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Mechanical permit in Walla Walla, Washington

Permit for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and fuel-gas equipment in Walla Walla under the International Mechanical Code adopted at WWMC 15.04.011.

Verified 2026-09-16 · Source

When you need this permit

  • WWMC 15.04.011 adopts “The 2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., 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”.
  • >>> FOUR EDITION YEARS SIT IN THAT ONE SENTENCE AND THEY SORT BY PUBLISHER, NOT BY DRAFTING ACCIDENT: the two ICC documents (IMC, IFGC) are both 2021 and the two NFPA documents (NFPA 58, NFPA 54) are both 2020. That is a mechanism a reader can check rather than a typo to explain away — the two houses run separate revision cycles. IT IS RECORDED AS A HYPOTHESIS AND NOT AS A FINDING, because University Place names NFPA 58 at 2021 and so contradicts it directly.
  • WWMC 15.04.011(A) replaces IMC Section 109.2 so that “The fees for mechanical work shall be as indicated in subsection 15.04.050(B) of the Walla Walla Municipal Code”, and (B) removes Sections 109.4 and 109.6.
  • PUBLISHED AS PRINTED, AND THE TWO HALVES DISAGREE: WWMC 15.04.011(C) says “Amend Section 113 to read as follows” and the text it inserts is headed “SECTION 109 MEANS OF APPEAL” with a body numbered 113.1. The instruction names 113 and the heading names 109. Quoted as published; not corrected here.
  • THE CODE PUBLISHES ITS OWN TIE-BREAKER, AND THE ORDER IS EXPLICIT. WWMC 15.04.005(A): the general provisions beat any referenced code, and “In the event of conflict between the following identified codes, the code first listed shall have priority over those latter listed: the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fire Code, and, then, the Uniform Plumbing Code.” Wenatchee publishes the same idea in different words; the ORDER is what matters and it is specific to each city.
  • A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.
  • AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”
  • THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.

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Fee schedule

Mechanical permit issuance
WWMC 15.04.050(B)(1) states the issuance fee IN WORDS — “For issuing each permit: twenty-six dollars.” — with no dollar sign anywhere in the sentence. Show full citationWWMC 15.04.050(B)(1) states the issuance fee IN WORDS — “For issuing each permit: twenty-six dollars.” — with no dollar sign anywhere in the sentence. A per-item schedule then applies on top under (B)(2): gas piping $10.00, a furnace under 100,000 BTU $20.00, a furnace over 100,000 BTU $20.00, and further items. Plan review at 65 percent and any state surcharge are additional.
$26.00 issuance plus per-item fees
Plan review and state surcharge
TWO CHARGES SIT ON TOP OF EVERY PERMIT FEE AND NEITHER IS IN THE TIER TABLE. Show full citationTWO CHARGES SIT ON TOP OF EVERY PERMIT FEE AND NEITHER IS IN THE TIER TABLE. WWMC 15.04.050(A)(5): “plan review fees in the amount of sixty-five percent of the applicable permit fee, plus state surcharges which may apply, shall be due and payable upon filing of permit application.” 15.04.050(A)(6) names the surcharges: $6.50 for building permits, $2.00 “for each additional unit for a building containing more than one residential unit”, and $25.00 for commercial building permits. So the cash due at application is roughly 1.65x the table figure plus a surcharge. WALLA WALLA AND LONGVIEW USE THE SAME PERCENTAGE SHAPE AND ONLY ONE OF THEM IS COMPUTABLE: Longview publishes 65/70/30 percent over a master fee schedule it does not print, while Walla Walla publishes both the percentage AND the base table it applies to.
65% of permit fee, plus surcharge
Hourly and reinspection charges
THE PUBLISHED HOURLY RATE IS A FLOOR, NOT A PRICE. Show full citationTHE PUBLISHED HOURLY RATE IS A FLOOR, NOT A PRICE. WWMC 15.04.050(A)(7) charges $65.00 per hour for inspections outside normal business hours (two-hour minimum), reinspections, inspections for which no fee is specified, and additional plan review caused by changes (half-hour minimum) — but footnote 1 reads “Or the total hourly cost to the city of Walla Walla, whichever is greater. This cost shall include supervision, overhead, equipment, hourly wages and fringe benefits of the employees involved.” Quoting $65.00 per hour on its own would understate it. Outside consultants are billed at “Actual costs”, which footnote 2 says “include administrative and overhead costs.”
$65.00/hour or actual cost, if higher

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Mechanical permit permit actually take in Walla Walla?

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Inspection process

    Tips

    • THE MECHANICAL ISSUANCE FEE IS PUBLISHED IN WORDS, NOT DIGITS — “twenty-six dollars”. So is the plumbing issuance fee and so are both demolition fees. A reader, or a tool, scanning this chapter for a dollar sign will conclude these permits are unpriced. They are priced; the digits are simply not there.
    • LPG WORK IS NOT GOVERNED BY THE MECHANICAL CODE YOU MIGHT EXPECT. WWMC 15.04.011 sends liquified petroleum gas installations to the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code and the 2020 editions of NFPA 58 and NFPA 54 instead.

