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Residential Building Permit (New Construction) in Issaquah, Washington

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.

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • “2021 International Residential Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC” (CAC 101.2)
  • IRC Appendices F (Radon Control Methods), Q (Tiny Houses) and U (Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinkler Systems) are included; other appendices “shall not apply unless specifically adopted”
  • The IRC also covers adult family homes, foster family care homes and family day care homes licensed by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (CAC 101.4.2)
  • Fees are charged on valuation under Table A, and valuation includes the contractor's overhead and profit
  • Applications expire 18 months after filing; permits expire 2 years after issuance (CAC 105.3.4, 105.5)

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
Affordable housingCAC 109.2.A: building permit fees “excluding fees for affordable housing [as defined in Chapter 18.102 IMC] which shall be waived”. In buildings where not all units are affordable, “permit fees shall be pro-rated based on the number of affordable units.”
Waived for affordable housing units
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

How long did your Residential Building Permit (New Construction) permit actually take in Issaquah?

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Inspection process

    Tips

    • Do not build your fee estimate by adding up through the brackets. Table A states a base for each valuation band, and carrying the band below it forward gives a different answer at six of the seven boundaries — from $4.77 low to $56.32 high. Take the base for the band your valuation actually falls in.
    • Valuation is not your contract price. CAC 101.2.1(16) defines it as the estimated cost to replace the building and its service equipment in kind at current material and labour rates, and says it “shall also include the contractor's overhead and profit” — so the city's figure can sit above the number you were working to.
    • If any of the units qualify as affordable housing under Chapter 18.102 IMC, the building permit fee is waived rather than reduced, and a partly-affordable building has its fees pro-rated by the number of affordable units. That definition lives in the Land Use Code, which is a separate document from the Municipal Code.

    Frequently asked questions

    Issaquah requires a residential building permit (new construction) for: “2021 International Residential Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC” (CAC 101.2); IRC Appendices F (Radon Control Methods), Q (Tiny Houses) and U (Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinkler Systems) are included; other appendices “shall not apply unless specifically adopted”; The IRC also covers adult family homes, foster family care homes and family day care homes licensed by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (CAC 101.4.2); Fees are charged on valuation under Table A, and valuation includes the contractor's overhead and profit; Applications expire 18 months after filing; permits expire 2 years after issuance (CAC 105.3.4, 105.5). If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Issaquah – Development Services at (425) 837-3000 before starting work.

    Unusually for this region, the code publishes the schedule. Construction Administrative Code Table A charges on valuation: $33.26 for $1.00 to $500.00; $33.26 for the first $500.00 plus $4.16 per additional $100.00 up to $2,000.00; then stated 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 respectively. Plan review, inspection and related fees are added under Table D. Note that the stated bases do not reconcile exactly with the carried-forward marginal rates at most boundaries, so use the base for your own bracket.

    Issaquah does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Issaquah – Development Services at (425) 837-3000 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Building Permit Application; Submittal Documents for Plan Review; Contractor Code of Conduct Agreement. Depending on your project, Issaquah may also ask for: Affordable Housing Documentation. 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 Residential Code, listed at CAC 101.2 as “2021 International Residential Code – Chapter 51-51 WAC”. Appendices F (Radon Control Methods), Q (Tiny Houses) and U (Dwelling Unit Fire Sprinkler Systems) are included in the adoption; other appendices do not apply unless specifically adopted, and an appendix affecting residential buildings “shall not be effective unless approved by the State Building Code Council pursuant to RCW 19.27.060(1)(a)”. Be aware that CAC 101.2.1 separately defines “IRC” as “the latest edition … as adopted by the City”, which resolves back to the 2021 listing.

    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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