Shoreline building permits
Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Shoreline, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 17500 Midvale Avenue N, Shoreline, WA 98133
- Phone
- (206) 801-2700
- 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.
NO EDITION YEAR IS NAMED, BY DESIGN. SMC 15.05.010(A): "The current edition of the International Building Code, International Existing Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, published by the… Show full textShow less
NO EDITION YEAR IS NAMED, BY DESIGN. SMC 15.05.010(A): "The current edition of the International Building Code, International Existing Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-50 WAC, as now or hereafter amended." Shoreline follows whatever the state has adopted, without re-enacting.
- THE SAME FOR RESIDENTIAL. SMC 15.05.010(B): "The current edition of the International Residential Code published by the International Code Council, Inc., as adopted by the Washington State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-51 WAC, as now or hereafter amended."
- IRC APPENDICES SPECIFICALLY ADOPTED: "Appendix A, Sizing and Capacities of Gas Piping"; "Appendix B, Sizing of Venting Systems Serving Appliances"; "Appendix H, Patio Covers"; and "Appendix Q, Tiny Houses, as adopted in WAC 51-51-60104." Appendix Q is in, as in Camas, Yakima and Sammamish - and not as in Marysville.
- Also adopted as current editions: the International Mechanical Code (Chapter 51-52 WAC), except that liquefied petroleum gas installations follow NFPA 58 and ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54; the International Fuel Gas Code with Appendix A; and the International Fire Code.
- RCW 19.27 - the Washington State Building Code applies statewide.
Permit types & fees
Building Permit
Required for construction in Shoreline. The city adopts whatever edition the state has adopted, with no year named, and makes the signed permit card serve as the certificate of occupancy.
See fee scheduleDemolition Permit
Required to remove or demolish a building in Shoreline, with four supporting reports and a financial security before issuance.
See fee scheduleVerify a Contractor Licence
Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor & Industries. Registration is a STATE record; Shoreline does not issue it.
See fee schedule
Shoreline's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Shoreline 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 Shoreline lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- THE SIGNED PERMIT CARD IS THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. No separate document issues (IRC R110.3 as amended by SMC 15.05.040).
- RE-ROOFING AND REPLACEMENT WINDOWS ARE EXEMPT from permit where no structural elements change - but shrinking an egress window loses the window exemption.
- SEATTLE AND SHORELINE DISAGREE about re-roof permits and they are in the same county. Do not carry an answer across the city line.
- AUTOMATIC FIRE SPRINKLERS ARE REQUIRED in new one- and two-family dwellings - a significant cost that is not the statewide default.
- A WASTE DIVERSION REPORT GATES PERMIT FINALIZATION AND THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. Plan before issuance, report before finalization.
- The tenant-improvement diversion threshold is 2,500 square feet, not the 1,000 that applies to construction, removal and alterations.
- REFUND DEADLINE: 180 days FROM THE DATE OF PAYMENT, by written application, and only the ORIGINAL PERMITTEE may file.
- Fee amounts are in Chapter 3.01 SMC, a different title of the code from the building rules.
- The code carries the commercial energy code as six separate PDF attachments rather than as chapter text.