Mission Statement

The Mission of the Building Services Division is to enforce state and local codes to ensure the health and life safety for the City’s citizens and visitors. The Building Division is committed to the accurate processing of permits, plan review, site visits, inspections, and assisting and educating our customers regarding the codes and the permit process. Our goal is to provide exceptional customer service in a timely, friendly, and professional manner.  

Building Department News

2021 International Building Codes effective March 15, 2024

Applications for construction permits submitted to the City of SeaTac Permit Center after March 14, 2024, will be regulated under the 2021 International Building, Residential, Fire, Mechanical, and other related construction, and maintenance codes, and the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, all as amended by the State of Washington and the City of SeaTac. Ordinance #23-1016 amending Chapter 13 of the SeaTac Municipal Code related to Buildings and Construction was adopted May 23, 2023, and became effective April 23, 2023.

Every permit submitted, beginning on March 15, 2024, will have to be designed in compliance with the 2021 versions of the appropriate codes. Please review the City of SeaTac Municipal Code Title 13 (Buildings and Construction) for all local amendments and code information. Furthermore, you will need to reference the amendments by the State Building Code Council located in the Washington Administrative Code. Please contact the Building Division at 206-973-4750 if you have any questions and or concerns regarding the codes.

Code Compliance

The Building Division contains a Code Compliance branch. This branch enforces other City codes such as: substandard housing, property maintenance, zoning requirements, land use, junk automobiles, residential parking violations, signs, and unlicensed businesses. Code enforcement action may be initiated by an officer or a complaint by a local citizen. If you have questions for code enforcement violations or to file a complaint, please call 206.973.4567. You may fill out a Request for Action form [PDF] (complaint form) and submit by email, mail, fax or in person in order to initiate a code enforcement action.

Hours for the 3rd Floor Permit Center

The City of SeaTac Permit Center is open:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Walk-in for general questions or inquiries is available.  Walk-in service is limited to approximately 15 minutes per customer.

Inspections:  All permit inspection requests must be requested through our portal, https://lama.seatacwa.gov/

Washington Cities Electrical Code

The City of SeaTac adopted the Washington Cities Electrical Code

The Washington Cities Electrical Code is the result of a joint effort between the MyBuildingPermit.com (MBP) EGov Alliance and the Washington Association of Building Officials (WABO). The Code was created to provide cities with a document that complies with RCW 19.28.010(2), which allows cities to enforce any Ordinance that is equal, higher or better than the State’s rules, but offers the following advantages.

• This Code omits all administrative and procedural State rules that cities cannot or choose not to adopt.

• This Code is written in the same format as the NEC to eliminate any conflict between a State rule and the NEC. This format will also allow the creation of insert pages that can be inserted into the applicable pages of the NEC.

• This Code provides enforcement consistency among those cities that choose to adopt it. The City of SeaTac has provided a copy of The Washington Cities Electrical Code online for your information.

Building Department Overview

See how Building Code Officials are committed to your safety

 

Codes Adopted

The 2021 International Codes went into effect on March 15, 2024. Every permit submitted will have to be designed in reference to the appropriate codes. Please review the City of SeaTac Municipal Code Title 13 (Buildings and Construction) for all local amendments and code information. Furthermore, you will need to reference the amendments by the State Building Code Council located in the Washington Administrative Code. Please contact the Building Division at 206-973-4750 if you have any questions and or concerns regarding the codes.

Permits

The Building Services Division reviews permit applications for all types of construction projects within the City. These include building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and sign permit applications.

Plan Review

Permit applications typically require plan review by more than one City department/division. The Permit Center routes the permit submittal to all appropriate City staff and receives back written technical comments to be provided to the applicant for correction and document resubmittal.  This cycle repeats until all reviewing departments/divisions have approved the plans and documents. 

Inspections

Once plans are approved, all required documents are received, and fees are paid, the applicant will be notified by the Permit Center that their permit is ready to be issued.  The permit holder can begin work on their project only after the permit is issued. 

Issued permits must be inspected at multiple stages.  Each permit includes a list of required inspections that the permit holder is responsible for scheduling.   The person doing the work holder must request an inspection when the specific work element is completed and before covering the work. 

All permit inspection requests must be made through the City’s on-line permitting portal.

Work cannot be covered until approved by a City Inspector. Inspections must be requested before 10pm for next day inspection.