A building permit in Spokane County is the approval that lets your new home move from plans to construction. It is also one of the steps that surprises first time builders the most, because it involves more than filling out a form. Plans, site details, water supply, and sewage all have to line up before the county signs off.
This guide explains what to know before you apply for a building permit in Spokane County, how the review works, what commonly causes delays, and how to set yourself up for a smooth start. It focuses on the application and review process for a new single family home.
Start by Confirming Who Issues Your Permit
Getting a building permit in Spokane County starts with the right office. Spokane County has several permitting offices. If your property is in unincorporated Spokane County, the county's Building and Planning department issues your permit. If it is inside a city such as Spokane or Spokane Valley, that city handles it with its own forms and rules.
This matters because requirements, fees, and timelines can differ. Check your parcel records or call the county first so you know which office you will be working with. The rest of this guide describes the process for unincorporated Spokane County.
What the Spokane County Building Permit Application Includes
The county sets out specific submittal requirements for a new single family residence. Plans go in as a PDF, and supporting documents are saved as separate, individually named PDF files.
Expect to prepare items such as:
- A site plan, foundation plan, floor plan, and key plan
- A framing plan, elevations, cross sections, and details
- Energy compliance forms for a heated home
- Beam calculations and truss packages
- Structural or engineering analysis where it applies
The Site Plan Matters Most
The site plan is often where reviews slow down. It must show property lines, structures, setbacks, streets and rights-of-way, utilities, and parking, drawn to scale with a north arrow. For new construction with land disturbance, the county also asks you to show critical areas and buffers, such as wetlands, streams, steep slopes, flood zones, and shorelines, along with cut and fill quantities and erosion control measures.
Because the site plan connects your home to the land, it is worth having it prepared carefully before you apply for a building permit in Spokane County. Missing details are one of the most common reasons a permit is returned for corrections.
Water Supply Requirements
In Washington, a new home needs proof of an adequate water supply before a building permit is issued. In Spokane County, what that means depends on where your property sits.
- Little Spokane River watershed: If your home will use a private well drilled before 2018, you provide a well log showing it was constructed before that date and meets state well construction standards. For wells drilled after 2018, you choose between a water use restriction recorded on the property title, with a fee, or a stream flow mitigation certificate.
- Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie aquifer area: The county directs applicants to the Department of Ecology's Eastern Regional Office for help with the water bank.
- Other watersheds: The requirement is typically a well log and a demonstration of sufficient water quantity and quality through the Spokane Regional Health District.
If your lot relies on public water, you will work with the water provider instead. Because these rules are tied to your watershed, find out which one applies to your parcel before you commit to a design.
Septic and Sewer Approvals
Sewage disposal is a separate review that connects to your Spokane County building permit. If your lot uses a septic system, the Spokane Regional Health District reviews it for compliance, permits it, and inspects it after installation. If you will connect to public sewer, you apply through the sewer provider, and Spokane County's online portal also lets you apply and pay for sewer permits.
Plan for these approvals early, since a Spokane County building permit moves faster when they are lined up. Septic and well locations affect where the house can sit, and they need required distances from each other.
How Long Does Review Take?
How long a building permit in Spokane County takes is one of the first questions homeowners ask. The county publishes review timeframes as goals, not guarantees. For a new single family home, the county's goal is 14 business days for plan review. Smaller items move faster, and plan revisions have shorter targets.
Projects that need environmental review may take longer, and an incomplete application will take longer than a complete one. Resubmittals generally get a quicker review than the first pass, but a clean first submittal is still the fastest route.
Timing can also depend on how busy the office is, so treat these numbers as a planning guide and confirm current expectations with the department.
Common Causes of Delays
The county has noted that a building permit in Spokane County historically slows down for a handful of reasons:
- Incomplete drainage plans
- Missing landscaping details
- Floor area calculations that do not match the plans
- Documents that are inconsistent from one department to another
- Site plans with missing information
- Plans missing the seal of the design professional
- Slow or incomplete responses to plan review corrections
Most of these are avoidable with careful preparation. Make sure your drawings follow the International Codes, your building type is identified correctly, accessibility items are addressed, and any pre application requirements are built into the plans.
Using the Online Portal
The Spokane County building permit process runs largely through an online portal. After you create an account, you can submit and upload plans and documents, pay plan review fees, apply and pay for sewer permits, schedule inspections, and upload final construction documents.
Setting up your account before you need it helps, since access codes can take a little time. The county's Building and Planning office can help if you run into trouble getting access.
Inspections After Approval
A Spokane County building permit does not end the process. Once it is issued, inspectors check key stages of construction, such as the foundation, framing, and mechanical systems. Work generally needs to pass each inspection before the next phase can start. Your builder schedules these as the project moves forward.
Steps to Get Your Permit
Here is a simple order to follow for a building permit in Spokane County:
- Confirm whether your parcel is in unincorporated Spokane County or a city
- Check zoning, setbacks, and critical area limits on your lot
- Confirm your water supply requirements for your watershed
- Plan your septic or sewer approvals
- Finish your floor plan and prepare complete drawings and a full site plan
- Create your online portal account and submit your application
- Respond promptly to any plan review corrections
How Adair Handles Permitting
You do not have to chase a building permit in Spokane County yourself. Adair manages site preparation, permitting, trade coordination, and construction from start to finish. Our Site Services team handles permits, excavation, trenching, grading, and utility coordination, so the paperwork and site work are organized together.
Adair builds throughout Spokane County, including Cheney, Deer Park, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Medical Lake, Airway Heights, and surrounding areas. A network of trusted trade partners completes specialized work while Adair oversees and manages the build. Adair has been building since 1969 and has completed more than 25,000 homes.
Once your Spokane County building permit is approved and the site is ready, construction begins with the foundation. In Washington, Adair build timelines run 8 to 10 months, beginning after the foundation is poured, and timelines are never guaranteed.
If you plan to use a construction loan, Adair works with Basis Home Loans, and speaking with them early helps you line up financing with your permit timeline.
Start With a Site Visit
The easiest way to learn what a building permit in Spokane County will require for your property is to have an experienced team look at it. Schedule a site visit with Adair Homes. We will review your lot, talk through your goals, and show you how we manage every stage, from developing your site to the final walkthrough.
