25 published records
Business licenses and permits in Wayne County, Michigan
Wayne County's own Services/Business page lists no general business license, and the Department of Public Services Engineering Division's Construction Permits page limits county construction permits to work in county road right-of-way rather than building construction - Michigan counties are limited-home-rule units, and building permits in Wayne County are issued by the county's 43 individual cities and townships. The county's own regulatory footprint over the ten covered industries runs almost entirely through the Health, Human & Veterans Services (HHVS) Department's Environmental Health Section — food service licensing and plan review, mobile/temporary food licensing, the certified-food-manager mandate, body art facility inspection, public swimming pool inspection, child/adult care facility inspection, water well permits and on-site sewage permits — plus the County Clerk's Assumed Name (DBA) certificate and the Department of Public Services Engineering Division's county-road right-of-way construction permit. Every Environmental Health food record applies only outside the City of Detroit, which licenses its own restaurants and food vendors through the separate Detroit Health Department. Where the state, not the county, issues the underlying license (Body Art, Public Swimming Pool), Wayne County's role is limited to performing the state-required local inspection and charging its own inspection fee, independent of the state's own license fee and renewal cycle.
What are you opening in Wayne 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 Wayne County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning Approval — City or Township Role (Wayne County)only if it applies to you | Wayne County Government, Services/Business | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Water Well Permitonly if it applies to you | Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services (HHVS), Environmental Health Section | Well Evaluation $175; Well Permit for a residential 1-2 family building, including irrigation wells, $250; Residential Type III well $648; Site Evaluation tiered by projected gallons per day: under 1,000 GPD $300, 1,000-5,000 GPD $978, over 5,000 GPD $1,234 (a subsequent site evaluation at the same site is priced differently: $150, $1,748 and $1,748 respectively) — all from the 2024 EH Fee Schedule. | one year to complete construction from permit issuance; a re-issuance fee applies if the permit expires before construction is complete | 2026-09-28 |
| Building Permit — City or Township Role; County Road Right-of-Way Only (Wayne County)only if it applies to you | Wayne County Government, Services/Business | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-28 |
| Assumed Name (DBA) Certificateonly if it applies to you | Wayne County Clerk, Assumed Names Division | $16 one-time filing fee, payable by money order, cashier's check, or an in-state company check only — personal checks are not accepted (Wayne County Clerk's current fee) | 5 years, renewable | 2026-09-28 |
| On-Site Sewage (Septic) Permitonly if it applies to you | Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services (HHVS), Environmental Health Section | Septic Permit tiered by projected gallons per day: under 1,000 GPD $471, 1,000-5,000 GPD $375, over 5,000 GPD $1,114. Septic Repair, same tiers: $325, $840, $1,114. OSDS Evaluation $358. OSDS Evaluator Annual Registration $150. OSDS Transfer Evaluation $161 — all from the 2024 EH Fee Schedule. | one year to complete construction from permit issuance | 2026-09-28 |
| General Business License — Wayne County positiononly if it applies to you | Wayne County Government, Services/Business | No fee | not applicable — the County's Services/Business page lists no general business license for any of the ten covered industries | 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.
What do these permits involve in Wayne County?
Zoning Approval — City or Township Role (Wayne County)
No fee applies. Wayne County's Services/Business page and its Permits & Licensing index list no zoning approval, zoning ordinance or zoning department among county functions. Under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, MCL 125.3209, a township that has enacted its own zoning ordinance is not subject to a county zoning ordinance. Zoning in Wayne County is handled by its 43 individual cities and townships — Wayne Township, Canton Township, Huron Charter Township, Van Buren Township, Sumpter Township and the rest each maintain their own zoning ordinance, Board of Zoning Appeals and Zoning Commission, and cities including Detroit likewise zone themselves. A business must confirm zoning compliance, variances and conditional-use approvals with the city or township where its premises sits, not with Wayne County; the County's published service lists show no county step in that process for any of the ten industries covered here.
Water Well Permit
A business built where public water is not available needs a well permit from Wayne County Environmental Health before drilling; a contractor typically pulls the permit on the property owner's behalf. The 2024 EH Fee Schedule prices a Well Evaluation at $175, a Well Permit for a residential one- or two-family building, including irrigation wells, at $250, and a Residential Type III well at $648; a Site Evaluation is tiered by projected water use — under 1,000 gallons per day $300, 1,000 to 5,000 gallons per day $978, and over 5,000 gallons per day $1,234 — with a different fee for a subsequent evaluation at the same site. The permit gives one year to complete construction from issuance, and a re-issuance fee applies if that year passes before the well is finished. This applies to any of the ten covered industries whose building lacks a public water connection, not only to the contractor performing the work.
