Issaquah building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Issaquah, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 130 E Sunset Way, Issaquah, WA 98027
- Phone
- (425) 837-3000
- 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.
ISSAQUAH WROTE ITS OWN ADMINISTRATIVE CODE RATHER THAN ADOPTING THE MODEL ONE. Show full textShow less
ISSAQUAH WROTE ITS OWN ADMINISTRATIVE CODE RATHER THAN ADOPTING THE MODEL ONE. IMC 16.04.010 sets out a full “Construction Administrative Code” (CAC): “101.1 Title. These regulations shall be known as the Construction Administrative Code (CAC) of the City of Issaquah, hereinafter referred to as ‘this code.’” Chapter 16.04 runs to roughly 257,000 characters, most of it local administrative text rather than adoption-by-reference.
THE NAMED LIST — CAC 101.2 Applicable Codes: “2021 International Building Code – Chapter 51-50 Washington Administrative Code (‘WAC’); 2021 International Residential Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC; 2021 International… Show full textShow less
THE NAMED LIST — CAC 101.2 Applicable Codes: “2021 International Building Code – Chapter 51-50 Washington Administrative Code (‘WAC’); 2021 International Residential Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC; 2021 International Mechanical Code – Chapter 51-52 WAC; 2021 National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA 54) – Chapter 51-52 WAC; 2020 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code (NFPA 58) – Chapter 51-52 WAC; 2021 International Fuel Gas Code – Chapter 51-52 WAC; 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code – Chapter 51-56 WAC; 2021 Washington State Energy Code – Chapters 51-11C and 51-11R WAC; … 2021 International Existing Building Code – Chapter 51-50 WAC; 2021 International Property Maintenance Code; 2021 International Wildland Interface Code; 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC”.
- NFPA 58 IS 2020 WHILE EVERYTHING ELSE IS 2021 — AND LAKE STEVENS PUBLISHES THE SAME SPLIT. Two independently drafted codes in this set both name the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code at its 2020 edition alongside 2021 for the IMC, IFGC and NFPA 54. The agreement of two unrelated cities is why this is recorded as the state-adopted vintage rather than flagged as a typo.
BUT THE SAME CHAPTER DELEGATES IN ITS DEFINITIONS, WHICH IS WHERE A BINDING CAN HIDE. Show full textShow less
BUT THE SAME CHAPTER DELEGATES IN ITS DEFINITIONS, WHICH IS WHERE A BINDING CAN HIDE. CAC 101.2.1 defines each acronym used throughout the code as the LATEST edition: “‘IBC’ means the latest edition of the International Building Code promulgated by the International Code Council as adopted by the City”, and likewise for the IEBC, IMC, IPMC, IRC, UPC, “energy code” and “housing code”. Those definitions resolve circularly back to what the City has adopted — the named 2021 editions in 101.2 — so 2021 is what applies; but a reader who consults only the definitions would find no year at all.
THE ELECTRICAL DEFINITION IS THE ONE THAT DROPS THE QUALIFIER. Show full textShow less
THE ELECTRICAL DEFINITION IS THE ONE THAT DROPS THE QUALIFIER. Every other acronym is defined as the latest edition “as adopted by the City”. CAC 101.2.1(11) reads: “‘NEC’ means the latest edition of the National Electrical Code promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association.” — with no “as adopted by the City”. Consistent with that, the section list of Chapter 16.04 contains NO electrical adoption section at all: it runs CAC, IBC, IRC, IEBC, IMC, NFPA 54, NFPA 58, IFGC, UPC, energy code, IPMC, ISPSC, IWUIC 403.2.4, documents to be filed, and violation/penalty.
- IRC APPENDICES: “IRC Appendix F – Radon Control Methods, Appendix Q – Tiny Houses, and Appendix U – Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinkler Systems are included in adoption of the International Residential Code.” Lake Stevens takes F and Q; Issaquah adds U. Otherwise “Provisions in the appendices shall not apply unless specifically adopted” (CAC 101.2.2).
- A STATE-LEVEL CONSTRAINT ON LOCAL APPENDIX ADOPTION IS QUOTED IN THE CODE: “An appendix adopted by the City that affects single-family or multifamily residential buildings as defined in RCW 19.27.015 shall not be effective unless approved by the State Building Code Council pursuant to RCW 19.27.060(1)(a).” (CAC 101.4.2.1).
- The Wildland-Urban Interface code is adopted only in part — IMC 16.04.111 is titled “International Wildland-Urban Interface Code Section 403.2.4 adopted.”, a single section, while CAC 101.2 lists the whole “2021 International Wildland Interface Code”. NOTE ALSO THE NAME VARIANT between those two places: “Wildland Interface” in the applicability list, “Wildland-Urban Interface” in the section heading.
- The fire code is NOT in this chapter: the chapter's own footnote reads “For adoption of the International Fire Code, see Chapter 16.06 IMC.”, and Chapter 16.06 was not opened for this entry.
