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Residential Building Permit (New Construction) in Lynnwood, Washington

Required for new one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses in Lynnwood, reviewed under whichever International Residential Code edition the Washington State Building Code Council currently adopts in Chapter 51-51 WAC.

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Reviewed under “the latest adopted version of the International Residential Code (IRC) … except Chapters 11 and 25 through 43” (LMC 16.09.010) — no edition year is named
  • Design to the city's own criteria at LMC 16.09.100: ground snow load 25, wind speed 110 mph, Seismic Design Category D2, frost line depth 18 inches, winter design temp 22, ice barrier underlayment not required
  • Energy compliance comes from the separately adopted IECC (LMC 16.05.010), not from IRC Chapter 11
  • Plumbing, mechanical and electrical work is permitted under LMC Title 15 and LMC Chapter 16.10, because IRC Chapters 25 through 43 are not adopted
  • Appeals go to the hearing examiner under Chapter 16.50 LMC; the examiner cannot waive code requirements (LMC 16.09.070)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Permit fee
Lynnwood deletes the model code's own fee schedule in every code it adopts and replaces it with the same sentence. Show full citationLynnwood deletes the model code's own fee schedule in every code it adopts and replaces it with the same sentence. LMC 16.04.100 (IBC § 109.2): “Fees shall be set forth in a fee ordinance adopted, and from time to time amended, by the city council.” LMC 16.09.050 repeats it for the IRC, LMC 15.04.040 for the UPC, LMC 15.08.030 for the IMC and LMC 16.10.090 for electrical. NO DOLLAR AMOUNT APPEARS IN THE CODE and none is asserted here. NOTE THE INSTRUMENT: a fee ORDINANCE, which is a third distinct authority within this Washington set — Edmonds uses a council RESOLUTION and Puyallup an EXECUTIVE ORDER of the city manager. Ask the city for the current fee ordinance.
Set by city council fee ordinance

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Residential Building Permit (New Construction) permit actually take in Lynnwood?

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Inspection process

    Tips

    • Check the air freezing index before you finalise a foundation. Lynnwood publishes 1500 at LMC 16.09.100 while adjoining Edmonds publishes 175 — same county, eight miles apart, a factor of 8.6 between them. This guide reproduces each city's published figure and does not decide which is right, so confirm it with the building official if your design depends on it.
    • Do not go looking for local amendments here. Ord. 3396 repealed almost all of them in 2021 — of about forty-two sections in the IBC chapter only three survive, and the IRC chapter is the same shape. What governs is the state-amended model code, close to unmodified.
    • The IRC you are being reviewed against is missing Chapters 11 and 25 through 43. Energy comes from the separately adopted IECC and plumbing, mechanical and electrical from LMC Title 15 and Chapter 16.10, so a single IRC printout will not tell you the whole requirement.

    Frequently asked questions

    Lynnwood requires a residential building permit (new construction) for: Reviewed under “the latest adopted version of the International Residential Code (IRC) … except Chapters 11 and 25 through 43” (LMC 16.09.010) — no edition year is named; Design to the city's own criteria at LMC 16.09.100: ground snow load 25, wind speed 110 mph, Seismic Design Category D2, frost line depth 18 inches, winter design temp 22, ice barrier underlayment not required; Energy compliance comes from the separately adopted IECC (LMC 16.05.010), not from IRC Chapter 11; Plumbing, mechanical and electrical work is permitted under LMC Title 15 and LMC Chapter 16.10, because IRC Chapters 25 through 43 are not adopted; Appeals go to the hearing examiner under Chapter 16.50 LMC; the examiner cannot waive code requirements (LMC 16.09.070). If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Lynnwood at (425) 670-5000 before starting work.

    In Lynnwood, the published Permit fee is: Set by city council fee ordinance. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    The code no longer says. The expiration sections in each chapter — LMC 16.04.072 for the IBC, 16.09.045 for the IRC, 15.04.035 for plumbing, 15.08.025 for mechanical and 16.10.075 for electrical — were all repealed by Ord. 3396 in 2021, leaving whatever the state-amended model code itself provides. Because this entry did not establish a figure from the model code or from the city, no permit life is asserted here; ask the building official.

    You'll need: Building Permit Application; Construction Drawings; Energy Code Compliance Documentation. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Lynnwood at 19100 44th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036. Phone: (425) 670-5000. Official information: https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/.

    The code deliberately does not say. LMC 16.09.010 adopts “the latest adopted version of the International Residential Code (IRC), published by the International Code Council, except Chapters 11 and 25 through 43”, as amended by the State of Washington Building Code Council under Chapter 51-51 WAC. There is no year to quote: the operative edition is whichever the Council currently adopts, and it changes without any ordinance from the city. A copy of the code and the Council's amendments is kept on file with the Lynnwood city clerk.

    Sources & verification

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

    Lynnwood's permit history isn't searchable here yet

    This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Lynnwood 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.

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    Other permits in Lynnwood

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