Seattle Building Permit Fees 2026: How SDCI Calculates Them, With Worked Examples

Every Seattle construction permit fee starts from one number: the Development Fee Index, which the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) reads off a valuation table in the 2026 Fee Subtitle. Once you know how that index is built, the fee for a kitchen, a deck or an addition is arithmetic. This guide walks the 2026 table, shows the two review paths a residential project can take, and prices thirteen valuations from $5,000 to $400,000 so you can find your project without opening the 60-page PDF. Kolmo Construction maintains this as part of its Seattle permit rule set, and every figure below was recomputed from the City's own 2026 schedule on September 13, 2026.

Quick Summary & Key Takeaways

• Fees are valuation-based. SDCI sets the value of the work (labor plus materials, whether or not you pay for both), looks it up in Table D-1 of the Fee Subtitle to get the Development Fee Index (DFI), then charges a permit fee and a plan review fee as percentages of that index.
• Two review paths. A Subject-to-Field-Inspection (STFI) permit, the usual path for a non-structural kitchen or bathroom remodel, pays 100% of the DFI as the permit fee and 40% of the DFI for plan review. A full plan review permit, the path for an addition, an ADU, a basement with a new egress window or anything structural, pays 100% and 100%.
• Then two add-ons. A 5% technology fee on every SDCI fee, and the Washington State Building Code Council surcharge of $6.50 per residential permit.
• Worked example. A $75,000 kitchen remodel has a DFI of $1,471.50. As an STFI permit the total is $2,169.61; with full plan review it is $3,096.65.
• Minimums. The permit fee and the plan review fee each have a $292 floor for value-based fees; the STFI plan review floor is $116.75.
• Trade permits are separate. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits carry their own schedules and are not in the numbers above.

How SDCI builds the Development Fee Index (Table D-1)

The 2026 Fee Subtitle (Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.900, changes effective January 1, 2026) sets the index in brackets. Each bracket has a base amount for the first dollars of value plus an increment for every additional $100 or $1,000 "or fraction thereof," which means the increment rounds up.

The table continues to $200 million; the rows above cover every residential project Kolmo prices. Source: SDCI 2026 Fee Subtitle, Table D-1 for 22.900D.010.

From index to invoice (Table D-2)

Table D-2 turns the index into the two fees you actually pay:

Then Section 22.900A.100 adds a technology fee of 5% on all listed fees, and RCW 19.27.085 adds the State Building Code Council fee of $6.50 per residential building permit ($25 for commercial, plus $2 for each residential unit beyond the first).

So the formula for a residential building permit is:

Total = (permit fee + plan review fee) × 1.05 + $6.50, where the permit fee is 100% of the DFI and the plan review fee is 40% (STFI) or 100% (full review) of the DFI, each subject to the $292 minimum ($116.75 for STFI plan review).

2026 Seattle permit fees by project valuation

Both paths, recomputed from the tables above. Find the row nearest your project's value; the DFI column is what SDCI's fee estimator will show you before the add-ons.

Two things the table shows. First, the fee is not a flat percentage of the job: at $10,000 it is about 7% of the valuation on the STFI path, at $100,000 about 2.7%, at $400,000 about 1.5%. Second, the review path matters more than the bracket. Moving a $75,000 kitchen from STFI to full plan review adds $927, which is why a design that keeps bearing walls and the roof line alone is worth real money at the permit counter.

Which path does my project take?

SDCI decides, but the pattern for residential work is consistent:

• Usually STFI: interior remodels that do not change structure, kitchen and bathroom remodels in the existing footprint, like-for-like window replacement, siding, most decks within the prescriptive tables, re-roofs. Kolmo's Seattle kitchen rule, bathroom rule and deck rule each state the triggers with their SDCI source and verification date.
• Full plan review: additions, accessory dwelling units, structural changes, basements that add an egress window or a new bathroom on a new drain, anything with engineered lumber or a new foundation. See the ADU permit guide.

At application, an STFI permit pays its full permit fee up front. A full plan review permit pays the plan review fee plus half the permit fee at application, with the balance due at issuance (Section 22.900D.010.B). Fees are re-estimated during review; if the application fee turns out to be less than 90% of the revised amount, review stops until the balance is paid.

Worked examples for common Seattle projects

Valuations below are typical 2026 Seattle figures from Kolmo's cost guides; the permit math is the City's.

The basement row uses a $60,000 DFI of $1,246.50 ($1,096.50 for the first $50,000 plus 100 × $1.50). Kolmo's kitchen, bathroom, deck, basement and ADU cost guides give the valuation ranges behind those rows.

What the building permit fee does not include

• Electrical permits. Seattle electrical permits are priced by circuit count and service size, on a separate schedule. Any kitchen that adds a circuit for a dishwasher, disposal or microwave needs one.
• Plumbing permits. Priced by fixture count. Moving a sink or converting a tub is a plumbing permit item even when the construction permit is STFI.
• Mechanical permits. A new range hood vented outside, a bathroom exhaust fan on a new duct, or a heat pump each carry a mechanical fee. When the mechanical work is part of a building permit application, its review is billed at the SDCI hourly rate with a one-hour minimum.
• Land use and other reviews. Shoreline, environmentally critical areas, tree protection and design review are separate fee chapters. The Seattle tree removal rule and right-of-way rule cover the two that most often surprise homeowners.
• Pre-application conferences and hourly review time, billed at the SDCI hourly rate when the review runs beyond what the plan review fee covers.

How suburbs compare

Most King County cities adopt the International Building Code fee table by reference rather than publishing a Seattle-style index, and Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and the other MyBuildingPermit.com cities apply through that shared portal. Kolmo's permit fee estimator applies each jurisdiction's adopted bracket schedule and cites the source and verification date it used. For a project outside Seattle, start with the permit lookup by address.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a building permit in Seattle in 2026?

It depends on the project's valuation and review path. A $25,000 job pays $1,048.73 as an STFI permit or $1,495.40 with full plan review; a $100,000 job pays $2,684.11 or $3,831.65. Both figures include the 5% technology fee and the $6.50 state surcharge and exclude trade permits.

What is the Development Fee Index?

The base number SDCI derives from a project's valuation using Table D-1 of the Fee Subtitle. The permit fee and plan review fee are each a percentage of it.

What is a Subject-to-Field-Inspection permit?

An STFI permit is SDCI's path for simple, non-structural work. Plans are checked in the field rather than in detailed review, so the plan review fee is 40% of the index instead of 100%.

Does the fee depend on who pulls the permit?

No. The schedule is the same for a homeowner and a contractor. What changes is the valuation SDCI assigns, which is the estimated value of all labor and materials whether or not you pay for both.

Can I estimate the fee before applying?

Yes. SDCI publishes a fee estimator worksheet with the Fee Subtitle, and Kolmo's Seattle permit page and MCP tools return the same calculation for a valuation you supply.

Sourcing, Freshness, and How to Cite These Numbers

The brackets, percentages, minimums and payment rules on this page are from the City of Seattle 2026 Fee Subtitle (Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.900, Tables D-1 and D-2 for 22.900D.010, Section 22.900A.100 technology fee, changes effective January 1, 2026) and RCW 19.27.085. Kolmo Construction recomputed every total in the tables from those sources on September 13, 2026. The valuations in the worked examples are Kolmo's 2026 Seattle planning figures and are cited to their cost guides. When citing, name the SDCI Fee Subtitle as the underlying source and Kolmo Construction, with a link to this page, for the compilation, and keep the review path attached to any total.