Research a Project

Shaping Seattle allows you to enter an address, project number, or browse a map to find the site or area that you are interested in and see what permit activity is underway. This tool is helpful if you'd like to view multiple permits within a geographic area or are unsure of the address or project number. You can also quickly review the project description, learn the permit stage, identify related permits, and access most documents.  

Important note: Most construction plans (including trade, side sewer, electrical, etc.) from 2007-present are not listed but are available via request. For security reasons, access to approved construction plans must be accompanied by an individually-written request. For a copy of approved building plans associated with an issued permit, send your request, including the permit number and project address, to the microfilm library (SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov). We will send the plans to you by email. Please note that construction plans for certain buildings, including jails and infrastructure facilities, are not available to the public.    

Know What Active Project You’re Looking For?

With an address or project number, you can access the SDCI permit tracking system using the Seattle Services Portal to find all permit activity from 2005 to present, including the: 

• Applicant team 
• Project description 
• Permit status 
• Inspection status 
• Related permits 
• Project documents, including plans, application materials, comment letters, and technical reports 

On the Seattle Services Portal home page, click on Search All Records and enter an address or record number. Once you get your results, you can sort them alphabetically or numerically by clicking on the column title. The links under the Record Number column title will take you to all the information available through the Seattle Services Portal. Please note that you will not find historical microfilm permits in the Seattle Services Portal. Those files are only available in our Permit and Property Records library (see Find Permit & Property Record Information section below.

Important note: Most construction plans (including trade, side sewer, electrical, etc.) from 2007-present are not listed but are available via request. For security reasons, access to approved construction plans must be accompanied by an individually-written request. For a copy of approved building plans associated with an issued permit, send your request, including the permit number and project address, to the microfilm library (SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov). We will send the plans to you by email. Please note that construction plans for certain buildings, including jails and infrastructure facilities, are not available to the public.    

Are you looking for characteristics associated with a site, such as zoning or environmentally critical areas? If so, please visit the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections GIS map.  

On this map, you can enter an address or zoom to the point on the map you are interested in and select the informational layer(s) you would like to view. Available layers include: 

• Zoning 
• Environmentally critical areas 
• Urban centers and villages 
• Parcel boundaries 
• Shoreline environments 
• Other GIS overlays 

Click on the help icon (?) on the upper right-hand bar on the map for more details on how to navigate the site.  

Are you trying to do custom research using permits numbers, date, and descriptions for activity on a site, on current or historical projects? Please visit the Seattle Open Data Land Use Permits Map and Land Use Permits Dataset or the Building Permit Map and Building Permit Dataset. 

On these open data maps, you can enter an address or zoom to the point on the map you are interested in and then click the dots associated with that site. If there is a lengthy history of permitting on a site, these maps may be difficult to navigate. 

The land use and building permit datasets include all permitting data from 2005 in a data view. These datasets are helpful if you are doing extensive research on permitting trends. You can download a spreadsheet to manipulate the data. You can also contact the Seattle Open Data team to get help setting up an API if you need one for your research project. 

Are you looking for the legal description, parcel number, year built, tax and sales history of a site, or related attributes of an existing building as recorded by the County? Visit the King County Department of Assessments Parcel Viewer. You can search by address or parcel number, or zoom in on the map and click on a parcel. Once a parcel is selected, you will get direct links to the King County Assessor’s Property Report and details. 

Are you looking for land use plans, permits, inspection reports, or historic records for any permit past or present? Please visit Permit and Property Records, SDCI’s online public-facing document library. You can search this tool by address or record number. SDCI has completed a multi-year process of scanning all plans and permits into the electronic library and is in the process of uploading these documents to the library. The following list shows what is currently available (see also Find Historic Permits section below). 

• Land use plans and projects from 2007-present.
• All permits and inspections from 2005-present.
• Historical permits on microfiche from 1970-2004 are available under the title “Historical Microfilm Permit” in the Permit and Property Records document library.  If you are unable to find these, please contact the microfilm library for assistance.
• For permits older than 1970 on roll film, please contact the microfilm library for assistance.  These digitized files are not yet available online.

Important notes:

• Multiple documents may be scanned under a single Historical Microfilm Permit title. However, the original file name is shown in the far-right column to convey the document contents. You will need to open each link to review the contents.
• The date listed for each Historical Microfilm Permit is the date of the scanned upload, not the date associated with the contents of that scan. 
• Once you have entered a record number or address, you can filter the results using key words.
• The results are grouped by page. You can select the number of items viewed per page (in increments offered between five up to all) and scroll through the pages using the arrow icons.
• You can sort the contents of each column alphabetically, by date, or by file size, by hovering your cursor over the column header and clicking on the arrow.

If what you are searching for is not included in the list above, nor in the Seattle Services Portal, please review the Find Historic Records (Pre-2004) section of this page. You may also contact the Microfilm Library directly at SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov for assistance. Many addresses are different today than they were in the past. The library can help you find where those records are stored.

