Lake Stevens building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Lake Stevens, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 1812 Main St, Lake Stevens, WA 98258
- Phone
- (425) 334-1012
- 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.
- EDITIONS ARE NAMED HERE — 2021 THROUGHOUT. LSMC 14.80.010 opens: “The below-listed model codes, as approved, adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council (SBCC) are hereby adopted by this reference. These codes shall apply to all new construction, remodeling, or repairs. Copies of the codes are on file in the office of the Building Official.”
- IBC — “The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code (IBC) including Appendix E, and the adoption of ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017, Requirements for Accessible and Useable Buildings and Facilities, as adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-50 WAC…”
- IEBC — “The 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) is included in the adoption of the International Building Code as provided by IBC Section 101.4.7 as adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council.”
IRC — “The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code … provided, that Chapters 11 and 25 through 43 of this code are not adopted. Show full textShow less
IRC — “The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code … provided, that Chapters 11 and 25 through 43 of this code are not adopted. 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 or Electrical Code as adopted by the local jurisdiction. Appendix F, Radon Control Methods, and Appendix Q, Tiny Homes, are included in adoption of the International Residential Code.”
- UPC — “2021 Edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code, including Appendices A, B and I … provided, that Chapters 12 and 15 of this code are not adopted; provided further, that those requirements relating to venting and combustion air of fuel-fired appliances as found in Chapter 5 and portions of the code addressing building sewers are not adopted (WAC 51-56-003).”
IMC — “2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code published by the International Code Council, including 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, 2020 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 58 (Liquefied Petroleum… Show full textShow less
IMC — “2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code published by the International Code Council, including 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, 2020 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 58 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) and 2021 NFPA 54 (National Fuel Gas Code) with exceptions noted in WAC 51-52-003.” NOTE THE THREE DIFFERENT YEARS IN ONE SENTENCE: the IMC and IFGC are 2021, NFPA 58 is 2020, NFPA 54 is 2021. These are real edition years of four different documents, not a typo.
- ENERGY — “2021 International Energy Conservation Code of the State of Washington regulated by Chapters 51-11C and 51-11R WAC.”
- IPMC — “The 2021 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), including Sections 107.4 and 107.6 (IPMC) … Provided, Sections 103.5, 106, 111, and 112 are not adopted.” The code then re-routes each excluded section to LSMC Chapter 17.20.
- ISPSC — “The 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) is included in the adoption of the International Building Code as provided by IBC Section 3109.1 and amended in WAC 51-50-3109, and as provided by IRC Section R328 and amended in WAC 51-51-0328.” Adopted THROUGH the IBC and IRC rather than as a standalone chapter.
WUI — A NAMED EDITION WITH A DELEGATED OVERRIDE, WHICH IS A SHAPE OF ITS OWN. Show full textShow less
WUI — A NAMED EDITION WITH A DELEGATED OVERRIDE, WHICH IS A SHAPE OF ITS OWN. “The 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WUI) as published by the International Code Council adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council in Chapter 51-55 WAC; provided, that it includes adoption of Appendix B as Chapter 7, Appendix C as Chapter 8, Appendix D as Chapter 9 and re-numbers referenced standard as Chapter 10.” Then: “Exception: If State Building Code Council votes to change or not adopt and or delay the implementation of 2021 WUI code or portion thereof then delay, not adopt and/or delay implementation in accordance with State Building Code Council.” The year is named AND contingent on the state — neither purely named-and-static nor purely delegated.
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY and therefore not asserted: LSMC Chapter 14.84 (Fire Code, which carries the sprinkler and address-identification provisions this chapter points to), 14.64 (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 14.50… Show full textShow less
NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY and therefore not asserted: LSMC Chapter 14.84 (Fire Code, which carries the sprinkler and address-identification provisions this chapter points to), 14.64 (Special Flood Hazard Areas), 14.50 (Land Disturbance), 14.52 (Fences, Hedges and Walls), 14.68 (Signs), 14.60 (Utilities), 14.124 (Deferred Collection of Impact Fees for Residential Construction), 14.112 and 14.120 (impact fees), and Title 17 (Uniform Enforcement Code).
