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Thurston County, WA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Application tracks
Type I ministerial or Type II administrative
Type I review path
TCC § 20.60.020(1)
Type II review path
TCC § 20.60.020(2)
Consolidated permits
Reviewed at highest permit type's process
Re-inspection trigger
Work not ready or corrections not made
Re-inspection consequence
No further inspection until fee paid
Administering dept.
Resource Stewardship Department

Summary

Building permit applications in Thurston County are sorted into a Type I ministerial review or a Type II administrative review, and once construction starts, each stage of work must be called for inspection; work that isn't ready when the inspector arrives triggers a re-inspection fee under the county's amended International Building Code.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Thurston County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

14.48.080 - Application types and classification. Applications for building permits...shall be subject to a Type I or Type II review process. A. A Type I review process involves an application that is subject to clear, objective and nondiscretionary standards or standards that require the exercise of professional judgment about technical issues, and that is exempt from State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review. B. A Type II review process involves an application that is subject to objective and subjective standards which require the exercise of limited discretion about nontechnical issues... ... [A] 109.8 Re-inspections. A re-inspection fee may be assessed for each inspection or re-inspection when such portion of work for which inspection is called is not complete or when corrections called for are not made. ... Re-inspection fees may be assessed when the inspection record card is not posted or otherwise available on the work site, the approved plans are not readily available to the inspector, for failure to provide access on the date for which inspection is requested, or for deviating from plans requiring the approval of the building official.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 77).

Full Breakdown

080 splits every building permit application into two tracks. A Type I review process involves an application that is subject to clear, objective and nondiscretionary standards, or standards that require the exercise of professional judgment about technical issues, and is exempt from State Environmental Policy Act review, so it moves as a ministerial decision. A Type II review process instead involves objective and subjective standards requiring the exercise of limited discretion about nontechnical issues with limited public interest, and is processed as an administrative decision.

020(2) TCC, and if a project also needs a zoning, subdivision, or critical areas permit, the applicant can consolidate all of them under the review process of the highest-numbered permit type, with the resource stewardship department assigning a permit coordinator once two or more applications are running concurrently. 8, Re-inspections. A re-inspection fee applies whenever the portion of work called for inspection isn't complete, or corrections ordered at an earlier inspection haven't been made; the code is explicit that this is not meant to punish a first failed inspection, but to control the practice of calling for inspection before the job is actually ready.

The same section authorizes a re-inspection fee if the inspection record card isn't posted or available on site, the approved plans aren't available to the inspector, the applicant fails to provide site access on the requested date, or the work deviates from approved plans, and no further inspection proceeds until any assessed fee is paid.

Violations & Fines

Under Section [A]109.8, a re-inspection fee, set in the department's fee schedule, is assessed whenever work called for inspection isn't ready, required corrections weren't made, the inspection record card is missing from the site, approved plans aren't available to the inspector, site access wasn't provided on the scheduled date, or the built work deviates from the approved plans. Once a re-inspection fee is assessed, the department will perform no further inspection of the work until that fee is paid, effectively halting progress on the permit until the applicant settles up.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the two review tracks for a Thurston County building permit?
Section 14.48.080 splits applications into a Type I review, for applications subject to clear, objective, nondiscretionary standards and exempt from SEPA, and a Type II review, for applications involving objective and subjective standards that require limited discretion. Type I is a ministerial decision, Type II an administrative one, and Section 14.48.090 sends each to a different procedural track under Chapter 20.60.
Can multiple permits for one project in Thurston County be reviewed together?
Yes. Section 14.48.090(C) allows optional consolidated permit processing when a project needs a building permit plus a zoning, subdivision, or critical areas permit. All of them follow the review process of the highest-numbered permit type represented, and the resource stewardship department assigns a permit coordinator once two or more applications are being processed at the same time.
What happens if a Thurston County building inspector shows up and the work isn't ready?
Section [A]109.8 of the county's amended International Building Code authorizes a re-inspection fee whenever the work called for inspection is incomplete or ordered corrections weren't made, or when the inspection record card, approved plans, or site access aren't available as required. No further inspection happens until that fee is paid, so an unready job stalls the permit until the applicant settles up.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Thurston County

All Thurston County rules

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