    Frequently asked questions

    Walla Walla requires a mechanical permit for: WWMC 15.04.011 adopts “The 2021 Edition of the International Mechanical Code, published by the International Code Council, Inc., 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”.; >>> FOUR EDITION YEARS SIT IN THAT ONE SENTENCE AND THEY SORT BY PUBLISHER, NOT BY DRAFTING ACCIDENT: the two ICC documents (IMC, IFGC) are both 2021 and the two NFPA documents (NFPA 58, NFPA 54) are both 2020. That is a mechanism a reader can check rather than a typo to explain away — the two houses run separate revision cycles. IT IS RECORDED AS A HYPOTHESIS AND NOT AS A FINDING, because University Place names NFPA 58 at 2021 and so contradicts it directly.; WWMC 15.04.011(A) replaces IMC Section 109.2 so that “The fees for mechanical work shall be as indicated in subsection 15.04.050(B) of the Walla Walla Municipal Code”, and (B) removes Sections 109.4 and 109.6.; PUBLISHED AS PRINTED, AND THE TWO HALVES DISAGREE: WWMC 15.04.011(C) says “Amend Section 113 to read as follows” and the text it inserts is headed “SECTION 109 MEANS OF APPEAL” with a body numbered 113.1. The instruction names 113 and the heading names 109. Quoted as published; not corrected here.; THE CODE PUBLISHES ITS OWN TIE-BREAKER, AND THE ORDER IS EXPLICIT. WWMC 15.04.005(A): the general provisions beat any referenced code, and “In the event of conflict between the following identified codes, the code first listed shall have priority over those latter listed: the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Fire Code, and, then, the Uniform Plumbing Code.” Wenatchee publishes the same idea in different words; the ORDER is what matters and it is specific to each city.; A THREE-TRIGGER EXPIRY, AND ANY ONE OF THEM VOIDS THE PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “All permits shall expire by limitation and be declared void if: 1. Work is not started within one hundred eighty days of obtaining a permit, 2. Work is abandoned for one hundred eighty days or more after beginning work, or 3. After two years from the date of permit issuance, regardless of whether the work is finished.” The third is absolute — steady visible progress does not save a permit at two years. This matches the structure Puyallup and Wenatchee publish, and differs from SeaTac, which times a permit by what it builds rather than by whether work is happening.; AN APPROVED APPLICATION CAN STILL GO VOID BEFORE YOU HOLD A PERMIT. WWMC 15.04.005(G): “When an applicant has been notified that their permit application has been approved and is ready to purchase, the applicant shall obtain the permit within thirty days of notification or said permit application shall become void.”; THE ROLLING CLAUSE IS NOT IN THE ADOPTING SENTENCE — IT IS ITS OWN SECTION, AND A PHRASE-BASED AUDIT WOULD MISS IT. WWMC 15.04.030: “The amendment, addition or repeal of any section of any of the adopted codes, regulations, or statutes shall be deemed to amend this chapter and the codes, regulations, and statutes contained in this chapter are adopted by reference in conformity with the amendment, addition or repeal, and it shall not be necessary for the legislative authority of this city to take any action with respect to such addition, amendment or repeal as provided by RCW 35A.12.140.” MEASURED, NOT ASSUMED: a regular expression for the usual rolling formulations (“as now or hereafter amended”, “as the same exists”, “may hereafter be amended”, “as now in effect”) returns NOTHING across all 75,567 characters of Chapter 15.04. The years are named and the state layer still rolls; the two facts just live in different sections.. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Walla Walla at (509) 527-4522 before starting work.

    In Walla Walla, the published Mechanical permit issuance is: $26.00 issuance plus per-item fees. Additional published fees: Plan review and state surcharge — 65% of permit fee, plus surcharge; Hourly and reinspection charges — $65.00/hour or actual cost, if higher. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Walla Walla does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Walla Walla at (509) 527-4522 for current turnaround.

    You'll need: Building permit application; Project valuation for fee calculation. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through City of Walla Walla at 15 North 3rd Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Phone: (509) 527-4522. Official information: https://www.wallawallawa.gov/.

    Walla Walla, Washington has adopted: 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 (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.. Local amendments apply — see the Walla Walla overview page for the full list.

    The 2020 Edition, named expressly at WWMC 15.04.011, alongside the 2020 Edition of ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54 and the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code. Note that Washington cities do not agree on this: Lake Stevens and Issaquah also name NFPA 58 at 2020, while University Place names it at 2021. Four cities, two values. Confirm the operative edition with the building official rather than relying on a neighbouring city.

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

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