Camas, Washington Building Permit Guide

In Camas, the Building Division of the Community Development Department reviews plans, issues building, plumbing and mechanical permits and inspects the work, and every application and inspection request goes through the City’s Civic Access portal. Electrical permits are not the City’s: Labor and Industries (L&I) issues them. Under the 2026 fee schedule, plan review is 65% of the building permit fee, and impact fees and system development charges for a new house are paid before the permit is issued.

The Permit Center is at 616 NE 4th Avenue, Suite 4, open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but closed from noon to 1 p.m., and staff stop taking applications or issuing permits at 4 p.m. Call 360-817-1568 or email permits@cityofcamas.us. The city had 27,749 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.

Camas permits cover work inside the city limits; Clark County permits its unincorporated land.

What requires a building permit in Camas?

Camas takes the state’s exemption lists and changes one item: in chapter 15.04 of the Camas Municipal Code (CMC), a detached one-story shed, playhouse or similar building is exempt only up to 120 sq ft, not the 200 sq ft the residential code would allow. The zoning code adds limits that apply with or without a permit: in residential zones an accessory structure may be one story or 14 feet at most (except on lots of an acre or more) and may not sit in front of the house (CMC 18.17.040), and CMC 18.17.050 requires a building permit for any fence or wall over 7 feet. Everything else follows the 2021 residential and building codes.

Where Camas goes beyond the state code

CMC 15.04.010 adopts whatever edition the State Building Code Council has most recently adopted, so the 2021 codes have applied since March 15, 2024 and the 2024 codes will follow automatically. The City controls the 120 sq ft shed limit, its fee resolution, construction hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, none on Sundays) and its critical areas and shoreline rules.

Washington has a mandatory statewide building code under chapter 19.27 RCW that every city and county enforces and may make stricter; electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industries unless the city runs its own program or Tacoma Power serves the site. Building codes in Washington

Camas building department: who handles permitting

The Building Division works alongside Planning (zoning, critical areas and shorelines), Development Engineering (encroachment and civil permits, stormwater) and the Fire Marshal’s Office, all reached through the same portal.

Permit types

Residential permits

Camas files everything electronically, and its submittal standards are strict about format: unlocked, flattened, full-size PDFs only, with no image files. A small project such as an accessory building, remodel or addition needs a site plan and construction drawings, plus Washington-stamped engineering, truss and I-joist drawings, the residential energy worksheets and a geotechnical report where they apply. A new house adds an erosion control plan and a stormwater pollution prevention plan, and construction drawings are required even for a plan already built in Camas. Re-roofs, siding, water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners, gas and water piping and backflow devices are over-the-counter permits that usually issue the same day.

Ordinance 25-025, adopted in 2025, allows two middle housing units per residential lot, or four if at least one is affordable, and allows up to two accessory dwelling units of no more than 1,000 sq ft each, which count toward that total. An ADU pays no extra water or sewer system development charge under the 2026 schedule, but it does pay a transportation impact fee ($2,762 internal or $3,867 external in the north district). Plans are drawn to the City’s design criteria: a 25 psf roof snow load, seismic design category D1 and a 12-inch frost depth.

A demolition permit needs a Southwest Clean Air Agency asbestos report and proof that all utility accounts, including stormwater, are paid and closed.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings follow the same portal and PDF standards, use the commercial energy code worksheet, and pay the Fire Marshal’s review and inspection fees, which scale by occupancy and floor area (for example $141 each for review and inspection of 1,000 sq ft or less of an A, B, E, F, M or R occupancy). A Type III or IV pre-application conference costs $468.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

On a lot outside a recorded subdivision, all engineering and planning requirements must be met before the building application is submitted, and in a new subdivision no building application is accepted until the plat has final acceptance and is recorded with Clark County (CMC 17.21.060(H)). Critical areas review is $1,025 for each type of critical area (wetlands, steep slopes or unstable soils, streams, vegetation removal, wildlife habitat). Camas’s Shoreline Master Program covers 26 miles of shoreline along Lacamas Creek, Lacamas, Round and Fallen Leaf lakes and the Columbia and Washougal rivers; a shoreline exemption costs $416 and a shoreline permit $1,580, and new or replacement docks need a City permit. A new driveway or any work in the street needs a General Encroachment permit from Development Engineering, starting at $46.

