In most of Washington the electrical permit comes from the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). In 25 named cities and in Tacoma Power's service area, the city or Tacoma Power issues it instead; this guide lists them and shows how to check your address.
In most of Washington, the electrical permit comes from the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). In 25 cities, and in Tacoma Power’s service area, it comes from the city or from Tacoma Power instead. Every other address buys its permit from L&I, including large cities such as Kent (King County), Spokane Valley (Spokane County) and Yakima (Yakima County).
L&I’s own permits page puts it in two sentences. If your jobsite is in a city that does its own permits and inspections or in Tacoma Power’s service area, “then you must purchase the permit and request the inspection from them.” And: “All other jobsites in Washington are permitted and inspected by L&I.” Everything below comes from L&I’s pages and forms, Washington statutes and rules, Tacoma Power, and the named cities’ own pages, read October 16, 2026.
L&I issues it unless your jobsite is inside one of 25 named cities or in Tacoma Power’s service area. L&I publishes the list.
The law allows both. RCW 19.28.101 makes L&I the inspector statewide. RCW 19.28.141 says that section does not apply “Within the corporate limits of any incorporated city or town” that adopts and enforces an electrical standard equal to or better than the state’s. It also does not apply within the service area of a city-owned electricity supply agency that was already enforcing its own standards outside the city’s limits on July 1, 1963.
L&I’s city list opens: “L&I does not issue permits or do inspections in the cities listed on this page or within Tacoma Power’s service area.”
These are the cities on L&I’s list, in L&I’s order. If your jobsite is inside one of them, the city sells the permit and does the inspection.
| City on L&I’s list | County |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Grays Harbor County |
| Bellingham | Whatcom County |
| Bellevue | King County |
| Burien | King County |
| Des Moines | King County |
| Everett | Snohomish County |
| Federal Way | King County |
| Kirkland | King County |
| Lacey | Thurston County |
| Lynnwood | Snohomish County |
| Marysville | Snohomish County |
| Mercer Island | King County |
| Milton | Pierce and King counties |
| Mountlake Terrace | Snohomish County |
| Normandy Park | King County |
| Olympia | Thurston County |
| Port Angeles | Clallam County |
| Redmond | King County |
| Renton | King County |
| Sammamish | King County |
| SeaTac | King County |
| Seattle | King County |
| Spokane | Spokane County |
| Tukwila | King County |
| Vancouver | Clark County |
L&I’s list names cities only. The counties are the Census Bureau’s, from its Vintage 2025 population estimates.
L&I’s rule covers what is inside city limits: “Within the limits of a city on this list: You must contact them to purchase an electrical permit and request an inspection.” An address outside those limits, even with the same city name in its mailing address, may be L&I’s. The address check below shows how to tell. For a listed city’s own fees and forms, see our Washington permit guides or the city’s permit office.
Tacoma Power issues electrical permits and does inspections for the properties it serves, in Tacoma and beyond. L&I lists it beside the 25 cities.
L&I’s wording: Tacoma Power “issues permits and performs inspections for properties they serve in the cities of Tacoma, Fircrest, University Place, Fife, parts of Steilacoom, Lakewood, and unincorporated Pierce County as far south as Roy.” All of those are in Pierce County.
So in Pierce County the question is the utility, not only the city. L&I: “Within Pierce County: Check to see if your jobsite is in Tacoma Power’s jurisdiction before you apply for your permit.” Tacoma Power’s own electrical permitting page takes applications through its online portal, links a service-area map, and lists its permit fees separately from L&I’s.
Look your address up in the Department of Revenue’s tax rate tool, which L&I itself points to. If it names a city on the list, call that city. In Pierce County, check Tacoma Power’s map too.
L&I’s instructions for the Department of Revenue’s address lookup: “Start by entering the street address and zip code. If no city is named under the Sales & Use tab, the address is in the county named. A city name is present only when the address is within a city.” L&I adds: “There is no guarantee that the tool is always up to date, but it is highly accurate.”
L&I also says to “verify jurisdiction before obtaining a permit to avoid delays and refund processing fees.” Its homeowner application starts the same way. It asks “Is this property within city limits?”, and a Yes answer meets “Stop!” until you have checked that no city or Tacoma Power covers the address.
If the lookup names no city, or a city that is not on the list, and you are outside Tacoma Power’s area, the permit is L&I’s.
Kent, Spokane Valley, Yakima, Kennewick, Auburn and Pasco are not on L&I’s list, so the electrical permit there comes from L&I, not city hall.
