Oak Harbor building permits
Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Oak Harbor, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 865 SE Barrington Dr, Oak Harbor, WA 98277
- Phone
- (360) 279-4500
- Office hours
- Not published on the pages read for this entry — confirm before travelling.
- 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.
- International Building Code — OHMC 17.05.015 adopts "The most recent edition of the International Building Code as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council under the provisions of Chapter 19.27 RCW". NO EDITION YEAR IS NAMED; the chapter tracks whatever the state currently has in force.
- International Residential Code — OHMC Chapter 17.06.
- International Existing Building Code — OHMC Chapter 17.08.
- International Mechanical Code — OHMC Chapter 17.10.
- Uniform Plumbing Code — OHMC Chapter 17.12.
- International Energy Conservation Code, Residential — OHMC Chapter 17.15.
- International Energy Conservation Code, Commercial — OHMC Chapter 17.16, kept SEPARATE from the residential energy chapter.
- RCW 19.27 — the Washington State Building Code, named in the adoption as the authority under which the State Building Code Council acts.
NO ELECTRICAL, FUEL GAS OR NFPA ADOPTION IN TITLE 17. The title's thirteen chapters were enumerated end to end — 17.05, 17.06, 17.08, 17.10, 17.12, 17.15, 17.16, 17.20, 17.22, 17.24, 17.26, 17.30 and 17.40 — and none… Show full textShow less
NO ELECTRICAL, FUEL GAS OR NFPA ADOPTION IN TITLE 17. The title's thirteen chapters were enumerated end to end — 17.05, 17.06, 17.08, 17.10, 17.12, 17.15, 17.16, 17.20, 17.22, 17.24, 17.26, 17.30 and 17.40 — and none adopts the NEC, the Washington Cities Electrical Code, the International Fuel Gas Code or any NFPA standard. CONFIRMED ABSENT WITHIN TITLE 17 rather than not found. Oak Harbor keeps fire in a separate Title 8, which was NOT opened, so nothing is claimed about the fire code.
Permit types & fees
Building Permit
Required for construction, alteration and repair work in Oak Harbor, under the International Building Code as adopted at OHMC Chapter 17.05.
See fee scheduleVerify a Contractor Licence
Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor & Industries. Registration is a STATE record; Oak Harbor does not issue it.
See fee scheduleMechanical permit
Permit for mechanical work in Oak Harbor, under the International Mechanical Code adopted at OHMC Chapter 17.10.
See fee schedulePlumbing permit
Permit for plumbing work in Oak Harbor, under the Uniform Plumbing Code adopted at OHMC Chapter 17.12.
See fee schedule
Oak Harbor's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Oak Harbor 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 Oak Harbor lands. Privacy.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing 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)
- 1units
1 buildings · $515,446 valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 14units
9 of 12 months reported · #24 in Washington coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-07)
- 112units
16 buildings · $18.9M valuation
7 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 49units
39 buildings · $18.6M 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
- PLAN REVIEW IS 65 PERCENT OF THE PERMIT FEE, ON TOP OF IT. That is in the code, not in a schedule, so it is stable even when the dollar amounts change.
- Your project's VALUATION is taken from the International Code Council's square-foot construction costs table as published in the Building Safety Journal — not from your contract price.
- No permit issues until fees are paid, and unpaid fees can go to collections under OHMC Chapter 3.96.
- There is no edition year in the code; Oak Harbor follows the state's most recent edition.
- Residential and commercial energy codes are separate chapters (17.15 and 17.16).
- A permit runs two years from issuance. If the build will take longer, ask for the extended expiration date BEFORE the permit issues — the building official may approve one only where a construction schedule is provided and approved prior to permit issuance.
- Renewal is one year for an additional fee equal to 50 percent of the original permit fees, and it must be applied for before the original permit expires. There is no provision for renewing a permit that has already lapsed.
- Two things defeat a renewal: any change to the originally approved plans, and the adoption of new building codes. Because Oak Harbor follows the state council's editions automatically, a state code cycle can remove renewal eligibility without the city acting.
- Renewing does not make you pay the biggest charges twice — the code says impact fees and utility connection charges “will not be required to be paid more than once”. Worth getting confirmed in writing when you apply.