Oakland County
Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management
In short
Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management issues 10 permits we publish for Oakland County, last verified 2026-09-28. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Store Licensing — Oakland County Positiononly if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| General Business License — Oakland County Positiononly if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable — the county's Business Development page states that Oakland County does not require a business license | 2026-09-28 |
| Auto Repair Facility Registration — Michigan Department of State (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Veterinary Practice Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Fitness Studio Licensing — Oakland County Position (pool inspection only where present)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Contractor Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Zoning Approval — City, Village or Township Issues (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Building/Construction Permit — Local Community Issues (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Alcohol License — Michigan Liquor Control Commission (Oakland County)only if it applies to you | Oakland County Government — Business Development and Facilities Management | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Retail Store Licensing — Oakland County Position
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Under that statement, ordinary non-food retail needs only whatever building and sign permits its own city, village or township requires. A retail store that sells food — a grocery, convenience store or similar — falls instead under a state-issued Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) retail food establishment license, including an 'Extended Retail Food Establishment' tier for a store that also offers deli or seating service. That MDARD license is a state matter, not a county requirement.
General Business License — Oakland County Position
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states in its own words: 'Oakland County does not require a business license,' and directs a new business to 'check with the city or township that your business is located in to find out if a local business license is required.' A business in Oakland County still needs whatever Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) registration applies to its entity type, recorded at the state layer, and, inside an incorporated city, village or township, that municipality's own business license if one exists. Oakland County's food, body art, septic, well and other environmental-health licenses listed separately for this county are separate, targeted programs, not a stand-in for a general business license.
Auto Repair Facility Registration — Michigan Department of State (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Motor vehicle repair facility registration and mechanic certification in Michigan are issued by the Michigan Department of State under the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, MCL 257.1306 — a state-level function separate from county government. An auto-repair business in Oakland County still needs whatever building and sign permits its city, village or township requires, plus the county's own on-site sewage or water well permit if it sits outside municipal sewer or water service, exactly as any other commercial premises would.
Veterinary Practice Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Veterinary medicine is a state-licensed profession in Michigan, regulated by the LARA Board of Veterinary Medicine under the Public Health Code, 1978 PA 368. The only two county-level touchpoints a veterinary business has with Oakland County are the animal-bite reporting duty that applies whenever a bite occurs on the premises, recorded separately, and the conditional Commercial Kennel License from Oakland County Animal Control, recorded separately, which applies only if the practice also boards, breeds or trains dogs for compensation. A veterinary clinic offering only medical care, without boarding, breeding or training, needs neither.
Salon / Cosmetology Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Cosmetology, barbering, esthetics, manicuring and electrology are all state-licensed professions in Michigan under the LARA Board of Cosmetology. The one county license that can reach a salon is conditional: a salon that offers tattooing, body piercing or branding needs the Body Art Facility License and Practitioner Permit that OCHD Environmental Health administers under Public Act 375 of 2010, listed separately for this county. A hair, nail or skin salon without body-art services needs only whatever building and sign permits its own city, village or township requires.
Fitness Studio Licensing — Oakland County Position (pool inspection only where present)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. A gym or fitness studio without a swimming pool, spa or spray pad triggers no OCHD program and no fee under this record. The only county-level requirement that can reach a fitness studio is the conditional public swimming pool inspection, which applies only to a studio that actually operates a public pool, spa, spray pad or therapy pool on its premises — and even then, the operating license itself is issued by the State of Michigan (EGLE), with OCHD charging only its own separate $86-a-year local inspection fee, listed separately for this county. A fitness studio without a pool needs only whatever building, sign and other permits its own city, village or township requires.
Contractor Licensing — Michigan LARA (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Contractor licensing and registration in Michigan — for residential builders, maintenance and alteration contractors, electricians, plumbers and mechanical contractors alike — is administered by the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). A contractor still needs a building permit from the city, village or township where the work occurs; an OCHD-issued septic installer license specifically if installing or repairing on-site sewage disposal systems, recorded with the septic permit below; and, for work touching a county-maintained road specifically, the Road Commission for Oakland County's road right-of-way construction permit, recorded separately. Neither of those is a general contractor license.
Zoning Approval — City, Village or Township Issues (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Master Plan & Township Zoning Review page states that 'Oakland County does not have a Planning Commission'; instead, three Commissioners of the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee sit on a Coordinating Zoning Committee, and the page describes the county's zoning role as reviewing and commenting, under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, on township rezoning requests at the border of an adjacent community or involving or adjacent to County property — not a zoning approval a business itself applies for. Zoning ordinances, boards of zoning appeals and planning commissions are those of the county's individual cities, villages and townships, so a business confirms zoning compliance, variances and conditional-use approvals with the city, village or township where its premises sits.
Building/Construction Permit — Local Community Issues (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Facilities Management FAQ assigns building permits and licenses to local communities rather than to the county, stating in its own words: 'Building permits and licenses are the responsibility of local communities. Please select the name of the city, village or township... in which you are interested in securing a permit or license from and contact their office.' A restaurant, retail store, childcare center or any other business covered here obtains its building permit from the city, village or township where it is located — Troy, Southfield, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Novi, Rochester Hills, Waterford Township and each of the county's other communities run their own building departments. The only county-level construction-permitting function that reaches any of the ten industries at all is the Road Commission for Oakland County's road right-of-way construction permit, recorded separately, which covers only work touching a county-maintained road, not building construction generally.
Alcohol License — Michigan Liquor Control Commission (Oakland County)
No fee applies at the county level. Oakland County's Business Development 'Tools & Templates' page states that 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and that 'Licensing is managed by the State of Michigan,' and directs a new business to check with its city or township for any local license. Liquor licensing in Michigan runs through the Michigan Liquor Control Commission at the state level, combined with an approval or recommendation step from the local unit of government where the licensed premises is located — the city, village or township. A restaurant or coffee shop applying to serve alcohol works with the state Liquor Control Commission and with the city, village or township where its premises sits, such as Troy, Birmingham, Pontiac or Royal Oak.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Oakland County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Application to Work in Road Right-of-WayRoad Commission for Oakland County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Business Development, Tools & Templates — states 'Oakland County does not require a business license' and directs businesses to check with their city or townshipOakland County, Michigan · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Facilities Management FAQ — states 'Building permits and licenses are the responsibility of local communities. Please select the name of the city, village or township... and contact their office'Oakland County, Michigan · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Master Plan / Township Zoning Review — the county's limited coordinating role in border-adjacent rezoning cases onlyOakland County Community Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- MCL 333.13101, Michigan Public Health Code Part 131 — Body Art FacilitiesMichigan Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Swimming Pools — OCHD's local inspection fee, separate from the State of Michigan (EGLE) pool licenseOakland County Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
Other offices serving Oakland County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
- Restaurants in Oakland County
- Coffee shops in Oakland County
- Retail stores in Oakland County
- Salons and barbers in Oakland County
- Food trucks in Oakland County
- Fitness studios in Oakland County
- Childcare centres in Oakland County
- Contractors and trades in Oakland County
- Auto repair shops in Oakland County
- Veterinary clinics in Oakland County
Michigan jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.