Reminder – we have a new permitting system!
Plan submittals and revisions will no longer be accepted by email. These materials must be submitted in the Permit Center instead.
Revised inspection schedules
Plumbing & Gas field inspectors will be working slightly modified hours from 1/20/2026 through 12/1/2027.
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New hours: 6am-2:30pm (a 30-minute shift from the prior schedule).
Your assigned inspector may be calling the listed site contact as early as 6am on the day of your requested inspection.
The revised hours are intended to help mitigate delays associated with planned road construction, lane closures, and increased traffic related to upcoming major sporting events, including the World Cup later this year.
Backflow assembly installation and permitting
Backflow assemblies within buildings are required to be installed by a licensed Plumber, and unless meeting an exception in the statute, the permit required for backflow installation can only be issued to a licensed Plumbing Contractor (RCW 18.106). This is because backflow assemblies are directly connected to, and considered part of, the potable domestic water system, including those assemblies used exclusively for fire protection or irrigation systems.
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries confirmed this is the correct application of RCW 18.106 last year, and the interpretation was reviewed and upheld by the Washington State Assistant Attorney General’s office.
Enforcement of UPC/SPC 507.5, water heater drainage pans
As described in our July 2025 newsletter, we are starting stricter enforcement of water heater drainage pans this year. This is happening as a result of a more literal reading of the Code, and to better align with other local jurisdictions and building departments.
In general, the updated enforcement guidance can be summarized as: Unless installed on or above a concrete floor, all storage water heaters shall be provided with a drainage pan in accordance with UPC/SPC Section 507.5.
The key portion of the code section being more strictly enforced is “…where damage results from a leaking water heater…”. In most types of interior construction (other than concrete), exposure to leaking water from any source can create various levels of damage, including structural damage and mold.
Additional guidance regarding water heater drainage pans:
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The pan drain must be directed to an approved indirect receptor (not outdoors).
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Drain lines from drainage pans shall not be connected to other drainage pan drain lines originating from other dwelling units or tenant spaces.
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Updated enforcement will not be applied to permits issued prior to 1/1/2026.
After a full month of operating in the new Public Health Permit System, we have assembled a few of the most common issues our customers have been experiencing and how best to avoid or resolve those issues.
Account login issues
When first signing up for a new account, it is important to use the “Create account” button and not attempt to log in using your old SKC Portal account email and password. Attempting to sign in or request a lost password without first setting up your new account will cause errors.
 Missing certifications
When applying for any permit as a Contractor, your contractor license will be checked against the L&I contractor database for a valid Plumbing Contractor or General Contractor license for plumbing system applications and gas system applications, respectively. If you receive a certification error during the application process, it is likely because of a missing certification.
To add a certification to your account:
- Log in to your account
- Select your name in the upper right corner
- Click on the arrow and select ‘My Account’.
- Click on the tab labeled ‘My Certificates’ and then select ‘Add Certificate’ to enter your WA State license number(s):
 For detailed guidance and screenshots, see: How to avoid and resolve certificate errors
Note that you may apply for a plan review project without any certification, but a licensed contractor will need to be added as a contact to the permit before the actual permit can be issued.
Inability to view existing permits
When older permit data was transferred to the new system, only a single contact was carried over. The permit is only visible to the contact(s) associated with the permit in the new system. If you do not see a permit that you were previously associated with, there is a chance you are no longer listed as a contact for that permit in the new system.
First, reach out to other project team members to see who might have access to the permit in their account.
- If the permit was in ‘Issued’ status, the contact is typically the Contractor that was listed on the permit.
- If the permit application required a plan review and the permit was in ‘Approved’ status, the Applicant information was brought over.
You can also request access directly from the contact who has access using the ‘My Associations’ tab of the Contact Manager in your Permit Center account. Click the arrow in the upper right corner next to your name and select Contact Manager. You should then see a screen similar to the image below:
 If you are already listed as a contact, you can add other project team members using the ‘Associates’ tab of the Contact Manager (see image above).
If no team member appears to have access, please contact the Plumbing & Gas program (email planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov) and provide the permit number. We can research the permit contact list from our side and make adjustments as needed.
Duplicate accounts
There are many instances of duplicate accounts in the new system because some people had multiple accounts in the old system (typically caused by using different emails or phone numbers). In a recent example, the same contractor had (6) different accounts.
If you created a new account using a specific email address, you will only be able to access permits associated with that same email address. Other accounts you may be affiliated with (but are not actively using) might have other permits associated with it that you are not able to see from your dashboard.
To resolve this issue, please reach out to us directly either by calling our permit technicians (206-263-9566 or 206-477-8050) or emailing the Plumbing & Gas team at planreviewinfo@kingcounty.gov. We can search for any duplicate accounts and merge them together so that all of your permits are visible from your Permit Center dashboard.
How many accounts should my company have?
Companies of all kinds have asked us how many Permit Center accounts they should have. In our new system, an inspection can only be requested online by a person with an account (the old IVR phone number has been deactivated). With that being the case, does it make sense to have a different account for each person that may need to request an inspection? How about each engineer or designer?
In most cases, we recommend having a single account per company. This advice holds for Contractors, engineering firms, architectural firms, Owner groups, etc. This approach ensures all of the employees that are given login information are able to view that company’s open permits, process plan reviews, and request inspections.
While multiple employee accounts could be created, only the contacts listed on a permit record are able to see it. If for example your project team includes a couple of foremen, an engineer, a project manager, and a permit specialist all from the same company, all of those separate contacts would need to be added to the permit record for the entire project team to be able to interact with the permit. Either a single company account, or perhaps a ‘field’ account and ‘office’ account would help simplify account management.
Another issue arises when employees leave the company. An individual using the company’s contractor license could potentially continue pulling permits under their name using their existing Permit Center account without the company being aware of it. Any permits that were applied for by that individual would not be visible to other company employees unless specifically added as a contact by the person applying. Of course, using a single account can also be problematic if someone intentionally or unintentionally changes the account password, cancels an inspection, uploads incorrect drawings, etc., but this type of activity will be much more obvious with a shared account and can therefore be quickly corrected.
Thank you for your patience as we work through this adjustment period!
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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