Van Buren County, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Van Buren County does not issue building permits. The county’s own FAQ says building requirements and permits are managed by the local city, village or township, and the state’s jurisdiction list shows no county program. The trades are often split here: in 15 of the 29 local units the state Bureau of Construction Codes issues plumbing permits, in some it also issues electrical or mechanical permits, and in Hamilton Township it issues all of them. The county itself runs soil erosion permits through the Drain Commissioner in Paw Paw (269-657-8241); driveways go to the Van Buren County Road Commission and wells and septic systems to the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department.

What requires a building permit in Van Buren County?

The construction code is the same everywhere in Michigan, but in Van Buren the permit for each trade can come from a different office. Before starting work, find the unit the parcel is in and look up its row on the state list (summarized in the next section): the local unit decides building permits in every place except Hamilton Township, and for the trades the answer depends on the unit.

The road commission requires a driveway permit when someone applies for a building permit, builds a new driveway, changes an existing one (location, width, culvert), paves it, adds a low-use farm or utility drive or a temporary construction drive, or changes the use of the land it serves. Adding gravel to a gravel drive, sealcoating and routine maintenance do not need one.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The county decides its soil erosion program and drain approvals, the road commission its right-of-way rules, and the district health department the well and septic permits. Building permits, fees and zoning belong to the 29 local units, and the state Bureau of Construction Codes holds the trades the list assigns to it. Along Lake Michigan and inland waters, state EGLE permits may also apply.

Van Buren County building department: who handles permitting

The state list, revised November 6, 2026, covers the county’s 4 cities, 7 villages and 18 townships. Read the right-hand column as the trades the local program handles; any trade not listed goes to the state.

Shared arrangements exist. Antwerp Township, for example, has issued building, electrical and mechanical permits for Almena Township since September 1, 2022, while the villages of Mattawan and Lawton in that area take their own applications. The City of South Haven lies partly in Allegan County; the state list files it under Van Buren. A city and the township of the same name (Bangor, Hartford, South Haven) are separate units with different rows.

Permit types in Van Buren County

Each unit uses its own building forms; where the state issues a trade, the trade permit is applied for with the state bureau rather than at the township or village hall. The county website hosts pages for several townships, including permit application pages for some of them, but the permits themselves are still the township’s.

Residential permits

• Driveway. The road commission’s residential application covers single homes, duplexes, farm field drives and low-use parcel access drives. A contractor installing the drive needs its own right-of-way permit on file first; an owner installing their own drive or culvert signs a Hold Harmless Agreement with a witness. Culverts are bought, installed and maintained at the owner’s cost.
• Well and septic. The district health department’s sanitarians handle new and replacement wells and septic systems from site evaluation and design through the permit and final inspection; applications can be completed and paid online.
• House number. New addresses come from the county’s Planning & Land Management office.

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

Commercial permits

The road commission’s commercial (non-residential) driveway application covers private roads, drives serving three or more homes or parcels, businesses and gravel pits. The health department handles Type II wells for non-community public water supplies. Commercial building plans and trade permits follow the local unit’s program, or the state’s for the trades it holds; in South Haven, for example, mechanical and plumbing work on a commercial building goes to the state.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning from the local unit.
• Soil erosion permit from the Drain Commissioner. Antwerp Township’s packet gives the trigger as moving more than 1 acre of earth or disturbing soil within 500 feet of a lake, stream, pond or wetland.
• Driveway permit from the road commission, which it requires whenever a building permit is applied for.
• Well and septic permits from the district health department.
• State EGLE permits for work in wetlands, inland lakes and streams, floodplains, critical dunes and high-risk erosion areas, according to the landowner resource sheet the road commission published in 2021.

The same sheet points owners to the Van Buren Conservation District in Paw Paw for local natural resource questions such as invasive species, shoreline and water management, and farm and forest land, and reminds them that a road commission permit does not cover anything other agencies regulate.

Permit fees in Van Buren County

There is no county building permit fee. Each city, village and township adopts its own building fee schedule, and the state charges its own fees for the trades it permits. Antwerp Township, for example, approved a fee schedule for fiscal year 2026–2027 on June 9, 2026 and now has its building inspector set building permit fees from construction value.

