Wenatchee building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Wenatchee, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 301 Yakima Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801
- Phone
- (509) 888-6200
- Website
- Official site
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.
WENATCHEE NAMES 2018, NOT 2021 — THE ONLY CITY IN THIS WASHINGTON SET THAT DOES. Show full textShow less
WENATCHEE NAMES 2018, NOT 2021 — THE ONLY CITY IN THIS WASHINGTON SET THAT DOES. WCC 2.04.010 opens: “The city of Wenatchee hereby adopts the following codes, as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council pursuant to RCW 19.27.074, for the purpose of establishing rules and regulations for the construction, alteration, removal, demolition, equipment, use and occupancy, location and maintenance of buildings and structures, including permits and penalties:”
- IBC — “The 2018 International Building Code published by the International Code Council, Inc. (ICC), with amendments as set forth in Chapter 51-50 WAC as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended.” Appendix H, Signs, is specifically adopted.
- IRC — “The 2018 International Residential Code … with amendments as set forth in Chapter 51-51 WAC as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended.” Appendix J (Existing Buildings and Structures) and Appendix M (Home Day Care) are specifically adopted.
- IMC — “The 2018 International Mechanical Code … with amendments as set forth in Chapter 51-52 WAC as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended, except that Table 403.3.1.1 published by the International Code Council, Inc., sha…” (the exception text runs past the extract read).
- UPC — “The 2018 Edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), including Appendices A, B and I, and Uniform Plumbing Code Standards, published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, with amendments as set forth in Chapter 51-56 WAC as the same exists now or …”
- ENERGY — “The 2018 Washington State Energy Code as set forth in Chapters 51-11R and 51-11C WAC as the same exists now or may hereafter be amended.”
- IPMC — “The 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, as the same exists now or as may hereafter be amended.” Note it carries NO WAC chapter, because the IPMC is not state-adopted — the same pattern Puyallup shows.
- A CONFLICT RULE IS BUILT INTO THE ADOPTION: “In case of conflict among the codes enumerated in subsections (1) through (4) of this section, the first named code shall govern over those following.” So the IBC beats the IRC, which beats the IMC, which beats the UPC.
TWO CHAPTERS OF TITLE 2 ARE REPEALED AND THE CONTENTS ONLY HINTS AT IT. Show full textShow less
TWO CHAPTERS OF TITLE 2 ARE REPEALED AND THE CONTENTS ONLY HINTS AT IT. Chapter 2.08 ELECTRICAL CODE and Chapter 2.20 PLUMBING CODE appear in the Title 2 contents with their full names and NO section range. Opening them gives the answer: 2.08 reads “(Repealed by Ord. 2021-01)” and 2.20 reads “(Repealed by Ord. 2004-25)”. Six further chapters show the same no-range rendering and were not opened: 2.07 Housing Code, 2.11 Civil Infractions, 2.16 Sign Code, 2.24 Window Cleaning, 2.32 Swimming Pool Code and 2.35 Historic Building Code.
- NOTE WHAT SURVIVES THE PLUMBING REPEAL: Chapter 2.20 is gone, but the 2018 UPC is still adopted at WCC 2.04.010, so plumbing work is still regulated — through the referenced-codes chapter rather than through a plumbing chapter. Electrical has no equivalent: no electrical code appears in the WCC 2.04.010 list.
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY: WCC 2.04.030 (General requirements for all referenced codes), 2.05 (Flood Hazard Prevention), 2.09 (Street Lights), 2.10 (Code Enforcement Board), 2.12 (Registration of Defaulted Mortgage… Show full textShow less
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY: WCC 2.04.030 (General requirements for all referenced codes), 2.05 (Flood Hazard Prevention), 2.09 (Street Lights), 2.10 (Code Enforcement Board), 2.12 (Registration of Defaulted Mortgage Property), 2.28 (Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings), 2.36 (Historic Resources), WCC Title 3 (Fire), Title 13 (Administration of Development Regulations, which holds the hearing examiner procedure at 13.11.030), Title 15 (Development Impact Fees), Title 16 (Code Enforcement) and WCC 1.99.010 (fees).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses in Wenatchee, reviewed under the International Residential Code as adopted at WCC 2.04.010 — which names the 2018 edition.
See fee scheduleCommercial Building Permit
Required for commercial construction, alteration, demolition and change of occupancy in Wenatchee, under the International Building Code as adopted at WCC 2.04.010 — which names the 2018 edition.
