City of Federal Way building permits: fees, timelines & requirements (2026)
What needs a permit in the City of Federal Way and what triggers one — each row quoted from the city's own code or permit page, with the source linked and the source page checked weekly for changes. Fees and review times appear where the city publishes them. Covers ADU, addition, kitchen, bathroom, basement, deck, fence, siding, windows, flooring, roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and ancillary permits (King County).
14 of 23 project types have authoritative rules on file · 13 always require a permit · 10 depend on the scope · 0 do not.
Get your lot in 3D with zoning, setbacks, and the exact permits your project needs — cited to the City of Federal Way's source.
Permit department
Federal Way Department of Community Development
Adopted code cycles
2021 IRC w/ WA amendments · 2021 WSEC
Resources
Construction permits
| Project | Threshold | Fee | Review days | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen remodel Depends on scope | Finish work (cabinets, counters, tile, paint) needs no permit, except in a critical area or flood hazard area, where every job needs one. Replacing a sink or faucet, even in the same spot, moving plumbing, new circuits, gas or venting, or a wall or structural change always does. Cosmetic finish work (cabinets, countertops, tile) is exempt; remodels touching framing, wiring, plumbing, or mechanical require a permit per the Single Family Remodel Checklist (#156). | FeeAbout $1,998 for a $35,000 project, when a permit is needed | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Bathroom remodel Depends on scope | Tile, paint and other finish work need no permit, except in a critical area or flood hazard area. Replacing a toilet, sink, faucet, tub or shower, even in the same spot, moving plumbing or new circuits always needs one. Clearing stoppages and repairing leaks are exempt, but new or relocated plumbing fixtures are not on the exemption list and require a permit; finish-only work (tile) is exempt. | FeeAbout $1,420 for a $22,000 project, when a permit is needed | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Basement finish Always | Finishing a basement into habitable space needs a building permit; egress and ceiling height are the usual review items. Finishing or converting a basement into habitable space is a remodel requiring a building permit; hard-wired smoke detectors must be shown on each floor including basements. | FeeAbout $2,202 for a $40,000 project | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Deck Depends on scope | A detached deck up to 200 sq ft and 30 in above grade that does not serve the exit door needs no permit outside a critical area. A larger, higher or attached deck, one serving the exit door, or any deck in a critical area or flood hazard area, needs one. A building permit is required for a deck larger than 200 sq ft, OR greater than 30 inches above the ground, OR attached to the house, OR within an environmentally critical area or buffer. Decks ≤200 sq ft and ≤30 inches above grade are exempt. | FeeAbout $1,198 for an $18,000 project, when a permit is needed | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Fence Depends on scope | A fence up to 7 ft needs no building permit outside a critical area; in a required yard a fence may not exceed 6 ft. A taller fence, or any fence in a critical area or flood hazard area, needs a permit. A building permit is not required for a fence not over 6 feet high; a fence over 6 feet requires a permit. The exemption list notes that other code requirements may still apply, and zoning height limits in FWRC Title 19 apply regardless. | FeeAbout $531 for a $6,000 project, when a permit is needed | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Siding Always | Replacing siding needs a building permit in Federal Way: neither the state code nor the city exempts it, and in a critical area even a repair needs one. | FeeAbout $1,198 for an $18,000 project | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-10-02 |
| Window replacement Always | Replacing windows needs a building permit in Federal Way: neither the state code nor the city exempts it, and in a critical area even a repair needs one. | FeeAbout $642 for an $8,000 project | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-10-02 |
| Flooring Depends on scope | New flooring is finish work and needs no permit outside a critical area. Changing the subfloor or joists, adding radiant heat, or any flooring job in a critical area or flood hazard area, needs one. Floor finish work (carpet, tile) is exempt finish work — no building permit required. | FeeAbout $531 for a $6,000 project, when a permit is needed | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| ADU / DADU Always | An ADU or DADU always needs a building permit, and usually trade permits with it. An ADU may be up to 1,000 sq ft of floor area (and may not exceed the square footage of the primary dwelling), with up to two bedrooms, and may be up to 30 feet tall. ADUs are not permitted within required yard setbacks; a minimum 10-foot separation from other structures is required. Three off-street parking spaces are required for a property with an ADU, except within 1/4 mile of a major transit stop. | FeeAbout $6,229 for a $200,000 project | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Roofing Always | The state code exempts no re-roofing, and the local code adds no exemption: replacing a roof needs a permit. A small repair can be an ordinary repair. | FeeFederal Way prices a re-roof's building permit on the value of the work (the ICC's building valuation data, or a bid the Building Official approves), off Valuation Table A: $89.54 up to $1,000, $157.11 for the first $2,000 plus $33.68 for each $1,000 more up to $25,000, and $931.63 for the first $25,000 plus $24.00 for each $1,000 more up to $50,000; plan review, where plans are reviewed, is 65% of that fee. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-10-02 |
