City of Rochester

Oakland County, Michigan

Last verified September 17, 2026

City of Rochester is a jurisdiction in Oakland 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: 248-733-3700
Email: rmclure@rochestermi.org
Department Site: City of Rochester Building Department (opens in a new tab)

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

Permit Search

BS&A Online (opens in a new tab)

Certificate Holder Mailing Address

City of Rochester Building Department
400 Sixth Street
Rochester, MI 48307

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

Additional Notes

City's official site appears at both ci.rochester.mi.us and rochestermi.org (rochestermi.org used here as the current/active domain based on successful fetch); Building Inspector email (rmclure@rochestermi.org) found via search summary referencing the department page — treat with slight hedge since it was not directly re-verified on a freshly fetched page. This is a separate city from Rochester Hills (next entry) despite the similar name and shared Oakland 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 — City of Rochester'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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