Skagit County, Washington Building Permit Guide

Outside city limits, Skagit County Planning and Development Services (PDS) issues building, plumbing, mechanical, flood and fire permits from 1800 Continental Place in Mount Vernon. The department is paperless: applications, plans, payments and inspection requests all run through the PDS Permit Portal. Under the fee schedule the commissioners approved on December 23, 2025, plan review costs 65 percent of the valuation-based permit fee and is due at application.

What requires a building permit in Skagit County?

The county’s permit pages sort work into residential and commercial “work classes”, and almost anything structural lands in one of them: new houses and accessory dwelling units, additions, garages, barns and pole buildings, alterations that move or cut load-bearing walls, new or larger exterior openings, and foundation repairs. The accessory structure class also takes in shipping containers, bulkheads, fences over 7 feet, ground-mounted solar arrays, pools and bridges.

That list is Essential Handout #03, revised in January 2026. Its first line matters most in the Skagit delta: inside a special flood hazard area, a designated floodway or a critical area, no size exemption applies, and even a reroof in the floodplain needs a flood permit. Exempt sheds and fences still have to meet the setbacks in SCC 14.16.810.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The technical rules are the state’s 2021 codes. Skagit County’s adoption chapter, SCC 15.04, picks the appendices it uses and adds the 2021 Wildland-Urban Interface Code and NFPA 855 for energy storage. Local design values come from the county’s iMap: roof snow loads of 25, 30, 40 or 50 psf depending on the map zone, seismic category D1, 110 mph three-second-gust wind, 1,500 psf soil bearing and a 12-inch frost depth. Electrical work is outside the county’s remit altogether and goes to the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Skagit County building department: who handles permitting

PDS is one department with five teams: permit technicians, planning, fire, building and code compliance. It works with the county’s Public Health and Public Works departments on septic, water and road access. Randy Johnson serves as building official and floodplain manager.

Swinomish Reservation

A 1998 memorandum of understanding with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (county contract 3913) splits the work on the reservation. Where a fee-simple parcel belongs to a tribal member, the Tribe alone handles land use and the county issues no permits. On other non-trust parcels the applicant picks the lead agency and the other agency charges an administrative review fee.

The cities and towns

None of Skagit County’s eight incorporated places sends its building permits to the county; each runs its own.

Permit types and what comes first

Residential permits

In the portal you pick a permit type and then a work class: Residential with Single Family Residence, Accessory Dwelling Unit, Addition, Alteration, Accessory Building or Accessory Structures; Manufactured/Modular Structures for a manufactured home; Mechanical (Residential) for a stand-alone equipment change; and Plumbing (Residential) for a water heater. Every building and land disturbance submittal needs the county’s Stormwater Worksheet and Model Construction SWPPP. Houses also need the state energy code worksheets, and an owner who is not applying in person signs the Agent Authorization form. Drawings must follow the county’s Electronic Document Standards.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work classes cover new buildings, additions, alterations and tenant improvements, commercial accessory and agricultural buildings and pools. Most commercial projects must first hold a pre-development meeting with county staff, booked through the portal at no charge; a full pre-application meeting is a separate $625 service. Commercial packages include the Energy Code Compliance Tool for envelope, lighting and mechanical systems and a Special Inspection Summary, and an alteration application has to include its plumbing and mechanical work.

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

• Zoning: setbacks, height and lot coverage come from SCC 14.16 for the parcel’s zone; a zoning review costs $155.
• Critical areas: a Critical Area Evaluation ($625) under SCC 14.24 decides whether wetlands, streams, slopes or habitat buffers affect the site. Wetland buffers run from 25 to 50 feet for Category IV up to 150 to 300 feet for Category I and II.
• Shorelines: the county still administers a Shoreline Master Program first adopted in 1976 and last amended in 1995 while an update is under way; a shoreline letter of exemption is $625 and a substantial development permit $6,125.
• Floodplain: a flood area development permit is $500. SCC 14.34 requires the lowest floor of a home, including the basement and utilities, to sit 1 foot above base flood elevation, and improvements costing 50 percent or more of the building’s market value, counted over 10 years, require elevation.
• Septic and water: Skagit County Public Health permits septic systems; see the fees section for its design review charges.
• Driveway: a Public Works access permit is $374 for a house in 2026.
• Data centers: an emergency moratorium adopted on June 1, 2026 stops the county accepting permit applications for data centers for six months; the July 14, 2026 hearing minutes put its expiry in December 2026.

Skagit County building permit fees

The fees below are from the PDS fee schedule the Board of County Commissioners approved on December 23, 2025 (Resolution R20250314), which raised most charges 2.7 percent with the consumer price index. Each permit has two valuation-based parts: a plan review fee of 65 percent, charged when you apply, and the permit fee, charged at issuance.