| HVAC Depends on scope | Installing or replacing heating, cooling or ventilation equipment needs a mechanical permit; a portable unit or a minor part replacement does not. WAC 51-52 (2021 IMC) and WAC 51-56 (2021 UPC) require mechanical permit for any equipment install, replacement, or relocation. WSEC R403 requires sizing per Manual J/S/D for new equipment. | FeeFederal Way prices a mechanical permit on the installation's value off Valuation Table A: $89.54 up to $1,000, and $157.11 for the first $2,000 plus $33.68 for each $1,000 more up to $25,000; plan review, where plans are reviewed, is 65% of the mechanical permit fee. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-10-02 |
| Electrical Depends on scope | Electrical work needs a permit from the City of Federal Way, not L&I, except the state's minor like-in-kind list (and temporary decorative lighting). Federal Way issues its own electrical permits — through the City's Building Division, not WA L&I. Electrical work requires a permit except minor work — replacement of branch-circuit overcurrent devices and minor electrical repair (replacing lamps, connecting approved portable equipment) are exempt. Federal Way adopts NEC 2023. The city of Federal Way electrical code (FWRC 13.38) adopts the NEC, chapter 19.28 RCW and chapter 296-46B WAC, and beyond the state's exempt list (WAC 296-46B-901(7)(b)) also exempts temporary decorative lighting, temporary wiring in experimental laboratories and temporary stage-set wiring (FWRC 13.38.040(2)). | FeeFederal Way issues its own electrical permits and prices them on the installation's value off Valuation Table B: $96.21 up to $1,000, $164.48 for the first $2,000 plus $36.19 for each $1,000 more up to $25,000, and $996.94 for the first $25,000 plus $25.81 for each $1,000 more up to $50,000; plan review, where plans are reviewed, is 65% of the electrical permit fee. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-09-25 |
| Plumbing Depends on scope | Under the state code stopping a leak or clearing a stoppage needs no plumbing permit. Replacing anything, even a faucet or a fixture in the same spot, or the water heater, needs one, and so do new or moved fixtures and piping. Plumbing work requires a permit except minor repairs — stopping leaks in drain/water/soil/waste/vent pipe and clearing stoppages or repairing leaks in pipes, valves, or fixtures are exempt. Federal Way adopts UPC 2021. | FeeFederal Way prices a plumbing permit on the installation's value off Valuation Table A: $89.54 up to $1,000, and $157.11 for the first $2,000 plus $33.68 for each $1,000 more up to $25,000; plan review, where plans are reviewed, is 65% of the plumbing permit fee. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Addition Always | Adding floor area always needs a building permit. Any increase to building footprint or conditioned floor area requires a building permit. A Certificate of Water Availability with fire-flow calculations is required for additions or any change to the building footprint. | FeeAbout $4,438 for a $120,000 project | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-29 |
| Solar (rooftop PV) Always | Rooftop solar needs an electrical permit from the City of Federal Way, not L&I, and a building permit for the racking: Federal Way adopts the IRC's list of work exempt from a permit, which names no solar installation (FWRC 13.22.020, IRC R105.2). | FeeFederal Way's 2026 fee schedule lists a single-family solar panel or system permit fee of $390, and its fire section a single-family solar fee of $120. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-11-07 |
| Heat pump Depends on scope | Installing or replacing a heat pump needs a City mechanical permit, and its circuit an electrical permit from the City; a portable unit, work on the piping inside the equipment, a minor part replacement or a self-contained unit with 10 lb of refrigerant or less or a motor of 1 hp or less does not need the mechanical permit. | FeeA heat pump's mechanical permit in Federal Way is priced on the installation's value off Valuation Table A: $89.54 up to $1,000, and $157.11 for the first $2,000 plus $33.68 for each $1,000 more, up to $25,000; plan review, where required, is 65% of the mechanical permit fee. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-11-07 |
Ancillary & non-building permits
| Project | Threshold | Fee | Review days | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition Always | Demolishing a structure or a substantial part of one needs a permit; asbestos and lead notifications are separate. 2021 IBC Section 105.1 + WA-adopted IRC R105.1: demolition of any structure or portion thereof requires a permit. Tear-out of interior finishes only is generally treated as alteration. Asbestos / lead notification often required separately under WAC 173-303 / 296-62. | FeeFederal Way prices a demolition permit on the value of the demolition work, off Valuation Table A: $89.54 up to $1,000, $157.11 for the first $2,000 plus $33.68 for each $1,000 more up to $25,000, and $931.63 for the first $25,000 plus $24.00 for each $1,000 more up to $50,000. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-10-02 |
| Right-of-way Always | Any work in or occupation of the public right of way needs a right-of-way permit from the city, or from the agency that owns the street. Issued by city public works (or SDOT in Seattle) under local ROW ordinance. Triggered by physical occupation of or work within the public ROW including driveway aprons, curb cuts, sidewalk replacement, utility tie-ins, hauling routes, and temporary construction staging. | FeeFederal Way's right-of-way use permit, one inspection included, is $400 for an individual single-family homeowner's application and $842 for any other; a re-inspection is $369, supplemental construction inspection $188 an hour, and residential work started without a permit $827 (2026 Fee Schedule, Section Ten). | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-17 |
