Moses Lake building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Moses Lake, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 401 S Balsam, Moses Lake, WA 98837
- Phone
- (509) 764-3701
- 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.
- MLMC 16.02.020: “Pursuant to Chapters 19.27 and 35.21 RCW the state building code is established. Effective July 1, 2004, the following appendixes to the state building code are adopted for use within the city:”
- IBC appendices — Appendix C (Agricultural Buildings), Appendix I (Patio Covers) and Appendix J (Grading), the last only where grading exceeds 500 cubic yards, or the work is regulated by Chapter 19.03 or 19.06, or by the City of Moses Lake Shorelines Management Master Plan.
- IRC appendices — Appendix AH (Patio Covers) and Appendix AQ (Tiny Houses).
- State Plumbing Code — “Chapter 7 Part II, Building Sewers, is hereby adopted” and “Appendix E, Manufactured/Mobile Home Parks and Recreational Vehicle Parks, is hereby adopted.”
- MLMC 16.02.020(D), each at “most current edition”: the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings; the Uniform Housing Code “published by the International Conference of Building Officials”; and the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. These “are to be administered subject to the modifications and/or amendments set forth in Sections 16.02.050 and 16.02.060.”
- NO ELECTRICAL CODE AND NO MECHANICAL CODE IS ADOPTED ANYWHERE IN TITLE 16. MLMC Chapter 16.65 establishes an electrical INSPECTION requirement performed by the Department of Labor and Industries rather than adopting an electrical standard.
- NOT OPENED: MLMC 16.08 Dangerous Buildings, 16.16 Moving Buildings, 16.32 Radio Antenna, 16.36 Fire Code, 16.40 Fire Department Permit Fees, 16.48 Fire Hydrants, 16.50 Fire Flow, 16.52 Automatic Fire Extinguishing and Fire Alarm Systems and 16.71 Interceptors.
Permit types & fees
Residential building permit
Permit to build, alter or add to a house in Moses Lake. The base code is the Washington State Building Code established under Chapters 19.27 and 35.21 RCW; the city adopts appendices and amendments at MLMC 16.02.
See fee scheduleCommercial building permit
Permit for commercial, industrial and institutional construction in Moses Lake, under the state building code with the appendices and amendments adopted at MLMC 16.02.
See fee schedulePlumbing permit
Permit for plumbing work in Moses Lake under the State Plumbing Code, with two parts adopted expressly by the city at MLMC 16.02.020(C).
See fee scheduleMechanical permit
Permit for mechanical work in Moses Lake. There is no local mechanical chapter; mechanical work is regulated through the state building code established under Chapters 19.27 and 35.21 RCW.
See fee scheduleElectrical permit
Electrical work in Moses Lake is inspected by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, not by the city, under MLMC Chapter 16.65.
See fee schedule
Moses Lake's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- MOSES LAKE ADOPTS NO BUILDING CODE OF ITS OWN. MLMC 16.02.020 recites that “the state building code is established” under Chapters 19.27 and 35.21 RCW and then adopts only APPENDICES to it. There is no local edition year because there is no local adoption sentence for one to sit in, and “Effective July 1, 2004” in the same sentence is an effective date, not an edition.
- ELECTRICAL IS INSPECTED BY THE STATE, AND IT GATES TWO CITY MILESTONES. MLMC 16.65 puts electrical inspections with the Department of Labor and Industries: the city will not complete the framing inspection until DL&I has approved the rough-in, and will not issue a certificate of occupancy until the DL&I final is done. The applicant does the coordinating.
- THE SHED EXEMPTION IS A COUNT, NOT AN AREA — one one-story detached accessory structure per lot without a permit, with no square-footage limit (MLMC 16.02.050(B)). Every other city in this Washington set uses 120 or 200 square feet.
- A REROOF IS EXEMPT UNLESS MORE THAN 25% OF THE ROOF SHEATHING IS REPLACED, and replacing siding over existing siding is exempt outright. Walla Walla, by contrast, permits reroofs and prices them from a deemed valuation per square. Neither approach is the default.
- FEES CAN BE ZERO FOR QUALIFYING AFFORDABLE HOUSING — the only fee exemption in this Washington set. MLMC 16.02.085(A) waives fees for single-family or duplex dwellings built for low income families BY a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Both conditions must hold.
- STARTING WITHOUT A PERMIT DOUBLES THE COST AND THE CODE SAYS WHY: the investigation fee equals the permit fee, is collected “whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued”, and is described as “an additional, punitive fee” (MLMC 16.02.087).
- POLE BUILDINGS ARE PROHIBITED IN EVERY ZONE (MLMC 16.02.080). Post-and-beam construction without concrete footings or foundation cannot be permitted here at any size.
- PLAN REVIEW IS 65% OF THE PERMIT FEE AND IS DUE AT SUBMITTAL, not at issuance (MLMC 16.02.085(B)). Refunds are capped at “not more than” 80%, which is a ceiling on discretion rather than an entitlement.