Oil Tank Decommissioning In Unincorporated King County
Cross the Seattle city limit and the fee disappears, the inspection was never there, and a different body decides who is allowed to touch the tank.
- Permit fee
- No fee
- Inspection
- Not required
- Certified by
- County Fire Marshal
- Filed through
- MyBuildingPermit
The Free Permit Nobody Mentions
The residential decommissioning permit in unincorporated King County carries no fee and requires no inspection. Both facts come straight from the Permitting Division handout dated June 2024.
That is a real difference rather than a technicality. The same tank in a Seattle street costs $184.00 to permit. Half a mile south in White Center it costs nothing.
What The County Requires Instead
A Contractor On The County List
The work has to be done by a contractor the King County Fire Marshal has certified, and the Permitting Division publishes that list. This is a different gate from Seattle’s, which turns on an individual holding an International Code Council certificate.
Three Documents To The Homeowner
The contractor hands over a copy of the county permit, the rinse receipt and a site plan. The rinse receipt is the one that matters later, because it evidences the tank was cleaned and disposed of to Department of Ecology standards.
Applications Go Through MyBuildingPermit
Filed online as King County, Fire, then Decommission and Storage Tanks. The Permitting Division fields questions on it directly.
Commercial And Multi Family Are Not This
Anything above four units needs a site plan at submittal, carries plan review and inspection fees, and does get inspected on issuance. The free, uninspected route is residential only.
Which Side Of The Line Is The Property On
This is the part that catches people. Addresses in White Center, Skyway, Bryn Mawr, Fairwood and Klahanie, Cottage Lake, Hollywood Hill sit in unincorporated King County, not in Seattle, even where the postal address and the daily life say otherwise.
Neighboring incorporated cities run their own fire permits again: Shoreline, Burien, Tukwila, Renton, Bellevue and Kirkland each have their own process. Send the address and the question resolves in a sentence.
Inside the city limits, Seattle’s Permit Code 6103 applies instead.
Common Questions
- How much is the King County oil tank decommissioning permit?
- There is no fee. The King County Permitting Division handout states that no fee will be charged for the residential permit, and that no inspection is required.
- Who can do the work in unincorporated King County?
- A contractor certified by the King County Fire Marshal. The Permitting Division publishes the list of certified residential oil tank decommissioning contractors.
- What counts as residential for this permit?
- Single family homes, duplexes and townhomes up to four units. Multi family and commercial tanks need a site plan, carry a fee and do require an inspection.
- What do I get at the end?
- The contractor gives the homeowner a copy of the King County permit, the rinse receipt and a site plan. The rinse receipt is the proof the tank was cleaned and disposed of to Department of Ecology standards.
- Is my address inside Seattle or unincorporated King County?
- A White Center or Skyway address usually is not in Seattle even though it feels like it. Send the address and we will confirm which counter it goes to before anything is filed.
We Will Confirm The Jurisdiction First
Before anything is filed we check which authority the property answers to, because it decides the fee, the certificate and the paperwork you end up holding.