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Plumbing permits in unincorporated Pierce County, WA

Data through September 2026 · updated 20 Oct 2026

2,916 plumbing permits were issued in unincorporated Pierce County, October 2024 through September 2026: about 1,458 a year and 19% of all permits. 1,504 plumbing permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 7% more than the 1,412 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is April. The usual one took 21 days from issue to the county's final.

2,916permits issued
1,504last 12 months
Aprbusiest month
21days, usual issue to final
63%finished
Sep 2026records through

Plumbing permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 120Oct2024Nov 2024: 108Dec 2024: 142Jan 2025: 127Jan2025Feb 2025: 110Mar 2025: 128Apr 2025: 108May 2025: 103Jun 2025: 129Jul 2025: 110JulAug 2025: 114Sep 2025: 113Oct 2025: 117Nov 2025: 120Dec 2025: 138Jan 2026: 126Jan2026Feb 2026: 130Mar 2026: 97Apr 2026: 193May 2026: 108Jun 2026: 113Jul 2026: 120JulAug 2026: 104Sep 2026: 138
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024120
Nov 2024108
Dec 2024142
Jan 2025127
Feb 2025110
Mar 2025128
Apr 2025108
May 2025103
Jun 2025129
Jul 2025110
Aug 2025114
Sep 2025113
Oct 2025117
Nov 2025120
Dec 2025138
Jan 2026126
Feb 2026130
Mar 202697
Apr 2026193
May 2026108
Jun 2026113
Jul 2026120
Aug 2026104
Sep 2026138

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When plumbing permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). April is the busiest (124), May the quietest (87). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 104 (100 = an average month)February: 99 (100 = an average month)March: 93 (100 = an average month)April: 124 (100 = an average month)124May: 87 (100 = an average month)June: 100 (100 = an average month)July: 95 (100 = an average month)August: 90 (100 = an average month)September: 103 (100 = an average month)October: 98 (100 = an average month)November: 94 (100 = an average month)December: 115 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January104
February99
March93
April124
May87
June100
July95
August90
September103
October98
November94
December115

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How long a plumbing permit takes

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 890 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 20251,412
Finished63.0%
Expired35.5%
Usual days, issue to final21
Middle half, days7–70

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The county's own permit types

How the county filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Plumbing2,25677%
Mechanical42815%
Plumbing Commercial2268%
Mechanical Commercial6under 1%

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How Pierce County compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

Nearby permit data

Plumbing permits for other places in Seattle and Puget Sound. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

How these numbers are made

Source: Pierce County Open Data, Permits - Pierce County (Permits_Pierce_County, from PALS Plus), read 20 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building, mechanical, plumbing, manufactured-home, demolition, pool and sign permits Pierce County Planning & Public Works issues for unincorporated land only: Spanaway, Graham, Frederickson, Parkland, South Hill, Lake Tapps, the Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor peninsula and similar places. Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, Gig Harbor city, Bonney Lake and the other cities run their own permit offices and are not in this file. Engineering, sewer and fire-prevention permits are left out.

  • The county's open permit file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Pierce County.
  • The value is the building valuation the county works out to set the permit fee (largely from floor area and type of construction); mechanical and plumbing permits carry none. It is not a final cost.
  • The file has no property ZIP code, so there are no ZIP code pages for Pierce County.
  • Electrical permits in Washington are issued by the state Department of Labor & Industries, not the county, so electrical work does not appear here; rooftop solar appears only when it needed a county building permit.
  • Mechanical permits cover furnaces, heat pumps and air conditioning, and also gas piping, gas fireplaces and water heaters; those last are counted as plumbing when the description says so.
  • A final date is the county's final date; permits the county cancelled are not counted.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Plumbing permits in unincorporated Pierce County, WA", https://contractorrecords.com/pierce-county/plumbing-permits, data through September 2026, from Pierce County Planning & Public Works building-permit records.

Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Plumbing permits by month · Plumbing permits by calendar month (index) · Plumbing permits: days to final · Plumbing permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many plumbing permits does Pierce County issue a year?About 1,458 a year in unincorporated Pierce County: 2,916 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 1,504 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does a plumbing permit take in Pierce County?The usual one took 21 days from issue to the county's final inspection, and the middle half took 7 to 70 days (890 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Pierce County file the most plumbing permits?April (124 against an average month of 100); May is the quietest (87). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.