Tittabawassee Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In Tittabawassee Township, permits come from the township’s own Building Department at the township office, 145 South Second Street, Freeland (989-695-9512). It issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, and trade applications can be mailed in with payment or carried into the office and processed the same day. Every contractor must be licensed and registered with the township, and every inspection needs 24 hours’ notice. Fees are set in the township’s 2026 fee schedule.

What requires a building permit in Tittabawassee Township?

The township follows the state construction code’s permit rules and adds its own zoning and sign approvals. Its forms page lists the permits it issues:

Permanent signs need a permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer before they are built, and applicants are told to read the township sign ordinance first. Temporary or portable signs need a permit if they stay up more than three days: up to 14 days for residential and agricultural parcels and 30 days for commercial and industrial ones, with a yearly limit per parcel. If you are unsure whether a project needs a permit, the township asks you to call 989-695-9512 before starting.

Land divisions, boundary adjustments and parcel consolidations each have their own township application, as do tentative, preliminary and final plat reviews and short-term rental licenses.

What the township decides and what the state holds

The construction code is the state’s and cannot be amended locally. Tittabawassee chose to enforce all of it with its own staff, and it sets its own fees, contractor registration rule, zoning ordinance, sign ordinance and appeal boards.

Tittabawassee Township building department: who handles permitting

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes, revised November 6, 2026) marks Tittabawassee Township LOCAL for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Saginaw County runs no county construction code program, so neither the county nor the state issues building permits here.

The township also has a Building Board of Appeals for disputes over code decisions, a Zoning Board of Appeals for variances and a Planning Commission for site plans, special uses and rezonings. Code enforcement and zoning administration are handled from the same office. The Tittabawassee Township Fire Department is at 355 Church Street (989-695-9768).

Tittabawassee permit types and what comes first

All applications are on the township’s Forms and Maps page as fillable forms: building, re-roof, flatwork, fence, accessory structure, swimming pool, sign, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, plus water and sewer hook-up, site plan, special use, rezoning, ZBA and land division applications. The electrical and plumbing pages describe the routine for trade permits: fill the form in completely, send it with payment, and if you mail it the receipt and a copy of the permit come back by mail.

Residential permits

For a shed of 200 square feet or more the township wants two sets of working drawings showing the foundation, floor, wall and roof cross-section and ventilation, and two site plans. The site plan rule applies to every permit: show the lot size, the house and other accessory buildings, and the proposed structure with its distances from the main building and the side and rear lot lines. Smaller sheds file the accessory structure application instead. For new homes and additions, the township’s Residential Construction page carries its residential building permit requirements and its residential construction and fee schedule, and the work goes through the footing, backfill, rough and final inspections described below.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and higher-density housing projects start with the Planning Commission. The township offers a pre-development meeting with staff at the concept stage (book it through the office at 989-695-9512), then asks for one full-size and one reduced copy of the site plan plus an electronic copy, the application and the review fee at least 28 days before the Planning Commission meeting you want. Special use requests have the same 28-day deadline. The township’s Looking to Develop page adds a development costs fact sheet covering proposal fees, special assessments on parcels and utility charges.

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: check the zoning map (updated March 11, 2026) and the zoning ordinance; variances go to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Contractor registration: every contractor applying for a permit must be licensed and registered with the township on its contractor registration form.
• Utilities and assessments: water and sewer hook-ups need a township permit, and the office can tell you whether a parcel carries special assessments.
• Soil erosion: the Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner issues Part 91 permits when an earth change disturbs more than one acre, lies within 500 feet of a lake, stream, county drain or pond over 5 acres, or is a lot in a multi-lot development (989-790-5258).
• Well and septic: where a lot has no public water or sewer, the Saginaw County Health Department issues the well and septic permits, after a soil evaluation on site (989-758-3800).

Tittabawassee permit costs and fees

The township’s fees for planning, building and zoning are set in its 2026 fee schedule, which is linked from the Looking to Develop page; water and sewer connection charges are in a separate Public Works fee schedule, and special cases are set by the Director of Public Works with Township Board approval. Ask the township office (989-695-9512) for the amount on your project before you apply, since trade permits must be paid when the application is filed.

The county soil erosion fee rises with area for larger sites, and between January 1 and March 31 only 18-month residential soil erosion permits are issued ($400 for a minor permit). A health department septic permit is valid for two years once issued.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The township issues all three trade permits itself. Applications go to the Township Administrative Office with payment; the electrical inspector reviews electrical permits and the mechanical and plumbing inspector (one person, 989-737-9108) reviews the other two. A contractor must attach copies of all licenses.

