City of Vancouver Home Addition Permit Checklist: What to Gather Before Filing

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026. City requirements change, so confirm the current checklist with the City of Vancouver before you file.

Adding a bedroom, a family room or a bump-out to a house in Vancouver, WA means a residential building permit from the City of Vancouver. The city publishes what it wants to see, but the list is spread across a permit hub, two addition checklists, a site plan checklist and an application form. Here it is as one gather-first checklist for you and your designer.

One step comes first: make sure the property is actually inside Vancouver city limits. The city itself notes that "not all postal addresses with 'Vancouver, WA' are actually located within Vancouver city limits". Our City of Vancouver permit guide covers where and how to file once you've confirmed it.

Which applies to you? A quick decision path

1. Is the property inside Vancouver city limits? Look it up in the Clark County Property Information Center by street address or tax account, then check the "Jurisdiction" line under Administrative Data. If it lists a different city or Clark County, the city says to contact that jurisdiction. For unincorporated county property, start with our Clark County building permit requirements instead.
2. Will the addition create a new housing unit, like an ADU? If so, the city sends you to its New Housing application and checklists, not the addition form. See our Vancouver ADU permit guide.
3. Are you only adding new space, or also changing existing rooms? New space only points to the Residential Addition Checklist. Changing existing rooms too points to the Residential Addition with a Remodel Checklist. Converting existing space without adding any (a garage, for example) is a different project; see our garage conversion permit guide.

Do you need a permit to add an addition to your house?

Yes. The City of Vancouver requires residential (RES) permits for the "construction, alteration, addition, repair, or demolition of residential buildings," and its list of covered work includes "Additions and remodels to existing structures" and "Changing the footprint of an existing structure in any way."

The city also notes that "customers will need one application for each new or remodeled existing structure".

Which checklist fits: addition only, or addition with a remodel?

The city publishes three residential checklists for this kind of work: Residential Addition, Residential Addition with a Remodel and Residential Remodel.

Your project	Checklist to follow	What's different
New space only (for example, a new bedroom off the back of the house)	Residential Addition	The base list below
New space plus changes to existing rooms (for example, opening a wall into the new room and redoing the kitchen next to it)	Residential Addition with a Remodel	Adds an Existing / Demo Plan
Existing rooms only, no new footprint	Residential Remodel	Not covered here

The plans to gather

Per the city's Residential Addition Checklist, your plan set should include:

• Site plan. Drawn to the city's site plan checklist (details in the next section).
• Proposed floor plan showing "all dimensions, room identification, window size and type, decks, and balconies," plus "ventilation per M1507, smoke detectors, plumbing fixtures, water heater, and furnace."
• Foundation plan and details: rebar, footing sizes, anchor bolts, hold-downs, vents and crawl space access. "If addition is over 200 square feet, provide location and details for radon mitigation."
• Floor and roof framing plans with the "size, spacing and bearing locations for all framing members including stairs and attic ventilation."
• Wall and bracing sections showing "minimum insulation and Max U values for each exterior element."
• Exterior elevations of "all sides," showing actual grade.
• Existing / Demo Plan, only if you're also remodeling existing rooms (Addition with a Remodel checklist).

What the site plan needs to show

The city's Creating a Residential Site Plan Checklist asks for a plan that is:

• Drawn to scale, at a minimum size of 11" x 17", with a three-inch blank space in the upper right corner for the city's approval stamp.
• Showing property lines, easements, the driveway, right-of-way, street name, sidewalk and planter strip, a north arrow, and buffers such as wetlands, streams and slopes.
• Showing existing and proposed structures: footprint and roofline (including eaves), distances to property lines, setbacks, trees to retain or remove, and retaining walls.
• Showing the water line and meter, the sewer lateral or septic system, on-site stormwater for roof and driveway runoff, erosion control, and the garbage, recycling and glass bin area.

Example: if the new room sits close to a side property line, the distance from the new wall and eave to that line goes on the site plan. Measure it before the design is final and check it against your zone's current setbacks (see below).

