Building Development Center

Why Permits and Inspections are Necessary

The permit process is more than just procedure and paperwork – it’s a way to ensure structures are safe for you and the people you love. Inspectors make sure buildings comply with important building codes, including checking the foundation, framing, insulation, roofing, plumbing, door locks, sheetrock and grading.

The permits also help ensure that people build correctly in environmentally sensitive or hazardous areas – such as floodplains – and comply with land-use and zoning plans that preserve the quality of life here in Thurston County.

Permit review is also a financial issue.  Proper permitting helps protect property values.  Also property insurers often refuse to cover damages caused by work done without permits and inspections. Likewise, banks often will decline to finance a purchase without proof of a final inspection.

Proceeding with a project without a permit may mean that the project will ultimately have to be removed or remedied somehow -- and that costs money. So before a project is started, see if a permit is required.

See Improvements and Repairs that Require a Permit.

Contact Us

Thurston County Building Development Center, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Olympia, WA 98502-6045.
Phone: (360) 786-5490. TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388  E-mail: permit@co.thurston.wa.us.