Federal Way, WA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Code adopted
- 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)
- Permit expiration
- 180 days if work not started
- Abandonment limit
- 180 days suspended voids permit
- Extension available
- Building official may grant 180-day extensions
- Lapse over 1 year
- Requires new full permit fee
- Not adopted
- UPC Chapters 12 and 15
Summary
Federal Way plumbing work runs under the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted by FWRC 13.34.020 with the venting, combustion-air, and building-sewer chapters carved out and sent to other city codes. A plumbing permit issued under this chapter expires if the work does not start, or sits abandoned, for 180 days, per the local amendment at FWRC 13.34.030(2).
The 2021 Edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), including Appendices A, B, and I, as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), is hereby adopted by reference pursuant to Chapter 19.27 RCW and Chapter 51-56 WAC, with the following additions, deletions and exceptions; provided, that Chapters 12 and 15 of this code are not adopted... UPC 103.3.3, Expiration, is hereby amended to read as follows: Every permit issued by the building official under the provisions of this code shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit is not commenced within one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of such permit, or if the work authorized by such permit is suspended or abandoned at any time after the work is commenced for a period of one hundred and eighty (180) days.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1049, passed August 11, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020 adopts the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), including Appendices A, B, and I, as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, but the city declines to adopt UPC Chapters 12 and 15 outright, and it strips out the portions of UPC Chapter 5 dealing with venting and combustion air of fuel-fired appliances, along with the sections addressing building sewers; those topics are handled instead through the city's mechanical and surface water codes. Where UPC Appendix I conflicts with a manufacturer's installation instructions or a product listing, the manufacturer's instructions and listing control.
3) so that a permit becomes null and void if work is not commenced within 180 days of issuance, or if commenced work is then suspended or abandoned for 180 days, though the building official may grant one or more 180-day extensions on written request, and reviving a permit lapsed for more than a year requires paying a brand-new full permit fee; and subsection (3) treats a plan review application itself as abandoned 180 days after filing unless it has been actively pursued or a permit issued, again subject to written extension requests.
Violations & Fines
Plumbing work performed after a permit has expired under FWRC 13.34.030(2), or without a permit at all, is enforced under the citywide misdemeanor penalty at FWRC 1.10.010: up to a $1,000 fine, up to 90 days in jail, or both, and the building official may require a full new permit fee before reviving work suspended more than a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a Federal Way plumbing permit valid?
What happens if my plumbing permit expires?
Does the Uniform Plumbing Code cover building sewers in Federal Way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Federal Way
Compare Federal Way to another location·View the Washington building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Plumbing Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle plumbing permits.