Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Montmorency County, Michigan

At a glance

Building permit

Required for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, issued by the county's own Building Department¹

Zoning

No countywide zoning; each township (and the Village of Hillman) zones separately, and Loud Township has none²⁵

Septic

District Health Department No. 4 (Atlanta office) permits and inspects every on-site sewage system⁴

RV / tiny home living

Only Montmorency Township publishes a rule: 30 days/year ordinary use, up to 183 days with water and sewage facilities, or a renewable 1-year building permit⁶

Owner-builder

Michigan lets an owner build their own home without a contractor license, but county permits, inspections and occupancy rules still apply⁷

Septic soil difficulty

Only 8.1% of county soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field⁸

Permit fees

$65 application fee plus a fee schedule, e.g. $75 rough inspection and $50 final inspection⁹

Certificate of occupancy

Required before occupying a newly built structure, once final inspections pass¹⁰

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on September 23, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Montmorency County, Michigan?

Yes. Montmorency County has adopted and enforces the Michigan State Construction Code, Michigan Residential Code, and associated electrical, mechanical, and plumbing codes, and its own Building Department issues the permits¹¹. A permit must be issued before any work requiring one begins, and it's the property owner's or contractor's responsibility to get every required permit and approval before starting¹²¹³. Requirements vary by project: beyond the county's own building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits, you may also need township zoning approval, Soil Erosion & Sedimentation Control (SESC) sign-off, District Health Department No. 4 well or septic approval, road approval, or a floodplain or EGLE permit, depending on what you're building and where¹². Statewide, Michigan's 2021-edition building code, effective April 9, 2025, governs the construction, alteration, use, and occupancy of buildings, with Michigan-specific amendments¹⁴. Application fees are non-refundable once paid¹².

Who is the Montmorency County building department, and how do you reach them?

The Montmorency County Building Department administers building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, demolition, and SESC permitting and inspections for the whole county¹⁵. Reach the office at P.O. Box 789, Atlanta, Michigan 49709, by phone at 989-785-8006¹⁵. The department also runs a Construction Board of Appeals, and its site tells applicants to confirm before applying whether township zoning, SESC, health department, road commission, or floodplain/EGLE approvals also apply to their project¹⁵. For driveway or access questions on a county-maintained road, the Montmorency County Road Commission can be reached at 989-785-3334¹⁶.

Does Montmorency County have zoning?

No single Montmorency County zoning ordinance covers the whole county: zoning is administered township by township, and the Building Department requires proof of that local zoning approval before it will issue a building permit²³. The county's own building-department page lists a zoning contact for Albert, Avery, Briley, Hillman, Montmorency, Rust, and Vienna townships, and for the Village of Hillman, but says plainly that Loud Township has no zoning⁵. That means the dimensional rules that matter most to a land buyer, like minimum lot size, setbacks, minimum home size, and lot coverage, are set locally by whichever township or village covers your parcel, not by the county, and none of those figures are published at the county level³. Statewide, Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act authorizes counties, townships, cities, and villages to establish zoning districts, but it doesn't itself say what any particular jurisdiction has adopted¹⁷. In practice, call the specific township's zoning contact listed on the county's site, or the Village of Hillman if that's where your land sits, to get the actual zoning district, setbacks, and any RV, tiny-home, or manufactured-home rules that apply⁵.

How do septic permits work in Montmorency County?

Septic in Montmorency County isn't handled by the county at all: District Health Department No. 4 (DHD4), which also covers Alpena, Cheboygan, and Presque Isle counties, issues and enforces sewage-disposal-system permits under its own Sanitary Code⁴. The Atlanta office that serves Montmorency County is at 12480 State Street, Atlanta, MI 49709, phone (989) 785-4428¹⁸. Before covering or backfilling a new system, DHD4 staff must conduct a final inspection: "A final inspection of the completed system must be conducted by District Health Department No. 4 staff prior to covering/backfilling the sewage disposal system"¹⁸¹⁹. Soils are a real factor here: only 8.1% of Montmorency County's land is free of severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field, so budget for a site evaluation early and expect many properties to need an engineered or alternative system⁸. Statewide, EGLE coordinates the onsite wastewater program with local health departments like DHD4, and every plumbed building must connect to a public sewer where available or an approved private system²⁰²¹.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Montmorency County?

