Spokane Valley, Washington Building Permit Guide

Spokane Valley is a separate city from Spokane, incorporated in its own right and running its own permit centre, fee schedule and business licensing. Confusing the two is an easy opening mistake, and the two cities are cross-referenced from each other’s guides for that reason.

The Permit Center issues permits for new construction and alterations to commercial buildings, and in many cases construction permits can be issued alongside plumbing and mechanical trade permits. Processing timelines run around 10 business days.

This guide covers work inside the Spokane Valley city limits. The City of Spokane is a separate jurisdiction with its own permitting, and Spokane County permits unincorporated areas again separately.

What requires a building permit in Spokane Valley?

Washington has a mandatory statewide building code. The codes enumerated in chapter 19.27 RCW, the State Building Code Act, are adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council within the Department of Enterprise Services, and they are required in all cities and counties — local government administers and enforces them rather than deciding whether to have them. A city or county may make the state code stricter but cannot opt out of it, and local changes affecting houses or apartments need State Building Code Council approval. So the question in Spokane Valley is not whether a code applies, but which edition is in force and what the Spokane Valley Permit Center has added to it.

Local amendments, fee schedules and exempt thresholds differ from one jurisdiction to the next, so an exempt list from a neighbouring city is not reliable. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, critical areas review, the energy code or a trade permit. Confirm scope with the Spokane Valley Permit Center before work starts.

Local rules worth knowing

There is a third-party gate on food and beverage work. The regional health district’s food service plan review is a separate review from the building permit process, and the city states that it must be completed prior to the issuance of a building permit — so a restaurant fit-out waits on an agency the city does not control

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 programme or Tacoma Power serves the site. Building codes in Washington

Who handles permitting in Spokane Valley?

The Permit Center issues building and trade permits and prepares certificates of occupancy, with counter staff certified by the International Code Council and many commercial and residential permits issued both online and over the counter.

Fees are payable up front rather than at issuance: fees must be paid before the application is processed at all. Card payments carry a convenience charge and cheque or cash payments at the Permit Center do not, which on a large permit is a real difference rather than a rounding error.

Certificates of occupancy are prepared and issued by Permit Center staff for new buildings and building additions, but only after inspection staff and every review agency have issued final inspection approval on all permits associated with the project. A temporary certificate may be issued where weather or other issues prevent completion of components that do not affect life safety, and it carries its own fee.

In 2025, building permits issued in Spokane Valley authorized 855 new privately owned housing units, 177 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential applications can be mailed or walked in to City Hall, or submitted through the online portal, which the city says may be processed more quickly. Fees identified at application must be paid before processing begins, so an application filed without payment does not enter the queue.

How Washington contractor credentials work

Commercial permits

Commercial work covers new construction and alterations, with construction permits often issued alongside the plumbing and mechanical trade permits. A pre-application conference is generally required for new development, with a checklist-only pre-application review option available for minor development and additions.

Registrations, trade certifications and design professionals

Three credential layers appear on Washington projects: the state contractor registration under chapter 18.27 RCW, which nearly everyone doing the work needs; separate state trade certification for electricians and plumbers, each examined and administered by its own programme; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings stamped by a Washington-licensed architect or professional engineer. Confirm what the Spokane Valley Permit Center requires for the specific building before filing.

Most Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor and Industries (with a surety bond and insurance) rather than holding a licence; electrical and plumbing contractors also need an L&I contractor licence. Contractor licensing in Washington

Spokane Valley permit costs and fees

Spokane Valley fees are usually based on project value and set out in the city’s master fee schedule. Fees must be paid before the application is processed, and a temporary certificate of occupancy carries its own charge.

Washington sets the code statewide but leaves the fee schedule local, so two jurisdictions on the same edition can price the same project very differently. The electrical fee is the one that most often surprises people, because it is paid to L&I rather than with the building permit. Ask the Spokane Valley Permit Center for the schedule in force on your filing date, and confirm the electrical route separately.

Fees are set locally, plus a small state permit fee (RCW 19.27.085); the electrical fee goes to whichever body issues the electrical permit. Permit fees in Washington

Trade permits and who may pull them

Plumbing and mechanical permits are local; electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industries unless the city runs its own electrical programme or Tacoma Power serves the site. Trade permits in Washington

How to apply for a Spokane Valley building permit

Review, corrections and what actually causes delay

In Washington the first cause of delay is the energy code, because the state code is its own instrument and more demanding than the international one most designers default to. After that comes critical areas review, which reaches ordinary residential work near wetlands, streams, steep slopes and shorelines and adds its own study and mitigation timeline. Then the electrical split, where a project waits on a local inspection that was never going to happen because the electrical permit sits with L&I. Then edition confusion around the switch-over date, when a new state edition takes effect and local amendments change with it. Build review time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with the Spokane Valley Permit Center before filing.

