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Demolition Permit in Edmonds, Washington

Required before the partial or complete demolition of any building or structure in Edmonds, interior or exterior. The requirement is a local addition: Edmonds deleted the IBC's Annual Permit section and wrote a demolition permit in its place.

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • ECDC 19.00.025(E): “Before the partial or complete demolition of any building or structure (interior or exterior), a demolition permit shall be obtained from the building official.”
  • A performance bond or frozen fund conforming to Chapter 17.10 ECDC must be posted BEFORE permit issuance, in an amount set by the building official
  • City requirements must be satisfied no later than 180 days after permit issuance
  • Construction debris, vegetation and garbage must be removed from the site and from unopened street right-of-way within 30 days of written notice
  • Temporary erosion control must be installed and maintained per Chapter 18.30 ECDC

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Demolition permit
ECDC 19.00.025(E) states only that “The permit fee is established pursuant to Chapter 19.70 ECDC.” Chapter 19.70 was opened in full this session and publishes no amount. Show full citationECDC 19.00.025(E) states only that “The permit fee is established pursuant to Chapter 19.70 ECDC.” Chapter 19.70 was opened in full this session and publishes no amount. ECDC 19.70 is titled “Fees” and contains no monetary figure. Its five live sections were opened in full this session: 19.70.010 states “Fee schedules are on file in the city clerk’s office.” while 19.70.010(C) and 19.70.020 both state the amounts are “set forth in this chapter” — a cross-reference that points at its own chapter and is wrong. The one pointer that leaves the chapter, ECDC 15.00.020(A), was also opened in full and ends outside the code: “Fees are established by resolution of the city council and can be accessed at the following hyperlink: Development Fees.” No dollar amount is therefore published in the Edmonds code, and none is asserted here.
Set by council resolution; not in code
Performance bondECDC 19.00.025(E). The bond or frozen fund must satisfy all city requirements no later than 180 days after permit issuance and is not released until the six listed conditions are complete.
Amount set by the building official

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Demolition Permit permit actually take in Edmonds?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Abandoned Sanitary Sewer Cap

    Septic tanks “shall be pumped, collapsed and removed and/or filled with earth, sand, concrete, CDF or hard slurry.”

  2. 2

    Foundation Knock-Down Verification

    Concrete foundation walls, porches, chimneys and similar structures broken down; “concrete, bricks, cobbles and boulders shall be broken to less than 12-inch diameter”, and debris left on site must meet IBC Section 1804.3 for clean fill.

  3. 3

    Debris Removal

    Construction debris, vegetation and garbage attributable to the demolition removed from the site and from unopened street right-of-way within 30 days of written notice. No debris may be placed on street right-of-way or alleys without a Chapter 18.60 or 18.70 permit.

  4. 4

    Public Property Restoration

    Repair and restoration of any damaged public property — alley, street, sidewalk, landscaping, water, sewer, storm and other utilities, rockeries, retaining walls — to substantially original condition.

  5. 5

    Site Grading and Compaction

    Grading back to original topography; basements filled and compacted to 90 percent as verified by a special inspector, with structural fill placed above unyielding native soils to a minimum of 90 percent modified proctor per ASTM D1557.

  6. 6

    Temporary Erosion Control

    Installed and maintained per Chapter 18.30 ECDC.

See the full Edmonds inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • The bond is the real schedule driver, not the permit. Edmonds names six specific completion conditions in ECDC 19.00.025(E), and the bond or frozen fund is not released until the building official determines every one of them is done — so plan the sewer cap, the debris haul, the right-of-way restoration and the compaction verification as part of the job, not as afterthoughts.
  • Two clocks run at once and they are different lengths: all city requirements must be satisfied within 180 days of issuance, but debris must be off the site and out of unopened right-of-way within 30 days of written notice.
  • Interior-only demolition still needs the permit. The section says “partial or complete demolition of any building or structure (interior or exterior)”, so a gut remodel is caught even when nothing visible comes down.

Frequently asked questions

Edmonds requires a demolition permit for: ECDC 19.00.025(E): “Before the partial or complete demolition of any building or structure (interior or exterior), a demolition permit shall be obtained from the building official.”; A performance bond or frozen fund conforming to Chapter 17.10 ECDC must be posted BEFORE permit issuance, in an amount set by the building official; City requirements must be satisfied no later than 180 days after permit issuance; Construction debris, vegetation and garbage must be removed from the site and from unopened street right-of-way within 30 days of written notice; Temporary erosion control must be installed and maintained per Chapter 18.30 ECDC. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Edmonds Planning and Development Department – Building Division at (425) 775-2525 before starting work.

In Edmonds, the published Demolition permit is: Set by council resolution; not in code. Additional published fees: Performance bond — Amount set by the building official. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Edmonds does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Edmonds Planning and Development Department – Building Division at (425) 775-2525 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Demolition Permit Application; Performance Bond or Frozen Fund. Depending on your project, Edmonds may also ask for: Structural Fill Compaction Verification. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Edmonds requires 6 inspection(s) for a demolition permit, in order: Abandoned Sanitary Sewer Cap, Foundation Knock-Down Verification, Debris Removal, Public Property Restoration, Site Grading and Compaction, Temporary Erosion Control. Schedule each through City of Edmonds Planning and Development Department – Building Division ((425) 775-2525).

Apply through City of Edmonds Planning and Development Department – Building Division at 121 5th Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020. Phone: (425) 775-2525. Official information: https://www.edmondswa.gov/.

Yes. ECDC 19.00.025(E) reads “Before the partial or complete demolition of any building or structure (interior or exterior), a demolition permit shall be obtained from the building official.” The parenthetical is explicit, so interior-only work such as a gut remodel requires the permit even though nothing is removed from the exterior of the building.

Only after all six conditions in ECDC 19.00.025(E) are complete: abandoned sanitary sewers capped and septic tanks pumped, collapsed and removed or filled; concrete foundation walls, porches and chimneys knocked down and broken to less than 12-inch diameter; construction debris, vegetation and garbage removed from the site and from unopened right-of-way within 30 days of written notice; damaged public property repaired and restored; the site graded back to original topography with basements filled and compacted to 90 percent as verified by a special inspector; and temporary erosion control installed and maintained per Chapter 18.30 ECDC.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-16.

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

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