Montmorency County has no single countywide answer to RV or tiny-home living: it depends on which township your land is in, since zoning is set locally³. The one township with a published rule is Montmorency Township itself: its zoning ordinance caps ordinary dwelling-purpose use of a tent, travel trailer, or motor home at 30 days a year, but allows up to 183 days a year as a temporary dwelling if the site has running water and sewage facilities, and a Zoning Administrator's permit can authorize living on-site for up to a year, renewable for one more, while you build a house, if you can show ability and intent to build⁶. Montmorency Township also allows manufactured homes only in its Residential Mobile Home Park (RM-1) district, on a park lot of at least 10 acres and 600 feet wide, with 35-foot front, 20-foot side, and 50-foot rear setbacks²². If your land is in any other township or the Village of Hillman, these Montmorency Township numbers don't apply; call that jurisdiction's zoning contact instead⁵. Statewide, Michigan treats tiny houses as buildings subject to local zoning, building, electrical, and plumbing approval, not as recreational units, even when built on wheels²³.

Building a home in Montmorency County: the steps, in order

First, identify your township, or the Village of Hillman, and call its zoning contact, since the county requires proof of township zoning approval before it will issue a building permit³⁵. Second, if you're splitting the parcel from a larger tract, get township land-division approval before applying for a property address¹³. Third, line up your other approvals early: District Health Department No. 4 for septic and well, and, depending on the site, SESC, Road Commission, or floodplain/EGLE review¹⁸¹³. Fourth, apply for your septic permit through DHD4's Atlanta office and get your site evaluation done before finalizing your house design¹⁸¹⁹. Fifth, apply for your building permit, plus electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits as needed, through the Montmorency County Building Department; application fees are non-refundable¹⁵¹². Sixth, follow the required inspection sequence, typically footing/foundation, foundation/backfill when required, rough building, and final building, and don't cover work until each passes²⁴. Seventh, once final building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing inspections pass and any life-safety items are resolved, contact the Building Department to request a Certificate of Occupancy determination before moving in¹⁰.

What to check before you buy land in Montmorency County

Confirm which township zones your specific parcel, since Montmorency County itself doesn't set zoning, minimum lot size, or setbacks; the township or the Village of Hillman does, and Loud Township has none at all⁵. Check the soil before assuming a standard septic system will work: only 8.1% of the county's soils are free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so a site evaluation from the health department is worth doing before you close⁸. The land itself is mostly gentle and heavily wooded, with 92.4% at 15% slope or less and 79.4% forested, good for building sites but expect real clearing costs if you want open pasture²⁵²⁶. Rainfall runs about 29.5 inches a year with severe drought in only 1.3% of years, so confirm well feasibility with your township or a local driller rather than assuming water is scarce²⁷²⁸. If you're building for your own occupancy rather than hiring it out, Michigan's owner-builder rule lets you act as your own residential builder without a contractor license, though it doesn't waive the county's permit, inspection, or occupancy requirements⁷²⁹. Property tax runs an effective 0.9%, with a median bill near $1,309 a year against a typical home value around $181,285³⁰³¹³².

Watch-outs

• The county's building department requires proof of township zoning approval before issuing a building permit, but published zoning rules for RVs, tiny homes, and setbacks were only found for Montmorency Township; if your land is elsewhere, call that township's zoning contact directly⁵.
• No official source found for this guide addresses tiny-home occupancy, accessory dwelling units, or short-term rentals specifically in Montmorency County; ask your township zoning contact before assuming a use is allowed³.

Sources

1. Building Department (2026 county census)
2. Montmorency County Building Department (2026 county census)
3. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
4. District Health Department No. 4 Sanitary Code (2026 county census)
5. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
6. Montmorency Township Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
7. Montmorency County Building Department (2026 county census)
8. Share of soils without severe limits for a conventional septic drain field (USDA SSURGO): Bolthole Index county data
9. Mechanical Permit Application and Fee Schedule, quoted and re-checked
10. Certificate of Occupancy, quoted and re-checked
11. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
12. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
13. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
14. Code Books (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
15. Montmorency County Building Department (montcounty.org)
16. Montmorency County Road Commission (montcounty.org)
17. Michigan Zoning Enabling Act (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. District Health Department No. 4, Atlanta Office (Montmorency County) (dhd4.org)
19. DHD No. 4 Sanitary Code, quoted and re-checked
20. Michigan Guide to Environmental Regulations, Chapter 3: Wastewater (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Michigan Part 7 Plumbing Code Rules (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
22. Montmorency Township Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
23. 2022 ARVC - General (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. Building Department, quoted and re-checked
25. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data
26. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
27. Annual precipitation: Bolthole Index county data
28. Share of years in severe drought: Bolthole Index county data
29. Frequently Asked Questions – Residential Builder (RB), quoted and re-checked
30. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
31. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
32. Typical home value (Zillow): Bolthole Index county data

Written September 23, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.