Clark County building department

Clark County Building Safety, part of Community Development, reviews and inspects permitted construction in unincorporated Clark County and the Town of Yacolt. Cities such as Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, and Ridgefield run their own permit programs, and a Vancouver mailing address does not mean a parcel is in the city. The county’s Maps Online tool (Find Parcel, then Property Information Center) shows the jurisdiction for any parcel.

Applying: CC LMS, ProjectDox, and intake appointments

Clark County no longer accepts paper submittals. Every project goes through two systems:

1. CC LMS at permits.clark.wa.gov. Create an account, start the permit, pay the initial fees online, and submit.
2. Intake appointment. Email [email protected] to book a 30-minute virtual appointment (held on Microsoft Teams). If you arrive late, you lose that part of your slot. Cancellations need 24 hours’ notice, and the county may add a $148 fee to the permit for each missed submittal appointment. If your materials are incomplete, the remaining time is used to clarify what is missing, and resubmitting means booking another appointment.
3. ProjectDox upload. When prompted, upload plans and documents to ProjectDox (the county’s ePlan review system).

Fees must be paid before submittal, before revisions, and before issuance, online by card or e-check or in person. Mailed payments are not accepted, and only the applicant or an authorized agent may pay.

Electronic file rules

The county will not accept applications that ignore its file standards:

• Plan sheets: one PDF per sheet, landscape, between 11x17 and 24x36 inches, vector (“smart”) PDFs only (no scans), each sheet drawn to a labeled scale, at most 100 layers.
• Documents (calculations, reports, specifications): multi-page searchable PDFs, at least 8.5x11 inches, and these may be zipped.
• Stamp space: leave a blank 2x2-inch box in the upper-right corner of 8.5x11 and 11x17 sheets, or a 3x3-inch box on 22x34 and 24x36 sheets.

Residential permit types and exemptions

CC LMS uses these residential permit codes: NHC (new homes, duplexes, townhomes), ADS (additions, ADUs, garages, decks, pools), ARS (alterations and repairs), FRT (fences and retaining walls), RSW (re-roof, re-siding, windows), SOL (solar), MBH (manufactured homes), DEM (demolition), APS (driveway approaches and sidewalks), and MIS (miscellaneous, including agricultural structures).

Item	No building permit if…
Fence	7 feet or less in height
Deck	200 sq ft or less and no more than 30 inches above grade
Garden shed, gazebo, play structure	Under 200 sq ft
Retaining wall	Under 4 feet and not load-bearing

Clark County is stricter than many jurisdictions on exterior work. All roof replacements, window replacements, and siding replacements need a permit, as do plumbing fixtures such as water heaters, toilets, and sinks, and lawn-sprinkler backflow devices. Exempt structures still have to meet setbacks, and work in wetland, habitat, or shoreline areas may need a land-use permit. For more on reroofing, see do I need a permit to replace a roof.

Electrical permits are issued by the state, not the county. The county refers electrical work to Washington L&I at (360) 896-2300.

Codes and local design criteria

Plans must comply with the Washington State-amended IRC and IBC. Zoning and development standards are in Clark County Code Title 40, the Unified Development Code. The county’s residential plan-review requirements list:

• Assumed soil bearing pressure of 1,500 psf and a minimum frost depth of 12 inches
• Minimum footings of 12 x 6 inches for one story, 15 x 6 for two stories, and 23 x 6 for three, each with continuous #4 rebar
• Seismic Design Category D1 detailing
• Crawl-space ventilation of 1 sq ft per 300 sq ft of underfloor area

Inspections

You can request inspections in three ways:

• Online: through CC LMS
• Phone IVR: (564) 397-2477
• Text: send SCHEDULE, CANCEL, or RESCHEDULE to (866) 714-5489

Requests must be in by 10 p.m. the day before, though next-day service is not guaranteed. Have the permit number and the inspection code printed on the permit ready. Inspections run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. For permits from the retired Tidemark system, call (564) 397-4912. Remote video inspections through the county’s Sherlook program are available for some plumbing and mechanical work ((564) 397-2069, [email protected]). For inspection questions, call (564) 397-4290.

Permit records

Anyone can search CC LMS by address, permit number, contractor, application date, or project name. The Property Information Center in Maps Online shows permits from both the current and legacy systems. Older Tidemark records that don’t appear there must be requested through a public records request.

Contacts

The Permit Center is at the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver. It is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, by appointment only.

Office	Phone	Email
Permit Center	(564) 397-4078	[email protected]
Building Safety	(564) 397-4912	[email protected]
Land Use Review	(564) 397-4489	[email protected]
Code Enforcement	(564) 397-2408	[email protected]
Fire Marshal	(564) 397-2186	[email protected]
Community Development (main)	(564) 397-2375	[email protected]

The mailing address is PO Box 9810, Vancouver, WA 98666-9810.