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PermitBase

Plumbing permit in Moses Lake, Washington

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).

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • THE CITY ADOPTS BACK A PART OF THE STATE PLUMBING CODE, WHICH IS THE SECOND CITY HERE TO DO IT. MLMC 16.02.020(C): “The State Plumbing Code. 1. Chapter 7 Part II, Building Sewers, is hereby adopted. 2. Appendix E, Manufactured/Mobile Home Parks and Recreational Vehicle Parks, is hereby adopted.” Tumwater makes the same building-sewer move at TMC 15.12.010. TWO CITIES IS A SAMPLE OF TWO and nothing is claimed here about how common it is — but a designer working from the state amendments alone would miss it in both places.
  • >>> MOSES LAKE ADOPTS NO MODEL CODE AND NO WAC CHAPTER. IT ADOPTS APPENDICES. MLMC 16.02.020 opens: “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”. The base code is not adopted by the city at all — it arrives by operation of state statute, and the ordinance only picks up the appendices the state leaves optional. SO THERE IS NO EDITION YEAR AND NO EDITION PHRASE IN THE BASE ADOPTION, BECAUSE THERE IS NO BASE ADOPTION. Des Moines adopts the WAC chapters themselves, which is already a step removed from naming a model code; Moses Lake does not even do that. The audit rule keys on the absence of a year, and here there is not even a sentence for a year to be absent from. A YEAR-CONTEXT TRAP SITS IN THE SAME SENTENCE: “Effective July 1, 2004” is the date the appendix adoptions took effect, not an edition. THE SUPPLEMENTARY CODES DO CARRY AN EDITION PHRASE, AND IT IS ONE ALREADY SEEN: MLMC 16.02.020(D) adopts the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, the Uniform Housing Code and the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, each at “most current edition” — the same wording SeaTac and Pullman use, now a third and fourth city on that phrase.
  • MLMC 16.02.050(G) replaces IBC and IRC Section 108.3: “The determination of value or valuation under any of the provisions of this code shall be made by the building official. The value to be used in computing the building permit and building plan review fees shall be the total value of all const[ruction]…” — the remainder of that subsection is not reproduced here. Because the fee schedule is a council resolution that is not part of the code, the valuation rule is the only part of the fee calculation the code publishes.
  • MLMC 16.02.045 is headed “Building Prior to Filing Final Plat” and 16.02.100 “Revocation of Business License”. Neither is summarised here.

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Permit fee
MLMC 16.02.085: “All fees for permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be established by a resolution of the City Council.” No dollar amount appears in the chapter and the resolution is a separate document. Show full citationMLMC 16.02.085: “All fees for permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be established by a resolution of the City Council.” No dollar amount appears in the chapter and the resolution is a separate document. >>> THE FIRST FEE EXEMPTION IN THIS WASHINGTON SET, AND IT IS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT. 16.02.085(A): the fees “shall not apply to single-family dwellings or duplex dwellings when all the following conditions are present: 1. The residential structure is constructed for low income families as defined by the Community Development Director. 2. The structure is being constructed by an organization classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by the United States Internal Revenue Service.” Both conditions, not either. PLAN REVIEW IS A PUBLISHED PERCENTAGE OVER AN UNPUBLISHED BASE: 16.02.085(B) requires it “at the time of submitting the submittal documents” and sets it at “sixty-five percent (65%) of the permit fees as established” — the same 65% Walla Walla publishes, but Walla Walla prints the base table and Moses Lake does not.
Set by city council resolution
Investigation fee (work without a permit)
MLMC 16.02.087 doubles the cost of starting early and says plainly why. Show full citationMLMC 16.02.087 doubles the cost of starting early and says plainly why. An investigation fee “shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued” and “shall be equal to the amount of the permit fee required by this code”, with a minimum matching the fee resolution's minimum. THE CODE CALLS IT WHAT IT IS: “This fee is an additional, punitive fee”. No other city in this Washington set uses that word; SeaTac and Walla Walla impose the same doubling and describe it neutrally.
Equal to the permit fee; punitive
Refund of a paid fee
MLMC 16.02.085(C) publishes a refund rule: any fee “erroneously paid or collected”, then “not more than eighty percent (80%) of the permit fee paid when no work has been done under a permit”, and not… Show full citationMLMC 16.02.085(C) publishes a refund rule: any fee “erroneously paid or collected”, then “not more than eighty percent (80%) of the permit fee paid when no work has been done under a permit”, and not more than eighty percent of the plan review fee in the parallel case. Note “not more than” — 80% is a ceiling on the Building Official's discretion, not an entitlement, which is a weaker guarantee than Tumwater's flat 80%.
Up to 80% if no work has been done

