors register their licence in person: bring a driver’s licence or state ID and the contractor’s licence to the Building Department; there is no registration form. A copy of the construction contract is required before any permit issues.

This guide covers work inside the Taylor city limits. Wayne County and the neighbouring Downriver communities each run their own permitting.

What requires a building permit in Taylor?

The code is the same statewide, but fee schedules, procedures and the choice of third-party agency differ from one municipality to the next, so an exempt list from a neighbouring township is not reliable. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, the energy code, or an electrical or plumbing permit. Confirm scope with Taylor Building and Safety before work starts.

Local rules worth knowing

The occupancy certificate here is tied to ownership rather than to the building. A certificate of occupancy is valid for the length of time you own the property, certificates are non-transferable, and any change of ownership requires a new one. In commercial buildings a change in owners, tenants or use requires a new certificate as well.

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

Who handles permitting in Taylor?

Building and Safety issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, carries out construction, housing and re-occupancy inspections, and administers the certificate of occupancy and rental compliance regimes.

A zoning review runs alongside the construction review to determine whether the project meets the city zoning ordinance, and it has its own fee. Applications subject to zoning review will not be reviewed until that fee has been paid. Removal and replacement of existing roofing, siding, windows or concrete are exempt from zoning review, which is a useful carve-out on maintenance work.

Re-occupancy inspections are run as a separate product with their own form covering residential sale, rental and commercial or industrial use, including a lock box option for vacant property. The rental certificate of compliance is valid for three years and a new certificate is to be issued before the current one expires; failure to comply with the rental requirements is a municipal civil infraction that can be issued for each day the violation exists.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential permits are required for exterior work including fences, siding, windows, roofing and concrete, and for any interior work involving a structural change. Interior cosmetic work such as painting, replacing tile and carpeting does not require a permit. No work may start until the permit has been issued.

How Michigan contractor credentials work

Commercial permits

Commercial work runs through plan review on the same three-sets-plus-flash-drive basis, with re-occupancy inspection required on a change in owners, tenants or use. New businesses work through the city’s new business packet, which sets out the route to the certificate of occupancy and the business licence required to operate.

Licenses, trade classifications and design professionals

Practically, three credential layers appear on Michigan projects: the state residential builder or maintenance and alteration licence on residential work; separately licensed electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades, also licensed by the state; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings sealed by a Michigan-licensed architect or professional engineer, with plans reviewed by a state-registered plan reviewer; detached one- and two-family houses of 3,500 square feet or less need no architect or engineer seal. Confirm what Taylor Building and Safety requires for the specific building before filing.

Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors at state level, and the permit application must carry the licence number. Michigan rules

Taylor permit costs and fees

Taylor fees follow the published schedule by permit type. Most plan review fees are based on the value of the construction and are non-refundable. A separate, non-refundable zoning review fee — $50 on residential work, and $125 to $500 on commercial work depending on site size (under half an acre to over five acres) — must be paid before a zoning-reviewable application is looked at, and re-occupancy inspections for residential, commercial and commercial site exterior work carry their own fees.

Michigan fees are set by whoever holds enforcement for the parcel — the local unit, the county, or the state where neither has taken it on — so the schedule follows the authority rather than the state. A figure from a neighbouring municipality is not reliable, and a figure from a neighbouring township can be wrong even where the county enforces both. Ask Taylor Building and Safety for the schedule in force on your filing date.

Fees are set by the enforcing agency — the local unit, a county program or the state — and may only fund that agency's work. Michigan rules

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors hold state licences valid anywhere in Michigan, and each trade follows its part of the state construction code. Michigan rules

How to apply for a Taylor building permit

Review, corrections and what actually causes delay

In Michigan, the first cause of delay is uncertainty over who enforces the code — filing with the local unit when the county holds enforcement for it, or with the county when the state does. After that comes the edition question, because the trade parts and the building parts moved on different dates, and houses still follow the 2015 residential code, so a submission drawn to the wrong one is a correction cycle. Then a missing or expired state licence number on the application, energy-code and plan documentation, and floodplain requirements along the shorelines and rivers. Build the plan-review time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with Taylor Building and Safety before filing.

