Tumwater building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Tumwater, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 555 Israel Rd SW, Tumwater, WA 98501
- Phone
- (360) 754-5855
- 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.
- IBC — TMC 15.04.010: “the International Building Code, 2021 Edition, as amended by Chapter 51-50 WAC, which includes adoption of and amendments to the International Existing Building Code, 2021 Edition, and ICC/ANSI A117.1-2017, including Appendix Chapters E … G … H, Signs; I, Patio Covers; and J, Grading”, with Sections 105.3.2, 105.5, 109.2, 109.6, 113 and Appendix H Sections H108, H109, H110 and H112 NOT adopted.
- IRC — TMC 15.06.010: “the International Residential Code, 2021 Edition, as amended by Chapter 51-51 WAC, including Appendix Chapters H, Patio Covers, K, Sound Transmission, Q, Tiny homes and T, Solar-ready provisions”, with Sections R105.3.2, R105.5, R108.2, R108.5, R108.6, R112 and Appendix T103.2 through T103.5 NOT adopted.
- IMC — TMC 15.08.010: “the International Mechanical Code, 2021 Edition, as amended by Chapter 51-52 WAC, which includes adoption of and amendments to the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, the 2021 National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA 54) and the 2020 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code (NFPA 58), and including Appendix Chapter A”, with Sections 106.3.3, 106.4.3, 106.4.4, 106.5, 106.5.1, 106.5.2 and 109 NOT adopted.
- UPC — TMC 15.12.010: “the Uniform Plumbing Code, 2021 Edition … as amended by Chapters 51-56 and 51-77 WAC, including Appendix Chapters A, B, I, and M as amended; provided, that WAC 51-56-003 ‘those portions of the Code addressing building sewers,’ not adopted by Chapters 51-56 and 51-77 WAC, is adopted”, with Sections 104.3.2, 104.3.3, 104.4.3, 104.4.4, 104.5 and 107.0 NOT adopted.
- ADOPTED IN THEIR OWN CHAPTERS BUT NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY, so NO edition year is asserted: International Fire Code (TMC 15.16), International Property Maintenance Code (15.18) and International Energy Conservation Code (15.20).
- Title 15 lists fourteen chapters and none of their titles adopts an electrical code.
Permit types & fees
Residential building permit
Permit to build, alter or add to a house or other residential structure in Tumwater, under the International Residential Code adopted at TMC 15.06.010.
See fee scheduleCommercial building permit
Permit for commercial, industrial and institutional construction in Tumwater under the International Building Code adopted at TMC 15.04.010.
See fee scheduleMechanical permit
Permit for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and fuel gas work in Tumwater under the International Mechanical Code adopted at TMC 15.08.010.
See fee schedulePlumbing permit
Permit for plumbing installations in Tumwater under the Uniform Plumbing Code adopted at TMC 15.12.010.
See fee scheduleDemolition permit
Permit to demolish, raze or remove a building or structure in Tumwater under TMC Chapter 15.50, which runs a separate regime with its own bond and completion deadline.
See fee schedule
Tumwater's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Tumwater 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 Tumwater lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- THE STATE'S PERMIT-PROCESSING CLOCKS DO NOT APPLY IN TUMWATER, AND THE CODE SAYS SO OUTRIGHT. TMC 15.01.045: “As authorized by RCW 36.70B.140, permits issued under this title are exempt from the timeline provisions of RCW 36.70B.060 through 36.70B.090 and 36.70B.110 through 36.70B.130.” That is a published reason for the absence of a review deadline, not a gap. Those RCW sections were not read here, so what exactly is disapplied is not asserted.
- A PERMIT CAN EXPIRE WHILE WORK IS GENUINELY UNDER WAY. Beyond the usual 180-day commence and abandonment triggers, TMC 15.01.060(A) voids a permit “if no required inspections have been approved after the work is commenced for a period of one hundred eighty days”. Passing an inspection, not visible progress, is what resets that clock.
- RESTARTING IS HALF PRICE INSIDE A YEAR AND FULL PRICE AFTER IT. TMC 15.01.060 charges one-half a new permit fee where nothing has changed in the plans and the lapse has not exceeded one year; past a year of inactivity a fresh application and permit are required. Extensions are capped: “No permit shall be extended more than twice.”
- THE MODEL CODES' FEE, EXPIRY, REFUND AND APPEAL SECTIONS ARE ALL EXPRESSLY NOT ADOPTED — IBC 109.2/109.6/113, IRC R105.5/R108.2/R108.5/R108.6/R112, IMC 109 and UPC 107.0 among them. Everything that governs those subjects is in TMC Chapter 15.01, and the council's fee resolution REPLACES the model fee tables rather than supplementing them.
- LETTING A PERMIT EXPIRE FORFEITS THE REFUND AS WELL. The 80 percent refund where no work has been done applies only “provided, that the permit has not expired” (TMC 15.01.080); an erroneously collected fee is refundable at 100 percent.
- DEMOLITION IS THE TIGHTEST DEADLINE IN THIS SET: thirty days from issuance to completion (TMC 15.50.050), with a refundable bond due AT APPLICATION rather than at issuance (15.50.040).
- BUILDING SEWERS ARE COVERED HERE EVEN THOUGH THE STATE LEFT THEM OUT. TMC 15.12.010 adopts the portions of the UPC addressing building sewers that Chapters 51-56 and 51-77 WAC do not — a designer working from the state amendments alone would miss it.
- NFPA 54 AND NFPA 58 DO NOT SHARE A VINTAGE HERE. The mechanical adoption names the 2021 National Fuel Gas Code and the 2020 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code in one sentence, alongside the 2021 IMC and 2021 IFGC. Check each standard's year separately rather than assuming they move together.