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Plumbing permit permit actually take in Moses Lake?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

    Tips

    • BUILDING SEWERS ARE COVERED HERE BECAUSE THE CITY ADOPTED THAT PART EXPRESSLY — MLMC 16.02.020(C)(1) adopts “Chapter 7 Part II, Building Sewers” of the State Plumbing Code. Tumwater makes the same move. Working from the state amendments alone would miss it.
    • Appendix E of the State Plumbing Code, covering manufactured and mobile home parks and recreational vehicle parks, is also adopted by name.

    Frequently asked questions

    Moses Lake requires a plumbing permit for: THE CITY ADOPTS BACK A PART OF THE STATE PLUMBING CODE, WHICH IS THE SECOND CITY HERE TO DO IT. MLMC 16.02.020(C): “The State Plumbing Code. 1. Chapter 7 Part II, Building Sewers, is hereby adopted. 2. Appendix E, Manufactured/Mobile Home Parks and Recreational Vehicle Parks, is hereby adopted.” Tumwater makes the same building-sewer move at TMC 15.12.010. TWO CITIES IS A SAMPLE OF TWO and nothing is claimed here about how common it is — but a designer working from the state amendments alone would miss it in both places.; >>> MOSES LAKE ADOPTS NO MODEL CODE AND NO WAC CHAPTER. IT ADOPTS APPENDICES. MLMC 16.02.020 opens: “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”. The base code is not adopted by the city at all — it arrives by operation of state statute, and the ordinance only picks up the appendices the state leaves optional. SO THERE IS NO EDITION YEAR AND NO EDITION PHRASE IN THE BASE ADOPTION, BECAUSE THERE IS NO BASE ADOPTION. Des Moines adopts the WAC chapters themselves, which is already a step removed from naming a model code; Moses Lake does not even do that. The audit rule keys on the absence of a year, and here there is not even a sentence for a year to be absent from. A YEAR-CONTEXT TRAP SITS IN THE SAME SENTENCE: “Effective July 1, 2004” is the date the appendix adoptions took effect, not an edition. THE SUPPLEMENTARY CODES DO CARRY AN EDITION PHRASE, AND IT IS ONE ALREADY SEEN: MLMC 16.02.020(D) adopts the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, the Uniform Housing Code and the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, each at “most current edition” — the same wording SeaTac and Pullman use, now a third and fourth city on that phrase.; MLMC 16.02.050(G) replaces IBC and IRC Section 108.3: “The determination of value or valuation under any of the provisions of this code shall be made by the building official. The value to be used in computing the building permit and building plan review fees shall be the total value of all const[ruction]…” — the remainder of that subsection is not reproduced here. Because the fee schedule is a council resolution that is not part of the code, the valuation rule is the only part of the fee calculation the code publishes.; MLMC 16.02.045 is headed “Building Prior to Filing Final Plat” and 16.02.100 “Revocation of Business License”. Neither is summarised here.. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Moses Lake at (509) 764-3701 before starting work.

    In Moses Lake, the published Permit fee is: Set by city council resolution. Additional published fees: Investigation fee (work without a permit) — Equal to the permit fee; punitive; Refund of a paid fee — Up to 80% if no work has been done. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Moses Lake does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Moses Lake at (509) 764-3701 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Building permit application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Moses Lake at 401 S Balsam, Moses Lake, WA 98837. Phone: (509) 764-3701. Official information: https://www.cityofml.com/.

    Moses Lake, Washington has adopted: 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.. Local amendments apply — see the Moses Lake overview page for the full list.

    Yes, and the city says so expressly: MLMC 16.02.020(C)(1) adopts “Chapter 7 Part II, Building Sewers” of the State Plumbing Code, alongside Appendix E for manufactured and mobile home parks and RV parks.

    Sources & verification

    Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-16.

    Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Moses Lake building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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