See fee scheduleMechanical Permit
Required for mechanical work in Wenatchee under the International Mechanical Code as adopted at WCC 2.04.010, which names the 2018 edition.
See fee schedulePlumbing Permit
Plumbing work in Wenatchee is still regulated even though the plumbing CHAPTER was repealed in 2004 — the Uniform Plumbing Code is adopted through the referenced-codes chapter instead.
See fee scheduleElectrical Permit
Wenatchee repealed its electrical chapter in 2021 and adopts no electrical code in its referenced-codes chapter.
See fee schedule
Wenatchee's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Wenatchee 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 Wenatchee lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- WENATCHEE NAMES THE 2018 EDITIONS, NOT 2021 — the only city in this Washington set that does. WCC 2.04.010 adopts the 2018 IBC, IRC, IMC, UPC, Energy Code and Property Maintenance Code by name, and its amendments chapter is written against those same 2018 codes. Every neighbouring city in this guide that names a year names 2021.
- BUT THE SAME SENTENCES INCORPORATE THE STATE CHAPTERS “AS THE SAME EXISTS NOW OR MAY HEREAFTER BE AMENDED”, and those chapters — 51-50, 51-51, 51-52, 51-56, 51-11R and 51-11C — currently carry the 2021 editions. The named year and the incorporated state rule are out of step. This guide reproduces the code as published and does NOT decide which governs; confirm the operative edition with the building official before you design to either.
- The plumbing chapter is gone but plumbing is still regulated. WCC Chapter 2.20 PLUMBING CODE reads “(Repealed by Ord. 2004-25)”, yet the Uniform Plumbing Code is still adopted at WCC 2.04.010 — so plumbing runs through the referenced-codes chapter rather than through a chapter of its own.
- ELECTRICAL HAS NO SUCH SURVIVAL. WCC Chapter 2.08 ELECTRICAL CODE reads “(Repealed by Ord. 2021-01)”, and no electrical code appears in the WCC 2.04.010 list. Electrical permitting in Washington is the Department of Labor and Industries' under Chapter 19.28 RCW; confirm with the city or L&I who issues for your project.
- A CHAPTER WITH NO SECTION RANGE IN THE CONTENTS IS THE TELL. Eight chapters of Title 2 show a name and no § range — Housing Code, Electrical Code, Civil Infractions, Sign Code, Plumbing Code, Window Cleaning, Swimming Pool Code and Historic Building Code. The two opened for this guide were both repealed. The other six were not opened and are not asserted either way.
- Build first and permit later and your clock shrinks to a third. An ordinary permit dies if work does not start within 180 days; an AFTER-THE-FACT permit becomes invalid unless work begins within 60 days of issuance, or if it stops for 60 days.
- Sheds are exempt at 120 square feet under the commercial code and 200 under the residential one, and both carry separation rules — 10 feet from other structures and property lines under the IBC amendment, five feet from property lines and one foot from other structures under the IRC. Miss those and the code says the structure “is considered attached and a building permit is required.”
- Roof covering is restricted citywide: only Class A, B or C roofing assemblies may be installed within the city limits (IRC R902.1 as amended).
- Special inspection agencies must be accredited to ASTM E329, D3740 or C1077 as applicable, OR registered in the Washington Association of Building Officials Special Inspection Registration Program, with written documentation to the building official BEFORE the permit issues.
- Appeals are 21 days from the order, filed with the City Clerk, heard by the hearing examiner under WCC § 13.11.030, and carry an administrative appeal fee under WCC § 1.99.010 — the only fee reference found anywhere in Title 2.
- THE OLD PUBLISHER PAGE STILL EXISTS AND STILL SHOWS A CURRENCY LINE; THE LIVE ONE DOES NOT. codepublishing.com/WA/Wenatchee/ announces “Your municipal code is now hosted on the eCode360 platform” and states “The Wenatchee City Code is current through Ordinance 2026-09, passed May 14, 2026.” The live ecode360 copy publishes no currency line at all. Do not read the May date as the currency of the live code — it belongs to a page that says it has been superseded.
- Title 2 is the BUILDING title here, which is unusual; Title 1 is Administration and Personnel and Title 10 is Zoning. Do not go looking for a Title 15 or 16 building code as in neighbouring cities.