Building Permit — City or Township Role; County Road Right-of-Way Only (Wayne County)
No fee applies. Neither Wayne County's Services/Business page nor its Construction Permits page lists a general building or construction permit for commercial buildings. The only permitting function the county's Department of Public Services Engineering Division runs under the name 'Construction Permits' covers work in Wayne County road right-of-way only — driveway approaches, utility cuts, sidewalk work and similar (see the separate Road Right-of-Way Construction Permit record) — not building construction itself. A restaurant, retail store, childcare center or any other business in this list obtains its building permit from the city or township where it is located; Detroit, the largest of Wayne County's 43 municipalities, runs its own building-permit process through its Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, unrelated to the county.
Assumed Name (DBA) Certificate
A sole proprietorship or general partnership doing business in Wayne County under a name other than the owner's or owners' own legal name or names must file an Assumed Name (DBA) Certificate with the Wayne County Clerk before conducting business under that name, under Michigan's 1907 assumed-name statute, MCL 445.1 et seq. The filing is a mail-in process: it must be notarized and signed by all owners, and the current fee is $16.00, payable by money order, cashier's check, or an in-state company check — personal checks are not accepted. The certificate is filed with the Wayne County Clerk, 400 Monroe St. Suite 610, Detroit, MI 48226, ATTN: Assumed Names, and is valid for five years before it must be renewed. An LLC or corporation registers its trade or assumed name with the state instead, through the LARA Corporations Division, not through the county clerk.
On-Site Sewage (Septic) Permit
A business built where no municipal sewer is available needs an on-site sewage (septic) permit from Wayne County Environmental Health, under the county's own On-Site Sewage Disposal System Evaluation and Maintenance Ordinance No. 99-527 — a genuine Wayne County ordinance rather than a state pass-through. Municipal sewer availability is confirmed before a septic permit is issued, and the permit applies only outside Detroit and outside any other area with municipal sewer. The 2024 EH Fee Schedule prices a new Septic Permit at $471 for under 1,000 gallons per day, $375 for 1,000 to 5,000 gallons per day, and $1,114 for over 5,000 gallons per day; a Septic Repair follows the same tiers at $325, $840 and $1,114; an OSDS Evaluation is $358; an OSDS Evaluator's own Annual Registration is $150; and an OSDS Transfer Evaluation is $161. The permit gives one year to complete construction from issuance.
General Business License — Wayne County position
No fee applies. The County's Services/Business page lists six business functions (Assumed Names, Environmental Safety, Environmental Services, Food Safety, Procurement and Vendor Certification Programs), and its Permits & Licensing index lists nine permit types (Commercial Advertising & Photography, Concealed Pistol, Construction, Environmental Services, Food Service Licensing, Geocaching, Ice Shanty, Park, and Weightmaster & Transportation); neither page names a general business license or registration for any of the ten industries covered here. A business in Wayne 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 or township, that municipality's own business license if one exists. Detroit, the county's largest city, runs its own Detroit Health Department and business-licensing functions entirely separate from the county.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Wayne County Business Services page — lists only Assumed Names, Environmental Safety, Environmental Services and Food Safety as licensing-adjacent county functionsWayne County, Michigan · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Environmental Health Fee Schedule, effective January 16, 2024Wayne County HHVS, Environmental Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Water Well PermitsWayne County HHVS, Environmental Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- MCL 325.1001, Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, 1976 PA 399Michigan Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Construction Permits — county road right-of-way permit processWayne County Department of Public Services, Engineering · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Assumed Names — filing process and current feeWayne County Clerk · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- MCL 445.1, 'Carrying On Business Under Assumed or Fictitious Name,' 1907 PA 101Michigan Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Septic/On-Site Sewage — administered under Wayne County Ordinance No. 99-527Wayne County HHVS, Environmental Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Who issues business permits in Wayne County?
Permitting in Wayne County is split across 5 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.
Wayne County issuing agencies
- Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services (HHVS), Environmental Health SectionFood service licensing and plan review for fixed, mobile, STFU and temporary (TFE) food establishments — Wayne County outside the City of Detroit only · Certified food manager mandate administration (state-required, county-restated) · Body art facility plan review and inspection, as the local partner to the state-issued license · Public swimming pool inspection, as the state-designated local health department for the state-issued license · Child care and adult foster care facility inspection, performed at the request of the state licensing agency · Water well permits and on-site sewage (septic) system permits11 permits
- Wayne County Government, Services/BusinessThe county's own index of its business-facing services, confirming which licensing functions Wayne County does and does not perform11 permits
- Wayne County Clerk, Assumed Names DivisionAssumed Name (DBA) certificate filing for sole proprietorships and general partnerships1 permit
- Wayne County Department of Public Services (DPS), Engineering DivisionCounty road right-of-way construction permits — driveway approaches, utility cuts, sidewalk work, storm drain work, right-of-way tree work and event road closures1 permit
- Wayne County HHVS, Communicable Diseases ProgramAnimal bite reporting and rabies surveillance/quarantine follow-up1 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.