A Michigan permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days; confirm the expiry with Taylor on phased or delayed work. Michigan rules

Inspections in Taylor

Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation and energy-code compliance, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with a use-and-occupancy certificate before the building is used. Inspection results are available after 10 in the morning on the day after the inspection and can be emailed on request or collected at the municipal building.

Ask the enforcing agency which edition applies to your application, especially around a code change date — because editions are adopted part by part, the answer can differ between the building inspection and the trade inspections on the same job. They are carried out by an inspector registered with the state, employed or contracted by whichever authority holds enforcement for the parcel. Keep the approved plans and the energy-code documentation on site for the inspector to check against, and confirm the notice Taylor Building and Safety needs and its inspection windows.

Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permit, the approved plans, product listings, energy-code documentation and your correction responses available on site.

Taylor permit search and official resources

Permit records in Michigan sit with the authority that issued them — the local unit, the county, or the state bureau where neither took enforcement on. Where Taylor Building and Safety is the authority for the City of Taylor, it holds the building permit, the inspection history and the use-and-occupancy certificate. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, confirm that past work was permitted rather than assuming it was — open permits and missing certificates are a common closing problem.

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• City of Taylor Building Department frequently asked questions
• Taylor certificate of occupancy guidance
• Taylor rental certificate of compliance guidance
• Taylor residential and commercial re-occupancy inspection form
• Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes - current code books and effective dates

Frequently asked questions

Why has my plan review not started?

Almost always because something is missing at submission. Taylor requires three sets of plan drawings, a digital copy on a flash drive and payment for the review at the same time, and states that plans received without the digital copy or without payment will not undergo review until both are received, with no exceptions.

Does my certificate of occupancy transfer when I sell?

No. The certificate is valid for the length of time you own the property and certificates are non-transferable. Any change of ownership requires a new certificate, and in commercial buildings a change in owners, tenants or use requires one as well.

What is the zoning review fee?

A separate fee for the zoning review that determines whether the project meets the city zoning ordinance. Applications subject to zoning review are not reviewed until it has been paid. Removal and replacement of existing roofing, siding, windows or concrete are exempt from zoning review.

Which code edition applies to my project?

It depends which part of the code the work falls under. One Michigan point catches almost everyone: the commercial and residential codes are not on the same edition. The bureau moved the plumbing, mechanical and electrical parts to new editions on the twelfth of March, 2024, and the building and rehabilitation parts to their 2021 editions on the ninth of April, 2025; houses still follow the 2015 Michigan Residential Code. The residential code did not move with them. Replacement residential rules were filed for an August 2025 effective date, but the Court of Claims entered a stipulated order stopping the department from implementing them while a builders’ association challenge is litigated, so the bureau still lists the 2015 Michigan Residential Code as the code in force. That case was still live when this guide was written. Confirm the edition governing each part of your work on your filing date rather than assuming the newest one applies.

How long is a rental certificate of compliance valid?

Three years, with a new certificate to be issued before the current one expires. Failure to comply with the rental dwelling requirements is a municipal civil infraction, and a fine can be issued for each day the violation exists.

Can I mail my application?

Yes, with payment by cash, cheque or money order, but enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you want the paid permit or receipt returned. Permits processed without one are not returned. Residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors are licensed by the state under Article 24 of Public Act 299 of 1980, administered by the Bureau of Construction Codes, and the plumbing, electrical and mechanical trades are state-licensed as well. The licence is valid statewide. The permit application must set out the licence number and its expiry date, and performing residential work that requires a licence without holding one is a civil violation the county prosecuting attorney or the Attorney General may pursue.

Simplify Taylor permitting with Alliance Permitting

Taylor tells you exactly what stops a file, which means none of it needs to happen. We submit complete, with the drive and the fee.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Taylor because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• 21+ years of filing, so the authority question gets answered before the application goes in
• We confirm the edition in force for each code part on your filing date, not the newest one published
• Licence numbers, expiry dates and the written authorisation instrument checked before submission
• Correction cycles handled directly with the reviewer so your crew is not waiting on a resubmission
• Inspection sequencing tracked through to the certificate, including trade sign-offs

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