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PermitBase

Building Permit in Lakewood, Washington

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.

Reviewed 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Built to the 2021 IBC (with Appendix Chapters E, G and J) and the 2021 IRC
  • IRC Sections R103 through R114 and Chapters 11 and 25 through 43 are NOT adopted
  • IRC Appendices F, Q and U ARE adopted
  • Administration for all work comes from IBC Chapter 1 (LMC 15.05.040)
  • Accessibility is adopted under both RCW 19.27 and RCW 70.92, including ICC A117.1-2017

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Permit fee (amount not published in the building chapter)
LAKEWOOD DOES NOT PRINT ITS PERMIT FEE AMOUNTS IN THIS CHAPTER AND THIS ENTRY DECLINES TO STATE ONE. Show full citationLAKEWOOD DOES NOT PRINT ITS PERMIT FEE AMOUNTS IN THIS CHAPTER AND THIS ENTRY DECLINES TO STATE ONE. What the code DOES fix are three things you can act on. FIRST, STARTING WORK EARLY COSTS YOU THE PERMIT FEE TWICE: IBC Section 109.4 as amended provides that "Any person who commences work on a building, structure, gas, mechanical or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits shall be subject to a fee equal to the permit fee." - a charge equal to the permit, on top of the permit. SECOND, REFUNDS ARE PUBLISHED: Section 109.6 as amended allows "one hundred percent (100%) of any fee paid erroneously; up to eighty percent (80%) of the permit fee for a permit that is withdrawn, if no work has been done under the permit; and up to eighty percent (80%) of the plan review fee paid when an application is withdrawn prior to any plan review having been done." THIRD, THE REFUND CLOCK RUNS FROM PAYMENT AND IS EASY TO MISS: "No refund shall be authorized except on written application filed by the original applicant not later than one hundred eighty days after the date of the fee payment." Note that Shoreline publishes the same three-part refund rule with the same 180-day clock from payment and the same original-applicant restriction - two cities, one rule.
Not stated in LMC 15.05 - see notes

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Building Permit permit actually take in Lakewood?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

    Tips

    • Do not start early - work begun before the permit draws a fee EQUAL to the permit fee
    • The final inspection waits on SEPA, Hearings Examiner, Design Review, Development Engineering, Stormwater, the Tree Ordinance, West Pierce Fire and Rescue and outside agencies, plus finish grading
    • If you withdraw, claim the refund within 180 days OF PAYMENT and it must be the original applicant who files
    • Two extensions are free; further ones carry administrative fees and need written cause

    Frequently asked questions

    Lakewood requires a building permit for: Built to the 2021 IBC (with Appendix Chapters E, G and J) and the 2021 IRC; IRC Sections R103 through R114 and Chapters 11 and 25 through 43 are NOT adopted; IRC Appendices F, Q and U ARE adopted; Administration for all work comes from IBC Chapter 1 (LMC 15.05.040); Accessibility is adopted under both RCW 19.27 and RCW 70.92, including ICC A117.1-2017. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Lakewood at (253) 589-2489 before starting work.

    In Lakewood, the published Permit fee (amount not published in the building chapter) is: Not stated in LMC 15.05 - see notes. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Lakewood does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Lakewood at (253) 589-2489 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Permit application and plans. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Lakewood at 6000 Main St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. Phone: (253) 589-2489. Official information: https://cityoflakewood.us/.

    It depends which code you mean, and there are four right answers. LMC 15.05.020 adopts the 2021 Editions of the International Building Code, International Residential Code and International Mechanical Code - but the mechanical adoption carries the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code inside it, the accessibility standard is ICC A117.1-2017, and liquefied petroleum gas follows the 2014 Edition of NFPA 58. All four are real edition years of different instruments.

    You pay for the permit twice. IBC Section 109.4 as amended by LMC 15.05.060 provides that anyone who commences work on a building, structure, gas, mechanical or plumbing system before obtaining the necessary permits "shall be subject to a fee equal to the permit fee". That charge is in addition to the permit fee itself, not a substitute for it.

    Because the final inspection is conditioned on far more than the building. IBC Section 110.3.12 as amended requires that all conditions of SEPA, the Hearings Examiner, Design Review, Development Engineering, Stormwater, the Tree Ordinance, the West Pierce Fire and Rescue district and outside agencies are complied with, plus finish grading, before the final is made. Several of those are not the building department's to release, so a completed building can still be waiting on a land-use or environmental condition.

    Sources & verification

    Key facts 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 Lakewood building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

    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.

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