King County, WA Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated King County requires any store selling cigarettes or other tobacco products, including vape and e-cigarette retailers, to hold a $210, three-year county tobacco license…

Unincorporated King County requires a business, manager and entertainer license for every adult club, arcade or theater, and zoning bars them within 330 feet of homes, schools or parks…

Anyone buying, selling or trading secondhand goods in unincorporated King County must hold a secondhand dealer's license under King County Code § 6.60.010. The $40-a-year license…

King County's sheriff contracts with licensed tow operators to handle vehicle and watercraft impounds, and those towing contractors must file their rates with the sheriff and keep…

Unincorporated King County bans auto, truck, and heavy equipment repair or auto body work as a home occupation in the R, UR, NB, CB, and RB zones under County Code section 21A.30.080.

Unincorporated King County requires a separate license for every massage business, public bathhouse, and individual massage practitioner before any massage is performed.

Unincorporated King County requires a $500 annual pawnbroker's license before anyone may operate a pawnshop, caps licenses at one per 15,000 residents, and closes shops between 8 p.m…

In unincorporated King County, fences over 6 feet tall must meet the zone's street and interior setback lines, not just sit on the property line.

Unincorporated King County exempts fences up to 6 feet tall from a building permit under King County Code § 16.02.240, the county's local substitute for Section 105.2 of the…

Unincorporated King County requires a building permit for any retaining wall over 4 feet tall, or any wall of any height that holds back a surcharge or stores hazardous liquids.

Unincorporated King County bans barbed and razor-wire fences in R-4 through R-48 zones and tightly regulates electric fences with voltage caps and required warning signs.

Unincorporated King County bans public urination and defecation for anyone over 12, but only outside the county's urban growth boundary: a class 2 civil infraction enforced by the King…

Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is banned on all King County Metro transit vehicles, bus shelters and transit property: a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail.

Unincorporated King County treats a loud house party as a public disturbance noise violation, and the person in possession of the property, not just whoever is making the racket, is…

King County bans open containers and alcohol consumption in all unincorporated county park areas and marine facilities unless the parks director designates and posts an exception…

Unincorporated King County bans loitering or prowling when the circumstances signal an unlawful purpose or create real alarm for safety, not mere presence in public alone.

Unincorporated King County requires a floodplain development permit before any new construction, fill, or substantial improvement begins in a mapped flood hazard area, per County Code…

Unincorporated King County lets property owners clear brush and prune trees for wildfire defensible space without a clearing permit, but only within fixed distances from the house set…

Unincorporated King County requires drainage review and stormwater control facilities once a project hits set impervious-surface or land-disturbance thresholds.

Unincorporated King County requires new and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor to the flood protection elevation, which the code defines…

Unincorporated King County limits shoreline docks to water-dependent uses, caps most residential lots to one dock or moorage facility, and bans new private boat launch ramps entirely.

King County requires erosion and sediment control on every clearing or grading site, with stricter seasonal limits from October 1 through April 30, in unincorporated areas outside…

Unincorporated King County lets homeowners clear brush and prune trees near a house for wildfire safety without a clearing permit, but only within fixed distance limits set by county…

Smoke alarms required in all King County dwellings per WA Building Code (RCW 19.27, IRC R314). New construction needs hardwired interconnected alarms with battery backup; battery-only…

Unincorporated King County bans retail fireworks sales outright and bars any use, discharge or display of fireworks without a fire marshal permit: there's no personal-use exception.

In unincorporated King County parks, campfires and fire pits are allowed only in spots posted and designated for that use, and only with a containment device such as a stove or fire…

Unincorporated King County allows limited tree and brush clearing near homes for wildfire preparedness without a clearing and grading permit, including clearing up to 100 feet with a…

Unincorporated King County's landscaping code treats stored rainwater as an approved 'alternative water source' for required irrigation and exempts rainwater-fed outlets from the…

King County Code § 14.52.080 forbids removing or cutting back street trees and plantings in county road right-of-way if it damages their appearance, letting utilities trim only enough…

Unincorporated King County's litter and dumping law carves out backyard composting: King County Code § 10.04.080(B)(1) says a compost pile or bin is never an unlawful accumulation of…

Unincorporated King County has no fixed inch limit on grass or weeds. Instead, the Fire Marshal or code official can declare overgrown weeds or vegetation a fire hazard, and owners who…

Unincorporated King County requires a clearing and grading permit before cutting or removing trees, except for narrow exemptions like emergency and hazard-tree removal.