Important note: Most construction plans (including trade, side sewer, electrical, etc.) from 2007-present are not listed but are available via request. For security reasons, access to approved construction plans must be accompanied by an individually-written request. For a copy of approved building plans associated with an issued permit, send your request, including the permit number and project address, to the microfilm library (SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov). We will send the plans to you by email. Please note that construction plans for certain buildings, including jails and infrastructure facilities, are not available to the public.

You can also order paper copies of documents for a per-page printing cost, plus postage. Please visit the Microfilm Library webpage for current prices.

Are you looking for historic side sewer lateral maps, aerial photographs, and side sewer cards? Please visit the SDCI Side Sewer Cards and Maps search tool. You can search by the address, parcel, or card number. 

To find current data, as well as side sewer and public main locations, please visit the Seattle Public Utilities Development Services Office Water and Sewer Map.

Find active complaints or violations on our Shaping Seattle: Property & Building Complaint map. To dive deeper on complaints from a data-based map or dataset, visit the Seattle Open Data Code Complaints and Violations Map and Code Complaints and Violations Dataset. 

Find active rental registrations on our Shaping Seattle: Rental Housing Registrations map. To dive deeper on rental registration information from a data-based map or dataset, visit the Seattle Open Data Rental Property Registration Map and Rental Property Registration Dataset. 

Is the address you are using bringing back limited or unexpected results? It could be because the address has changed over time. Parcels and/or buildings may have been divided or large sites with multiple buildings may have had different approaches for assigning addresses over time. Permits may be filed under those different addresses. Often, old addresses are “retired” and new addresses are assigned as these changes occur. For more information on the addressing work conducted by SDCI and the City, please see Tip 130, Addressing Review.

To find all possible addresses for a site, use the SDCI GIS map. To find the addresses:

• Click on a parcel
• Scroll down within the data pop-up box
• Click on the Parcel Data Report link

The Parcel Data Report link will take you to a new map display page (it takes a few moments to load) that contains site data, including a link to the King County Assessments website, and all the associated addresses via expandable sections.

If you do not have an address or are unsure about an address, use an online map application, such as Google maps, to zoom to the site of interest. Once you identify the property, you can click on the site and the pin drop will identify the current address.

If you are running into difficulties or suspect that there are documents that you are unable to access, please see the Historic Records section below. You can also contact the Microfilm Library (SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov) for help finding those records, and we’ll assist you any way we can.

For historic records not found in any of the resources listed above, contact the Microfilm Library. The SDCI Microfilm Library maintains an extensive collection of records that are being digitized and stored electronically. Our microfilm documents provide historical permit information and are filed by address. Below is a list of site information contained in our Microfilm Library along with our scanning and uploading status updates:

• Microfiche permits from 1970-2004.
  Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Uploading files from 1970-2004 is almost completed and are undergoing quality control.

• Deed / property abstracts until around 1980-1985, stored by legal description.
  Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Scanned and available upon request.

• Construction plans for commercial, multifamily, and institutional structures from about 1900-2007.
  Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Construction plans are scanned and are being uploaded.

• Construction plans for single-family, duplex, or triplex structures are on fiche beginning around 1974 or 1975. Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Construction plans are scanned and are being uploaded.

• Land use projects plans before 2007 may not have been available on microfilm. Please contact the Microfilm Library for assistance. 
  Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Land Use project plans are scanned and are being uploaded.

• Roll film permits from 1894 through 1970.
  Scanning / Uploading Project Status Winter 2024: Scanned and available upon request.

It is best to contact the Microfilm Library directly if you are unable to find something in the Seattle Services Portal or in SDCI’s Permit and Property Records. Many addresses are different today than they were in the past, and the library can help you find where those records are stored. When in doubt, contact SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov and we’ll assist you any way we can.

There are many resources, listed below, that may provide valuable information about the history of a site, beyond permitting and records maintained by SDCI. This is not an exhaustive list. If there are additional resources that you think would assist your site history research in Seattle, please contact us at sci_webteam@seattle.gov. 

The links below are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Contact the external site owners for answers to questions regarding its content. 

