Whitman County, Washington Building Permit Guide

Outside city and town limits, Whitman County building permits come from the Building & Development Division of Whitman County Public Works, on the second floor of the Public Service Building at 310 N Main Street, Colfax (509-397-6206). The division handles structural, plumbing and mechanical permits, plan review and inspections; you submit two plan sets plus a PDF, pay an invoice that includes 65 percent plan review, and only then does review begin. New FEMA flood maps for the county and most towns carry a December 23, 2026 effective date.

What requires a building permit in Whitman County?

Chapter 17.08 of the Whitman County Code requires a separate permit from the building department before anyone erects, enlarges, repairs, converts or alters a building in the unincorporated county. The adopted cut-off is in section 17.08.032: work valued under $500 needs no permit but must still comply with the codes. The county’s 2025 fee estimator prints a higher figure, $800, that has not been written into the code. Either way, all plumbing and mechanical work needs a permit regardless of value.

What the county decides and what the state holds

Section 17.04.010, as amended by Ordinance 83972 in February 2021, adopts the 2021 International Building, Residential, Mechanical and Fire Codes, the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code and the Washington State Energy Code with the state’s amendments, and the 2024 editions follow statewide on May 3, 2027. Locally, the county adds a minimum fire flow policy for commercial and industrial development, and its pamphlet sets design values of 30 psf ground and roof snow load, 110 mph wind, seismic zone B, exposure C, a 32-inch frost depth and 1,500 psf soil bearing. Every truss needs a design stamped by a Washington engineer or architect; homemade trusses are allowed only if an engineer or architect inspects and documents them before they go up.

Whitman County building department: who handles permitting

The county code names the director of public works, or an appointee, as building official; the director is Mark Storey. Inside the department, the Building & Development Division issues permits, reviews plans, inspects and keeps the building records, while the Planning Division handles zoning, critical areas, shorelines and floodplain permits.

Cities and towns in Whitman County

The code exempts buildings inside a city or town that requires its own permits. The county’s permit pamphlet lists a building contact for each of the 16 incorporated places, and four of them point back to the county’s own number.

Whitman County permit types and what comes first

Residential permits

One building permit application covers houses, additions, garages and farm buildings; plumbing, mechanical, re-roof, re-side, window and demolition permits are flat-fee items. Plans are needed for everything except re-roofing, re-siding and similar work: two complete sets on 11 by 17 inch sheets or rolled 24-inch sheets, plus a PDF emailed to the permit specialist. A full set includes a site plan, foundation plan, floor plans, wall sections, cross sections and elevations, drawn to scale, with braced wall lines, whole-house ventilation, egress windows, smoke detector locations and engineered truss layouts. Interior remodels need only a description and typical framing. A survey may be required to confirm where a building sits.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work is valued from the ICC Building Valuation Data, a materials-times-two figure or the contractor’s bid, and the applicant attaches energy takeoffs and lighting budgets. Under the county’s fire code supplement, commercial and industrial development that cannot connect to an adequate public water system must meet a minimum fire flow and storage standard set with the county fire marshal.

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

• Planning first: step one of the county’s own ten-step list is a call to Planning about zoning, setbacks, protected land and whether a road permit is needed. Planning issues certificates of zoning compliance, rural housing certificates, rural residential site reviews and aquifer recharge reviews, and its review fee appears on the building invoice.
• Address: a new site needs an address from Planning before the application.
• Septic: a building served by an on-site sewage system gets no occupancy permit until the county environmental sanitarian certifies the system (WCC 17.04.040).
• Shorelines and critical areas: the Shoreline Master Program in chapter 19.63 dates from August 14, 2024; wetland and critical area reviews go through Planning.
• Flood hazard sites: under WCC 17.12 the building inspector and county planner review new construction and substantial improvements for flood safety; anchoring and flood-resistant materials are required in hazard areas.

Whitman County building permit fees

Permit fees are set by resolution of the county commissioners and reviewed every year (WCC 17.08.032). The current figures are on the division’s 2025 Building Permit Fee Estimator. A house is valued at square-foot rates (or by the contractor’s figure), and the fee is then taken from the valuation bands.

If the owner acts as general contractor, the county values the job at twice the cost of materials, leaving out paint, tile, carpet, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work. Section 17.08.032 of the code still states the state fee as $4.50, but the fee is fixed by state law: RCW 19.27.085 sets $6.50 per residential permit and $25 per commercial one, which is what the 2025 estimator charges. The $5,000 to $25,000 band and the one above it do not meet (the first ends at $433.60, the next starts at $450.53), so keep any calculation inside one band.

