Do You Need a Permit for a Dumpster in Detroit, MI?

Published 2026-09-30 by Detroit Dumpster Co

The short answer

If the container sits on your own driveway, yard or private parking lot, the City of Detroit publishes no permit requirement for a temporary roll-off. Its own residential guideline says it plainly: roll-off containers must be placed on your property, and street or berm placement requires a DPW permit. If any part of the container sits in a street, alley or on the sidewalk, you need that permit before it arrives, and it is us, not you, who has to hold it.

The rule: Detroit’s code

City Code Sec. 42-2-54 says vendors are responsible for obtaining a permit for each large movable or stationary container (two cubic yards or more) from the City Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works before it goes on any public right-of-way, and that the permit is issued only after a fee set by City Engineering is paid. Sec. 43-8-2 makes it an offence to obstruct or encumber any street, alley or public place with boxes, rubbish or any other material without a permit, Sec. 43-8-36 says solid waste taken from buildings shall not be stored on the sidewalks or roadways at all and must be removed as it is produced, and Sec. 43-8-1 makes a violation a misdemeanor carrying up to $500 and 90 days, each day a separate violation. Sec. 43-8-7 gives the City the power to demand an obstruction is removed within 24 hours, and Sec. 43-8-26 lets DPW remove unpermitted materials after 48 hours. No fee amount and no maximum duration for a dumpster permit are published in the code or on the DPW pages.

Who issues it and what they want

The permit is a City Engineering Division right-of-way permit; “Dumpster” is one of the 22 categories the DPW lists, grouped with temporary lane and sidewalk closures. The Permit Office is at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue, Suite 642, Detroit 48226, (313) 224-3935, and applications go through the City’s online permit system, with any site plan uploaded to the City’s document portal. Contractors working in the right-of-way carry a $2,500 surety bond with the City. Because the code puts the permit on the vendor, Detroit Dumpster Co files it: tell us the address, the dates and where the box will sit, and we do the rest.

What it costs to skip it

Up to $500 and 90 days for every day the container sits there under Sec. 43-8-1, plus removal of the container at your cost after DPW notice. Given the price of a rental, the maths is simple: keep it on private property or let us pull the permit first.

Demolition jobs have their own permits

A right-of-way permit is not a demolition permit. Demolition in Detroit needs a wrecking permit from BSEED at 2 Woodward Avenue, (313) 224-3202, through the eLAPS portal. City Code Sec. 8-2-20 issues it only to a licensed wrecking contractor or the owner of a homestead property (a one-storey frame building of 500 square feet or less is exempt), requires a notarised application, written confirmation from every utility that service is terminated, notice to adjoining owners, and suitable provision for the disposal of the debris. Fees follow the Michigan Building Code schedule rather than a single published figure, so confirm the amount when you apply. In a local historic district the application goes to the Historic District Commission first. Michigan EGLE requires an asbestos notification through the MiEnviro Portal at least ten working days before any demolition or regulated renovation, with private residences of four units or fewer exempt from the federal standard.

The suburbs are different

Hamtramck requires a bulk refuse container permit for anything in the right-of-way (§ 50.032): $25 for five days and $5 a day after, $2 million of insurance from the hauler, and set distances from hydrants, crossings and stop signs. Highland Park charges the same $25 for five days through its Building Department. Royal Oak wants a $130 right-of-way permit, a $2,000 cash bond, $1 million liability cover, lighted barricades and a tarp, plus $25 a day for a metered space. Ferndale takes a Dumpster/Storage Container Placement application at $50 plus $22.10 per parking space per day. Livonia requires a $35 street-occupation permit with $1 million insurance. Grosse Pointe Woods requires a DPS permit and a $200 deposit for the street, Grosse Pointe Park a right-of-way permit and bond, and the City of Grosse Pointe a building-inspector permit with a deposit and insurance; Grosse Pointe Farms publishes no permit and keeps everything off the street. Dearborn publishes no street fee but allows a container on public property or in the front setback only with written approval from the Chief of Police or the Economic Development director, and caps a driveway dumpster at seven cumulative days in 180 unless a building permit is open. Warren, Southfield, Sterling Heights and Taylor publish no dumpster permit at all, for the street or the driveway. Our service-area pages give the details and the phone number for each one, and where a place publishes nothing we say so rather than invent a rule.

What we do for you

When you book, we ask where the container will sit. If it is a driveway or lot, we deliver, keeping inside Dearborn’s or the Grosse Pointes’ day limits where they apply. If it has to be in a Detroit street, we pull the DPW permit ourselves and schedule delivery for the day it starts. Call (313) 397-0178 and we will sort it out in one conversation.

Detroit Dumpster Co · Detroit, MI · (313) 397-0178, answered 24/7.