Building permits in Thurston County, Washington
Of the 10 common home projects we have verified in Thurston County, 2 need a permit outright and 8 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 Thurston County
Community Planning and Economic Development - Building Development Center
- 3000 Pacific Ave SE, Suite 100, Olympia, WA 98501
- Phone: 360-786-5490
- Email: permit@co.thurston.wa.us
- Official permit page
- Permit portal
- Official fee schedule
Look up a permit in Thurston County
Thurston County 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 Thurston County permit portal
What needs a permit in Thurston County
Of the 10 common home projects we have verified in Thurston County, 2 need a permit outright and 8 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 are exempt if the surface is 30 inches or less from the ground to the top of the deck. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| Electrical Permit | Permit required | Electrical work in unincorporated Thurston County requires a state electrical permit from L&I; the county itself does not issue electrical permits, with limited work exceptions under WAC 296-46B-901. | See schedule |
| Fence Permit | It depends | Fences 8 feet tall or shorter are exempt from a county building permit. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| HVAC Permit | It depends | Heating and cooling equipment and gas piping require a Minor Permit, but replacement of electric forced-air heating units and water heaters is exempt. | See schedule |
| Patio Permit | It depends | Patios and porches are exempt if 30 inches or less from the ground to the top of the surface. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| Plumbing Permit | Permit required | No permit is needed only to clear a blockage or to repair or stop a leak in a drain, water, soil, or vent pipe. | See schedule |
| Pool Permit | It depends | Pools are exempt only if prefabricated, entirely above ground, less than 24 inches deep, and under 5,000 gallons capacity. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| Roof Replacement Permit | It depends | Roof repair and replacement is exempt unless the work adds skylights or changes, repairs, or replaces structural elements or the roof pitch or slope. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| Shed Permit | It depends | One-story detached accessory buildings with no plumbing or electricity are exempt if under 200 square feet inside a county urban growth area or under 400 square feet outside a UGA. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
| Solar Permit | It depends | Residential rooftop solar PV systems need no county permit; ground-mounted and commercial systems require county permits, and every solar project needs a state L&I electrical permit. | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based |
Planning a project in Thurston County?
Hire it out
Sponsored
Licensed contractors usually pull the permit as part of the job. Comparing a few local quotes before you commit is the useful next step.
Compare local contractor quotes on Angi
Sponsored link. PermitNotebook may earn a fee if you request quotes through it. Partners never influence our permit data.
Planning several things at once? Check your whole project
Thurston County permit fees compared with nearby Washington localities
| Washington locality | Deck Permit | HVAC Permit | Electrical Permit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County | Building permit and plan review fees are valuation based | See schedule | See schedule |
| 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.
Thurston County permit questions, answered from the data
- Do you need a permit in Thurston County?
- For most projects, yes. Of the 10 permit types we have verified for Thurston County, 2 always require a permit (for example an electrical permit), 8 depend on size or scope (a deck permit, for instance). Each Thurston County permit type's page states the exact rule and its source.
- How much does a permit cost in Thurston County?
- Thurston County 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 Community Planning and Economic Development - Building Development Center; we do not estimate or mark them up.
- Where do you apply for a permit in Thurston County?
- Community Planning and Economic Development - Building Development Center issues permits in Thurston County, with an online portal for applications, plan uploads and status checks, and takes questions at 360-786-5490. The Thurston County official page and portal are linked in the office section above.
How the Thurston County pages were verified. 10 permit types, 6 distinct official sources, most recently checked . Every rule is read from Community Planning and Economic Development - Building Development Center or the applicable code and cited on its page; anything we could not confirm for Thurston County is marked rather than estimated. How we verify.
Permitting activity in Thurston County
In 2025, Thurston County authorized permits for 1,669 new residential housing units (743 single-family, 926 in multi-family buildings), valued at $326M , up from 1,222 the year before. That works out to about 5.5 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 304,261.