Michigan Permit Pathfinder
Check the site before you commit.
Opening, buying, moving, or changing a Michigan business? Start with the route that fits. You’ll get a dated call sheet: who to contact, what to ask, and what to gather before you sign, build, or open.
Free · no account · answers stay on your device · an official source stays beside every task
Start with the deal
Commercial property
Use this before a lease, purchase, closing, renovation, demolition, or digging. Check old uses, environmental records, tanks, contamination, zoning, and building work.
Start the commercial property check →Common business routes
Start with what you plan to open.
Restaurant & café
Food-office review, kitchen plans, utilities, property records, and opening steps.
Start this check →Auto repair & body shop
Registration, zoning, drains, coatings, shop waste, tanks, and building work.
Start this check →Food truck
License lane, commissary, water and wastewater, fire systems, and each selling stop.
Start this check →Small manufacturer & fabricator
Air, exhaust, waste, drains, chemicals, equipment, and property history.
Start this check →All 20 checks
Find the closest fit.
More than one route may fit. Buying a gas station? Use Commercial property and Gas station. Leasing an auto-body shop and hiring your first worker? Add Auto repair and First employee.
Food & drink
- Restaurant & café Food-office review, kitchen plans, utilities, property records, and opening steps. Start →
- Food truck License lane, commissary, water and wastewater, fire systems, and each selling stop. Start →
- Bar & liquor license License records, seller files, ownership, local approval, closing, and added service areas. Start →
Auto, fuel & vehicle businesses
- Auto repair & body shop Registration, zoning, drains, coatings, shop waste, tanks, and building work. Start →
- Gas station & convenience store Fuel licenses, tanks, old releases, fire review, food, alcohol, and seller records. Start →
- Car wash Washwater, drains, sewer or groundwater review, chemicals, and site history. Start →
- Vehicle dealer & used-car lot Dealer class, lot and office rules, seller records, titles, insurance, and local approval. Start →
- Automotive recycler & salvage yard Dealer class, vehicle intake, dismantling, fluids, outdoor storage, stormwater, and fire review. Start →
Manufacturing & working yards
Shops, services & care
- Salon, barbershop & nail studio Premises license, ownership, inspection, water, ventilation, chemicals, and added services. Start →
- Tattoo & piercing studio Health review, rooms and sinks, instruments, medical waste, records, and inspection. Start →
- Child-care center Licensing, zoning, fire and health review, lead, playground, staffing, and background checks. Start →
Property, building & outdoor sites
- Commercial property Old uses, environmental records, tanks, contamination, zoning, renovation, and digging. Start →
- Land & water project Grading, soil erosion, runoff, wetlands, drains, floodplains, shore work, and dewatering. Start →
- Residential builder Individual and company licenses, contracts, permits, skilled trades, crews, and jobsite risks. Start →
- Campground & RV park Capacity, zoning, plans and licensing, water, sewage, cabins, and land clues. Start →
- Marina & boatyard Docks, dredging, water approvals, pumpout, washwater, fuel, repair work, and buyer records. Start →
First operating steps
Start here, then confirm there
A call sheet is a starting map.
It does not issue a permit, approve a site, or decide that a rule does not apply. The state or local office still makes that call.
Read first
See the worked examples.
Each guide shows one broad example and the official sources behind its tasks. Your own answers may add, remove, or reorder steps.
Browse the permit guides →Official help
Already know which office you need? Go straight to the State of Michigan business portal or the Michigan State License Search .
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