City of Traverse City
Grand Traverse County, Michigan
Last verified September 17, 2026
City of Traverse City is a jurisdiction in Grand Traverse 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
- 231-995-6044
- codes@gtcountymi.gov
- Department Site
- Grand Traverse County Construction Code Department (opens in a new tab)
Permit Search
Certificate Holder Mailing Address
Grand Traverse County Construction Code2650 LaFranier Road
Traverse City, MI 49686
Use this address when the jurisdiction needs to be listed as a certificate holder on a contractor's insurance documentation.
Additional Notes
Building permits for the City of Traverse City appear to be issued through the Grand Traverse County Construction Code Department rather than a separate city building department -- inferred from a sample issued permit document (for a Traverse City-area project) hosted on the city's own official site (traversecitymi.gov) that was itself a Grand Traverse County permit, plus the county's own site language distinguishing jurisdictions that handle their own permits (e.g., Garfield Township) from those that do not. This delegation is not stated in so many words on either official site, so it is flagged as a confident but not fully document-confirmed lead. Separately, the City of Traverse City's own Planning & Zoning Department (231-922-4778, 400 Boardman Avenue, Traverse City, MI 49684; Planning & Zoning Administrator Dave Weston, 231-922-4464) handles zoning, master plan, and site plan review matters directly.
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 Traverse City'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 Grand Traverse County
See Grand Traverse County property and court records →
Other building permit jurisdictions in Grand Traverse County: