By Dave Price, Assistant Chief Plumbing Inspector, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Plumbing, gas piping, and backflow permits within the City of Seattle are issued and administered by King County Public Health. The Plumbing and Gas Piping program operating budget is funded by a full cost recovery mandate, meaning the cost of services need to be covered by the revenue generated by permit and inspection fees. In recent years, the current fees have not generated enough revenue to fully fund the program.
The last plumbing and gas rate study was conducted back in 2011. Adjusted for inflation, the new hourly operating rate would jump from $201 per hour to over $300 per hour. The actual hourly operating rate that has been set for 2025, however, is only $264 per hour. This new hourly rate will take effect on January 1, 2025 and will become the hourly rate assessed for plan review services on projects submitted on or after January 1. All permitting related fees may be adjusted annually going forward according to the terms noted in King County Code (KCC) 16.32.080.
As part of the change in fees, the permit fee structure itself is being revised and simplified. Instead of having different fees for a certain number of fixtures and those fees being different for gas permits versus plumbing permits, all standard permit fees after the first of the year will be calculated based on two components: an initial base fee of $132 (half of the new hourly rate), plus a per-fixture fee of $26 each (up from $19 each). The new base fee and per-fixture fee amounts will become effective for permits issued on or after January 1, 2025.
Due to the newly simplified rate structure, some small remodel projects will see a reduction in overall plumbing and gas permit fees, while larger commercial projects will see an increase. Plumbing and gas permit fees will remain only a small percentage of overall project permitting costs.
Permit fees for re-pipe projects are calculated slightly differently. The cost for those permits is based on the hourly program operating rate multiplied by the anticipated number of inspections. There is a separate form for calculating the total permit fee for re-pipe projects. Inquire with Seattle/King County Public Health at: planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov for detailed information.
In addition to the base permit fee and per fixture fee changes, there will be updates to standard administrative fees for permit renewals, revisions, changes of Contractor and similar permit adjustments. The complete revised plumbing and gas permitting fee schedule will be available shortly and posted as part of Seattle Municipal Code Section 22.900G and KCC Title 16.32.080.