Washoe County, NV Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 100.105.1 requires anyone who intends to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a plumbing system to first apply to the Building Program and obtain a permit before work begins. Washoe County adopted the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, chapters 1 through 17 and Appendices A, B, D, E, I, and L, as item 9 of § 100.100.10's list of adopted codes. A short list of minor jobs is exempt under § 100.105.2's plumbing exemptions: stopping a leak in a drain, water, soil, waste or vent pipe (unless a concealed pipe must be removed and replaced, which is treated as new work needing a permit), clearing a stoppage or repairing a leak in a pipe, valve or fixture, removing and reinstalling a water closet without changing the piping, and repairing or replacing a residential sink, lavatory or water closet and its valves and traps without modifying the water, waste or vent piping.

Appendix A, Table 5 sets the fees: $45 to issue any plumbing permit, then $6 for each fixture on one trap, $30 for each building or trailer-park sewer connection, $6 per rainwater drain, $8 for each water heater and vent, $5 for a gas-piping system of one to four outlets, $10 for a lawn sprinkler system on one meter including backflow protection, and $27 for each graywater system. Applicants doing repeat alteration work can apply for an annual permit under § 100.105.1.2 instead of filing separately for each job, and emergency repairs must be submitted for a permit the next business day under § 100.105.1.1.