Permit types & fees
Residential Building Permit (New Construction)
Required for new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses in Lake Stevens, reviewed under the 2021 International Residential Code as adopted and amended by the Washington State Building Code Council.
See fee scheduleCommercial Building Permit
Required for commercial construction, alterations, additions and changes of occupancy in Lake Stevens, under the 2021 International Building Code as adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council.
See fee schedulePlumbing Permit
Plumbing work in Lake Stevens is reviewed under the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council, with several parts expressly excluded.
See fee scheduleMechanical Permit
Mechanical and fuel gas work in Lake Stevens is reviewed under the 2021 International Mechanical Code together with the 2021 IFGC and named NFPA standards.
See fee scheduleElectrical Permit
Electrical work in Lake Stevens follows the electrical code as regulated by Chapter 296-46B WAC — the Department of Labor and Industries rule — rather than a city-named edition.
See fee scheduleDock and Over-Water Structure Permit
Lake Stevens expressly requires a building permit for docks, bridges and other over-water structures — a distinct requirement for a city built around a lake.
See fee schedule
Lake Stevens's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Lake Stevens 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 Lake Stevens lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- THE TITLE NAMED “BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION” IS NOT THE BUILDING CODE. LSMC Title 12 carries that name and contains only Chapter 12.04 Gas Franchise, 12.08 Cable System Regulations and 12.12 Telecommunications. The actual building code is Chapter 14.80, also called “Building and Construction”, inside Title 14 — the Land Use Code. The same name appears at two levels and the one at title level is the wrong one.
- FOUR SECTIONS THAT LOOK LIVE IN THE CONTENTS ARE DEAD. Chapter 14.80's section list shows 14.80.150 Fire-Extinguishing Systems, .160 Automatic Fire-Extinguishing Systems Required, .170 Installation and .180 Sprinkler System Monitoring and Alarms under their full descriptive names. Every one of them reads “Repealed by Ord. 778.” Sprinkler requirements come instead through IBC Section 903 and LSMC 14.84.150.
- Lake Stevens NAMES its editions — 2021 across the IBC, IEBC, IRC, UPC, IMC, energy, property maintenance, pool and WUI codes — where neighbouring Lynnwood names none and takes “the latest edition”. Two adjacent Snohomish County cities, opposite drafting strategies.
- One code is named AND contingent. The 2021 WUI code is adopted with an exception: if the State Building Code Council “votes to change or not adopt and or delay the implementation of 2021 WUI code or portion thereof”, the city delays or declines in step. So the printed year can stop being operative without any Lake Stevens ordinance.
- Two permit exemptions were added locally and both save real money: light-weight roof or reroof covering where the installed unit is under four pounds per square foot, and replacing exterior windows in existing openings — provided the opening is not resized and the operable opening is not made smaller.
- Get the sewage disposal permit first. LSMC 14.80.050 blocks any building permit for a primary use structure until the applicant “has first secured a sewage disposal permit per Chapter 14.60 (Utilities)”, so it is a sequencing requirement rather than a parallel application.
- You cannot build the detached garage or shed before the house. LSMC 14.80.070: accessory buildings “shall not be constructed prior to the commencement of construction of the main building” — a rule that catches people who want to put up storage while they finalise the main design.
- Docks, bridges and other over-water structures need a building permit here (LSMC 14.80.080) — worth knowing in a city built around a lake, and easy to assume is a shoreline-only matter.
- The appeal deadline is a clock time, not just a date: the written appeal and any fee must reach the Department of Planning and Community Development “no later than 4:00 p.m. on the fourteenth day following the date of the notice of decision.” After that the Hearing Examiner route closes.
- Appeals are uphill by design. The Hearing Examiner “shall accord substantial weight to the decision of the Building Official”, and you must show the decision “is not supported by a preponderance of the evidence” as well as meeting one of the three permitted grounds.
- Frost line depth is 12 inches here against 18 inches in both Edmonds and Lynnwood. If you are reusing a foundation detail from a neighbouring city, this is the number that changes.
- The flood hazard cell in the design criteria table says only “Per LSMC” rather than giving a date, so the effective FIRM information lives in LSMC Chapter 14.64 (Special Flood Hazard Areas) and not in the building chapter. That chapter was not opened for this entry.