| Side sewer Always | A new side-sewer connection needs a permit from the utility that owns the main; many utilities also require one for any repair, however short, and for capping. The side-sewer permit comes from the utility that owns the sewer main (the city, a sewer or water district, or a regional utility), under that utility's own code. Which utility is a per-property fact: a lot can sit inside a city for permitting and outside its sewer district, so confirm the owner of the main before applying. The utility's code, not a statewide rule, decides which work needs the permit: a new connection does, and many utility codes also require it for any repair, however short, and for capping or disconnecting a side sewer, so check that code before digging. WAC 51-56, the state plumbing code, governs how the building sewer is laid. | FeeSet by the sewer utility that serves the lot. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-17 |
| Stormwater / drainage Always | New or replaced impervious surface and land disturbance are reviewed under the drainage manual this jurisdiction adopts; the threshold is the manual's. Ecology's Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington (SWMMWW, 2024 edition) is the state floor. A municipal stormwater permittee may instead adopt a REGIONAL manual Ecology has determined equivalent, and most do — some counties publish their own, some cities publish their own, and others adopt Ecology's directly. Which manual applies is a per-jurisdiction fact and it changes the numbers: review thresholds for new plus replaced impervious surface and for land-disturbing activity differ between manuals, so read this jurisdiction's own adopting chapter before quoting one. Critical-area and closed-basin parcels get stricter review under every manual. | FeeFederal Way's Public Works development review fee for a single-family project is $340, and a clear-and-grade permit outside of a development is $1,742. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-09-06 |
| Land-use / zoning Always | A variance, conditional use, plat or design review is a land-use decision that precedes the building permit. Triggered when a project does not conform to the strict letter of the zoning code. Variances require a hardship finding under most city codes. Design review thresholds vary (Seattle: most multifamily + non-residential >4,000 sqft; many cities: design review only in designated districts). | FeeFederal Way's land use fees include a pre-application meeting at $713, a Process I minor site review at $939, an administrative variance (Process III) at $5,634 plus $453 Public Works review, and a hearing examiner variance (Process IV) at $5,041 plus $682 Public Works review; a zoning verification is $186. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-17 |
| Tree removal Depends on scope | In Federal Way removing a tree needs the director's approval of a tree retention plan, except on a lot with a house on it in the SE or RS zone, outside critical areas and their buffers, flood hazard areas and native growth protection areas, where the removal does not change where stormwater or groundwater enters or leaves the lot. There, trees under 6 in across, hazard trees and nuisance vegetation come down with no city review, and larger trees as long as the lot keeps the minimum tree density (25 tree units an acre in the RS zones) or replacement trees make it up. Topping counts as removal. A tree in the street right-of-way is a street tree. Federal Way regulates the removal of any tree, not only large ones: FWRC 19.120.020(2) says "No person shall remove any trees on a site without first obtaining approval of a tree retention plan by the director, except for those activities that are exempt as described in FWRC 19.120.030." The exemption most homeowners use is FWRC 19.120.030(9), for a lot in the SE or RS zone that contains a dwelling, and it holds only while three conditions are met: the trees are outside any environmentally critical area under Chapter 19.145 FWRC; no tree a development permit required to be retained is removed; and the removal does not change where stormwater or groundwater enters or leaves the property, or its quality or velocity. Under those conditions, trees up to 6 inches in diameter at breast height (4.5 ft), hazard trees and nuisance vegetation may be removed "without city review and approval"; trees of 6 inches dbh or greater may be removed subject to the minimum tree density of Table 19.120.130-1 (25 tree units per acre in RS zones), and a removal that drops the lot below it requires replacement planting up to that density or the tree units removed, whichever is less. Outside the exemption — in an environmentally critical area, trees a development permit required to be retained, a drainage change, or a lot outside the SE and RS zones — removal needs the director's approval, reviewed with the building or land-development permit or, with none, through Process III. Topping counts as removal. | FeeNon-exempt removal is reviewed with the building or land-development permit it belongs to, or as a Process III land-use application, at the fees in Federal Way's fee schedule. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-09-25 |
| Signs Always | Putting up or structurally altering a permanent sign generally needs a city sign permit; which small or temporary signs are exempt differs by city. Each city's own sign code, usually a chapter of its zoning or development code, decides which signs need a permit and sets their size, number and placement by zone. Putting up or structurally altering a permanent sign generally needs a city sign permit, plus an electrical permit if the sign is lit, while repainting, ordinary maintenance and copy changes generally do not. Which small or temporary signs need no permit, and up to what size, differs from city to city, so check the city's own list before ordering a sign. | FeeFederal Way prices a permanent sign permit on its installation value off Valuation Table A, $89.54 up to $1,000; an electrical sign adds an electrical connection fee of $94 for the first sign and $43 for each more on the same application, and every sign a planning surcharge of $70 for the first and $26 for each more. | ReviewNot published by the city | Cite verified 2026-05-17 |
City of Federal Way permits — frequently asked questions
How do I apply for a building permit in Federal Way, and what are the Permit Center hours?
