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Commercial Building Permit in Issaquah, Washington

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.

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • “2021 International Building Code – Chapter 51-50 Washington Administrative Code” (CAC 101.2)
  • The 2021 International Existing Building Code is listed alongside it, also under Chapter 51-50 WAC
  • The IBC applies to “the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of every building or structure” (CAC 101.4.1)
  • Fees follow Table A on valuation, with inspection, plan review and related services added under Table D
  • Permits expire 2 years after issuance, extendable for phased work “due to the unique size and scope of project work” with a pre-approved construction schedule

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Building permit (valuation-tiered)
ISSAQUAH ACTUALLY PUBLISHES THE NUMBERS — the first city in this Washington set to do so. Show full citationISSAQUAH ACTUALLY PUBLISHES THE NUMBERS — the first city in this Washington set to do so. Construction Administrative Code Section 109.2, Table A: “$1.00 to $500.00 — $33.26”; “$501.00 to $2,000.00 — $33.26 for the first $500.00 plus $4.16 for each additional $100.00, or fraction thereof”; then bases of $99.16 at $2,000, $558.75 at $25,000, $919.23 at $50,000, $1,418.35 at $100,000, $4,618.29 at $500,000 and $8,009.61 above $1,000,000, with marginal rates of $20.13, $14.61, $9.69, $8.00, $6.67 and $5.54 per $1,000. Fees are charged on VALUATION as determined under CAC 109.4. CONTINUITY CONTROL RUN ON TABLE A, AND IT FIRES AT 6 OF 7 BRACKET BOUNDARIES. Carrying each bracket's stated base plus its marginal rate across the bracket width does not reproduce the next bracket's stated base: at $2,000 the carry gives $95.66 against a stated $99.16 (+$3.50); at $25,000, $562.15 against $558.75 (-$3.40); at $50,000, $924.00 against $919.23 (-$4.77); at $100,000, $1,403.73 against $1,418.35 (+$14.62); at $500,000, $4,618.35 against $4,618.29 (-$0.06); at $1,000,000, $7,953.29 against $8,009.61 (+$56.32). Only the $500 boundary reconciles exactly. THIS IS NOT ASSERTED TO BE AN ERROR — the residuals run in both directions and are mostly small, which is what per-row derivation with independent rounding looks like rather than a drafting mistake. The practical consequence is the useful part: USE THE STATED BASE FOR YOUR OWN BRACKET AND DO NOT ACCUMULATE UP FROM A LOWER ONE, because the two methods disagree.
$33.26 minimum, tiered by valuation
Plan reviewCAC 109.3: “a plan review fee shall be paid at the time of submitting the submittal documents for plan review. The Building Official has the option to charge a deposit, in lieu of the full plan review fee, if the full amount is not known at the time.”
Paid at submittal; deposit allowed
Refund if withdrawnCAC 109.7: “not more than 80 percent of the permit fee paid when no work has been done”, and the same cap on plan review fees where an application is withdrawn or cancelled before any plan review is done.
Up to 80% refunded if no work is done
Refund if charged in errorCAC 109.7: “The Building Official may authorize full refund only if the fee was charged in error or the wrong type of permit was selected…”
100% only if charged in error

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

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Inspection process

    Tips

    • Phased projects can get more than two years, but the schedule has to be agreed up front. CAC 105.5 lets the Building Official approve an extended expiration date where work runs beyond two years “due to the unique size and scope of project work” — and requires the construction schedule to be provided and approved BEFORE the permit is issued, not afterwards.
    • Plan review can be billed as a deposit rather than a fixed fee where the final amount is not yet known (CAC 109.3), so budget for a later true-up rather than treating the first invoice as the total.
    • The city has written an express liability disclaimer into its administrative code: nothing in it creates “any liability on the part of the City … for any injury or damage resulting from the failure of a building to conform” (CAC 101.3.1). Plan approval is not a warranty of compliance.

    Frequently asked questions

    Issaquah requires a commercial building permit for: “2021 International Building Code – Chapter 51-50 Washington Administrative Code” (CAC 101.2); The 2021 International Existing Building Code is listed alongside it, also under Chapter 51-50 WAC; The IBC applies to “the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of every building or structure” (CAC 101.4.1); Fees follow Table A on valuation, with inspection, plan review and related services added under Table D; Permits expire 2 years after issuance, extendable for phased work “due to the unique size and scope of project work” with a pre-approved construction schedule. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Issaquah – Development Services at (425) 837-3000 before starting work.

    In Issaquah, the published Building permit (valuation-tiered) is: $33.26 minimum, tiered by valuation. Additional published fees: Plan review — Paid at submittal; deposit allowed; Refund if withdrawn — Up to 80% refunded if no work is done; Refund if charged in error — 100% only if charged in error. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Two years. CAC 105.5: “Every permit issued shall expire 2 years from the date of issuance.” The Building Official may approve a longer expiration where construction is phased beyond two years because of the unique size and scope of the work, provided a construction schedule is supplied and approved before the permit issues. A permit that has expired by no more than 180 days “may be renewed for a period of 1 year past the original expiration date for an additional fee as long as no changes have been made to the originally approved plans.”

    You'll need: Building Permit Application; Submittal Documents for Plan Review; Contractor Code of Conduct Agreement. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Issaquah – Development Services at 130 E Sunset Way, Issaquah, WA 98027. Phone: (425) 837-3000. Official information: https://www.issaquahwa.gov/.

    The 2021 International Building Code, listed at CAC 101.2 as “2021 International Building Code – Chapter 51-50 Washington Administrative Code (‘WAC’)”, together with the 2021 International Existing Building Code under the same WAC chapter. Issaquah administers them through its own Construction Administrative Code rather than the model administrative provisions — IMC Chapter 16.04 runs to roughly 257,000 characters, most of it locally written.

    Sources & verification

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

    Codes & ordinances

    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 Issaquah building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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