King County building department

King County’s Department of Local Services, Permitting Division, issues building, land-use, fire, mechanical, sign, critical-area, and clearing and grading permits for unincorporated King County. Seattle, Bellevue, and the other incorporated cities issue their own permits, so check the parcel in iMap or the Parcel Viewer first. The county does not issue two common trade permits:

• Electrical permits come from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
• Plumbing, gas-piping, and on-site septic permits come from Public Health — Seattle & King County.

How to apply

Most applications go through MyBuildingPermit.com, including single-family residential, land use, fire, mechanical, sign, and critical-areas permits. Applications that MyBuildingPermit doesn’t support yet (addressing requests, subdivisions and plats, shoreline redesignations, critical-areas exceptions) are emailed as PDFs to [email protected]. Since October 21, 2024, plan review has run on ProjectDox (Avolve).

The King County Permitting Portal (Accela) is used to check status, pay fees, search permit records, and schedule inspections. Account and general questions go through the county’s separate customer-support portal.

The county’s process is:

1. Research the parcel’s zoning and critical areas.
2. Assemble the documents that MyBuildingPermit lists for your project type.
3. Submit.

Your application then moves through screening and triage, examiner review, fee payment, issuance, and inspections. The county warns that incomplete submittals will not be accepted.

What doesn’t need a building permit

King County’s “Do you need a permit?” page lists these exemptions:

Work	Exempt when…
Storage shed	Floor area 200 sq ft or less
Fence	6 feet high or less
Retaining wall	Most walls 4 feet high or less
Deck	Uncovered and 30 inches or less above ground
Roofing or siding	Replacement on detached one- and two-family houses
Windows and doors	Replacing with new windows or doors
Rooftop solar	Residential PV panels weighing less than 4 lb/sq ft
Interior finishes	Carpet, wood flooring, tile, paint, wallpaper

The 2026 fee guide adds that residential propane tanks under 125 gallons need no permit. Exempt work still has to meet zoning, setback, and critical-area rules. For more on decks, see do I need a permit for a deck.

Codes

King County enforces the 2021 Washington State Building Codes, which took effect March 15, 2024. Applications deemed complete between February 1, 2021 and March 15, 2024 fell under the 2018 codes. County amendments are in King County Code Title 16 (building) and Title 17 (fire). Adoption of the Wildland-Urban Interface Code is postponed until the Department of Natural Resources updates its mapping.

2026 fees

Most permit fees rose 49% in 2025 (Ordinance 19857) and about 14% more for 2026 (Ordinance 20021). The 2026 schedule also adds a $126 application screening fee to most applications. The county publishes separate fee guides by permit type. Fee Guide 02 (single-family residential, 2026) lists these application review fees:

Project	Minimum application review fee
Custom new home	$8,128
Accessory dwelling unit	$4,556
Deck, or accessory building of 500 sq ft or less	$772
Accessory building over 500 sq ft, or a carport	$1,627
Addition, living-space conversion, or garage addition	$3,109

Permit inspection fees for those project types are listed at $2.46 per square foot, site review and fire-sprinkler review are billed separately, and a $6.50 state building code surcharge applies. In-person payments accept check, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, but not cash.

Inspections

You can request inspections three ways:

• Online: at inspection.mybuildingpermit.com
• Phone: the automated line, (206) 971-9780
• Text: send “schedule” or “cancel” to (206) 971-9780

Requests can be made up to five days ahead, and those in before 3 p.m. go on the next business day. Building inspection status can be checked online after 8 a.m. on the inspection day. For results, call (206) 971-9780 and press 3, or text “results” to (844) 413-2653. Fire inspections aren’t confirmed until the assigned fire inspector calls you back to set a time.

Code enforcement and records

County code enforcement investigates building, zoning, property-maintenance, shoreline, and critical-area violations in unincorporated areas. Permit records research covers active and finalized permits, including certificates of occupancy. Records for property inside a city must be requested from that city.

Office, hours, and contact

Permitting customer service is at 919 SW Grady Way, Suite 300, Renton. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday; the office is closed Fridays. Technical reviewers are available on Thursdays only. Help submitting applications and records research are by appointment.

During the election season, from October 26 to November 6, customer service temporarily moves to the Renton Library at 100 Mill Avenue S (Monday to Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with no reviewers on Thursdays). The phone line, (206) 296-6600, is answered 9 to 11 a.m. and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Email [email protected].