City of Vancouver, WA

Common application types

• Land Use Applications

• Residential Building Permits (new housing including ADUs, additions and remodels, garages and decks, demolition, grading)

• Commercial Building Permits

• Electrical, Mechanical or Plumbing Permits

• Tree Permits and Street Use Permits

• Field Evaluation Permit (inspection only)

New homes and additions

Projects with 1 to 6 housing units on one lot and three or fewer floors above grade use a Residential Building Permit; larger projects use a Commercial permit. Each new or remodeled structure needs its own application. The plan set covers the site plan, floor, foundation, framing and roof plans, a section, lateral bracing on the prescriptive path, and elevations, on sheets at least 11x17. Required documents include a Request for Utility Services Report (or a pre-application report from the last 365 days), the Stormwater Applicability Form, energy code forms, structural calculations for beams spanning 10 ft or more, and the Water Meter Sizing Worksheet.

ADUs and middle housing

Up to two ADUs can be built on a lot. A unit of 1,000 sq ft or less counts as an ADU and gets reduced impact fees. There is no owner-occupancy requirement and no minimum parking. Middle housing is allowed in the Low-Scale and Medium-Scale Neighborhood zones; vehicle parking is not required, and 7 or more units on a parent parcel need land use review. Unit lot subdivision is available. The City's new Comprehensive Plan, zoning map and zoning code took effect July 31, 2026.

Decks, retaining walls and accessory structures

No permit is needed for a shed of 120 sq ft or less, a deck 18 inches or less above grade, or a fence 6 ft or less outside an environmentally sensitive area. Critical area review can still apply. The City does not publish a retaining wall threshold online.

Commercial tenant improvements and change of use

Use the signed Commercial, Multi-Family & Industrial (CMI) application. The cover sheet states the occupancy classification or describes the existing and proposed use, with occupant load calculations. A major change of use needs mechanical plans. A Washington professional engineer is required when work adds or modifies load-bearing elements or supports equipment of 400 lb or more.

Land use review

Type I decisions are ministerial, within 28 days of a complete application. Type II has a 14-day comment period and a decision within 100 days of the Notice of Application. Type III goes to a hearing, with a final order within 14 days of the hearing. A pre-application conference is typically required for Type II, Type III and applicant-initiated Type IV applications; conferences run on Thursdays, typically within three weeks of the request, and comments expire after one year.

Corrections and review

Corrections arrive as changemarks in ePlans. Respond to each changemark in the applicant response column and upload corrected sheets under their original file names once all reviews are done. The City publishes no plan review timeline.

Tips from SASHKOV

• Upload each sheet as its own file; multi-page plan files are not accepted. Keep file names to 40 characters, add a scale bar and leave space for the approval stamp.

• An application expires if no permit is issued within one year of filing, or 60 days when tied to code enforcement.

• Issued residential and commercial permits expire two years from issuance, with one extension of up to 180 days.

• For work done without a permit, start with the Field Evaluation Permit. See the Vancouver stop-work guide.

Where to apply

Permitting authority: Community Development. Email the application to the permit desk, pay in the Online Permit Center, then upload plans in ePlans.