Thurston County, Washington

The content on the Thurston County website is currently provided in English. We are providing the “Translation” for approximately 10 languages. The goal of the translation is to provide visitors with limited English proficiency to access information on the website in other languages. The translations do not translate all types of documents, and it may not give you an exact translation all the time. The translations are made through an automated process, which may not result in accurate or precise translations, particularly of technical and legal terminology.
County Contacts
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Thurston County Washington

Community Planning and Economic Development

What We Do After You Apply for Permits or Reviews

  • A Permit Technician enters your project into a permit tracking system.
  • Your project proposal gets distributed to three different county departments for review.
  • Planners in all three departments make sure the proposal meets all applicable codes and ordinances. 
  • Planners from these departments may contact you asking for additional information, or to schedule an on-property review and inspection. 
  • Reviews are in office and on-property.
  • Reviews are for zoning, environmental (critical areas, gophers, shorelines, wetland, hazard areas), septic, well, building, building site, right-of-way access (drawings driveway/s entering the road), erosion control, stormwater drainage, etc. 
  • It's common for most application packets to need some revisions, and additional information, so expect a call or email.
  • If your project property is in a regulated environmental area, staff may ask you to hire environmental experts to prepare detailed reports about where you can build on the property.
  • Keep your application moving through the process: give us accurate contact info & respond quickly if we ask for information (or make sure your contractors do). 
  • When county review is complete, the county will notify you. 
  • You can check the status of your application review anytime with Permit Tracker.