Most applications that require review must be submitted electronically — you first request a Document Upload Link from the city, which can take a few days. Simple mechanical, electrical, and plumbing jobs can instead go through the over-the-counter program on MyBuildingPermit. The Permit Center is open 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (closed Wednesdays); permitcenter@federalwaywa.gov or (253) 835-2607.
Source: City of Federal Way — Permit Center ↗What residential work is exempt from a building permit in Federal Way?
Federal Way exempts a short list: one-story detached accessory structures up to 200 sq ft, fences not over 6 feet tall, retaining walls not over 4 feet (measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall), and decks up to 200 sq ft that sit no more than 30 inches above grade, are not attached to a dwelling and do not serve the required exit door. Finish work like paint, cabinets, and countertops is also exempt. Critically, none of these exemptions apply inside a critical area or its buffer.
Source: City of Federal Way — Permit Exemptions ↗What are the rules for an ADU in Federal Way?
Washington’s HB 1337 requires Federal Way to allow up to two ADUs per lot, including detached units. Federal Way’s rule is FWRC 19.200.180 (Ordinance 25-1010, May 2025): up to two ADUs per property, each with no more than 1,000 sq ft. State law also caps parking: no more than one off-street space per ADU on lots under 6,000 sq ft, and none within a half-mile walk of a major transit stop.
Source: Federal Way Revised Code 19.265 ↗Do I need a water/sewer availability certificate for an ADU or new unit in Federal Way?
Yes. Federal Way has no city water or sewer utility, so your property is served by an outside district — most commonly Lakehaven Water & Sewer District — and certificates of water and sewer availability are required before you submit your building permit application for an ADU or new unit. If Lakehaven serves you, you complete its Certificate of Availability application; an ADU on septic must first get King County Public Health approval, and a detached ADU on sewer needs its own service connection.
Source: Lakehaven Water & Sewer District ↗How do critical areas (wetlands, bluffs, shoreline) affect a Federal Way permit?
Federal Way regulates Environmentally Critical Areas — wetlands, critical aquifer recharge areas, fish-and-wildlife habitat, frequently flooded areas, and geologically hazardous areas — under FWRC Chapter 19.145, and you generally cannot disturb them or their buffers without approval. The city may require a critical-area report, often peer-reviewed by a third-party expert at your expense. Even minor work like tree removal or demolition in an ECA needs written approval from the Director.
Source: City of Federal Way — Building Division ↗Does my contractor need to be registered to pull a Federal Way permit?
Yes. Washington requires every construction contractor to register with Labor & Industries and to be bonded and insured before they bid, advertise, or perform work — the same in Federal Way as anywhere in the state. Verify a contractor’s active registration, bond, and insurance through L&I’s "Verify a Contractor" lookup before signing.
Source: WA L&I — Contractor Registration ↗Building in the City of Federal Way?
Kolmo Construction is a licensed Washington general contractor — KOLMOL*753JS, bonded and insured — working throughout the City of Federal Way and King County. We pull the building permits listed above and build the project. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC work, and those permits, go to licensed trade subcontractors that Kolmo manages.
How this page is built
Each row is the most-recently-verified authoritative rule on file for the City of Federal Way and the listed project type. “Pending verification” means we have the City of Federal Way in our database but haven't yet personally checked the city page for that project — those rows fall back to King-County or Washington-state baselines until verified.
See the data-quality leaderboard for how we keep these current, or run an address-specific lookup on the main permits page.