• Electrical: the applicant must be a licensed electrical or specialty contractor, with every license included in the application, or a homeowner wiring a single-family home and its outbuildings that he or she owns and occupies or will occupy.
• Mechanical: a state mechanical contractor’s license is required, except that a homeowner may do a mechanical installation in a single-family dwelling he or she occupies or will occupy. Boilers covered by the state boiler law need no mechanical permit, but a boiler in a private home or in an apartment building for fewer than six families does.
• Plumbing: the applicant must be a licensed master plumber or a homeowner installing his or her own plumbing.
• No early starts: trade work may not begin until the permit is issued. The electrical page adds that no one may install, alter or add to electrical conductors or equipment without a permit, apart from the unregulated work the state electrical act exempts.

The township’s registration rule applies on top of the state license: a contractor who is not registered with Tittabawassee cannot apply for a permit here.

How to apply for a Tittabawassee Township permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Incomplete forms are the first thing the township warns about: trade applications must be “filled out completely” and carry every license. A missing site plan, an unregistered contractor or a missing county permit holds a building application, and commercial work waits for the monthly Planning Commission, whose packets close 28 days before each meeting.

Inspections and occupancy in Tittabawassee Township

Every inspection needs 24 hours’ notice; call the building inspector at 989-737-5756, the electrical inspector at 989-233-7036 or the mechanical and plumbing inspector at 989-737-9108. It is the permit holder’s and owner’s job to call, and if a required inspection is missed the inspector may order coverings removed or a structure moved or taken down. The township’s required stages are:

• New houses, house additions and commercial buildings: footing (before concrete), backfill, frame and rough-in (before drywall), final.
• Garages, pole buildings and sheds: slab, footing or post holes before concrete; backfill unless on a slab; framing; a final only if the interior is finished.
• Pools: a placement inspection before the pool goes in, and a final once the pool and fence are complete.
• Demolition: a basement backfill inspection for rubble removal and utility seals, then a final.
• Interior remodels: rough-in before drywall, then final.
• Signs, sidewalks, decks, lights and parking lots: footing or placement before concrete or asphalt, then final.

The inspector may add inspections during construction. A sign permit becomes void if the sign is not finished within six months.

Michigan building code in Tittabawassee Township

Tittabawassee enforces the state code itself in all four disciplines. Tittabawassee Township was not found in the participating-community list of FEMA’s Community Status Book for Michigan, so ask the township office and the county health department about floodplain questions on a riverside lot; the health department notes that a lot in a regulated floodplain or wetland needs a state environmental permit before it will issue its own permit.

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

Tittabawassee permit search and official resources

To look up past permits or inspection records, call the township office. For copies, use the township’s Freedom of Information Act forms (a request for public records, appeals of a denial or of an excess fee, the FOIA administrative policy and written public summary) from its FOIA page, and send the request to the township office. Parcel data is available through the county’s SAGA property search linked from the township site.

• Tittabawassee Building Department and inspection list
• Forms and maps (all permit applications, zoning map)
• Electrical permit information
• Mechanical permit information
• Plumbing permit information
• Sign permit information
• Fence and shed rules
• Residential construction requirements
• Planning & Zoning: site plan submission
• Looking to develop (2026 fee schedule link)
• Code enforcement and temporary signs
• Code of ordinances
• FOIA forms
• Township office contacts
• Saginaw County soil erosion permit application
• Saginaw County Health Department: septic permits
• Saginaw County Health Department: well permits
• State Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Tittabawassee Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Tittabawassee Township?

The township’s own Building Department, from the township office at 145 South Second Street in Freeland; neither Saginaw County nor the state issues them here.

Do contractors need to register with the township?

Yes. All contractors applying for permits must be licensed and registered with Tittabawassee Township.

Does a shed need a permit?

A shed of 200 square feet or more needs a building permit with drawings and two site plans; a smaller shed needs the accessory structure application.

Can I do my own electrical or plumbing work?

Yes, as a homeowner: electrical work in a single-family home you own and occupy (or will), and your own plumbing. Mechanical work is allowed in a single-family home you occupy or will occupy.

How much notice do inspections need?

Twenty-four hours for all inspections. Call the inspector for the trade involved.

Can I get a permit the same day?

Trade applications carried into the office can be processed the same day; mailed applications are returned by mail with a receipt.

Does a fence need a permit?

Yes. The township posts a fence permit application on its forms page, with its fence, wall and screen rules; a pool fence is checked at the pool’s final inspection.

Who handles septic and wells?

The Saginaw County Health Department, at 1600 North Michigan Avenue in Saginaw (989-758-3800).

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