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY: IMC 16.06 (Fire Code), 16.08 (Fire Zone), 16.10 (Conversion Condominium), 16.20 (Site Renovation), 16.24 (Improvements in Hazardous Areas), 16.26 (Clearing, Grading, and Stormwater Management),… Show full textShow less
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY: IMC 16.06 (Fire Code), 16.08 (Fire Zone), 16.10 (Conversion Condominium), 16.20 (Site Renovation), 16.24 (Improvements in Hazardous Areas), 16.26 (Clearing, Grading, and Stormwater Management), 16.36 (Areas of Special Flood Hazard), 16.38 (Fats, Oils and Grease Regulations), 16.40 (Sustainable Building Regulations), and the whole of the separately published Land Use Code (IMC Title 18 / LUC Parts I–VIII).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses in Issaquah, reviewed under the 2021 International Residential Code and administered through the city's own Construction Administrative Code.
From$33.26valuation-basedCommercial Building Permit
Required for commercial construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, repair, change of use and demolition in Issaquah, under the 2021 International Building Code and the city's Construction Administrative Code.
From$33.26valuation-basedPlumbing Permit
Plumbing work in Issaquah is reviewed under the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, with house plumbing fees set as a percentage of the building permit fee.
See fee scheduleMechanical Permit
Mechanical and fuel gas work in Issaquah is reviewed under the 2021 International Mechanical Code together with the fuel gas codes named in the Construction Administrative Code.
See fee scheduleElectrical Permit
Issaquah's construction codes chapter adopts no electrical code, and its definition of the NEC is the only one that does not tie to a city adoption.
See fee scheduleExpanded Work Hours Permit
Required to carry out construction outside Issaquah's default hours, which exclude weekends and legal holidays entirely.
See fee schedule
Issaquah's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Issaquah 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 Issaquah lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- ISSAQUAH IS THE FIRST CITY IN THIS WASHINGTON SET THAT ACTUALLY PUBLISHES ITS FEE FIGURES. Construction Administrative Code Table A runs from $33.26 for a valuation of $1 to $500 up to $8,009.61 plus $5.54 per $1,000 above $1,000,000. Everywhere else in this set the code sends you to a resolution, ordinance or executive order with no amount in it.
- USE THE STATED BASE FOR YOUR BRACKET; DO NOT ADD UP FROM A LOWER ONE. Carrying each bracket's marginal rate to its upper bound fails to reproduce the next bracket's stated base at six of the seven boundaries, by amounts from -$4.77 to +$56.32. The residuals run both ways and are consistent with per-row rounding rather than an error, but the two methods do give different answers.
- No weekend construction. IMC 16.35.010 allows nonemergency construction only “between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, excluding weekdays that are legal holidays”. Saturday work needs an expanded work hours permit, applied for in one of three classes and approved only “for specific dates and times”.
- There is a Contractor Code of Conduct and you have to sign up to it. IMC Chapter 16.01, added in 2023, covers idling equipment, litter cleared each workday, streets kept free of dirt, on-site sanitation, secured loads and approved truck routes — and IMC 16.01.070 makes the contractor responsible for the actions of subcontractors.
- Affordable housing permit fees are waived entirely, and in a mixed building the fees are “pro-rated based on the number of affordable units” (CAC 109.2.A). “Affordable housing” is as defined in Chapter 18.102 IMC, which sits in the separately published Land Use Code.
- Plumbing for a new house is priced off the building permit: Table B-1 sets it at “An amount equal to 8% of the determined building permit” fee, so the plumbing cost moves with your valuation rather than with fixture count.
- Your permit valuation includes the contractor's overhead and profit by definition (CAC 101.2.1(16)) and is the cost to replace “in kind” — so the number the city works from may exceed the figure you had in mind.
- Two clocks, both longer than most neighbours': an application survives 18 months before expiring by limitation, and a permit runs 2 years from issuance. A permit expired by 180 days or less can be renewed to one year past its original expiry, but only if the approved plans have not changed.
- THE MUNICIPAL CODE AND THE LAND USE CODE ARE TWO SEPARATE DOCUMENTS ON THE SAME SITE, and a third, the Comprehensive Plan, sits alongside them. The Land Use Code is IMC Title 18 but is published under its own root with Roman-numeral Parts I through VIII, so a section cited as Chapter 18.102 IMC is not found by browsing the Municipal Code titles.
- Five chapters of Title 16 are named “Recodified” in the contents (16.16, 16.30, 16.32, 16.34) and one “Repealed” (16.27). Those are different states: recodified content still exists somewhere else in the code, repealed content is gone. Treating them alike will either lose live requirements or send you chasing dead ones.
- The fire code is not in the building chapter. Chapter 16.04's own footnote says “For adoption of the International Fire Code, see Chapter 16.06 IMC.”, and the Wildland-Urban Interface code is adopted only as a single section, 403.2.4, at IMC 16.04.111.
- The code names three organisations: it was “Codified, Indexed, and Published by Code Publishing Company” in 1994, “Updated Since 2024 by General Code”, and the site footer reads “Hosted by ICC Code Solutions.” Content maintained before and after 2024 passed through different hands.