Driveway applications can be filed online through the Oxcart permit system, mailed to the road commission at P.O. Box 156, Lawrence, MI 49064, emailed to vbcrc@vbcrc.org, or dropped off at 325 W. James Street, which has an after-hours drop box; paying by card requires the online system. For septic repairs, the health department points owners to the Septic Replacement Loan Program run with EGLE through Michigan Saves, which offers low-interest loans to replace failing systems.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Fifteen of Van Buren’s 29 units leave at least one trade to the state, so check the trade before applying.

• Plumbing is issued by the state in 15 units: Bangor, Hartford and South Haven cities, Bloomingdale and Breedsville villages, and the townships of Almena, Arlington, Bangor, Bloomingdale, Columbia, Covert, Geneva, Hamilton, Hartford and South Haven.
• Electrical is issued by the state in Breedsville village and in Arlington, Bangor and Hamilton townships.
• Mechanical is issued by the state in the City of South Haven and in Columbia and Hamilton townships.
• Everywhere else the local program issues the trade permit with the building permit.

Licensing is statewide: residential builders, maintenance and alteration contractors and electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors hold state licenses, and the permit application carries the license number. Homeowner permits follow the issuing office’s own rules; Antwerp Township’s forms, for instance, carry a homeowner affidavit for work the owner installs in the single-family home they live in or are about to occupy.

How to get a permit in Van Buren County

Review, corrections and what causes delay

A trade permit sent to the wrong office has to be refiled: in the units where the state holds plumbing or electrical, the township or village hall does not issue it. Building permits wait on the driveway permit, which the road commission says is required whenever a building permit is applied for, and on well and septic permits on lots without public utilities.

Inspections and approvals in Van Buren County

Inspections are scheduled with the office that issued each permit, so a single house in a split unit can be inspected by local building inspectors and state trade inspectors. The county-level agencies make their own inspections.

• Wells and septic. Sanitarians inspect new and replacement systems through final approval, and the department also offers inspections when a home is bought or sold.
• Short-term rentals. Where a local code requires it, the health department inspects the well or septic system of a short-term rental on application.
• Drains and lakes. The Drain Commissioner oversees more than 540 county drains and inspects each of the 11 lake level control structures every three years.
• Right-of-way. The road commission puts the average county road right-of-way at 33 feet from the center of the traveled road each way (66 feet wide), but warns that some areas are 200 feet or more. Working in it, boring under a road or maintaining existing facilities there needs a permit, with proof of liability and property damage insurance.

Most right-of-way work is covered by a single-site permit for one location; annual permits, valid up to a year while insurance stays in force, usually go to utilities and to contractors who install driveways regularly. Work zones must be signed to Part 6 of the Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as the permit conditions require.

Michigan building code in Van Buren County

No Michigan county is a National Flood Insurance Program community; each local unit joins on its own. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Antwerp Township as participating, with a current map dated June 10, 2026 on which no flood elevations were determined. For other addresses, ask the local unit whether it participates; the road commission’s landowner sheet lists EGLE for floodplain permits.

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

Van Buren County permit records and official resources

Building permit records are held by the issuing unit or by the state bureau for state-issued permits. County records, such as soil erosion permits, can be requested through the county’s Freedom of Information Act request page. Parcel and ownership information is on the county’s parcel maps and tax information pages.

• County FAQ: building requirements on my property
• Drain Commissioner and soil erosion program
• Community Services
• Van Buren County townships
• Road Commission driveway permits
• Road Commission right-of-way permits
• Van Buren/Cass District Health Department, well and septic
• Antwerp and Almena township permits
• Resources for landowners: permits come first (2021)
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Van Buren County building permit FAQs

Does Van Buren County issue building permits?

No. Building permits come from the city, village or township, or from the state in Hamilton Township.

Who issues plumbing permits in South Haven Township?

The state Bureau of Construction Codes; the township issues building, electrical and mechanical permits.

Is Van Buren County the same as Van Buren Charter Township?

No. Van Buren Charter Township is a separate unit in Wayne County, with its own permit office.

Do I need a driveway permit to build a house?

Yes. The road commission lists applying for a building permit as one of the situations that require a driveway permit.

Who handles soil erosion permits?

The Van Buren County Drain Commissioner in Paw Paw, 269-657-8241.

Where do I get well and septic permits?

From the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department, Lawrence office, 269-621-3143.

Who assigns a new address?

The county’s Planning & Land Management office, 269-657-8243.

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