City of Everett, WA

Common application types

• Residential Building
• Commercial Building
• Demolition
• Adult Family Home
• Site Work
• Traffic Street Use
• Water/Sewer Utility
• Sign
• Residential Photovoltaic

New homes and additions

Residential Building permits cover new construction and remodels of one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes and ADUs/DADUs, and the submittal checklist varies by subtype and must be completed and submitted with the application. Work outside the building footprint is permitted separately as a Site Work permit. New critical areas regulations apply to applications received after June 1, 2026, and implementation of the 2024 Washington State Building Codes is delayed until May 3, 2027.

ADUs and middle housing

ADUs and DADUs are permitted under the Residential Building permit type, while multifamily buildings of 3 or more units, including attached ADUs, are permitted as Commercial Building. The Everett 2044 development regulations update (Ordinance 4102-25) was adopted June 18, 2025 and took effect July 8, 2025. The May 2025 Planning Commission memo on the regulations describes the Neighborhood Residential (NR) zone as allowing all middle housing types, detached houses and ADUs, with no maximum density and unit count limited by height, setbacks and lot coverage.

Commercial tenant improvements and change of use

Commercial, multifamily and industrial work is permitted as Commercial Building, with separate submittal checklists for tenant improvements and change of occupancy. A change of occupancy submittal requires a code analysis identifying the International Existing Building Code compliance method (prescriptive, work area or performance), and a Washington-licensed architect's stamp is required for projects over 4,000 square feet, more than 4 dwelling units, or where life safety or structural systems are affected.

Land use review

Planning uses a generic land use application for Review Processes I, II and III, with separate checklists for administrative use permits, conditional use permits, variances, development standards modifications and subdivisions. Pre-application meetings are requested through a Preapplication Meeting Request form.

Corrections and review

Each discipline issues its own correction letter, and applicants should wait until all disciplines have approved or issued corrections before resubmitting; Building and Public Works permits can be resubmitted separately. Resubmittals are uploaded to the Online Permitting Portal with the naming format Re-Review_DocumentType_MM.DD.YYYY and a transmittal sheet emailed to Permit Services. The City does not publish review time targets and reviews permits generally in the order received.

Tips from SASHKOV

• Email the completed transmittal sheet with every digital resubmittal; the City states that failing to do so will delay review.
• Upload resubmittal documents through the Attachments link (paper clip symbol) on the permit in the portal dashboard.
• Permit counter appointments are limited to 15 minutes and virtual appointments are no longer offered.

Where to apply

Permitting authority: Permit Services. Online submittals: Online Permitting Portal.