City of Zeeland

Ottawa County, Michigan

Last verified September 17, 2026

City of Zeeland is a jurisdiction in Ottawa County, Michigan, with an online portal for searching and pulling active or historical building permits. Use the contact information below to reach the local building department, or the mailing address if the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.

Contact

Phone: (616) 772-0872
Email: buildinginspector@cityofzeeland.com
Department Site: Building & Zoning (Community Development Department) (opens in a new tab)

Source: cityofzeeland.com (opens in a new tab)

Permit Search

BS&A Online (opens in a new tab)

Certificate Holder Mailing Address

City of Zeeland, Building & Zoning
21 S Elm Street
Zeeland, MI 49464

Use this address when the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.

Additional Notes

Official site cityofzeeland.com confirms Building Inspector Tony Andrus (616-772-0872), Electrical Inspector Gord Bosch (616-772-0872), Mechanical/Plumbing Inspector Bob Modreske (616-477-4940). Permit applications may be mailed, emailed, or dropped off at City Hall; PDF forms are the primary application method. A BS&A Online instance exists (uid=313) used for parcel/tax search and building-permit invoice payment, but was not confirmed as a full online permit-application portal — listed as currentDatabaseLabel with this caveat since it is the only online system referenced on the official site. City recommends calling ahead since some Zeeland-addressed properties fall outside city limits. This entry covers only the City of Zeeland; the separate 'Zeeland Charter Township' (also Ottawa County) is out of scope per instructions.

What You Need Before Applying for a Permit

Most building departments ask for the same core package before they'll issue a permit: a completed application naming the property owner and contractor, the contractor's state license number and proof of insurance (general liability, and workers' comp if employees are on the job), a notice of commencement or equivalent recorded filing for larger jobs where the state requires one, and scaled plans or a site plan for anything beyond minor repairs. Roofing, fence, pool, and solar permits typically have their own simplified checklists — City of Zeeland's department (above) can confirm exactly what applies to your project.

Why this matters for insurance: permit history is one of the first things an underwriter or adjuster checks. Unpermitted work — a finished basement, an added bedroom, a rebuilt roof — can complicate a claim or even void coverage for that portion of the loss, and it routinely surfaces during a home inspection. Pulling the right permit up front, and keeping the closed-permit record on file, protects both the property's value and its insurability at resale.

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