SeaTac building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for SeaTac, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 4800 S 188th St, SeaTac, WA 98188
- Phone
- (206) 973-4800
- 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.
- SMC 13.110.020, opening: “The most current edition of the International Building Code, including Appendix E, as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council and published in Chapter 51-50 WAC is hereby adopted by reference as now or hereafter amended.” Subsection A adds: “Appendixes E and H are hereby adopted.”
- IRC — “The most current edition of the International Residential Code” as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council and published in Chapter 51-51 WAC, with Appendices F, Q and U.
- IEBC — “The most current edition”, Chapter 51-50 WAC.
- IWUIC — “The most current edition”, Chapter 51-55 WAC.
- IMC — SMC 13.160.010: “The most current edition of the International Mechanical Code as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council and published in Chapter 51-52 WAC is hereby adopted by reference, as now or hereafter amended.”
- UPC — SMC 13.170.010: “The most current edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code”, Chapter 51-56 WAC, with the International Plumbing Code available as an applicant-elected alternate under subsection (A).
- NEC — SMC 13.180.010(A): “The most current edition of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) approved by the Washington State Building Code Council, including Annexes A, B, and C, is hereby adopted by reference, as now or hereafter amended.”
- Washington Cities Electrical Code — SMC 13.180.030, “as now in effect and as may subsequently be amended, updated, or issued as new editions”.
- Chapter 19.28 RCW — SMC 13.180.020, for electricians and electrical installations, with “Department” and “Director” read as the City Department of Community and Economic Development and its Director.
- NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY and therefore not listed above: SMC 13.150 Fire Code, 13.200 Off-Site and On-Site Improvements, 13.210 Property Maintenance, 13.220 Energy, 13.250 Recycling Space Requirements and 13.270 Building Addresses. SMC 13.230 is shown in the Title 13 contents as Repealed.
Permit types & fees
Residential building permit
Permit to build, alter, add to, move or demolish a house or other residential structure in SeaTac, under the International Residential Code as adopted at SMC 13.110.020 and administered under SMC Chapter 13.100.
See fee scheduleCommercial building permit
Permit for commercial, industrial, institutional and multifamily construction in SeaTac under the International Building Code as adopted at SMC 13.110.020, administered under SMC Chapter 13.100.
See fee scheduleMechanical permit
Permit for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and fuel-gas equipment in SeaTac under the International Mechanical Code as adopted at SMC 13.160.010.
See fee schedulePlumbing permit
Permit for plumbing installations in SeaTac under the Uniform Plumbing Code as adopted at SMC 13.170.010, which also allows the International Plumbing Code as an applicant-elected alternate.
See fee scheduleElectrical permit
Permit for electrical work in SeaTac under the National Electrical Code as adopted at SMC 13.180.010, with jurisdiction shared with the Port of Seattle on airport property.
See fee scheduleClearing and grading permit
Permit to clear vegetation, excavate, grade or place fill in SeaTac under SMC Chapter 13.190, issued by the Director rather than the Building Official.
See fee schedule
SeaTac's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for SeaTac 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 SeaTac lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IN SEATAC IS WHETHER THE CITY IS YOUR PERMITTING AUTHORITY AT ALL. Two separate interlocal agreements with the Port of Seattle carve airport uses on Port-owned property out of the city's jurisdiction: SMC 13.100.010(C) for the technical codes, where the city “defers to” the Port, and SMC 13.180.010(B) for electrical, where it “relinquishes any and all jurisdiction”. Settle this before filing anything.
- NO DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR ANY PERMIT APPEARS IN THE CODE — fees come from “the most recently adopted City of SeaTac Fee Schedule” (SMC 13.100.070(A)), a separate document not opened for this entry. What the code does publish is the basis: valuation is computed from the ICC's August Building Valuation Data Square Foot Construction Costs Table, and “The project valuation shall be set by the Building Official.”
- AN INCOMPLETE APPLICATION IS NOT A SLOW APPLICATION, IT IS A STOPPED ONE, AND UNPAID FEES MAKE IT INCOMPLETE. SMC 13.100.060(F): “no action will be taken or review performed by the City” where information or documents are incomplete, inaccurate or missing, and “Payment of fees required at the time of application are required for the City to determine an application is complete.” Meanwhile the 18-month application clock at 13.100.060(H)(1) is already running.
- STARTING WORK EARLY ROUGHLY DOUBLES THE COST. The investigation fee at SMC 13.100.070(C) is “an amount equal to the permit fee” with a one-hour minimum at the City's standard hourly rate, and it is “in addition to the required plan review and permit fees”. It expressly reaches land clearing and grubbing and right-of-way work, not just buildings.
- THERE IS A REFUND RULE, WHICH IS RARE IN THIS SET, AND IT HAS A DEADLINE. SMC 13.100.070(D) gives 80 percent back if you ask within 180 days of the application's expiry or the permit's issuance and no plan review or inspection has happened, and a full refund where the fee was erroneously paid or collected. A permit issued on incorrect or incomplete information is not refundable at all.
- SEATAC TIMES A PERMIT BY WHAT IT BUILDS, NOT BY WHETHER YOU ARE WORKING. SMC 13.100.060(J): permits for a new building or addition expire two years from issuance; every other construction permit expires one year. There is no 180-day abandonment trigger here.
- EXTENSION AND RENEWAL ARE EACH AVAILABLE ONCE AND THEY ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE — a renewed permit cannot be extended, and “No permit shall be renewed more than once.” Note the asymmetry by trade: twelve months for a building permit, six for mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
- IF YOUR PROJECT IS NEAR THE AIRPORT, CHECK SMC CHAPTER 13.240 BEFORE YOU DESIGN. The sound transmission code requires interiors at “a Day-Night Average Sound Level of 45 decibels or less” with 25, 30 or 35 dB noise level reduction depending on tier, and field verification by a professional acoustician. It also bars a change of use to human occupancy or to sleeping use unless the building complies, so it constrains conversions as much as new construction.