City of Tacoma building permits: fees, timelines & requirements (2026)
Every fee, threshold, and review window for City of Tacoma permits — cited to the city's own page and re-verified weekly. Covers ADU, addition, kitchen, bathroom, basement, deck, fence, siding, windows, flooring, roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and ancillary permits (Pierce County).
21 of 24 project types have authoritative rules on file · 18 typically require a permit · 3 often do not.
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Permit department
Tacoma Planning & Development Services
Adopted code cycles
2021 IRC w/ WA amendments · 2021 WSEC
Resources
Construction permits
| Project | Permit? | Threshold | Fee | Review days | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen remodel | Yes | Cabinets, countertops, painting, tiling, carpeting and similar finish work are exempt. New circuits, fixture relocation, or plumbing modifications require respective trade permits. | Fees set by jurisdiction. WA Building Code Council surcharge: $4.50 per building permit. Trade permits separate. | 10–21 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Bathroom remodel | Yes | Tile, paint, fixture-replacement-without-relocation are exempt under "finish work". Pipe rearrangement, new circuits, or relocated fixtures require permits. | Fees set by jurisdiction. Plus separate electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits. | 10–21 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Basement finish | Yes | 2021 IRC R310: every sleeping room below grade requires emergency escape and rescue opening (egress window). Min sill height 44in, min net clear opening 5.7 sq ft (5.0 grade-floor), min width 20in, height 24in. Ceiling height min 7ft (R305). Entire newly conditioned area must comply with WSEC R402. | Plan-review fee scales with valuation. State surcharge $4.50. | 14–30 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Deck | Yes | Tacoma TMC 13.05: permit if deck >30in above grade or attached. Apply via Accela ACA. | Most jurisdictions handle decks as field-inspection or simplified plan review. | 10–21 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Fence | Yes | Fences ≤7ft high are exempt. Any fence over 7ft, OR any masonry wall over 4ft, requires a building permit. Fences in critical areas/buffers may also require a critical-areas permit (TMC 13.11). Fences over 3ft within sight-triangle areas are prohibited. | Typically no fee unless permit required. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Siding | Often no | 2021 IRC R105.2(1)(g) exempts "ordinary repairs" — like-for-like siding replacement on existing structure. Permit required if changing structural sheathing, adding insulation that affects WSEC compliance, or modifying weather-resistive barrier (WRB) detailing. | Typically minimal fee — like-for-like usually exempt. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-26 |
| Window replacement | Often no | 2021 IRC R105.2(1)(g) exempts like-for-like window replacement (same rough opening, same R-value class). Permit required for: new openings, enlarged/reduced openings, egress-affecting changes (R310), and any change that crosses a structural element. | Like-for-like usually no permit fee. Structural changes scale with valuation. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-26 |
| Flooring | Often no | 2021 IRC R105.2(1)(j) exempts floor finishes (carpet, vinyl, hardwood, tile). Permit required if subfloor structure is modified, joists altered, or radiant heat installed. | No permit fee for surface flooring. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| ADU / DADU | Yes | Two ADUs per lot allowed (any lot size/width in residentially-zoned districts). Living area limited to 1,000 sqft (excluding non-living areas). Detached ADU setbacks: 5ft side property line (8ft if main entrance faces side), 15ft rear property line (no setback from alleys). Subject to standard zone height limits. | Apply via https://aca-prod.accela.com/tacoma/Default.aspx (Accela ACA portal) or in person at 747 Market Street, 3rd Floor. | 21–60 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Roofing | Yes | Reroofing exempt only if ALL of: existing roof coverings removed prior, new material ≤2.5 psf (or vegetated roof same weight as previously-permitted vegetated roof), no roof framing changes, building NOT unreinforced masonry. Otherwise permit required. | Flat fee or valuation-based. Typically $150-$400 for residential. | 1–5 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| HVAC | Yes | Exempt: portable heating/ventilation/cooling appliances; portable evaporative coolers; steam/hot/chilled-water