Unincorporated King County requires new landscaping to use native or climate-adapted plants and encourages keeping existing natural vegetation in place rather than ripping it out for…

In unincorporated King County, parking outside the hours posted on time-limit signs is unlawful. There's no blanket overnight ban: the restriction only applies on streets where the…

Unincorporated King County requires electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in new off-street parking: EV-ready spaces for townhouses, and EVSE plus EV-ready percentages for new…

In unincorporated King County, drivers may stop in a marked passenger loading zone only to load or unload passengers, and only for a maximum of three minutes: anything longer or any…

Unincorporated King County designates certain arterials and school bus routes as snow emergency routes: the roads plowed and sanded first when winter weather hits, ahead of…

Unincorporated King County requires off-street parking areas, including driveways used for parking, to have dust-free, all-weather surfacing rather than bare dirt or loose gravel.

In unincorporated King County, parking a commercial vehicle wider than 80 inches on any county road between midnight and 6 a.m. is a traffic infraction, punishable by a $20 fine.

The county traffic engineer picks where loading zones, passenger-loading zones, and tow-away zones go on county roads and marks them with signs or words stenciled right on the curb…

Unincorporated King County caps outdoor-stored vehicles at six or eight per lot in R-1 through R-8 zones, but RVs, boats and trailers are explicitly excluded from that cap.

Unincorporated King County bans parking that blocks a driveway, leaves less than 10 feet of roadway clear, or stops on the wrong side of a one-way road; each violation is a $20 traffic…

Unincorporated King County bars parking, storing or abandoning a wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle on private property unless it's fully enclosed in a building or lawfully…

Certificated haulers in unincorporated King County must offer curbside recycling to every single-family home and multifamily complex, collecting at least nine set material types twice…

Unincorporated King County requires trash and recycling containers to be sturdy, rodent-proof and kept where your certificated hauler can reach them on collection day: the code sets no…

Unincorporated King County requires yard waste to be kept out of the garbage can. Certificated haulers won't empty a solid waste container with visible yard debris in it: they tag it…

Certificated haulers serving unincorporated King County must collect recyclable materials from every single-family home at least twice a month on the same day as trash pickup, under…

Certificated haulers in unincorporated King County must set their own holiday schedule and tell the county and customers about it in advance: King County Code § 10.18.010(E)(2)…

In unincorporated King County, certificated garbage haulers must pick up recyclables at least twice a month and put recycling on the same weekly day as regular trash collection.

Dumping solid waste anywhere but an approved receptacle or official disposal facility is unlawful in unincorporated King County, and a violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days…

Unincorporated King County has no curbside bulky-item pickup in its code; residents self-haul large items and appliances to county transfer stations, where drop box loads are capped at…

In unincorporated King County, garbage carts can't contain yard waste: haulers are barred from collecting a container with visible grass clippings or branches mixed in with regular…

Unincorporated King County caps how far a stand, box, platform or similar structure can encroach onto a county road right-of-way: no more than two feet from the right-of-way line…

In unincorporated King County, the county road engineer decides when a sidewalk needs repair and can bill the abutting owner if the owner caused the damage.

Private use or improvement of county road right-of-way in unincorporated King County requires a right-of-way use permit before work begins.

Unincorporated King County requires private pools, hot tubs and spas over 24 inches deep to be fully enclosed by a 60-inch barrier with self-closing, self-latching gates.

