Mount Vernon, Washington Building Permit Guide

In Mount Vernon, the Development Services Department, which combines the building, engineering, planning and code enforcement divisions, reviews, issues and finalizes building, mechanical, plumbing, fire, fence and floodplain permits through the City’s SmartGov portal. Electrical permits come from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Mount Vernon charges plan review at 85% of the building permit fee and adds a 6% technology fee.

Development Services is at City Hall, 910 Cleveland Avenue, and its permit technicians answer 360-336-6214 and PermitTech@mountvernonwa.gov; they also prepare fee estimates on request. Simple house projects can be reviewed over the counter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mount Vernon had 35,193 residents in the Census estimate for 2025, and its permits cover the city limits; Skagit County handles unincorporated land outside them.

What requires a building permit in Mount Vernon?

Mount Vernon adopts whatever codes chapter 19.27 RCW currently requires, today the 2021 ICC codes with Washington amendments, and in MVMC 15.04.060 it replaced the residential code’s exempt-work list with its own. Several “exempt” items on the local list still need a planning permit from Development Services.

What the city decides and what the state holds

The construction codes come from the state, but Mount Vernon decides everything around the exemptions above, deletes the code’s annual permit option, sets its own permit life (two years to complete the work), and sets its own floodplain standards in MVMC chapter 15.36. It also adopts the IBC appendix on flood-resistant construction.

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

Mount Vernon building department: who handles permitting

The Building Division handles permit reviews, code interpretations, inspections and enforcement; Engineering issues sewer, stormwater, right-of-way and fill and grade permits; and Planning handles zoning, critical areas, shoreline and design review. All of them work in SmartGov, which the City uses to accept, review, issue and finalize every permit and approval.

Permit types

Residential permits

Most residential work is filed straight into SmartGov: building permits for houses and additions, demolition, mechanical, plumbing, re-roof, sign and solar permits, and planning permits such as ADUs, design review, fences, floodplain development and home occupations. A few complex permit types are uploaded instead to a City FTP site, for which the permit technicians send a link on request.

The over-the-counter program, revised in March 2026, handles interior single-family remodels with no structural changes, small additions such as decks and patios, standard residential solar and single-family mechanical or plumbing permits. Bring the completed application, plans, contractor information, the project value and a way to pay; same-day approval is not guaranteed. Projects in the floodplain, in or near a critical area or under the Shoreline Master Program, new houses, multifamily and commercial work go to standard review, though staff will still give zoning, permit and fee advice.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings are filed in SmartGov like residential ones, and all fire permits go through the portal as well. MVMC 14.05.110 encourages a preapplication meeting for non-single-family Type II projects, building permits that need street improvements or that bring a site up to current code, and anything subject to SEPA or shoreline review; the City aims to hold the meeting within 45 days, and it costs $950.

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

What comes before the building permit

Floodplain development permits cost $175, or $475 when an elevation certificate is required. In the regulated flood areas, MVMC 15.36 requires the lowest floor of a new or substantially improved home, including any basement, to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation, with mechanical equipment and utilities also at least one foot above it; buildings within 200 feet of the toe of a dike have extra standards. Planning fees in the code include $950 for administrative critical area review, $350 for a shoreline exemption and $950 for a shoreline substantial development permit, $1,550 for a SEPA checklist and $350 for design review of a single-family home plus consultant costs. A sewer connection permit is $200 plus a $25 technology fee.

Mount Vernon permit costs and fees

Building, engineering and planning fees are written into MVMC 14.15.010 (last revised by Ordinance 3902 in 2024) and reprinted in the City’s June 2025 fee handout. The code also raises every fee each January by the Engineering News Record construction cost index for the Seattle area, and the City’s fee page says posted schedules sometimes lag behind increases, so the figures below are the codified base amounts and the permit technicians quote current totals.

