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Permitting
Historical building permits
King County did not begin issuing building permits until 1941, and prior to 1972, the permits themselves were not retained. For building permit information after 1972 (in unincorporated King County only), please contact the King County Permitting Division.
Building permit master logs, 1942-1972
King County Archives holds this register of building permits issued from June 1942 to May 1943. Record information includes owner's name, permit number, valuation of improvement and address of property.
Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue holds a second register of permits issued from 1941 to 1972. (Commercial building permits are noted separately for 1959-1965.) Please contact the Regional Archives to access these records.
Building permit index cards, 1954-1971
Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue holds these index cards to building permits issued, arranged by name of owner. Information includes owner's name, permit number, address of property, type of construction, county planning area, and date issued. Please contact the Regional Archives to access these records.
Historical building codes
The "county building code" is actually an industry standard--the Uniform Building Code (UBC) that King County periodically re-adopts as new versions are issued. Sometimes the county makes certain changes or additions to sections of the UBC. These historical adoptions, changes, and additions are documented in King County legislative files such as Council ordinances and Commissioners' resolutions. Council ordinances are digitized and available on the King County Legislative Archive.
King County Archives holds the original Council ordinances and Commissioners' resolutions. The published text of the UBC are sometimes attached to the individual legislative files that document the adoption of the code changes. Please contact the Archives to access the physical copies if you can't find the UBC attachment in the digitized version of legislative files. Please be aware that sometimes the published UBC texts were separated from the legislative files, particularly prior to 1969.
King County Law Library and the University of Washington Engineering Library both provide access to older editions of the published UBC.
Historical certificates of occupancy
Prior to May 1956, King County issued certain "special" or "temporary" (Home Occupation) permits. In May 1956, these permits were replaced by use and occupancy permits. Before 1969, the issuance or denial of these permits was recorded in the Journal of Proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners. These entries may be found through the hand-written Index to Commissioners' Proceedings, which is held by King County Archives. To do an effective search in the Commissioners' Proceedings, you need an approximate date of issue for the permit, or the name of the property owner or applicant.
The actual certificates no longer exist. The Commissioners' Proceedings only reference whether a permit was issued or denied on a certain date.
For information about more recent certificates of occupancy, please contact the King County Permitting Division.
Additional historical King County property permit records
King County Commissioners' index to franchises, permits, easements and agreements, 1889-1918
These records were copied from the official proceedings of the King County Commissioners, county deeds, or official Auditor's filings. They constitute a selective transcription of transactions which relate to the use of county property and rights-of way. The transactions include franchises, permits, easements, and other agreements for projects and activities such as railroad grade crossings, lines, gravel pits, and road vacations.
Franchise files, 1898-1988
Washington State allows counties to grant franchises that permit corporations to use and occupy public streets, roads, rights of way, and public places over which a county exercises its jurisdiction. These records document individual utility and transportation franchises issued by King County between 1898 and 1988 to private companies (railroad, streetcar, gas, electric power, water, and cable television companies); water and sewer districts; federal agencies (Bonneville Power Administration; Civil Aeronautics Board); and local municipal governments.
King County Archives holds franchise file documents. The records vary over time but generally include a letter of application, a legal description of the proposed franchise, and records of the county's response. Additional correspondence may be present. Maps accompany most text records and may be either annotated copies of commercial or plat maps, or original maps created by the applicant.
King County Commissioners' state regulatory agency cause files, 1910-1959
The state of Washington, through its agencies, regulates and supervises providers of public utilities and transportation systems within the state. King County Archives holds copies of documents filed with state regulators in causes which either directly affected county property (e.g., county roads and rights-of-way) or were those in which King County maintained an interest (i.e., where the actions affected unincorporated areas of the county). the County Engineer organized these records into the following two groups: railroad grade crossing permit files (1910-1941) and utility permits and franchises (1939-1959). An inventory of these records is available.
King County special permits, 1937- 1958
King County Commissioners' Resolutions 6494 and 11373 authorized the issuance of certain "special" and "temporary" permits. The permits were given alphanumeric identifiers (P, PD, and TP, followed by a number). These permit files no longer exist. However, you may identify basic information about the permits, such as petitioner name and date of Commissioner action, by searching the handwritten Index to Commissioners' Proceedings.
Zoning and Subdivision Examiner: Exhibits, Palmer Coking Coal Company landfill application, 1963-1971
In 1963, the Palmer Coking Coal Company applied to King County government for a permit to construct a sanitary landfill to be operated on a 1,100-acre site in the Coal Creek valley near Newcastle. In 1964, the King County Planning Commission denied the application, a denial sustained by the Board of County Commissioners. In 1967, Palmer Coking applied for permission to construct a smaller, 80-acre sanitary landfill in the same general location. The Planning Commission approved this application with conditions. The company appealed the conditions to the Board of County Commissioners, who reversed the Planning Commission and denied the permit. After the 1969 adoption of the County's Home Rule Charter, the company re-submitted its second application. In 1970, King County Council granted the permit despite a County Executive veto.
Between November 1970 and November 1971, the Zoning and Subdivision Examiner conducted public hearings on the permit, and the permit was denied. Additional appeals and hearings followed during the next decade, and in 1980, King County Council granted Palmer Coking an unclassified use permit to construct a landfill at the site for non-putrescible material and demolition waste (Ordinance 4804).
King County Archives holds records that the Subdivision and Zoning Examiner generated and collected during the 1970-1971 hearing process (file no. P 70-7). Many records in the series relate to the earlier actions under the King County Board of County Commissioners. Record types consist of correspondence, memorandum, hearing minutes, case history files, subpoenas, and exhibits, which comprise the bulk of the series and are arranged by exhibit number. Photographs and maps are also present in this series.
King County Document Collection
The King County Archives Document Collection contains individual reports and studies by King County agencies include draft and final environmental impact statements submitted in support of commercial site development permits, proposed building permits, shoreline permits, storm-water permits, and unclassified use permits. The collection also contains statistics about county permits, and audits of permitting operations.
King County Commissioners' permit files, 1916-1942
Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue holds permits for construction on road rights-of-way for purposes, including pipelines, pole lines, railroad crossings, gasoline pumps and sidewalks, and pool halls. Files are mostly complete up to 1922. After that period, the records were sampled to show examples of typical permit types. Please contact the Regional Archives to access these records.
King County Commissioners' miscellaneous files, 1945-1969
Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue holds Commissioners' miscellaneous files that contain records of permits of a non-routine nature. Most permits were issued after 1960. Please contact the Regional Archives to access these records.