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Kennewick building permits

Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Kennewick, Washington.

Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history

Building department

Address
210 W 6th Ave, Kennewick, WA 99336
Phone
509-585-4200
Office hours
8:30am-4:30pm, Monday to Friday

Codes adopted

The State Building Code is in effect in every county and city in Washington, and its minimum performance standards may not be diminished locally. A local amendment that affects single-family or multifamily residential buildings is not effective unless the State Building Code Council approves it; amendments to non-residential provisions carry no such approval requirement.

  • KENNEWICK NAMES NO EDITION FOR EITHER CODE. KMC 15.08.010(1): "The International Building Code shall be adopted ... with appendix chapters C and J (WAC 51-50-003)". Subsection (2): "The International Residential Code shall be adopted, as amended by the State of Washington ... with appendix chapters G and K (WAC 51-50-003)." The reference is to the WAC chapter, not to a year.
  • BUT ONE 1997 CODE IS DELIBERATELY KEPT ALIVE INSIDE THAT ADOPTION. Show full text

    BUT ONE 1997 CODE IS DELIBERATELY KEPT ALIVE INSIDE THAT ADOPTION. Both subsections except the permit fee provision: the IBC is adopted "(with the exception of Section 108.2 which Table 1-A shall be adopted from the 1997 Edition of the Uniform Building Code)" and the IRC "(with the exception of Section R108.2 which Table 1-A shall be adopted from the 1997 Edition of the Uniform Building Code)". Grading fees likewise come from "Table A-33-A and Table 33-B of the 1997 Uniform Building Code".

  • FOUR PROVISIONS ARE EXPRESSLY NOT ADOPTED: "Subsections 101.4.1 Electrical, 105.1.1 Annual Permits, 105.1.2 Annual Permit Records, 107.3 Temporary Power, not adopted" from the IBC, and "Subsection R107.3 Temporary Power, not adopted" from the IRC. So the annual permit the model code allows is unavailable here, as it is in Camas, and there is no temporary power provision.
  • THE ADOPTION ITSELF HAS NOT BEEN RE-ENACTED SINCE 2013. KMC 15.08.010 carries "(Ord. 5496 Sec. 1, 2013; Ord. 5404 Sec. 1, 2012; Ord. 5311 Sec. 1, 2010 ...)". Because the adoption names no edition, the current state code still applies - but the 1997 carve-outs have travelled unchanged through every re-enactment.
  • RCW 19.27 - the Washington State Building Code applies statewide.

Permit types & fees

Kennewick's permit history isn't searchable here yet

This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Kennewick yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.

Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when Kennewick lands. Privacy.

New residential construction activity

New privately-owned residential construction only

Housing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).

Latest month (2026-07)
39units

39 buildings · $11.7M valuation

Trailing 12 months
306units

8 of 12 months reported · #10 in Washington coverage by units

Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
386units

191 buildings · $89.9M valuation

7 month(s) reported to Census

Full year 2025
530units

397 buildings · $119.6M valuation

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-07 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Washington building activity

Tips & gotchas

  • KENNEWICK'S PERMIT FEE TABLE IS FROM THE 1997 UNIFORM BUILDING CODE - Table 1-A, adopted in place of the modern code's Section 108.2. Grading fees come from the same 1997 code.
  • The city adopts the current state building and residential codes with NO edition year, so you cannot read the governing edition off the code.
  • The adoption itself has not been re-enacted since 2013, yet the 1997 carve-outs survive every re-enactment.
  • Annual permits do not exist here - IBC 105.1.1 and 105.1.2 are not adopted.
  • Temporary power provisions (IBC 107.3 and IRC R107.3) are not adopted either.
  • A completed application puts the permit in effect, but does NOT freeze SEPA conditions under Chapter 43.21C RCW.
  • Completeness is defined by IBC 105.3 / IRC R105.3, not by an official's discretion - which is unusual and works in an applicant's favour.
  • The code publisher lists "Adopted Ordinances Not Yet Codified" on the code's front page. Read it; most publishers in this guide do not show one.

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