Ann Arbor building department

Ann Arbor’s Building, Rental and Inspection Services, part of Planning and Development Services, reviews plans, issues permits and inspects construction inside the City of Ann Arbor. The same unit runs the city’s rental housing inspection program. Every permit goes through STREAM, the city’s Tyler EnerGov system, which replaced eTrakit in 2022. Paper and emailed applications are not accepted.

Setting up STREAM

1. Register at stream.a2gov.org. Click Guest in the top-right corner, then Register.
2. Contractors only: from the Apply screen, open the Licenses tab and submit Contractor Licensing for review. You must finish this step before applying for any permit that requires a state license. If your license is already active with the city, the $15 registration fee is waived, and STREAM emails you once the license is added.

Homeowners, and permit types that need no state license, skip step 2. Both steps are done once. After that, the STREAM dashboard is where you track applications, request inspections and pay invoices.

Permit history from before March 2022 is in the old A2Trak archive. Permits left open in TrakIt must be reapplied for in STREAM.

Plan review statuses

• In Review: plans are being checked.
• Requires Re-Submit: you get an email, and the dashboard explains what to correct.
• Approved: plans are approved, but the permit is not issued until all fees are paid.

Trade permits take at least 24–48 hours to process and usually 2–3 business days. Trade permits tied to a building project are not released until the building permit is approved.

To revise an issued building permit, email the plan reviewer three things: a revision request form, a write-up listing each change and its page, and a full set of documents with the changes bubbled.

Expedited residential permits

On Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m., the department reviews and issues small residential permits in reserved 15-minute slots. These are for one- and two-family homes and townhomes only, and there are no walk-ins. Eligible work includes:

• rear or side decks and porches up to 1,000 sq ft and two levels
• exterior stairs
• flat-roof re-covering
• radon systems
• waterproofing of existing basements
• basement wall reinforcement (signed and sealed drawings required)
• egress windows
• non-structural kitchen, bathroom and basement renovations (no ADUs)

Both the applicant and the property owner need STREAM accounts. A homeowner permit requires the home to be owner-occupied. Reserving a slot costs $15.

Inspections

• Booking: a permit contact schedules inspections in STREAM. Office staff do not book or move appointments.
• Next-day cutoff: you cannot book an inspection for the next day after 2:30 p.m.
• Cancelling: call (734) 794-6263, because inspections cannot be cancelled in STREAM. Cancelling after 2:30 p.m. the day before, or on the same day, incurs a fee.
• Arrival window: inspectors route their stops each morning by area, and a two- or four-hour window appears in STREAM that morning.
• Hours: inspections run Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inspectors take calls from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Access: inspectors will not enter an occupied home unless an adult is present, even with a lockbox. If no one is there, the inspection is marked missed and a reinspection fee applies. The contractor must supply ladders or any other equipment needed to reach the work.

Fees

From the building permit fee sheet (effective October 2019, revised July 15, 2025):

Item	Fee
Base application fee (all permits)	$15
Project cost up to $1,000	$100 (one rough and one final inspection)
$1,000–$50,000	$100 + $10 per $1,000
$50,000–$100,000	$100 + $9 per $1,000
$100,000 and up	$100 + $8.50 per $1,000, dropping to $8 per $1,000 above $500,000 and $7.50 above $1 million
Plan examination	20% of the building permit fee, due at submittal
Each added inspection	$35
Historic district staff review	$35
Reactivating an expired permit (60 days)	$35

The plan review fee must be paid when you submit; applications without it are not reviewed. Trade permit inspections not included at issuance are invoiced as they happen. Refunds are not available on permits under $140 or after any inspection.

Adopted codes

The city’s code list, revised January 26, 2026:

• Commercial: 2021 Michigan Building, Rehabilitation, Plumbing, Mechanical and Commercial Energy Codes; the Michigan Electrical Code based on the 2023 NEC; 2021 IFC and IFGC; NFPA 13, 13D and 13R (2019) and NFPA 72 (2019); ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017.
• Residential: one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses up to three stories remain under the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.

Ann Arbor began enforcing the 2021 Michigan Building Code for permit applications submitted on or after May 1, 2025.

Zoning compliance permits

Planning staff review the zoning on every building permit. Some projects need no building permit but still need a zoning compliance permit in STREAM:

• fences 7 ft or under
• sheds, detached garages, carports, gazebos, pergolas, greenhouses, pool houses and floating decks of 200 sq ft or less
• temporary outdoor sales, tents and mobile food service

In a historic district, those same projects also need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Submit it before or together with the zoning permit.

Other offices

The building department does not permit driveways, curb cuts, right-of-way work or traffic control; those go to Engineering at (734) 794-6410. Banner, block party and noise-exemption permits are handled by the City Clerk at (734) 794-6140.

The office at City Hall is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The email is [email protected].