Building permits in Seattle, Washington
Of the 10 common home projects we have verified in Seattle, 5 need a permit outright and 3 depend on size or scope. Click any project for the full rule, fee, and how to apply.
By Mario Bailey Last checked · 2 official sources
Verified against official sources- Project types verified
- 10
- in Seattle
- Permits analysed
- 4,935
- in the last 12 months
- Typical job value
- $103,577
- declared valuation
2 things Seattle does not make you permit
Worth knowing before you call anyone. Most jurisdictions we cover require all of these.
- Patio Permit
Patio and concrete slabs installed on grade do not require a permit in Seattle
- Roof Replacement Permit
Like-for-like roof replacement on a detached one or two-family house in Seattle does not require a permit
Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections
- 700 5th Ave Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98104
- Phone: (206) 684-8600
- Official permit page
- Permit portal
- Official fee schedule
Look up a permit in Seattle
Seattle runs an online permit portal. Many local portals let you check application status, search permit records, and view inspection results without calling the office.
Search the Seattle permit portal
What needs a permit in Seattle
Of the 10 common home projects we have verified in Seattle, 5 need a permit outright and 3 depend on size or scope. Click any project for the full rule, fee, and how to apply.
| Project | Permit needed? | Threshold | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck Permit | It depends | decks more than 18 inches above grade require a permit; decks 18 inches or less above grade and not over a basement do not require a permit | ...valuation per the 2026 Fee Subtitle (SMC 22.900), minimum value-based fee $292... |
| Electrical Permit | Permit required | Any size | Itemized per Fee Subtitle Table D-15: minimum $105.12 for a standard online self-issued... |
| Fence Permit | It depends | fences under 8 feet with no masonry or concrete elements exceeding 6 feet do not require a permit | Fences 8 feet or less with no masonry or concrete elements over 6 feet need no permit... |
| HVAC Permit | Permit required | Any size | Ducted HVAC systems are priced by project valuation with a $292 minimum |
| Patio Permit | No permit needed | Exempt | ...or replacing 750 square feet or more of hard surface, priced hourly at the $292... |
| Plumbing Permit | Permit required | Any size | See schedule |
| Pool Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...accessory to a single-family or duplex home is a flat fee of four times the $292... |
| Roof Replacement Permit | No permit needed | Exempt | One and two family homes need no permit for a straight reroof that does not change the... |
| Shed Permit | It depends | one-story detached storage sheds with a roof footprint of 120 square feet or less on a slab foundation and not in an environmentally critical area do not require a permit | Sheds of 120 square feet or less that are single story, unattached, and storage-only... |
| Solar Permit | Permit required | Any size | ...PV is permitted through the electrical permit: systems below 12kW are a flat $438... |
Planning a project in Seattle?
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Seattle permit fees compared with nearby Washington localities
| Washington locality | Deck Permit | HVAC Permit | Electrical Permit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | ...Subtitle (SMC 22.900), minimum value-based fee $292... | ...systems are priced by project valuation with a $292... | Itemized per Fee Subtitle Table D-15: minimum $105.12 for... |
| Bellevue | ...fee by valuation per Table 4 of Ordinance 6879, $44... | ...8 of Ordinance 6879: furnace up to 100,000 BTU $59... | ...fee by valuation per Table 6 of Ordinance 6879, $79... |
| Clark County | See schedule | Application rev 1.30.23: $94 issuance plus per-appliance... | See schedule |
| King County | ...approximately 14% on January 1 2026 plus a $126... | Mechanical installation-only permit is a flat $183... | ...single or two family home wiring starts at $119.90... |
Each cell is the opening clause of that Washington jurisdiction's own fee schedule; the full wording and source sit on each permit page.
Seattle permit questions, answered from the data
- Do you need a permit in Seattle?
- For most projects, yes. Of the 10 permit types we have verified for Seattle, 5 always require a permit (for example an electrical permit), 3 depend on size or scope (a deck permit, for instance), and 2 need no permit at all in Seattle. Each Seattle permit type's page states the exact rule and its source.
- How much does a permit cost in Seattle?
- Seattle publishes a fee for 10 of the 10 permit types we cover, each quoted on its page from the jurisdiction's own schedule (linked on every page that carries one). Fees are set by Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections; we do not estimate or mark them up.
- Where do you apply for a permit in Seattle?
- Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections issues permits in Seattle, with an online portal for applications, plan uploads and status checks, and takes questions at (206) 684-8600. The Seattle official page and portal are linked in the office section above.
How the Seattle pages were verified. 10 permit types, 10 distinct official sources, most recently checked . Every rule is read from Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections or the applicable code and cited on its page; anything we could not confirm for Seattle is marked rather than estimated. How we verify.
Real permit outcomes in Seattle
- Typical job value
- $103,577
- declared valuation
Based on 4,935 residential permits issued in Seattle between 2025-07-12 and 2026-07-12: the median declared project value was $103,577;
Source: City of Seattle built-environment permits (open data), fetched . Figures are medians of actual issued-permit records, not a quote.
Permitting activity in Seattle
In 2025, Seattle authorized permits for 4,366 new residential housing units (468 single-family, 3,898 in multi-family buildings), valued at $1.1B , down from 5,895 the year before. That works out to about 5.7 permits per 1,000 residents. It is a useful gauge of how busy the local permit office is.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual data · population 769,714.
About Seattle
Seattle has about 382,933 housing units. The median home is valued at $912,100, against a median household income of $121,984. About 44% of homes are owner-occupied, and the typical home was built around 1974. Older housing stock usually means more renovation, electrical, and plumbing permits.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year.