Camas permit costs and fees

Fees come from the 2026 City of Camas Fee Schedule, in effect since January 1, 2026; CMC 15.04 says building fees are set by City Council resolution and that plan review is charged on top of the permit fee. Valuation is the greater of the August ICC building valuation table from the prior year and the applicant’s stated value; alterations are valued at fair market labor and materials.

Each row starts from its own base figure rather than where the row below ends, so read the fee from the single row your valuation falls in. Worked example. A house addition valued at $180,000 uses the $100,001 to $500,000 row: $1,607 plus 80 × $10 ($800) gives a building permit fee of $2,407. Plan review at 65% adds $1,564.55 and the residential administrative fee $75, for $4,046.55 plus the state surcharge.

A new house pays much more at issuance. The 2026 schedule lists water system development charges of $9,449 for a three-quarter-inch meter and $7,496 for residential sewer; park impact fees by home size ($11,983 for 2,001 to 2,600 sq ft); transportation impact fees of $11,047 per single-family house in the north district and $4,262 in the south district; a fire impact fee of $0.72 per sq ft; and school impact fees of $6,650 (Camas School District) or $6,432.62 (Evergreen School District; staff’s draft 2027 schedule drops this fee because the district has eliminated it).

Trade permits and who may pull them

Plumbing, mechanical and gas piping permits are Camas permits, usually issued the same day when no plan review is needed. Wiring is a different matter: the Building Division’s FAQ states that all electrical permits are issued by L&I, whose Vancouver office answers 360-896-2300. STEP and STEF sewer tanks on the City’s pressure sewer system are inspected by Public Works (360-817-1563), and the City publishes a list of certified installers for them.

How to apply for a Camas building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The City publishes no fixed residential review time, saying it depends on the queue; its Permit Performance Reports page posts the timelines it reports to the state. Under CMC 15.04.030 an application expires if no permit is issued within 180 days; the Building Official may grant one extension of up to 180 days when circumstances beyond the applicant’s control cause the delay, and an expired application under a new code cycle must be resubmitted with a new plan review fee.

Inspections in Camas

All inspections are requested in Civic Access (STEP and STEF tank inspections excepted), and the earliest slot is the next working day; there are no building inspections on weekends or holidays. For questions call 360-817-1568 and press 1 for building or 3 for civil engineering items such as street trees, approaches and encroachments. A re-inspection costs $109 an hour.

Camas does not issue a separate certificate of occupancy for a single-family house: when the inspector signs the final box on the back of the inspection card, that signature is your right to occupy the home.

Camas permit search and official resources

Permit status and records for current applications can be searched in Civic Access; anything older or not online can be requested through the City’s public records portal. Flood insurance in Camas is available through the national program, and the flood maps in force are dated January 19, 2018.

• Camas Building Division: contact, hours, portal
• Building FAQs: which projects need a permit
• Building submittal standards
• Permit inspections
• 2026 City of Camas Fee Schedule (PDF)
• Impact, connection and system development charges
• Camas Municipal Code Title 15: building codes
• Camas Shoreline Master Program
• Development Engineering: encroachment permits
• Permit performance reports
• Civic Access permit portal
• Public records requests
• L&I list of cities with their own electrical permits

Camas building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Camas?

The Building Division of Camas Community Development, 616 NE 4th Avenue (360-817-1568). Electrical permits come from L&I.

Do I need a permit for a shed in Camas?

Yes if it is over 120 sq ft; smaller one-story sheds are exempt. In residential zones the zoning code also limits accessory structures to one story or 14 feet and keeps them behind the front building line.

How much is a building permit in Camas?

For a $180,000 addition in 2026, the permit fee is $2,407, plan review $1,564.55 and the residential administrative fee $75, plus the state surcharge.

Do I need a permit for a deck?

Yes, unless it is detached, 200 sq ft or less, no more than 30 inches above grade and not serving the required exit door. The City asks for a site plan and Washington-stamped engineering.

Can I get a re-roof or water heater permit the same day?

Usually. Re-roofs, siding, water heaters, furnaces and similar work are over-the-counter permits that need no plans, as long as there are no structural changes.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Only for a fence or wall over 7 feet (CMC 18.17.050). Zoning still caps fences at 42 inches in the front yard and 6 feet on side and rear lot lines, and anything between 6 and 7 feet must meet setbacks.

Will I get a certificate of occupancy for my new house?

Not a separate one. The inspector’s signature on the final box of the inspection card is the certificate of occupancy for a single-family house.

Simplify Camas permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Washington. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Camas permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.