One of the first questions homeowners ask about a concrete project is whether they need a permit, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you're building. Some concrete work clearly needs a permit and an inspection, some clearly doesn't, and a few cases fall in a gray area that depends on size and location. Here's a plain-English guide to what needs a permit in Bellingham and Whatcom County, and why you generally want your contractor to handle it.
The rule of thumb: anything structural needs a permit. Foundations, footings, and retaining walls over 4 feet tall all require a permit and an inspection. Flatwork like a replacement driveway or a patio often doesn't, unless it changes drainage or the street approach. When in doubt, it's a quick call to the permit center, and it's a call we make for you.
Concrete work that needs a permit.
- New foundations and footings. Any foundation for a house, addition, ADU, or garage needs a permit and a footing inspection before the pour.
- Foundation repair (structural). Underpinning, piering, and wall reinforcement are structural and require a permit.
- Retaining walls over 4 feet tall. In Washington, a retaining wall over 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, generally needs to be engineered and permitted. Shorter walls can still need a permit depending on slope and surcharge (a load behind the wall, like a driveway).
- Structural crawlspace work. Replacing failing posts, piers, and girders that carry the house is structural.
Concrete work that usually doesn't.
- A replacement driveway or patio on the same footprint, with no change to drainage or grade, often doesn't need a building permit.
- Walkways, small slabs, and flatwork at grade are typically fine without a permit.
- Short retaining walls under 4 feet with no surcharge are often exempt, but not always.
The catch is that even "no permit" flatwork can trigger a requirement if it changes how water drains, alters the grade near a property line, or affects the city right-of-way where your driveway meets the street. That street approach in particular often needs a separate review.
The 4-foot retaining wall rule.
This one trips people up, so it's worth being clear. The 4 feet is measured from the bottom of the footing, not from the ground you see. So a wall that looks 3 feet tall above grade can be over 4 feet once you count the buried footing, which puts it in permit-and-engineering territory. On Bellingham's hillside lots, where retaining walls are common, this matters, and getting it wrong means a wall that isn't engineered for the load it's holding. We measure it properly and tell you which category your wall falls in.
Who pulls the permit?
You can pull a permit yourself, but for structural concrete work you generally want your contractor to do it, and here's why. When the contractor pulls the permit, they're on record as responsible for the work meeting code, they coordinate the inspections, and they meet the inspector on-site. According to the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County, the permit and inspection process exists to make sure structural work is safe, and a contractor who pulls permits as a matter of course is a contractor who's used to building to that standard. We pull the permit, schedule the inspections, and meet the inspector for every structural job, so it's handled and documented.
The bottom line.
If your project is structural, a foundation, a footing, structural repair, or a retaining wall over 4 feet, it needs a permit, and that's a good thing: it means the work gets inspected and signed off. If it's flatwork, you're often clear, but it's worth a check for drainage and the street approach. Either way, we handle the permitting for the work that needs it. To see how this fits into a specific job, visit our retaining walls page or foundation repair page, or request a free quote and we'll tell you exactly what your project needs.
Common questions.
Do I need a permit for concrete work in Bellingham?
It depends on what you're building. Structural work, foundations, footings, structural repairs, and retaining walls over 4 feet, needs a City of Bellingham or Whatcom County permit and an inspection. Most flatwork like a replacement driveway or patio doesn't, unless it changes drainage or the street approach. We check it for every job.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Bellingham?
A retaining wall over 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, generally needs to be engineered and permitted in Washington. Shorter walls can still need a permit depending on slope and surcharge. We measure it properly and pull the permit when it's required.
Is the 4-foot retaining wall rule measured from the ground?
No, it's measured from the bottom of the footing, not from the visible ground. So a wall that looks about 3 feet tall above grade can be over 4 feet once the buried footing is counted, which puts it in permit-and-engineering territory. This is a common point of confusion, so we check it carefully.
Should my contractor pull the concrete permit?
For structural concrete work, generally yes. When the contractor pulls the permit, they're responsible for the work meeting code, they coordinate inspections, and they meet the inspector on-site. We pull the permit and handle the inspections for every structural job, so it's done right and documented.