Lakewood building permits
Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Lakewood, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 6000 Main St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
- Phone
- (253) 589-2489
- 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.
- THE CODES ARE ADOPTED UNDER THE STATE STATUTE AND GIVEN A COLLECTIVE NAME. LMC 15.05.020: "Pursuant to RCW 19.27.031, the following codes as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council herein adopted and further amended, shall be collectively known as the Lakewood Building Code:".
- THE 2021 IBC, WITH THREE APPENDICES. "The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code (IBC), including Appendix Chapters E, G, and J, published by the International Code Council and amended by the Washington State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-50 WAC, is hereby adopted by reference and as subsequently amended by this chapter."
- ACCESSIBILITY COMES IN UNDER TWO STATUTES, NOT ONE. "Chapter 11 and other International Building Code requirements for barrier-free access, including ICC A117.1-2017 and Appendix E, are adopted pursuant to Chapters 19.27 and 70.92 RCW." RCW 70.92 is a separate statute from the building code chapter and is not cited by any other city in this guide.
THE 2021 IRC, WITH ITS ENTIRE ADMINISTRATIVE RUN STRIPPED OUT. Show full textShow less
THE 2021 IRC, WITH ITS ENTIRE ADMINISTRATIVE RUN STRIPPED OUT. "The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code (IRC) excluding Sections R103, R104, R105, R106, R107, R108, R109, R110, R111, R112, R113, and R114, provided Chapters 11 and 25 through 43 are not adopted." Those excluded sections are the IRC's permits, inspections and certificate provisions - so residential administration does NOT come from the IRC here.
- IRC APPENDICES F, Q AND U ARE ADOPTED. "Appendices F, Q, and U, as published by the International Code Council and as adopted and amended by the Washington State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-51 WAC, are hereby adopted by reference". Appendix Q is Tiny Houses, in as it is in Camas, Yakima, Sammamish and Shoreline - and out in Marysville.
- THREE CODES ARE POINTED AT WAC CHAPTERS RATHER THAN ADOPTED HERE. "Energy Code is regulated by Chapter 51-11R WAC; Plumbing Code is regulated by Chapter 51-56 WAC; Electrical Code is regulated by Chapter 296-46B WAC." Note 296-46B is a Labor & Industries chapter, not a Building Code Council one.
- THE MECHANICAL ADOPTION CARRIES TWO OLDER EDITIONS INSIDE IT. "The 2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code (IMC) ... including the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code for the installation of fuel gas distribution piping and equipment, fuel gas-fired appliances and fuel gas-fired appliance venting systems", and "The standards for liquefied petroleum gas installations shall be the 2014 Edition of NFPA 58".
- RCW 19.27 - the Washington State Building Code applies statewide.
Permit types & fees
Building Permit
Required for construction in Lakewood. The city adopts the 2021 IBC and IRC under RCW 19.27.031 as the Lakewood Building Code, strips the IRC's administrative sections, and runs everything through IBC Chapter 1.
See fee scheduleVerify a Contractor Licence
Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor & Industries. Registration is a STATE record; Lakewood does not issue it.
See fee schedule
Lakewood's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Lakewood 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 Lakewood lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- STARTING EARLY COSTS THE PERMIT FEE TWICE - a fee "equal to the permit fee" on top of it.
- THE FINAL INSPECTION IS GATED ON EIGHT SEPARATE APPROVALS, most of them outside the building department: SEPA, Hearings Examiner, Design Review, Development Engineering, Stormwater, Tree Ordinance, West Pierce Fire and Rescue, and outside agencies - plus finish grading.
- Refund deadline is 180 days FROM PAYMENT, in writing, by the ORIGINAL APPLICANT. Shoreline has the identical rule.
- The retaining wall exemption measures height FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOTING, not from grade, and adds a setback and a slope condition on top.
- Houses are administered under the COMMERCIAL code's Chapter 1, because the IRC's own administrative sections R103-R114 are not adopted.
- FOUR EDITION YEARS ARE IN FORCE AT ONCE: 2021 for the IBC, IRC and IMC, 2018 for the fuel gas code, 2017 for the accessibility standard, 2014 for NFPA 58.
- Title 15's prior-legislation note says Ord. 347 repealed the title and enacted a Title 15A. There is no Title 15A in the current code - the note is history, and Title 15 governs.
- The code is on the ICC's municipal.codes platform, as Sammamish's is.