These six are among the larger cities not on the list. Populations are the Census Bureau’s estimates.
| City | County | Population, July 1, 2025 | Electrical permit from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | King County | 134,871 | L&I |
| Spokane Valley | Spokane County | 108,405 | L&I |
| Yakima | Yakima County | 97,458 | L&I |
| Kennewick | Benton County | 88,366 | L&I |
| Auburn | King and Pierce counties | 86,301 | L&I |
| Pasco | Franklin County | 82,848 | L&I |
Three of them say so on their own pages. Yakima’s permits page lists Electrical Permits and tells readers to “contact the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries”. Auburn’s FAQ: “The City does not issue electrical permits or perform electrical inspections.” Pasco’s FAQ: “All electrical permitting is handled by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.” Kent’s commercial permit guidelines also send electrical permits and inspections to L&I.
Spokane Valley is not Spokane. Spokane (Spokane County) is on L&I’s list, but a listed city’s permit covers only jobsites inside that city’s limits, so the City of Spokane’s electrical permit application is not for a Spokane Valley job.
These cities may still need other permits for the same project, such as a building permit for a remodel. That is the city’s call; the electrical permit is L&I’s.
Yes, on property you own, with limits. You need L&I’s permit, you sign an affidavit, and you do the work yourself.
RCW 19.28.261(1): “Nothing in RCW 19.28.161 through 19.28.271 shall be construed to require that a person obtain a license or a certified electrician in order to do electrical work at his or her residence or farm or place of business or on other property owned by him or her” unless one of two things is true. The two: “The electrical work is on the construction of a new building intended for rent, sale, or lease,” or “The electrical work is on property that is offered for sale within 12 months after obtaining the property.”
L&I’s Property Owner Electrical Work Permit Application (F500-094-000, revised 07-2026) carries the affidavit. You claim the exemption under RCW 19.28.261, and you must be on the deed: “Your name or your company’s name must be shown on the deed to the property. Real estate agents, property management companies, relatives, etc. cannot purchase permits for the property owner.”
For an existing home, the form’s checkbox reads: “I will not offer the property for sale within 12 months after obtaining the property, and I, personally, and/or a regularly employed employee(s) will be doing the electrical work.”
A friend or relative may help, under conditions. WAC 296-46B-925(14) allows it “on the condition that the householder is present when the work is performed and the person assisting the householder does not accept money or other forms of compensation.” For that subsection, “a residence is a single-family residence.”
The rule above is L&I’s. In a city on the list, ask the city about its homeowner permits before you start.
Only with a signed lease that says so. L&I’s rule for leaseholders is narrow, and in most rentals the answer is to call the landlord.
WAC 296-46B-925(13) lets a leaseholder buy a permit and do electrical work on existing buildings only, when the lease from the owner authorizes it. “The lessee who performs the electrical maintenance or installation work must be the sole occupant of the property or space.” L&I’s application asks for the paper: “We need a copy of your lease agreement showing you have permission to perform electrical work.”
If your lease does not say that, the work is not yours to do. Report the problem to your landlord.
The contractor does. L&I says you may not buy it for them.
L&I’s permits page: “If you are hiring an electrical contractor, they must purchase their own permits for the work they do on your property.” Its Permit Basics page gives the example to avoid: “Someone you’ve hired asks you to purchase a permit for the work they are doing on your property. This is against the law, and the permit is not valid.”
Under RCW 19.28.041(1), it is unlawful to offer or do electrical contracting work “without having an unrevoked, unsuspended, and unexpired electrical contractor license, issued by the department.” L&I’s credential is the Electrical Contractor license. Check a business on L&I’s contractor lookup before you hire. Our Washington directory lists contractors by county, each matched to L&I’s own license records.
L&I’s fees are set by rule. On a house, added or altered circuits start at $78.80 per panel, and an altered 200-amp service is $109.90. Cities on the list and Tacoma Power charge their own fees.
From WAC 296-46B-906 (effective July 1, 2026) and L&I’s residential fee worksheet (F500-133-000, 07-2026), read October 16, 2026:
Part of every permit is not refundable. WAC 296-46B-901(11) lists “The first twenty-five dollars of each permit purchase” among the things refunds are not available for.
Buy the permit before any work starts. Request the inspection before anything is covered, and within three working days of finishing or one working day of energizing.
WAC 296-46B-901(5) requires the permit to be obtained and posted “prior to beginning any electrical work.” One exception is for an owner: a permit for “emergency like-in-kind repairs to an existing electrical system(s) must be obtained no later than the next business day after the work is begun.”
WAC 296-46B-901(9) sets the inspection deadline: “no later than three working days after an entity completes its electrical/telecommunications installation or one working day after any part of the installation has been energized, whichever occurs first.” RCW 19.28.101(4): “No electrical wiring or equipment subject to this chapter may be concealed until it has been approved by the inspector making the inspection.”
A permit lasts a year. Under WAC 296-46B-901(11), permits “will expire one year after the date of purchase” unless the chief electrical inspector allows otherwise or the inspector closes the permit. L&I sells permits online through its Electronic Permit/Inspection System, by mail, or at an L&I office.