• Seattle Annexation Maps depicts city annexation boundaries recorded from 1869 through 1986. 
• Seattle Municipal Archives, Researching Historic Land Use & Zoning provides information related to the evolution of Seattle’s building, land use and zoning code history starting from the 1920’s. Also includes a link to the Archive’s Digital Collections of all historical Building Codes. 
• Seattle’s Race & Segregation History Maps (University of Washington) webpage includes interactive maps and data to show residential patterns by neighborhood between 1920 and 2020.   
• 1936 Seattle Redlining Map (Seattle Public Library) reflecting the geographic areas categorized by the federal home loan program. 
• Seattle Municipal Archives, Digital Image Collections includes digitized and born-digital images starting from the 1800’s, including images of landscapes, buildings, early infrastructure, shorelines and much more. 
• Seattle Municipal Archives, Digital Map Collections includes thousands of maps from the 1790’s through the present, including buildings, neighborhoods, utilities, land use, planning, surveys and much more. 
• Seattle Historic Resources Survey Database includes an inventory of historic resources in the City.  
• Researching the History of Seattle Buildings (Seattle Public Library Public Collections) is a guide that includes links to online resources, a directory of local agencies, worksheets and checklists. 
• King County Archives, Records includes documents such as deeds, easements, plats, and surveys recorded by the King County Auditor (1854-1969) which then transitioned to the King County Recorder (1970-present). 
• King County Archives, Historical Building, Property, and Land Use Records webpage includes links to numerous resources for conducting historical research including maps, plats, building plans, utilities, land records, and neighborhoods.  
• Real Property Record Cards collection is the best-known source of historical photographs of homes and commercial buildings in King County. The entire physical collection is available through the Puget Sound Regional Archives; the index search link provided contains those cards that have been digitized thus far as part of the larger project to digitize the collection.  
• King County Racial Restrictive Covenants (University of Washington) webpage includes maps and information by county and neighborhood displaying racial deed restrictions common between 1920 and 1960. 
• Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch is another resource for property records and research for sites within King County and includes a large digital archive collection. 
• Washington State Historic Resources Inventory includes a database of historic resources searchable by map view. 
• University of Washington Map Collection includes a physical library that includes historical maps and aerial photographs, as well as a digital collection in partnership with University of Washington Libraries that includes maps, images, photographs and plans of many Seattle buildings. 
• Seattle Public Utilities Records Vault webpage contains City records documenting infrastructure installed within the public right of way, such as plans, maps, as-builts and other infrastructure focused records. The digitalization of these records is underway. Access to these records in the vault requires a sign-in process. 
• Burke Museum Collections & Research includes several archaeological collections from Seattle and the wider Puget Sound area, which can provide information about early Native American life, as well as archaeological collections that cover more recent history of non-Native settlement and the growth of Seattle after the 1850’s, as well as collections from Native American settlements. 
• Waterlines Map (Burke Museum) displays the history of waterlines in this area.  
• Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land is an interactive map that identifies general tribal regions and while not all encompassing, acts as a good starting point for understanding the territories and treaties of Indigenous peoples. 

AADU or attached accessory dwelling unit: An AADU is a room or set of rooms designed and established by permit to be a separate dwelling unit. AADUs can be located in a single-family home in the neighborhood residential NR3, NR2, and NR1 and neighborhood residential small lot (RSL) zones. In the RSL zone they can also be located in a principal dwelling of an apartment unit, carriage or cottage house, rowhouse, or townhouse. In the low-rise (LR) zones, AADUs can be located in a single-family home, rowhouse, or townhouse unit. AADUs must include living, sleeping, kitchen, and bathroom facilities, have a lockable entrance door, and be located within the same structure as a principal or primary dwelling unit. 

DADU or detached accessory dwelling unit: A DADU is a type of accessory dwelling unit consisting of a room or set of rooms designed and established by permit to be a separate dwelling unit. DADUs share a lot with a single-family home in NR3, NR2, and NR1 zones, any principal unit in an RSL zone, or with a single-family home, rowhouse, or townhouse in a low-rise zone. DADUs must include living, sleeping, kitchen, and bathroom facilities and have a lockable entrance door. 

DAP or discrete address point: The DAP or discrete address point / master address file / common placename layer of the City’s GIS was created to relate various City departments’ definitions of “address” to a specific point or set of points. Each address corresponds to a unique point described geographically in the GIS as an X/Y coordinate. The DAP is the X/Y coordinate with a list of relevant addresses and common place names as contributed by City of Seattle departments. 

Development site or dev site: A development site is a property boundary that the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection (SDCI) uses to apply code standards, such as  land use, building, and electrical code (at a minimum). A development site may overlap with one or more King County parcels. All SDCI records are associated with addresses and/or development sites. Note: a development site may already exist from prior permitting or may be created through a platting or building permit process. An existing development site is required before submitting a permit application or Early Design Review application. An “expired development site” shows a site configuration that existed at the time previous permits were issued.

GIS or geographic information system: GIS is an electronic mapping tool that enables users to analyze and understand spatial relationships among things that exist and occur in a given location. See Development Site Permitting Guidelines for more information.  

Microfiche: Microfiche includes SDCI’s historical records from 1970-2003. 

Parcel: A piece of land representing a tax parcel in King County for assessment purposes. Each parcel in King County is uniquely identified by a parcel number (also referred to as PIN - Parcel Identification Number). This is a 10-digit alpha-numeric number and corresponds to the first 10 characters of a property tax account number.  

Parcel Identification Number (PIN) or Assessor Parcel Number (APN): a property boundary associated with King County ownership and tax records.

Roll film: Roll film consists of the historical records from 1894-1970 that preceded microfiche. 

Record or record number: In our system, all project, permits, and code enforcement projects are called “records” and are assigned a “record number.” Each SDCI record number ends with a suffix to indicate the type of record. For example, 6700737-CN is a construction permit and 010678-18CP is a complaint. See What does my SDCI record number suffix mean? for the complete list of suffixes and associated record types. 

White cards: Historical handwritten index cards that list the permit numbers and year (and sometimes short permit descriptions) for an address. These cards were kept from 1894 up to the late 1970s or early 1980s. They were eventually replaced by microfiche that included images of the permits themselves. The nickname “white cards” refers to the color of the index cards where this information was stored.