Worked example: a project valued at $300,000 falls in the $100,001 to $500,000 band, so the permit fee is $1,176.70 plus 200 × $6.68, or $2,512.70. Plan review adds 65 percent of that figure at submittal, and the 7.5 percent technology fee, the state surcharge and any trade or septic fees come on top.

A change of use is $315, and a one-time extension of up to six months on an unexpired permit is free. The county levies no impact fee of its own but collects other districts’ impact fees inside their boundaries. Septic design review by Public Health costs $620 for a new system and $570 for a repair in 2026.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Plumbing and mechanical permits are county permits in unincorporated Skagit County: a house’s plumbing or a furnace change-out is its own residential permit at $310 plus $15 a fixture, while commercial plumbing and mechanical work is priced on valuation. Fire sprinkler, alarm, kitchen hood and fuel-tank permits come from the PDS fire team on its own fee table.

• Electrical: Labor and Industries sells every electrical permit and does the inspections; none of the county’s cities runs its own electrical program, so this holds in town as well. The nearest L&I office is on East College Way in Mount Vernon.
• Who may pull them: a contractor needs an active L&I registration, electricians and plumbers need L&I licenses or certificates, and an owner can do some of the work on their own home under the state limits (see Washington contractor licensing).
• Septic installers: only installers certified by Skagit County may install a system; gravity-only systems may be eligible for homeowner installation, at $495 in 2026.

How to apply for a Skagit County building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

An application sits as Submitted Online until a permit technician picks it up, and any request for more material sets it to Pending Resubmittal, so a missing worksheet costs time before review even starts. Septic design review is often the long pole: Public Health issues a decision within 30 days of a complete, paid application, reported an average of about 60 days from application to design permit in 2025, and a wet-season review between roughly November and April can take up to 12 months. Revisions to approved plans are billed at $155 an hour.

Inspections

Building inspections are requested in the PDS Permit Portal, which needs an account; anyone can view the day’s inspection list there without one. Inspection fees and re-inspections are billed at $155 an hour with a one-hour minimum, and after-hours inspections at the same rate with a two-hour minimum.

Under Essential Handout #02, concrete poured before its inspection has to be removed unless a Washington-licensed engineer documents the reinforcement, dimensions and mix for the building official. The L&I electrical inspector and the county’s Public Health septic inspector work on their own schedules; the septic installer must give Public Health two full working days’ notice before backfill. A temporary certificate of occupancy costs $315.

Washington building code and flood maps

Skagit County enforces the 2021 Washington codes, in force statewide since March 15, 2024, through SCC 15.04. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Skagit County in the National Flood Insurance Program with a Community Rating System class of 5, and all eight of its cities and towns as participating communities.

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

Skagit County building permit FAQ

Can I drop off paper plans at the Mount Vernon office?

No. PDS is paperless and takes all application material electronically through its permit portal; counter staff can help you use it.

How much is a building permit on a $300,000 house?

The permit fee is $2,512.70 on the schedule approved in December 2025, plus plan review at 65 percent of that, the 7.5 percent technology fee and the $6.50 state surcharge.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not for a one-story shed of 200 sq ft or less with no plumbing and no sleeping use, unless it sits in a flood hazard area, floodway or critical area. Setbacks still apply.

Does a new roof need a permit?

Replacing the covering, or adding one layer, needs no building permit if the framing is untouched, but in the floodplain the same reroof needs a flood permit.

Who issues electrical permits in Skagit County?

Washington L&I, for unincorporated land and for every city and town in the county.

How long does a septic permit take?

Public Health aims for a decision within 30 days of a complete, paid application; it reported about 60 days on average in 2025, and wet-season reviews can take up to 12 months.

Permit search and official resources

Past and current permits for unincorporated parcels can be searched in the PDS Permit Portal without an account, or through Property One-Stop by address. For documents not online, file a public records request with the county.

• Skagit County Planning and Development Services
• PDS Permit Portal (Civic Access)
• How to use the PDS Permit Portal
• Residential building permit types
• Commercial building permit types
• Adopted codes and design criteria
• Essential Handout #03: construction exempt from a building permit
• PDS forms and checklists
• Skagit County permit fee schedule
• Commissioners’ minutes, December 23, 2025 (fee schedule, Resolution R20250314)
• Essential Handout #18: flood hazard areas
• Critical areas (SCC 14.24)
• Shoreline Master Program
• Public Health septic permitting
• L&I list of cities with their own electrical inspections
• L&I contractor registration
• FEMA Community Status Book, Washington

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