Michigan · Penalties in every state · What needs no permit here

Building without a permit in Michigan

By Mario Bailey Last checked · 3 official sources

Quick answer

Michigan sets the penalty in state law, not by local ordinance alone. Under section 23 of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230), knowingly violating the act, the state construction code, or an enforcement rule is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.

Source: MCL 125.1523(1), (2), (3); MCL 125.1510(1); MCL 125.1511(1); MCL 125.1508b(1), (2). Details and the official text are cited below.

What Michigan law says

Michigan sets the penalty in state law, not by local ordinance alone. Under section 23 of the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230), knowingly violating the act, the state construction code, or an enforcement rule is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. Building without a permit is such a violation, because MCL 125.1510(1) requires a written permit application before construction and MCL 125.1511(1) says construction shall not be commenced until a building permit has been issued. The same section makes each day of noncompliance with a validly issued stop construction order a separate offense, and each week of noncompliance with any other order a separate offense, so exposure compounds if you keep working after being told to stop. Who charges you depends on the two-track structure: a city, village, township, or county that has assumed responsibility under MCL 125.1508b(1) prosecutes through its own chief legal officer and keeps the fine, and it may instead designate the violation a municipal civil infraction by ordinance, while everywhere else the LARA director and the Bureau of Construction Codes enforce.

Cited from MCL 125.1523(1), (2), (3); MCL 125.1510(1); MCL 125.1511(1); MCL 125.1508b(1), (2): official text. Localities enforce these rules and may add their own fees and procedures on top.

Can you get a permit after the work is done?

Michigan has no statutory after-the-fact or as-built permit and no statewide investigation fee or fee multiplier for work started without a permit. The legalization path is the ordinary one: apply for the permit under MCL 125.1510, submit to inspection under MCL 125.1512, and obtain the certificate of use and occupancy that MCL 125.1513 requires before a new or altered building may be used or occupied. If an enforcing agency finds work underway without a permit it gives written notice to appear and show cause, and if the person does not appear within 1 full working day it posts a written stop construction order on the premises, then may seek a circuit court injunction; that remedy does not prevent criminal prosecution. Michigan deliberately strips the model codes' fee sections when adopting them, so no state rule creates a penalty fee: the Michigan Residential Code adopts the IRC except for sections R 108.3 through R 108.6, the Michigan Building Code adopts the 2021 IBC except for sections 109.2 to 109.6, and the Michigan Rehabilitation Code adopts the 2021 IEBC except for sections 108.2 to 108.6. Any extra charge is therefore local, and both MCL 125.1522(1) and Mich Admin Code R 408.30221(1) require permit and inspection fees to bear a reasonable relationship to the actual cost of the service. Where completed work cannot literally meet the code, MCL 125.1515 lets a construction board of appeals grant a specific variance after a public hearing.

Cited from MCL 125.1512(3); MCL 125.1510; MCL 125.1513; MCL 125.1515; MCL 125.1522(1); Mich Admin Code R 408.30221(1); R 408.30500; R 408.30401; R 408.30551: official text.

The typical path, whatever your locality calls it: stop any ongoing work, contact the permit office before they contact you, apply for the permit describing what was actually built, and expect the office to require opening up or inspecting concealed work. Voluntarily coming forward generally goes better than waiting for a complaint or a sale to surface it.

What Michigan permit offices charge when work starts first

The statute above sets the ceiling; the bill comes from the local office. 2 Michigan jurisdictions we cover publish a specific surcharge for work started before the permit, quoted here from the fee schedule or permit page we verified, each linked to the page that carries the citation.

Jurisdictions not listed either publish no surcharge clause or publish one we could not quote from an official schedule; their permit pages state what we could verify.

Who can pull the permit

Yes. A Michigan homeowner may pull the building permit and do the work on their own home without a residential builder license, because the licensing article both defines the trade to exclude them and exempts them outright. MCL 339.2401(a)(iii) says a residential builder is a person that erects a residential structure except for the person's own use and occupancy on the person's property, and MCL 339.2403(b) exempts an owner of property with reference to a structure on the property for the owner's own use and occupancy. Own use and occupancy is the condition, so the exemption does not cover building to sell, and MCL 339.2403(c) limits owners of rental property to maintenance and alteration of that property. The statute sets no cap on how many times a homeowner may use the exemption; the only frequency rule in the article catches purchase, substantial rehabilitation, and resale of the same structure more than twice in 1 calendar year, and MCL 339.2401(b)(ii)(A) exempts work for the person's own use and occupancy from even that. Homeowners can also pull their own trade permits: electrical work in a single family home and accompanying outbuildings owned and occupied or to be occupied by the person doing the work (MCL 339.5737(3)(g)), their own plumbing, building sewer, or private sewer in their single-family dwelling if a permit is secured (MCL 339.6107(2)(d)), and a heating or refrigerating system if the owner affirms in the permit application that they are or will become the owner and occupant (MCL 339.5819).

Cited from MCL 339.2403(b), (c); MCL 339.2401(a)(iii), (b)(ii)(A); MCL 339.5737(3)(g); MCL 339.6107(2)(d); MCL 339.5819: official text.

Was a permit needed in the first place?

Not every project needs one. Across the 4 Michigan jurisdictions we have verified, 0 answered rules need no permit at all and 19 turn on a size or scope condition the jurisdiction publishes. If the work falls under one of those, the question changes from penalties to paperwork.

What you can build without a permit in Michigan, jurisdiction by jurisdiction

Selling or buying in Michigan?

How Michigan compares: building without a permit, state by state.

See which parts of the work needed a permit, then send us the details

Permit help

Want help getting unpermitted work approved?

Tell us where your project stands. Where we have a vetted local pro who handles permits in Michigan, we connect you; otherwise we reply with the exact steps and office links for your situation. Free to ask; no obligation.

PermitNotebook is not a government agency and does not file permits. This is a free referral request; we may earn a fee if you hire a pro we introduce. Partners never influence our permit data. Privacy policy.

Your local permit office

Enforcement, after-the-fact fees, and the exact fix-it process are local. We cover these Michigan permit offices:

Official sources

This page summarizes state law from the official sources listed above, with a last checked date. It is not legal advice. Penalties and procedures are applied by local offices and courts case by case; for anything contested or high stakes, confirm with your permit office or a licensed professional in Michigan.