Worked example: a house valued at $250,000 is in the $100,000.01 to $500,000 band: $1,142.78 plus 150 × $6.43 = $2,107.28. Plans examination at 65 percent is $1,369.73, and the residential state fee adds $6.50, for $3,483.51 before any planning review fee.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The division issues plumbing and mechanical permits itself, at a flat $95 each when they stand alone. Electrical permits and inspections are L&I’s across the whole county, Pullman and Colfax included, because no Whitman County city appears on L&I’s list of cities with their own electrical program. The county pamphlet sends people to the L&I office in Pullman for electrical inspections, manufactured home alterations and contractor registration.

• Contractors: the application asks for the contractor’s license numbers; a WAINS number is for manufactured home installers only.
• Fixture and equipment counts: the back of the application lists every toilet, lavatory, sink, laundry tray, dishwasher, urinal and washer or dryer set-up, plus fan and range hood ratings in CFM, so the plumbing and mechanical work is priced and inspected with the building permit.
• Lead-safe work: before renovating a pre-1978 home or child-occupied facility, the division points owners to the state Department of Commerce lead program (360-586-5323).

Owners planning to do their own electrical or plumbing work should first read the state rules in our Washington contractor and trade licensing notes.

How to apply for a Whitman County building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Review does not start until the invoice is paid, so a slow payment is the first avoidable delay. Plans without the stamped truss design the county requires, or a site Planning has not yet cleared for zoning and setbacks, hold a permit back as well. Permits expire if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days; an extension must be requested before expiry, and the building official must be satisfied that the delay was outside the permit holder’s control.

Inspections in Whitman County

Call 509-397-5217 at least 24 hours ahead; with a day’s notice the county says inspections can usually be made when you need them, but concrete should not be poured until the required inspection has passed. The permit card marks which inspections apply. The county’s list runs from footings and underground plumbing through framing, mechanical and rough plumbing, shear wall and sheathing, envelope and flashing, insulation and vents, wallboard nailing, shower pans, roof decking on re-roofs, grading and gas or water lines to the final. A reinspection fee is charged each time work is not ready.

After the final, the county mails a certificate of occupancy where one is needed; smaller projects may not get one. Manufactured and mobile structures must have their final inspection within 30 days of being occupied.

Code editions and flood maps

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Whitman County, Albion, Colfax, Colton, Endicott, Farmington, Garfield, Malden, Oakesdale, Palouse, Pullman, Rosalia, St. John, Tekoa and Uniontown as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, each with a current effective map date of December 23, 2026; LaCrosse and Lamont appear in the list of communities not in the program.

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

Whitman County building permit FAQ

Does a small project need a permit in rural Whitman County?

Under the county code (WCC 17.08.032), building work valued under $500 needs no building permit; the 2025 fee estimator uses $800. Every plumbing and mechanical job needs a permit regardless of value.

How much is a permit for a $250,000 house?

$2,107.28, plus $1,369.73 for plans examination and the $6.50 state fee.

I live in Endicott. Who issues my permit?

Whitman County, under a 2021 interlocal agreement; apply in Colfax and pay the same fees as in the unincorporated county.

How do I book an inspection?

Call 509-397-5217 at least 24 hours ahead with the permit number.

Who issues electrical permits in Pullman and Colfax?

L&I. The nearest office is 1250 Bishop Boulevard SE, Suite G, Pullman (509-334-5296).

Will the new flood maps affect my project?

FEMA lists December 23, 2026 as the new map date for the county and its participating towns, and the county is updating its flood ordinance; ask Planning whether your site is in a mapped hazard area before you design.

How long is a permit valid?

It expires if work has not started within 180 days or stops for 180 days; ask for an extension before that date.

Permit search and official resources

The Building & Development Division retains the county’s building records; ask it for permit history on a parcel, or file a request through the county’s public records request page. Records for permits issued by Colfax, Pullman and the other towns that run their own permits are kept by those towns, and electrical permits by L&I.

• Whitman County Building & Development Division
• Building permit information pamphlet
• Whitman County building permit application
• 2025 building permit fee estimator
• Tiny home information
• Whitman County Planning Division
• Flood damage prevention ordinance update
• Critical areas ordinance update
• Shoreline Master Program
• Interlocal cooperation agreements
• Endicott building code interlocal agreement (2021)
• Whitman County Code
• Whitman County public records requests
• City of Colfax building permits
• City of Tekoa building permits
• Town of Uniontown building
• L&I electrical permits and inspections
• FEMA Community Status Book, Washington

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