Mercer Island building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Mercer Island, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 9611 SE 36th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
- Phone
- (206) 275-7600
- 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.
- IBC — MICC 17.01.010: “The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code (IBC), including the adoption of ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017, Requirements for Accessible and Useable Buildings and Facilities”.
- IRC — MICC 17.02.010: “The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code (IRC), as adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council in WAC Chapter 51-51, as published by the International Code Council”.
- NFPA 54 — MICC 17.04.010: “The 2021 Edition of the National Fuel Gas Code (ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54), as adopted by the State Building Code Council in WAC Chapter 51-52, as published by NFPA”.
- NFPA 58 — MICC 17.05.010: “The 2020 Edition of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code (NFPA 58), as adopted by the State Building Code Council in WAC Chapter 51-52”.
- WCEC — MICC 17.13.020: “The 2023 Edition of the Washington Cities Electrical Code (WCEC) Part 1 and Part 3, excluding Part 2, Administration, is adopted by reference, together with the following amendments, additions and exceptions.”
- Construction Administrative Code — MICC 17.14.010 adopts it inline, opening “SECTION 101 GENERAL 101.1 Title. These regulations shall be known as the Construction Administrative Code of the city of Mercer Island”.
- ADOPTED IN THEIR OWN CHAPTERS BUT NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY, so NO edition year is asserted: IMC (17.03), IFGC (17.06), IFC (17.07), UPC (17.08), Washington State Energy Code (17.09), Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings (17.11), Uniform Housing Code (17.12), IEBC (17.17), ISPSC (17.18) and International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (17.19).
Permit types & fees
Residential building permit
Permit to build, alter or add to a house on Mercer Island, under the International Residential Code adopted at MICC 17.02.010.
See fee scheduleCommercial building permit
Permit for commercial, mixed-use and institutional construction on Mercer Island under the International Building Code adopted at MICC 17.01.010.
See fee scheduleMechanical permit
Permit for heating, ventilation and air conditioning work on Mercer Island under the International Mechanical Code adopted at MICC 17.03.
See fee schedulePlumbing permit
Permit for plumbing work on Mercer Island under the Uniform Plumbing Code adopted at MICC 17.08.
See fee scheduleElectrical permit
Permit for electrical work on Mercer Island under the city's own electrical code, which adopts part of the 2023 Washington Cities Electrical Code at MICC 17.13.
See fee scheduleFuel gas permit
Permit for fuel gas and liquefied petroleum gas work on Mercer Island, under three separate chapters at MICC 17.04, 17.05 and 17.06.
See fee schedule
Mercer Island's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Mercer Island 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 Mercer Island lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- A PERMIT RUNS TWO YEARS FROM ISSUANCE AND NOTHING ELSE STARTS OR STOPS THE CLOCK. Construction Administrative Code Section 105.5: “Every permit issued shall expire two years from the date of issuance.” No 180-day commence trigger and no abandonment trigger, which is structurally unlike most Washington cities — simpler, but progress does not buy you time either.
- THE NONRESIDENTIAL EXTENSION CLOSES BEFORE THE PERMIT OPENS. An extended expiration is available only where a construction schedule is “approved prior to permit issuance”, so it has to be arranged up front rather than when the two years are running out. Separately, one 6-month extension is available during or after an emergency declared under RCW Chapter 38.52 — the only emergency-linked extension in this Washington set.
- THE ELECTRICAL CODE IS THE 2023 WCEC, PARTS 1 AND 3 ONLY. Part 2, Administration, is expressly excluded, so administrative rules come from the city's Construction Administrative Code. 2023 is the latest edition year any city in this Washington set names for any code.
- THE TWO NFPA GAS STANDARDS CARRY DIFFERENT YEARS IN ADJACENT CHAPTERS — NFPA 54 at 2021, NFPA 58 at 2020. Check each separately.
- OUTSIDE CONSULTANT COSTS ARE AN UNCAPPED ADDITION TO YOUR FEES. Where the city retains professional consulting services for your application you reimburse the actual cost “in addition to the normal plan review and building permit fees”, and the city may require a deposit the building official estimates. The code publishes no amount and no ceiling.
- PLAN REVIEW IS DUE AT SUBMITTAL AND THE PERMIT IS NOT VALID UNTIL FEES ARE PAID. An amendment to a permit is also held until any additional fee is paid (Sections 109.1 and 109.3).
- THE APPLICATION EXPIRES AT 18 MONTHS and submitted plans “may thereafter be returned to the applicant or destroyed” (Section 105.3.2).
- EVERY CODE HAS ITS OWN CHAPTER IN TITLE 17 — sixteen of them, including three separate gas chapters. Searching one chapter for a rule that lives in another is the easy mistake here.