Digital permit application gateway
Start with the issuing authority’s own submission lane. A complete application package, accurate valuation, and accessible inspection path are the fastest route through statutory plan review.
Recommended first click
Use the official digital gateway to submit plans, monitor review comments, pay required charges, and request inspections when the permit is issued. If the link is unavailable, use the agency website or phone number on the administrative profile to confirm the current lane.
Typical review lane
N/A for plan review; LARA publishes an inspection-request response within two business days and typical inspection performance within five business days. Local municipal review times vary.
Treat this as a planning signal, not a guaranteed approval date. Completeness, corrections, resubmittals, and agency workload control the actual clock.
Verify the parcel is inside this agency’s service area and note whether a city, state, fire marshal, septic authority, or utility district also has approval authority.
Prepare legible plans, site information, project valuation, ownership authorization, contractor information, and any energy, floodplain, zoning, or utility documentation the issuing office requires.
Keep the permit number, approved plan set, correction comments, fee receipts, and inspection results together. Those records establish the compliance trail for the next trade.
Application documents
Before submission, call 517-241-9313 (LARA BCC permits); local municipal building departments use their own numbers if the project involves a change of occupancy, structural alteration, accessory structure, demolition, or work near a regulated environmental feature.
Source trail
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
This record is marked Municipal Fallback. Confirm whether a city, state agency, or other local authority controls the parcel before filing.
Begin with the online permit gateway listed in the application guide. If the portal does not recognize the address or project type, contact 517-241-9313 (LARA BCC permits); local municipal building departments use their own numbers.
N/A for plan review; LARA publishes an inspection-request response within two business days and typical inspection performance within five business days. Local municipal review times vary.
Apply through the responsible local municipal building department or, where LARA has authority, through Accela or the BCC-324 form. The inspector's telephone number is provided on the issued permit; call with the job location, permit number, and contact information when work is ready. The state form says LARA will respond to an inspection request within two business days to schedule and that inspections are typically performed within five business days, subject to the schedule.
Michigan's current published codes for 2026 are the 2021 Michigan Building Code (effective April 9, 2025), 2015 Michigan Residential Code (still in effect while the 2021 residential update remains enjoined), 2021 Michigan Rehabilitation Code (effective April 9, 2025), 2021 Michigan Mechanical and Plumbing Codes (effective March 12, 2024), 2023 National Electrical Code with Michigan amendments (effective March 12, 2024), and 2021 Michigan Commercial Energy Code (effective April 22, 2025). Local agencies may administer these codes under their delegated authority. Michigan LARA states that ordinary repairs may be performed without a building permit when they do not cut or remove structural members or required means of egress and do not affect regulated standpipe, water, sewer, drainage, gas, electrical, mechanical, public-health, or general-safety systems. Exemptions do not authorize code-violating work. Confirm cosmetic, accessory, agricultural, and minor-work exemptions with the applicable city or township because Genesee County has no countywide building-permit program.
What makes an application complete
Before you click submit, make sure the drawings agree with the site plan, project description, valuation, ownership authorization, and contractor information. If the work changes structure, occupancy, drainage, fire protection, energy performance, or utility demand, describe that scope plainly. Ambiguous narratives create correction cycles and delay the field schedule.
Save the confirmation number, payment receipt, uploaded plan set, and every correction comment. Those records are the backbone of a defensible compliance file when multiple trades or agencies share responsibility.
Submission quality check
Site: address, parcel, access, setbacks, and existing conditions are consistent.
Scope: structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire, and energy work is identified.
Closeout: inspection contacts and the final approval path are understood before work begins.