In unincorporated King County, an above-ground pool that can hold water more than 24 inches deep is regulated as a swimming pool under the Washington State Residential Code Appendix…

Unincorporated King County has no ban on retail dog or cat sales: pet shops can sell commercially sourced animals. But every pet shop, animal shelter, hobby kennel, and hobby cattery…

Unincorporated King County caps unaltered dogs and cats at three per dwelling unit; other household pets are limited to five, but altered (spayed/neutered) cats face no numeric cap…

In unincorporated King County, keeping an unaltered dog or cat past kittenhood/puppyhood is unlawful unless the owner holds an unaltered pet license for that animal.

Unincorporated King County protects active nests of bald eagles, ospreys, peregrine falcons, marbled murrelets, spotted owls, great blue herons and other species by drawing a…

In unincorporated King County, veterinary clinics are permitted outright only in the Office zone; in Agricultural, Mineral and Urban Reserve zones they are allowed solely as a home…

King County accepts an implanted microchip as a substitute for a metal license tag on licensed pets, and separately requires microchipping before any shelter adoption and before…

In unincorporated King County, not Seattle, Bellevue, or the county's other 27-plus cities, which run their own codes, cat owners must license cats eight weeks and older within 30 days…

In unincorporated King County, homeowners can keep up to ten poultry, chickens, or squab per lot under 35,000 square feet, adding one bird per additional half acre up to twenty total…

Unincorporated King County requires pet grooming services to hold an operating permit under County Code chapter 11.04 before opening; running one without the permit after a prior…

King County does not ban or restrict any dog breed by name. Instead, King County Code § 11.01.320 defines a potentially dangerous animal by conduct, such as biting or menacing someone…

Unincorporated King County prohibits harboring, keeping, or maintaining exotic animals as pets, dangerous snakes, primates, bears, non-domesticated cats and dogs (including wolf/coyote…

Unincorporated King County caps backyard beehives at fifty on lots under five acres, with no cap on larger parcels, and requires colonies in movable-frame hives.

In unincorporated King County, a dog running at large, off its owner's premises and not under a competent person's control, is a public nuisance violation that can trigger a civil…

Unincorporated King County has not opted out of retail cannabis: the zoning code permits cannabis retailers under King County Code § 21A.08.070.B.26, capping floor area at 2,000 square…

State law and King County Code require licensed cannabis retailers, producers, and processors to sit at least 1000 feet from schools, playgrounds, recreation centers, child care…

King County administrative offices and executive departments are banned from obtaining, retaining, accessing or using facial recognition technology, with narrow exceptions.

King County treats license-plate-reader data as personal information and bars county agencies and contractors from handing it to ICE, CBP, or USCIS for civil immigration enforcement…

In unincorporated King County, loud or raucous sound from a bar, nightclub or similar venue that reaches a residential or rural area, including band sessions or social gatherings, is a…

In unincorporated King County, air conditioners, heat pumps and other stationary equipment noise must stay under the county's district-based sound level table, dropping 10 dB(A)…

In unincorporated King County, amplified bass that's plainly audible or felt 50 feet from the source (300 feet for watercraft) in a residential or rural district is a public…

In unincorporated King County, generators count as regulated 'equipment,' so their noise can't exceed the county's maximum permissible sound levels: as low as 49 dB(A) reaching a rural…

Unincorporated King County treats a frequent, repetitive or continuous horn or siren on a motor vehicle, including a car alarm, as unlawful public disturbance noise unless it's warning…

Unincorporated King County bans any procession or parade on county roads unless the county first issues a special use permit. Funeral processions are the only exception. Once underway…

King County's Parks Division issues permits for community groups and individuals to hold gatherings, meetings, or events in county parks and recreation facilities; larger or private…

King County's traffic code regulates every motorized foot scooter operated on unincorporated county roads, alleys, trails and park property, including shared and dockless units. Riders…

In unincorporated King County, a transportation network company vehicle may not stop, stand or park on a county road except in a designated taxicab stand, unless it is briefly stopped…

King County Code lets Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes use regional trails and paved pathways in county parks, but bans Class 3 e-bikes from every trail and pathway in park areas.