piping within heating/cooling equipment regulated by code; minor part replacements that don't alter equipment approval; self-contained refrigeration systems with ≤10 lb refrigerant or ≤1 hp motors; portable-fuel-cell appliances not connected to fixed piping or power grid. | Mechanical permit + electrical permit (if new circuit) + plumbing permit (if condensate to drain). | — | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Electrical | Yes | WAC 296-46B (WA-adopted 2020 NEC) requires electrical permit for ALL electrical work except low-voltage (<50V) and ordinary repairs. WA L&I issues electrical permits in most jurisdictions; some cities have local issuance. | L&I permit fees by circuit count + service size. Standard residential ~$60-$200. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Plumbing | Yes | Exempt: stopping leaks in drains/water/soil/waste/vent pipe; clearing stoppages; repairing leaks in pipes/valves/fixtures; removing and reinstalling water closets — provided no replacement or rearrangement of valves, pipes, or fixtures. Defective concealed-trap or drainpipe replacement = new work, permit required. | Plumbing permit fees by fixture count. Standard residential ~$80-$250. | — | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
| Addition | Yes | Permit required for any addition to an existing building, OR any new accessory structure ≥200 sqft. Alteration/addition <80% of building valuation = Residential Alteration (BLDRA) permit. ≥80% = Residential New Construction (BLDRN) permit (which subsumes site-development review). | Plan-review fee scales with valuation per UBC Table 1-A. State surcharge $4.50 per building permit. Trade permits (E/P/M) separate. | 30–90 days | Cite verified 2026-04-29 |
Ancillary & non-building permits
| Project | Permit? | Threshold | Fee | Review days | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition | Yes | 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. | Demolition fees commonly charged as flat fee or by structure size. State surcharge $4.50 applies. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Right-of-way | Yes | 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. | ROW permit fees vary widely by city; commonly $150-$500 for residential driveway/curb cut, plus per-day occupancy if street obstruction. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Side sewer | Yes | Side-sewer permits issued by the local utility (Seattle SPU; King County WTD; per-city utility elsewhere) under 2021 UPC + city utility code. Triggered by new connection, repair >2 ft of pipe, relining (CIPP), or capping at the property line for demolition. | Side-sewer permits typically $150-$500; depth-based surcharge in some cities. Utility-issued, not building-permit-issued. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Stormwater / drainage | Yes | KC Surface Water Design Manual 2021 (KCC 9.04 + adopted by reference in most KC cities) sets the 2,000 sqft new+replaced impervious threshold for "small project" drainage review; ≥5,000 sqft triggers full drainage review. Different thresholds in critical-area drainage basins. | Drainage review fee commonly tiered by project size; small project ~$300-$800, full drainage review $1,500+. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Land-use / zoning | Yes | 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). | Land-use fees vary widely; variance commonly $1,000-$3,000 + actual cost recovery for hearing examiner. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Tree removal | Yes | Triggered by removal of trees meeting the city's "significant tree" / "exceptional tree" / "tier" threshold. Common thresholds: ≥6in DBH (Bellevue tier 2+), ≥24in DBH (Seattle exceptional), or specific listed species. Single-family lots are sometimes exempt for non-exceptional trees. | Tree-removal permits commonly $50-$300 per tree; replacement bonds in some cities. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
| Signs | Yes | City sign code (typically Title 22 or 23) governs. Wall, freestanding, projecting, awning, and electronic message signs all require permits. Most cities exempt small temporary residential signs (real-estate, political) under area thresholds (~6 sqft). | Sign permit fees commonly $100-$400 plus electrical sub-permit. | — | Cite verified 2026-05-02 |
How this page is built
Each row is the most-recently-verified authoritative rule on file for City of Tacoma and the listed project type. “Pending verification” means we have City of Tacoma in our database but haven't yet personally checked the city page for that project — those rows fall back to Pierce-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.