The state code sets a 180-day default for permit validity, but Spokane Valley may change it, so confirm the expiry on phased or delayed work. Permit validity in Washington

Inspections in Spokane Valley

Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in plumbing and mechanical, insulation and energy code compliance, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with a certificate of occupancy before the building is used. A certificate of occupancy is prepared only after inspection staff and all review agencies have issued final approval on every permit associated with the project.

The point to plan around is that the electrical inspections may be booked with a different body entirely. Because L&I holds the electrical permit here, its inspector attends on the state’s schedule and the local inspector will not sign off electrical work. Sequencing a cover-up around two independent inspection queues is the practical skill on a Washington job.

Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permits — plural — the approved plans and the energy code documentation available on site.

Spokane Valley permit search and official resources

Permit records in Washington are split the same way the permits are. Where the Spokane Valley Permit Center is the authority for the City of Spokane Valley, it holds the building, plumbing and mechanical records — while the electrical record sits with the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), which issues the electrical permits and carries out the electrical inspections here. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, check both, because a clean local record does not mean the electrical work was ever permitted.

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• Spokane Valley Permit Center
• Spokane Valley apply for a permit
• Spokane Valley commercial development guidance
• Washington State Building Code Council
• Labor and Industries contractor laws and rules

Frequently asked questions

Does my contractor need anything beyond state registration?

Yes. Contractors need a City of Spokane Valley business licence to pull permits, and the municipal code requires every person engaged in business or continuing business during the calendar year to register annually with the city. Most Washington contractors register rather than hold a licence; electrical and plumbing contractors must also hold an L&I contractor licence. Under chapter 18.27 RCW a contractor registers with the Department of Labor and Industries, files a continuous surety bond of $30,000 as a general contractor or $15,000 as a specialty contractor, and keeps liability insurance on file, renewing every two years. Registration is not a competence test and does not authorise trade work: electrical certification comes under chapter 19.28 RCW and plumbing under chapter 18.106 RCW. The electrical permit comes from the state, because the Electrical Program at the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) issues electrical permits and carries out electrical inspections here under chapter 296-46B WAC.

Can I apply for the building permit first?

No. Land use permits must be applied for before the building permit application is made. The sequence is fixed, and applying out of order simply delays the project.

What if my project involves food service?

The regional health district's food service plan review is a separate review from the building permit process and must be completed prior to the issuance of a building permit. It runs on the health district's timeline, not the city's.

Which code edition applies?

The state edition as amended by the city. Washington has a mandatory statewide building code. The codes enumerated in chapter 19.27 RCW, the State Building Code Act, are adopted and amended by the State Building Code Council within the Department of Enterprise Services and are required in all cities and counties, so local government administers and enforces them rather than choosing whether to have them. The 2021 editions took effect on the fifteenth of March, 2024 after two delays, and the 2024 editions are dated to take effect on the third of May, 2027. The state adopts a new edition every three years and reviews the codes in two groups, but all of them take effect on the same date (the 2021 codes on 15 March 2024, the 2024 codes on 3 May 2027). A city or county may make the state code stricter but cannot opt out of it; local changes affecting houses or apartments need State Building Code Council approval, and the residential energy code cannot be changed locally.

When do I pay?

Before processing. Fees identified at application must be paid before the application is processed. Card payments carry a convenience charge; cheque and cash payments at the Permit Center do not.

Is Spokane Valley part of Spokane?

No. Spokane Valley is a separately incorporated city with its own permit centre, municipal code, fee schedule and business licensing. A Spokane postal address does not tell you which of the two holds the parcel.

Simplify Spokane Valley permitting with Alliance Permitting

Two prerequisites and a third-party review, all of them before issuance. We sequence them rather than discovering them.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Spokane Valley because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• 21+ years of filing, so the edition and the electrical route are settled before submission
• We confirm which state code group governs each part of the work on your filing date
• State contractor registration, bond and insurance verified as active before filing
• Energy code and critical areas documentation prepared rather than discovered in review
• Two inspection queues sequenced so a cover-up never waits on the wrong inspector

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 Spokane Valley permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.