Unincorporated King County taxes licensed social card game rooms at 11 percent of annual gross receipts over $10,000 under King County Code § 12.54.100. The tax rides on state…

In unincorporated King County it is unlawful to drive, or let anyone else drive, a motor vehicle on public highways without a muffler in good working order and constant operation…

Unincorporated King County limits industrial-source sound to 70 dB(A) reaching other industrial land, tapering to 65 dB(A) into commercial areas, 60 dB(A) into residential zones and 57…

In unincorporated King County, noise from aircraft and helicopters in flight, plus airport flight operations, is fully exempt from the county noise ordinance's maximum sound level and…

Loud, repetitive band sessions and amplified outdoor music in unincorporated King County are unlawful "public disturbance noise" once the sound reaches a residential or rural property…

In unincorporated King County, a pet making noise to an unreasonable degree that disturbs a person or neighborhood is a declared public nuisance, backed by civil penalties and…

Construction in unincorporated King County is permitted 7 AM to 10 PM weekdays and 9 AM to 8 PM weekends under KCC Title 12. The Permitting Division can issue temporary variances for…

Unincorporated King County tightens its noise limits at night: allowed sound levels drop by 10 dB(A) from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends in rural and…

Washington state law (RCW 35.21.830) preempts local rent control in King County and all Washington jurisdictions. Neither King County nor any city within it may cap rent increases…

Unincorporated King County's amended property maintenance code requires landlords to keep every dwelling unit, guest room, and bathroom heated to 70°F, and bars using the stove as a…

Since 2021, Washington's just-cause statute RCW 59.18.650 prohibits no-fault evictions of month-to-month tenants. Landlords in King County must cite one of sixteen enumerated causes…

Washington law (RCW 64.38.055 and RCW 64.90.510) prohibits King County HOAs from banning solar panels. Associations may impose reasonable aesthetic rules that do not significantly…

Unincorporated King County waives a building permit for roof-mounted home solar panels weighing under 4 pounds per square foot and rising no more than 18 inches above the roof; bigger…

In unincorporated King County, one-story tool sheds and playhouses under 200 square feet skip a building permit if the eave stays 3 feet from other buildings and the shed sits at least…

Unincorporated King County exempts accessory dwelling units from school impact fees under County Code § 21A.43.070.A.9, so building an ADU triggers no per-unit school fee that a new…

In unincorporated King County, one Accessory Dwelling Unit is permitted per primary detached dwelling or townhouse under KCC 21A.08.030.B.7.a. ADUs are limited to 1,000 sq ft of heated…

Unincorporated King County limits electronic changing-message signs to commercial and industrial zones and freezes the total count of billboard faces at 1988 levels, so a new digital…

Political signs on private property need the owner's written consent, and unincorporated King County requires them removed within ten days after the election under County Code chapter…

In unincorporated King County, billboards facing traffic corridors may only sit on CB, RB, or I zoned land, must be within 100 feet of the adjacent arterial, and are capped at five…

In unincorporated King County, any building the code official finds unsafe, unfit for occupancy, or unlawful is declared a public nuisance and must be repaired, rehabilitated…

Unincorporated King County requires owners to cut and destroy weeds once cited as a fire hazard, or face prosecution under Title 23.

Unincorporated King County lets any occupant bar door-to-door solicitors just by posting a sign. Under King County Code § 12.66.010, once a "No Solicitation" or "No Trespassing" sign…

Soliciting contributions for charitable or religious purposes in unincorporated King County requires a permit from the county director before any fundraiser begins: there is no general…

Unincorporated King County permits sanctioned homeless encampments only under a temporary use permit that mandates portable toilets, handwashing stations, refuse receptacles, a regular…

Home occupations in unincorporated King County's R, UR, NB, CB, and RB zones may host customer visits and deliveries only 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends, and…

Unincorporated King County caps home businesses at 20% of a dwelling's floor area and one on-site nonresident employee in residential and commercial zones.

King County's zoning code classifies in-home child care by headcount: up to 12 people in a 24-hour period is "Daycare I," a separate land-use category from home occupations, while any…

Unincorporated King County caps home occupation and home industry signs at one nonilluminated wall sign, no bigger than 10% of the facade it's mounted on.

