12 published records
Business licenses and permits in Ingham County, Michigan
Ingham County, Michigan, seat Mason; population 290,427 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate). Most county records here run through the Ingham County Health Department's Environmental Health division, whose fees were set by Board of Commissioners Resolution #25-334 (adopted June 24, 2025, Health Department rates effective October 1, 2025): food service licensing (fixed, seasonal, mobile, special transitory food unit and temporary), child care and foster care environmental health inspections, public pool inspections, the tobacco and electronic smoking device retail sales license, Pollution Prevention (P2) reporting and inspection, and well and septic permits. The county tobacco regulation applies throughout the county, in cities, villages and townships alike. The Drain Commissioner is the County Enforcing Agency for soil erosion and sedimentation control outside Delhi Charter Township, the City of East Lansing, the City of Lansing, Meridian Charter Township and Lansing Charter Township, and issues drain crossing and tap-in permits; the Road Department issues right-of-way and driveway permits on county roads. The county's local units are the cities of East Lansing, Lansing, Leslie, Mason and Williamston; the villages of Dansville, Stockbridge and Webberville; and the townships of Alaiedon, Aurelius, Bunker Hill, Delhi, Ingham, Lansing, Leroy, Leslie, Locke, Meridian, Onondaga, Stockbridge, Vevay, Wheatfield, White Oak and Williamstown. City, village and township requirements, such as local business licensing and zoning, are set by each local unit and stack on the county records listed here.
What are you opening in Ingham County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Ingham County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Well and On-Site Septic Permits (conditional — premises on a private well or septic system)only if it applies to you | Ingham County Health Department, Environmental Health | Well permit (private residential, Type II or Type III well) $495; septic permit, new or repair, residential or commercial $1,000; septic tank only $455; combined well and septic $1,355; alternative on-site sewage system plan review $400; vacant land (lot and soil) evaluation $500 (Resolution #25-334, Health Department rates effective October 1, 2025). | per permit | 2026-10-10 |
| County Road Right-of-Way and Commercial Driveway Permitonly if it applies to you | Ingham County Road Department | Commercial driveway $350 each (includes lane closure permit); modifications or installations within the road right-of-way $150; overhead or underground utility installation $150 (plus $250 per open-cut road crossing or $150 per bored crossing); road closure for construction $150; engineering plan review $500 per submittal; working without a permit 2x the permit fee or up to a $5,000 civil fine (Road Department Permit Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2022). | per permit | 2026-10-10 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Ingham County?
Water Well and On-Site Septic Permits (conditional — premises on a private well or septic system)
A business premises served by its own well or on-site septic system needs permits from the Ingham County Health Department. The department's fee table lists a well permit (to construct or alter a private residential, Type II or Type III well) at $495, a new or repair septic permit for a residential or commercial system at $1,000, a septic tank only permit at $455, a combined well and septic permit at $1,355, alternative on-site sewage system plan review at $400 and a residential or commercial lot and soil evaluation at $500. The figure is from Ingham County Board of Commissioners Resolution #25-334 (adopted June 24, 2025), which set the Health Department's current rates effective October 1, 2025 with no end date; the Health Department's live Permits & Licensing page links its 2025-2026 Food and Facilities Fee Schedule, which lists the same amounts. Resolution #26-145 (adopted March 24, 2026) adopted the revised Chapter Two of the Ingham County Sanitary Code effective June 1, 2026, and delayed sections 204.08 through 204.10, which involve certification of contractors, until January 1, 2027. A premises without its own well or septic system needs no permit under this record.
County Road Right-of-Way and Commercial Driveway Permit
A business adding a commercial driveway onto a county road, or a contractor working within a county road right-of-way, needs a permit from the Ingham County Road Department. Under the Road Department's Permit Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2022, adopted by Resolution #22-311 and linked from the department's live permits page, a commercial driveway is $350 each (including the lane closure permit), modifications or installations within the right-of-way $150, utility installations $150 plus $250 per open-cut or $150 per bored road crossing, road closure for construction $150 and engineering plan review $500 per submittal. Working without a permit costs twice the original permit fee or up to a $5,000 civil fine, and resubmittals or revisions cost the original permit fee. The permits page links the Rules, Standards and Procedures for Driveways, Banners and Parades and fillable driveway and right-of-way permit applications. The permit covers county roads; a site on a city street or state trunkline is outside this record.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Resolution #25-334 updating various fees for Human Services Committee departments (adopted June 24, 2025; Health Department rates effective October 1, 2025)Ingham County Board of Commissioners · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Environmental Health — Permits & Licensing (fee tables and application links)Ingham County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Resolution #26-145 adopting the revised Chapter Two of the Ingham County Sanitary Code (adopted March 24, 2026; effective June 1, 2026)Ingham County Board of Commissioners · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Ingham County Road Department Permit Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2022Ingham County Road Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Resolution #22-311 adopting the Road Department permit fee schedule (adopted June 28, 2022)Ingham County Board of Commissioners · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Road Department — PermitsIngham County Road Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
Who issues business permits in Ingham County?
Permitting in Ingham County is split across 3 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Ingham County issuing agencies
- Ingham County Health Department, Environmental HealthFood service licensing (fixed, seasonal, mobile, special transitory food unit and temporary) with food plan review · Child care and adult foster care environmental health inspections · Public swimming pool inspections · Tobacco and electronic smoking device retail sales licenses under the county tobacco regulation, throughout the county · Pollution Prevention (P2) reporting and inspection under Ingham County Sanitary Code Chapter VIII · Water well and on-site septic permits under the Ingham County Sanitary Code9 permits
- Ingham County Drain CommissionerCounty Enforcing Agency for soil erosion and sedimentation control in areas of Ingham County not served by a Municipal Enforcing Agency · Drain crossing, connection (tap-in) and encroachment permits; plat and commercial site plan and drainage review2 permits
- Ingham County Road DepartmentRight-of-way, driveway, utility, special event and transportation permits on county roads1 permit
Other Michigan jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.