Water heater replacement permits in Michigan: what the state text says

What the state permit rule says

LARA’s Bureau of Construction Codes puts it in one sentence: plumbing work does not start until the enforcing agency has issued a permit. The exemption is short: a permit is not required for repairs that involve only the working parts of a faucet or a valve, or for clearing stoppages, provided nobody alters the existing piping or fixtures.

Hold that list up against a water heater. A new tank means disconnecting the water lines, the relief valve discharge, and, on a gas unit, the gas connection and the vent. None of that is a faucet washer or a clog. The state page never says “water heater” and lists only what is exempt, so the conclusion is an inference, though a replacement is plainly not on the exempt list.

The licensing act’s definition of “minor repair” points the same way, covering only clearing stoppages, repairing or replacing a faucet or valve, or reinstalling the same fixture, with no change to the plumbing system.

What local building departments say

Michigan enforces plumbing locally, so the clearest answers come from city and township offices. Sterling Heights answers on its FAQ page with a plain yes to a permit for installing a water heater. Delta Township lists “water heater change out” among the projects that always require a permit. Rochester Hills says a plumbing permit is needed for new fixtures, water heater replacement, relocation or alteration; we read that through a search summary of the city’s page, so check it with the Building, Ordinance and Facilities office before you schedule.

Your office depends on where the house sits, since a city, a county or the state can run the program. Each city page names its permit office, for example Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights.

Who can pull the permit

To get a plumbing permit the applicant must be a licensed plumbing contractor or a homeowner installing their own plumbing, building sewer or private sewer. Licensed plumbing work generally has to be done by a licensed master or journey plumber, and the homeowner exemption covers a single-family dwelling with a permit.

For most people the company you hire pulls the permit. If one quote comes in well under the others and never mentions a permit, ask whether it is included.

Gas heaters and the second license

Gas changes the picture. LARA’s mechanical FAQ says that replacing a gas water heater takes a Michigan mechanical license (in the HVAC equipment or the gas piping and venting classification) and a Michigan plumbing contractor’s license, with a mechanical permit and a plumbing permit. We have seen that text only through a search summary of an undated FAQ, so confirm it with LARA before treating it as settled.

Either way, a company that says “any plumber can swap it” may be leaving out a permit, so ask who holds which license and who is pulling which permit. To check a license number, use the steps in how to find a licensed plumber in Michigan.

If you are thinking of doing the work yourself, read whether you can replace your own water heater in Michigan first. A homeowner may pull a permit for the home they live in, which does not make gas work a casual job.

What the inspector looks at

Michigan adopted the 2021 International Plumbing Code, with state changes, as its plumbing code. The relief valve is the part of that code a homeowner can see. ICC’s summary of section 504.6 says the discharge pipe must not connect directly to the drainage system. It ends in an air gap in the same room as the heater, is not smaller than the valve outlet, and stops no more than 6 inches above the floor, a waste receptor or a floor drain. It has no threaded end, no valves and no tees, and it serves a single relief device.

Michigan’s amendments to that section were not part of our review, so read the summary as the model code and let your local inspector have the last word. You can still look at your own heater today, and a capped, threaded or missing discharge pipe is worth raising with whoever installs the next one.

While the old tank is out, look at the temperature setting too. The Consumer Product Safety Commission advises setting water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and notes that 140 degree water can burn in six seconds.

What the permit costs

Permit fees are set by each city and change with the fiscal year, so there is no statewide number. These are the schedules published at the source.

• Grand Rapids, effective July 1, 2026: a $52 application fee, which includes one inspection, plus $21 for a water heater.
• Sterling Heights, 2026 to 2027 chart: a $55 non-refundable application fee, plus $40 for a water heater or a tankless water heater.
• Flint, FY27 schedule: a $95 plumbing permit base fee plus $15 per water heater. The same schedule sets a $160 minimum per inspection, so ask the office what your total will be.
• Dearborn, form dated May 2024: a $100 administrative fee plus an $80 minimum permit fee, $180 in all with one rough and one final inspection, and $15 for a hot water tank.

We do not quote a fee for Detroit, Warren, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Livonia or Kalamazoo, and our water heater replacement estimate uses the median of the published forms for a city like these. Warren and Lansing publish no schedule we could locate, Ann Arbor’s plumbing fees are not posted, and the Detroit, Livonia and Kalamazoo figures surfaced only in snippets of documents that would not open, so call the building department. These fees are small next to the price of the heater, and the plumber builds them into the quote, which leaves one question: whether the quote includes them.

If the permit gets skipped

The first consequence falls on the person who did the work. Under MCL 339.5601, practicing a regulated occupation without a license is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500 or up to 90 days in jail, or both. A second offense carries a fine of up to $1,000 or a year, and a third is a felony. Those penalties are for unlicensed work rather than a missing permit, though the two tend to travel together.

For you, the likely cost is practical. What a city does on finding an unpermitted heater is a matter for the building department, and it can tell you what it requires when a permit is opened after the fact.

Rebates and who to call

Utility discounts on efficient water heaters exist, and the programs ask for specific equipment and often a participating contractor. The water heater replacement page covers them, along with what remains unconfirmed. If the heater is failing but not dead, repair or replace walks through the decision, and the water heater repair page covers what a repair involves. Questions about the state’s permit rules go to LARA’s permit section, which lists a phone number and email on its plumbing pages.