Because the code moves these figures with inflation every January, the permit technicians’ written estimate is the reliable total for a given project. Plan review fees are paid when the application is submitted; once the City says the permit is approved, you have 60 days to pay the rest before the application expires. A manufactured home costs $250 to place inside a mobile home park; outside a park the fee is based on the foundation’s value plus plan review and $200. Right-of-way permits are $200 for short-term and $350 for long-term use, each plus a $25 technology fee.

New homes pay 2026 impact fees of $855 for parks, $152 for fire and $6,425 for traffic per single-family or duplex unit, plus a $105 administration fee, and the City collects the Mount Vernon School District fee of $3,262 per single-family home ($291 per multifamily unit) with a $35 administration fee. Impact fees can be deferred to the building final for a higher administration fee. On September 23, 2026 the Council also adopted Ordinance 3948, amending the sewer connection fees in MVMC 13.12.090, and Ordinance 3947, raising wastewater rates by 7% in 2027 and 6.5% in 2028.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Mechanical and plumbing permits are City permits with a $75 issuance fee each plus unit fees, and plan review on them is billed at staff time. Single-family mechanical and plumbing permits qualify for over-the-counter review. Electrical permits are the one trade Mount Vernon leaves to the state: wiring, panels and the electrical side of solar systems are permitted and inspected by L&I, since the City has no electrical program of its own. The City’s exempt list does still recognize minor electrical repairs, such as replacing lamps, as needing no permit.

Owner-builder rules and the certificates electricians and plumbers must carry are state matters, set out in the licensing part of our Washington overview.

How to apply for a Mount Vernon building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Additional review caused by changes after the first review is billed at staff time, with a half-hour minimum. Floodplain, critical area and shoreline sites are excluded from same-day review and need more documents. If plan review is finished but the permit is not collected, paying the plan review fees within 60 days keeps that review valid for another 30 days.

Inspections in Mount Vernon

Since December 1, 2019 the City has required every inspection request to be made through the SmartGov portal. Log in, open the application, find the list of required inspections near the bottom of the record, click “request” beside the one you need, and choose a date and time slot; the same screen cancels a request. Inspections outside 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays are billed at staff time with a two-hour minimum, and a re-inspection after a failed inspection is billed at staff time.

Under MVMC 14.05.140, an issued building permit expires if the work is not completed within two years of issue; the building official can grant one extension of up to a year if you ask in writing before it expires and show good cause. A temporary certificate of occupancy costs 10% of the building permit fee.

Mount Vernon permit search and official resources

SmartGov shows each permit’s status, documents and inspections, and the City posts permit notices for land use decisions. Mount Vernon is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program with a current flood map dated January 3, 1985 in FEMA’s status book, and it is in FEMA’s Community Rating System at class 6, which FEMA lists as a 20% flood insurance discount.

• Mount Vernon permit portal and inspection requests
• SmartGov permit portal
• Building Division: adopted codes and exempt work
• Development Services fees
• Development Services fee schedule handout, June 2025 (PDF)
• 2026 impact fee summary (PDF)
• Over-the-counter permit review handout (PDF)
• How to request inspections in the portal (PDF)
• Floodplain management
• Mount Vernon Municipal Code

Mount Vernon building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Mount Vernon?

The Development Services Department at City Hall, 910 Cleveland Avenue (360-336-6214), through SmartGov. Electrical permits come from L&I.

Can I get a permit the same day?

Possibly, for simple single-family projects brought to over-the-counter review on Tuesday or Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; same-day approval is not guaranteed.

What does plan review cost?

85% of the building permit fee, paid at application, plus a 6% technology fee on the permit and plan review fees.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

A fence under 7 feet with no masonry or concrete above 6 feet needs no building permit, but it does need a fence permit from Development Services ($137.50 in the code).

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not a building permit for a shed of 200 sq ft or less that is not for sleeping, has no plumbing, meets setbacks and sits outside floodways and unreviewed critical areas, but you still need a location permit.

How high must a house be built in the floodplain?

The lowest floor, including any basement, must be at least one foot above the base flood elevation, and so must the mechanical equipment.

Simplify Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.