Tracking building permits in Seattle, Washington, means managing both land use and construction review. The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) issues land use, construction, and trade permits and runs inspections, and many projects need a Master Use Permit before construction review can finish.
Understanding Seattle's Permit Process
Applications, documents, and status run through the Seattle Services Portal, which covers records from 2005 to the present. Every construction and land use application starts with a Building & Land Use Pre-Application, followed by an intake appointment, or the Intake Express Lane for complete applications uploaded early.
Since October 1, 2025, the City has set goals for the time a permit spends in City control from intake to issuance and publishes current performance against them. Current times run roughly twice the goals across categories, and SDCI notes that total time including the applicant's corrections is about twice the City's share again.
Challenges for Architects in Seattle
Managing permits in Seattle presents a few challenges that are specific to the city:
- Intake waits: Construction intake appointments have been booking months out, which makes the express lane and early uploads worth planning for
- Design Review in transition: Following state law, interim rules adopted in September 2025 made Design Review voluntary while permanent rules are developed, so requirements can change between project kickoff and submittal
- Land use before construction: Projects needing a Master Use Permit, SEPA review, or shoreline or ECA approval face a separate discretionary process with public notice and appeal rights before construction can be permitted