In the North Highline/White Center design-standards area of unincorporated King County, new and substantially improved buildings must minimize night-sky illumination and use fully…

Unincorporated King County allows billboards to be illuminated, but light sources must sit no farther from the sign than its height and can't shine directly into homes or streets.

In unincorporated King County's North Highline design-review area, new commercial and multifamily buildings must aim exterior lights onto the building or adjoining ground, capping…

Unincorporated King County caps impervious surface, pavement, roofs, decks, by zone under Code § 21A.09H.030: 55% in R-4, 70% in R-6, 75% in R-8, and up to 90% in R-48, measured per…

Unincorporated King County sets a 10-foot minimum street setback and 5-foot interior setback in the R-4 through R-48 zones, with wider setbacks in UR and R-1.

In unincorporated King County's urban single-family zones (R-4 through R-8), homes are capped at a 35-foot base height, extendable to 45 feet only by adding one foot of setback for…

Unincorporated King County adopts the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code as its plumbing code, requiring a permit for plumbing work; the base permit fee is $132 plus $26 per fixture, and…

Unincorporated King County lets state-licensed family day care homes build to the residential code instead of the commercial code; larger stand-alone child care centers still must meet…

Unincorporated King County requires dwelling entry doors to have a dead bolt lock operable from inside without a key, mounted no higher than 48 inches.

Unincorporated King County has no mandatory green building code for private construction. Chapter 18.17 requires LEED Platinum or Living Building Challenge certification only for…

Unincorporated King County requires a posted inspection record card on every permitted job, and charges a reinspection fee whenever work isn't ready or corrections weren't completed…

Unincorporated King County requires automatic fire sprinklers in new IRC-built homes when fire access, floor area, or water supply fall short of set thresholds, with an exception for…

Unincorporated King County requires a building permit for most interior renovation work; simple finish work like painting, flooring, and cabinets is exempt, and a site plan is waived…

Unincorporated King County protects farmland with a dedicated Agricultural (A) zone that limits residential density and restricts uses to those compatible with farming.

King County agencies and the sheriff's office won't spend resources on civil immigration enforcement or hold people on ICE detainers without a judicial criminal warrant.

King County's wastewater utility must actively pursue reclaimed water reuse and keeps exclusive ownership of all reclaimed water its treatment plants produce.

In unincorporated King County, no one may plant trees, shrubs or other objects in the road right-of-way planting strip without a variance from the county road engineer, and abutting…

Unincorporated King County has no countywide downtown design code: only the North Highline subarea (the White Center activity center) has adopted urban design standards under K.C.C…

Unincorporated King County developments get bonus density or floor area for adding improved child daycare slots, up to 25% more dwelling units than the base zone allows.

King County levies a 1% tax on vehicle parking charges at the stadium and exhibition center owned by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, rising to 10% once construction…

Altering a significant feature of a King County-designated landmark requires a certificate of appropriateness from the county's Landmarks Commission before work begins, whether or not…

King County's sales-and-use-tax chapter doesn't set a standalone hotel tax rate. Instead it exempts hotel and short-term lodging sales from each add-on county tax once the combined…

Unmanned model aircraft, rockets, and drones are banned in King County parks and trails unless the county specifically designates and posts an area for that use or the parks director…

In unincorporated King County, property owners must furnish and maintain devices that prevent rodent infestation, then pay for extermination themselves once pests move in.

Unincorporated King County parks run on set hours: thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes after sunset. Staying or entering after that under County Code Section 7.12.255 is…

King County targets citations within 60 days of a complaint and notice-and-orders within 120 days, per code enforcement guidelines.

Unincorporated King County residents report suspected code violations through the county's online Permitting portal or by calling code enforcement at 206-296-6600; the code authorizes…

Unincorporated King County treats any plant on Washington's official noxious weed list, WAC chapter 16-750, as a regulated noxious weed under county code, regardless of the list's…