Transition to New Permitting System in October
Plumbing and gas piping permitting services will be temporarily suspended for approximately one week in October while Public Health—Seattle & King County’s Plumbing & Gas Piping Program transitions to a new permitting system, called the Public Health Permit Center. During this transition time, you will not be able to submit applications for new permits or plan reviews, make changes to existing permits, or submit payments. Plumbing inspections for existing permits and regular engagement and support for existing permits (including plan review services), will continue during this time. Please plan for this downtime accordingly.
We will share specific dates with you when available, and we will provide resources and guidance for how to use the Public Health Permit Center prior to the system launch.
Handling Expired Permits After New Permitting System Launch
As mentioned in previous newsletters, the ’90 Day Final’ expired permit option will be discontinued as part of the transition to The Public Health Permit Center in October. After the new system launch, you can close out an expired plumbing or gas permit by:
1. Obtaining a New Permit (standard approach)
With the recent update to KCC 16.32.080, the permit fee has been completely decoupled from the fixture count, so a permit can actually be issued with a fixture count of zero. This is the process by which most expired permits will be reconciled going forward.
When a plumbing or gas permit is originally pulled, the permit applicant pays a fee based on a certain number of fixtures. That overall permit fee covers the service of having each of those fixtures inspected from groundwork to final. If a permit expires prior to being finaled, that means there are inspections that have been paid for (through the original permit fee) but have not yet been provided. When a new permit is issued to finish an existing project, there is no need to charge a per-fixture fee unless the original scope of work has changed. If it hasn’t, then the applicant will only need to pay the base permit fee of $132. The per-fixture fees have already been paid as part of the original permit fee.
The new permit will have the same stipulations as any other new plumbing or gas permit. It will have an 18 month original term and may be renewed for an additional 18 months prior to expiration. If the permit is not renewed before it expires, a new permit will need to be purchased.
2. Requesting a Permit Extension (limited availability, special circumstances)
A permit ‘extension’ is different than a permit ‘renewal’ and is reserved primarily for very large projects (high-rise buildings, corporate campuses, etc.) that have construction schedules exceeding the standard 3 year permitting period. A request for a permit extension must be approved by both the Chief Plumbing Inspector (or designee), and the Assistant Division Director. The party requesting a permit extension will need to describe in writing any extenuating circumstances beyond their control that led to needing a permit extension and will need to explain why a permit extension is preferred over obtaining a new permit. Reviews for permit extension requests are expected to take 1-2 business days.
By Dave Price, Assistant Chief Plumbing Inspector, Public Health - Seattle & King County and Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington (MCAWW)
Some History
The listing requirement found in Section 301.2 of the plumbing code is intended to ensure that all installed products are safe for installation within a building plumbing system. This is particularly important for potable domestic water systems. Late in 2023, Public Health suspended enforcement of 3rd party listings for locally fabricated stainless steel fittings and assemblies because of some uncertainty around applicability.
There were differing opinions between Public Health and some of our stakeholders regarding fabricated assemblies specifically, and whether the valid listing of an individual component would be compromised by welding it to another listed component and installing the final assembly without any further testing. Some of our industry partners suggested fabricated fittings should be treated the same as a welded joint, and a subsequent 3rd party listing was unnecessary. Because of these and other concerns, we deferred enforcement of the listing requirement until the issue could be studied more thoroughly.
Stakeholder Meeting
On May 16th 2025, a stakeholder meeting was held to discuss the listing and enforcement requirements applicable to shop or site fabricated stainless steel fittings and assemblies. During the meeting, we connected with a wide range of stakeholders and experts, including professional welders, regulatory bodies (IAPMO and NSF), large and small manufacturers, organized labor (Local 32), and local trade groups (MCAWW and PHCC). Meeting attendees shared their opinions and experiences and were given time after the meeting to consider proposals and potential next steps.
Enforcement Approach
In June 2025, the Mechanical Contractor’s Association of Western Washington (MCAWW) submitted a written proposal for a regulatory solution. Public Health considered this initial proposal, and after further discussion, MCAWW issued a supplemental proposal on 7/31/25. After careful consideration, Public Health has decided to accept the supplemental proposal with a few minor clarifications. Essentially, the proposal is to require documentation that the materials and components used in these assemblies are NSF 61 compliant, and the welding procedures used are in accordance with nationally recognized American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) welding standards.
Below is a general outline of what we will be requiring soon if a contractor elects to use fabricated stainless fittings or assemblies in a branch outlet type of configuration (ref ASME B31.9-904.3) within a potable domestic water system (both hot and cold):
Within the Material Matrix on the design drawings, the following information shall be provided:
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Notation indicating which grade of stainless steel is being used (both for fabricated fittings, and for general pipe and fittings)
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Declaration that each component used to create a fabricated fitting or assembly is listed to a nationally recognized standard and that each component in the assembly (other than welding wire) is NSF 61 compliant.
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Confirmation that the welding wire used for all stainless steel welded joints and any welds used to fabricate fittings or assemblies complies with AWS A5.9 as required by UPC/SPC 605.13.2.
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Declaration that any and all fabricated fittings or assemblies used on the project have been welded according to the requirements of ASME B31.9.
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A note indicating the company name of the fitting or assembly fabricator and the address of the fabrication shop.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Permitted Projects:
Because no drawings are required to be submitted with OTC permits, all of the information noted above will be submitted to the jurisdiction through an Alternate Means and Methods Request Form (AMMRF). The submitted AMMRF must be approved and filed as part of the permit record prior to inspections being called. A separate AMMRF will be required for each OTC permit, although the main text of the AMMRF may be copied from one AMMRF to another for efficiency and consistency.
This documentation will not be required if using fabricated fittings or assemblies where the final product has been tested and listed to both NSF 61 and an appropriate fitting standard (IAPMO PS 53 or similar). However, these listed assemblies must be marked in accordance with industry standards for field inspection.
Timing for enforcement
As time permits, we will be updating our design guidance document to reflect this approach. We anticipate requiring this additional information for both plan review and over-the-counter permitted projects beginning in January 2026. Because this is a jurisdictional policy, the shift in documentation requirements will not coincide with the adoption of a particular code cycle.
Thank you!
Public Health would like to express our appreciation to all of the meeting attendees and those in the background that worked with us through this process to develop and distribute a reasonable solution. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out.
Statement from MCAWW:
We thank Public Health for considering feedback and proposed solutions from MCAWW and other key stakeholders regarding this matter, and acknowledge its readiness to work collaboratively towards a fair solution. We believe that this approach appropriately aligns the agency’s objective of safeguarding the safety, integrity, and longevity of potable domestic water systems with the plumbing contractor community’s commitment to constructing this essential infrastructure in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.
If you have any comments or questions about these or any other topics related to plumbing and gas inspections or permitting, please feel free to reach out to us at: planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov.
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