Garfield Township
Clare County, Michigan
Last verified September 17, 2026
Garfield Township is a jurisdiction in Clare County, Michigan, which does not currently list an online permit database — contact the department directly by phone or email. 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
- 989-544-2445
- deputyclerk@garfieldtownship.net
- Department Site
- Garfield Township Office (Clare County) (opens in a new tab)
Permit Search
No online permit database on file — contact the department directly by phone or email.
Certificate Holder Mailing Address
Garfield Township9348 Terry Street
Lake, MI 48632
Use this address when the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.
Additional Notes
No dedicated building/zoning contact was found on the township's own official site (garfieldtownship-cc.com); phone/email given are for the general township clerk's office (open Wed & Fri, 9:00am-3:00pm). UNCONFIRMED LEAD: multiple third-party-indexed sources (e.g., Freeman Township's own official page, freemantwp.com/permits) state that Clare County townships route building permits through the Clare County Building Department / Community Development (address 225 W Main St, Harrison, MI 48625), with a phone number reported inconsistently across sources as either 989-539-2741 or 989-539-2761. The county's own department site (clareco-buildingdev.net) could not be directly verified due to a repeated SSL certificate error during research, and no source explicitly names Garfield Township (Clare County) among the townships served -- treat the county delegation as a plausible but unconfirmed lead. This is one of six unrelated 'Garfield'-named townships in this batch; do not confuse with the other five (especially Garfield Township, Mackinac County, whose official site domain garfieldtwpmcmi.gov surfaced repeatedly and confusingly in search results for this county).
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 — Garfield 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.
More in Clare County
See Clare County property and court records →
Other building permit jurisdictions in Clare County: