Nelson Township

Kent County, Michigan

Last verified September 17, 2026

Nelson Township is a jurisdiction in Kent 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: 616-401-3927
Email: buildinginspector@nelsontownship.org
Department Site: Building & Construction Department (Building Inspector Brandon Bisel) (opens in a new tab)

Source: nelsontownship.org (opens in a new tab)

Permit Search

BS&A Online (opens in a new tab)

Certificate Holder Mailing Address

Nelson Township
2 Maple Street, P.O. Box 109
Sand Lake, MI 49343

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

Additional Notes

Nelson Township runs its own building department confirmed on its official site (nelsontownship.org). Building Inspector Brandon Bisel (616-401-3927, buildinginspector@nelsontownship.org) is the primary permit contact; additional inspectors James Thorington (616-255-6502) and Jeff Biegalle (616-438-5957) were named in search results but not independently confirmed on the official township page. BS&A Online municipality page (uid=712) found via search — appears to be the township's records/assessing portal; not fully confirmed as a live building-permit-search database specifically, so treat as a probable lead.

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 — Nelson Township'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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