City of South Haven

Van Buren County, Michigan

Last verified September 17, 2026

City of South Haven is a jurisdiction in Van Buren 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: (269) 637-0700
Department Site: Building Services Department (opens in a new tab)

Source: southhavenmi.gov (opens in a new tab)

Permit Search

BS&A Online Payments (Building Dept & STR) (opens in a new tab)

Certificate Holder Mailing Address

City of South Haven Building Services Department
539 Phoenix Street
South Haven, MI 49090

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

Additional Notes

No direct building-department email confirmed on the official site; general city phone (269) 637-0700 given, and a Building Services-specific number (269) 637-0789 was seen in search results but not independently confirmed on-page. Planning and Zoning Administrator Kelly Getman-Dissette listed at kdissette@southhavenmi.gov. The BS&A link found is specifically an online-payment search for building dept/short-term-rental fees, not a full application portal; unclear if a separate BS&A permit-application/records module also exists for this city.

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 South Haven'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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