Building permits in Unincorporated St. Joseph County

Unincorporated St. Joseph County does not issue residential building permits. St. Joseph County has no county construction code program. The BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List (Rev. 8/21/2026) shows each city, village and township in the county running its own building program, except the Village of Constantine and Florence Township, where the State of Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes enforces building. Homeowners apply to their own city, village or township.

That does not make the work unregulated. The construction standard still applies, trade licensing still applies, and separate approvals such as on-site sewage, floodplain development, and driveway access are handled by other offices. Below are the contact details for the office to ask, plus guides for the projects homeowners ask about most.

Michigan has one mandatory statewide construction code under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230), and for one- and two-family homes in Unincorporated St. Joseph County that code is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code; a 2021 update is on hold by court order. The code is enforced by whichever level has taken responsibility for each trade: the city, village, or township, the county, or, where neither does, the state Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC) in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits can each come from a different level, so the BCC Statewide Jurisdiction List is the place to start. There is no statewide dollar-value exemption; the state code exempts only a short list of items, such as one-story detached accessory buildings of 200 square feet or less, fences up to 7 feet, and finish work like painting and flooring, and state law exempts ordinary repairs. Confirm with the enforcing agency that has jurisdiction over your address before starting work.