Walla Walla building permits
VerifiedDepartment contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for Walla Walla, Washington.
Last verified 2026-09-16 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- 15 North 3rd Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362
- Phone
- (509) 527-4522
- 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 — WWMC 15.04.010: “The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., including the following appendices: Appendix A, Employee Qualifications; Appendix E,… Show full textShow less
IBC — WWMC 15.04.010: “The 2021 Edition of the International Building Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., including the following appendices: Appendix A, Employee Qualifications; Appendix E, Supplementary Accessibility Requirements; Appendix F, Rodentproofing; Appendix G, Flood-Resistant Construction; Appendix H, Signs; Appendix I, Patio Covers; Appendix J, Grading; as amended by Chapter 51-50 of the Washington Administrative Code, is hereby adopted by reference and further amended as follows:”
- IMC — WWMC 15.04.011: “The 2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code … except that the standards for liquified petroleum gas installations shall be the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, and the 2020 Edition of NFPA 58 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code) and the 2020 Edition of ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54 (National Fuel Gas Code), and as amended by Chapter 51-52 of the Washington Administrative Code”.
- UPC — WWMC 15.04.012: “The 2021 Edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code, published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials”, with named appendices.
- IRC — WWMC 15.04.013: “The 2021 Edition of the International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc.”, with named appendices.
ADOPTED BY SECTION TITLE BUT NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY, so NO EDITION YEAR IS ASSERTED for any of them: International Green Construction Code (15.04.014), Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings… Show full textShow less
ADOPTED BY SECTION TITLE BUT NOT OPENED FOR THIS ENTRY, so NO EDITION YEAR IS ASSERTED for any of them: International Green Construction Code (15.04.014), Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings (15.04.015), International Existing Building Code (15.04.016), International Fire Code (15.04.017), International Energy Conservation Code (15.04.018), International Fuel Gas Code (15.04.019), International Property Maintenance Code (15.04.020), International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (15.04.021) and International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (15.04.022).
- NO ELECTRICAL CODE IS ADOPTED ANYWHERE IN TITLE 15. Chapter 15.08 is published as “ELECTRICAL CODE (RESERVED)” and its page carries no sections.
Permit types & fees
Residential building permit
Permit to build, alter, add to or move a house or other residential structure in Walla Walla, under the International Residential Code adopted at WWMC 15.04.013.
From$30.00valuation-basedCommercial building permit
Permit for commercial, industrial and institutional construction in Walla Walla under the International Building Code adopted at WWMC 15.04.010.
From$30.00valuation-basedMechanical permit
Permit for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and fuel-gas equipment in Walla Walla under the International Mechanical Code adopted at WWMC 15.04.011.
From$26.00Plumbing permit
Permit for plumbing installations in Walla Walla under the Uniform Plumbing Code adopted at WWMC 15.04.012.
From$23.00Roofing permit
Permit for reroofing and roof replacement in Walla Walla, priced through a roofing-specific valuation rule at WWMC 15.04.050(A)(2).
From$30.00valuation-basedDemolition permit
Permit to demolish a building or outbuilding in Walla Walla, priced as a flat fee at WWMC 15.04.050(A)(4).
From$57.00
Walla Walla's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Walla Walla 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 Walla Walla lands. Privacy.
Tips & gotchas
- WALLA WALLA PUBLISHES ITS ENTIRE PERMIT FEE SCHEDULE IN THE CODE, WHICH MOST OF THIS WASHINGTON SET DOES NOT — eight valuation tiers from a flat $30.00 up to $6,816.23 plus $4.62 per $1,000 over $1,000,000, at WWMC 15.04.050(A)(1). Budget above the table: plan review is 65 percent of the permit fee and a state surcharge applies, BOTH DUE WHEN YOU FILE rather than when the permit issues.
- SOME OF THE FEES ARE WRITTEN IN WORDS AND CARRY NO DOLLAR SIGN AT ALL — the demolition fees (“A fifty-seven-dollar permit fee”, “A twenty-six-dollar permit fee”), the mechanical issuance fee (“twenty-six dollars”) and both plumbing issuance fees (“twenty-three dollars”, “thirteen dollars”). Five published amounts in one chapter that any search for “$” will miss. The tabulated fees, by contrast, are all in digits.
- THERE IS NO LOCAL ELECTRICAL CODE. Chapter 15.08 is published as “ELECTRICAL CODE (RESERVED)” with no sections, and no electrical code appears anywhere in Title 15. Reserved is not repealed — the number was held open, not emptied. Ask the city who issues electrical permits before assuming they do; this entry does not assert the answer.
- A PERMIT DIES THREE DIFFERENT WAYS AND THE LAST ONE IS ABSOLUTE: no start within 180 days, abandonment for 180 days, or simply two years from issuance “regardless of whether the work is finished”. If it lapses on time alone, a new permit costs one-half the permit fee or a fee based on the value of the remaining work, whichever is less.
- AN APPROVED APPLICATION IS NOT A PERMIT, AND IT EXPIRES FASTER. Once the city tells you the application is approved and ready to purchase, you have thirty days to actually obtain the permit or the application goes void.
- THE PUBLISHED $65.00 HOURLY RATE IS A FLOOR, NOT A PRICE — footnote 1 to WWMC 15.04.050(A)(7) makes it “the total hourly cost to the city of Walla Walla, whichever is greater”, including supervision, overhead, equipment, wages and fringe benefits. Reinspections and after-hours inspections are billed against that rate, with a two-hour minimum after hours.
- REROOFING IS PRICED BY DEEMED VALUATION, NOT BY A ROOFING FEE. $200.00 per 100 sq. ft. square if you tear off, $100.00 per square if you roof over, partial squares rounding up — and that figure then goes through the ordinary tiered table. Tearing off doubles the deemed valuation.
- THE CODE RANKS ITSELF WHEN IT CONTRADICTS ITSELF: general provisions first, then IBC, IRC, IMC, IFC and the UPC last. Worth knowing before arguing a plumbing detail against a building code requirement.