Yes, a short list of like-for-like replacements, which the rule calls Class A basic electrical work. New wiring is not on it.
RCW 19.28.101(1) says L&I “may not require an electrical work permit for class A basic electrical work unless deficiencies in the installation or repair require inspection.” WAC 296-46B-901(7)(b) defines that work. For a house it includes the like-in-kind replacement of “circuit breakers,” “single-family residential luminaires and line voltage smoke or carbon monoxide alarms,” “one household appliance,” and “a maximum of five snap switches, dimmers, receptacle outlets, thermostats, heating elements” among other items.
L&I’s Permit Basics page also lists plug-in household appliances as needing no permit. Anything not on the list needs a permit. Cities on the list may enforce the same exemptions, but RCW 19.28.141(2) says they are “permitted, but not required” to. In a listed city, ask the city.
We quote L&I, the statutes and rules, Tacoma Power and the named cities. We draw no legal conclusion of our own.
Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, each published by the body that sets, measures or administers the thing it describes. We record the document’s own date and the date we read it, because published pages change without notice.
| Source | Document date | We read it |
|---|---|---|
| Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) – Electrical Permits, Fees & Inspections | undated agency web page | 2026-10-16 |
| L&I – City Electrical Permits & Inspections (the list of cities and Tacoma Power) | undated agency web page | 2026-10-16 (list read in full) |
| L&I – Purchase Permits & Request Inspections | undated agency web page | 2026-10-16 |
| L&I – Electrical Permit Basics | undated agency web page | 2026-10-16 |
| L&I – Electrical Inspection Basics | undated agency web page | 2026-10-16 |
| L&I – Property Owner Electrical Work Permit Application, F500-094-000, with the fee worksheets F500-130-000 and F500-133-000 (PDF) | 07-2026; fees effective July 1, 2026 | 2026-10-16 (read in full) |
| Washington Department of Revenue – Tax rate lookup (the address tool L&I points to) | live lookup | 2026-10-16 (link only) |
| RCW 19.28.010, Electrical wiring requirements (subsection 3), Washington State Legislature | current RCW | 2026-10-16 |
| RCW 19.28.041, License required (subsection 1), Washington State Legislature | current RCW | 2026-10-16 |
| RCW 19.28.101, Inspections, permits, fees (subsections 1 and 4), Washington State Legislature | current RCW | 2026-10-16 |
| RCW 19.28.141, RCW 19.28.101 inapplicable in certain cities and towns, electricity supply agency service areas, and rights-of-way of state highways, Washington State Legislature | current RCW | 2026-10-16 |
| RCW 19.28.261, Exemptions (subsection 1), Washington State Legislature | current RCW | 2026-10-16 |
| WAC 296-46B-901, Electrical work permits and fees, Washington State Legislature | as amended by WSR 20-11-053 and 20-14-083, effective October 29, 2020 | 2026-10-16 |
| WAC 296-46B-906, Inspection fees, Washington State Legislature | as amended by WSR 26-10-060, effective July 1, 2026 | 2026-10-16 |
| WAC 296-46B-925, Electrical/telecommunications contractor’s license (subsections 13 and 14), Washington State Legislature | as amended by WSR 24-05-085, effective April 1, 2024 | 2026-10-16 |
| Tacoma Power – Electrical Permitting & Inspections | undated utility web page | 2026-10-16 |
| City of Yakima – Permits | undated city web page | 2026-10-16 |
| City of Auburn – Community Development FAQ | undated city web page | 2026-10-16 |
| City of Auburn – Permits, Licenses & Inspections | undated city web page | 2026-10-16 |
| City of Pasco – Building Permits & Inspection Services FAQ | undated city web page | 2026-10-16 |
| City of Kent – Commercial Building Permit Guidelines | undated city document | 2026-10-16 (summary read; not quoted) |
| U.S. Census Bureau – Vintage 2025 subcounty population estimates, Washington (sub-est2025_53.csv, POPESTIMATE2025) | Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025 estimates) | 2026-10-16 |
| U.S. Census Bureau – QuickFacts, Population estimates, July 1, 2025 (V2025), for Kent, Spokane Valley, Yakima, Kennewick, Auburn and Pasco | Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025 estimates) | 2026-10-16 (fact gate; each city’s QuickFacts table) |
| Washington Office of Financial Management – April 1, 2026 population of cities, towns, and counties (county of each city, cross-check) | April 1, 2026 estimates | 2026-10-16 (fact gate; counties only, not cited on the page) |
| L&I – Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business | live lookup | 2026-10-16 (link only) |
Tell us the job once — we send it to up to 3 license-verified electricians. Free, no spam, delete your request anytime.
Secure form. Sent over an encrypted connection to up to 3 license-verified electricians. Never sold to data brokers, and you can have your request deleted anytime.