Lawrence, KS Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Lawrence City Code § 5-801 adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code as the city's plumbing code, incorporated by reference except where chapter 5, article VIII amends it; § 5-111 applies that code to installing, altering, repairing or replacing any plumbing system, including work tied to a water or sewage system and medical gas systems. The local amendments in §§ 5-804 through 5-809 delete the code's own administrative chapter 1, set the minimum sewer depth at 12 inches below finished grade and below the septic tank connection (§ 5-805), and fix the pressure tests contractors must pass: a drainage and vent air test held at five psi, or a ten-inch mercury column, for at least 15 minutes (§ 5-806), and a water supply test held at working pressure or 50 psi by air for at least 15 minutes.

Under § 5-220, any owner or authorized agent who intends to install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a regulated plumbing system must first apply to the building official and obtain a permit before work starts; § 5-223(e) exempts only stopping leaks and clearing stoppages or repairing leaks in pipes, valves or fixtures, and even a leak repair becomes permit-required new work once 20 feet or more of drain, water, soil, waste or vent pipe has to be replaced. Once permitted, § 5-306 requires a rough inspection of the plumbing system before it is covered or concealed and before the framing inspection is made.