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Detroit building permit search: BSEED's Accela site and the open permit files

Detroit building, trades and demolition permits are issued by the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), which runs its permits in Accela, also called eLAPS (BSEED system help, read 24 October 2026). The public side is Accela Citizen Access, which has a Permits section with a search; BSEED's help page mentions an address search but does not say which fields work without an account. The same permits are published on data.detroitmi.gov: 51,876 were issued from October 2024 to September 2026.

By Contractor Records · data through October 18, 2026

Where to look for Detroit permits

BSEED permits work inside Detroit city limits. Hamtramck, Highland Park, Dearborn and the rest of Wayne County run their own permit offices.

Tool Search by What it shows
Accela Citizen Access Permits section search (fields not listed by the City) Applications, permits and inspections in eLAPS
Building Permits (open data) Any column, including address and permit number Building permits with use type and estimated cost
Trades Permits and Demolition Permits (open data, same portal) Any column Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and demolition permits with a contact business

How to look up the permits on a Detroit address

  1. Open Accela Citizen Access and go to the Permits section.
  2. Search for the address or the permit number on your paperwork (the City does not list the fields, so try both), and open each record.
  3. For a list you can sort, filter the Building Permits dataset by street address, then the Trades and Demolition files the same way.
  4. Expect several permits per job: Detroit issues electrical, plumbing and mechanical work as separate trades permits.
  5. For an inspection result or a final, read the record in Accela or ask BSEED. The open files do not carry status.

What the statuses mean in Detroit's file

The City's open permit files carry an issue date but no permit status and no final inspection or closed date. So our Detroit pages show no finished share and no time to final, and a permit in our file says only that it was issued. To see whether a job was finaled, open the record in Accela Citizen Access.

When the permit you want is not online

The City's FOIA page asks you to search its 100+ open datasets, which include permitting, before submitting a FOIA request (read 24 October 2026). The older pre-2019 building permit layer is no longer public, so a permit from before 2019 that is not in Accela is a FOIA question.

What our Detroit pages add

Our Detroit page counts the City's permits by kind of work, October 2024 to September 2026:

Kind of work Permits (Oct 2024–Sep 2026) Share
Plumbing 13,739 26%
HVAC 12,989 25%
Electrical 9,705 19%
Remodels and repairs 7,119 14%
Demolition 2,125 4%
Roofing 1,820 4%
Solar 398 under 1%
New homes 212 under 1%
Garages, sheds and shade structures 130 under 1%
Additions 102 under 1%

77% of the 51,876 permits (October 2024 to September 2026) were for homes. ZIP 48204 had the most, 3,586 (7%); see Detroit permits by ZIP code. Building permits carry the estimated contractor cost written on the application, so remodel and new-home pages show declared values. The permit statistics page has year and month counts, and browse permits lists the rows.

What this does not tell you

The open files have no status and no final date. Trade and demolition permits carry no value. Contractor names appear only on trades and demolition permits, as a contact business, so we do not count, rate or rank firms in Detroit.

How we know this

The system name and help details are from BSEED's online permitting and licensing system help page and the FOIA guidance from the City's Submit A FOIA Request page, both read 24 October 2026; the Accela Citizen Access site was checked to load the same day. Counts are from the City's BSEED Building, Trades and Demolition Permits layers, read 18 October 2026: permits issued October 2024 to September 2026.

Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 18, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

  • How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in Detroit?

    Search the property in BSEED's Accela Citizen Access site (aca-prod.accela.com/detroit), which has a Permits section. For a list you can filter, use the Building Permits and Trades Permits datasets on data.detroitmi.gov, which carry the address and issue date.

  • Are Detroit building permits public record?

    Yes. The City publishes building, trades and demolition permits on its open data portal, and its FOIA page asks you to search the open datasets before filing a request.

  • Why are there so many plumbing permits in Detroit?

    Plumbing permits include the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's lead service line and water main replacement work. In our file, 13,739 of the 51,876 permits issued October 2024 to September 2026 were plumbing.

  • Can I look up Detroit permits by contractor?

    Only partly. The open trades and demolition files name a contact business, which is not always the licensed contractor of record, and building permits name none, so our Detroit pages do not list firms.

  • Does the City of Detroit permit Hamtramck, Highland Park or Dearborn?

    No. Hamtramck, Highland Park, Dearborn and the rest of Wayne County run their own permit offices.

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Related guides

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Sources
  1. Online permitting and licensing system help — City of Detroit BSEED (2026-10-24)
  2. City of Detroit Accela Citizen Access (2026-10-24)
  3. Building Permits — City of Detroit Open Data (2026-10-18)
  4. Submit A FOIA Request — City of Detroit (2026-10-24)