The documents to gather

Also from the Residential Addition Checklist:

• The application. A signed and dated Residential Additions, Remodels, Accessory Structures application. It has separate Applicant and Property Owner signature lines and a required Electronic Plans Submitter, the person "responsible for ePlans uploading and correspondence."
• The Stormwater Applicability Form. The application says it's "Required with all Addition or New Building Applications." The form totals new and replaced hard surfaces (roofs, driveways, patios and decks) and land-disturbing activity, and the city's Stormwater Applicability Form flow chart decides which requirements apply.
• Energy code forms from the WSU Energy Program, using one of two paths the checklist names. Option A is the Single Family Prescriptive Form, a Glazing Schedule and heating sizing (the Simple Heating System Sizing Calculator, or a "Manual 'J' from an HVAC Company"). Option B is the Code Compliance Calculator (C3).
• Structural calculations: a lateral analysis for wind and seismic "or prescriptive path," plus "Beam Calculations for all beams spanning 10 feet or more, plus beams supporting or creating point load." If you're using engineered floor or roof systems, include the manufacturer's layout and details.

Before you draw: zoning under Vancouver's new code

"On July 31, 2026, the City's updated Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Map and Zoning Code went into effect." That matters for an addition because the footprint you draw has to meet the standards for your property's current zone. Older setback figures you find online, including anything written before that date, may no longer apply.

Before your designer sets the footprint:

• Confirm the property's current zone and its setbacks with the city. The Property Information Lookup is the starting point.
• Consider a free Virtual Appointment with permit center staff. They're 30 minutes and "there is no charge", and step 1 is "Confirm that the property is in city limits." They're general information sessions, not a substitute for plan review.
• Check the property's permit history so the existing house matches what's on record. Our permit search guide walks through it.

On septic or a private well?

The city's permit hub says to "contact Clark County Public Health if the property is on a septic system or well." The site plan must show septic tanks and the drain field, and the site plan checklist states that approval is required from Clark County Public Health prior to building permit approval.

The process of adding an addition to a house in Vancouver

At a high level, the city's residential permit page and ePlans page lay out this sequence:

1. Email the completed application to [email protected]. The city says "do not send plans at this time."
2. Pay the plan review fees when invoiced. "Before you can upload plans or documents in ePlans, review fees must be paid." For an addition, the plan review fee is "based on amount of square footage being added". See our building permit cost guide for what drives cost.
3. The Electronic Plans Submitter gets an upload invitation and uploads the plans and documents.
4. A permit specialist prescreens the submittal for completeness and file naming.
5. All applicable disciplines review at the same time, and corrections (changemarks) are released after every review is finished.
6. On approval, you pay the final fees and download the approved plans. The approved plans and permit go on the job site, and you schedule inspections.

Plan sheets must be single-page PDFs, and multi-page plan files "will be rejected." Each file is named by order number, sheet number and sheet name, in 40 characters or less. The application also warns that if it's "not complete and/or the application fees have not been paid, the City may reject the application and plan review will not begin."

If review comes back with comments, the city says "a response is required for all unresolved items". Our guide to permit correction comments covers how to answer them.

Trades, utilities and HOA rules

• Trade work. The licensed business for each trade (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) pulls its own permit for that work. The city's application, for example, calls for a licensed plumbing contractor per RCW 18.106.440.
• Electrical inside city limits. The City of Vancouver, not L&I, issues electrical permits and does the inspections inside city limits, and the city says electricians working on a residential permit need their own electrical permit of record. In unincorporated Clark County, the county doesn't issue electrical permits, so the electrical contractor gets them from L&I.
• Electrical service. The city's hub says to contact Clark Public Utilities about electrical service, overhead lines and transformer capacity.
• Neighborhood rules. If you have an HOA, check its rules too. Our before-you-apply guide covers the questions to settle before design.

How PermitNorth coordinates an addition permit

Permit coordination for an addition starts with the city's own list. We confirm the jurisdiction and which checklist applies, check your plan set and documents against it, and coordinate with your designer and engineer on any missing sheets, forms or calcs. Then we prepare and submit the application and track it through review, including correction responses. The jurisdiction makes the decision.

You get a written scope and a fixed quote, with correction responses handled within that scope. We reply to quote requests within 1 to 2 business days. See our services for what full-service coordination includes.

Get my permit quote

FAQ

What's the difference between the two addition checklists? The Addition with a Remodel checklist covers projects that also change existing rooms, and it adds an Existing / Demo Plan to the Residential Addition list.

Do I need an engineer? The checklist asks for structural calculations (lateral analysis or a prescriptive path) and beam calcs for spans of 10 feet or more or point loads. Construction documents must come from a registered design professional when state law requires it, and the city decides what's acceptable. Talk it through with your designer early; if you don't have one yet, we work with our trusted design partners.

My address says Vancouver, but the property may be in the county. Which list do I use? Check the Jurisdiction line in the Property Information Center. If it says Clark County, the county Permit Center handles it, and our Clark County guide is the place to start.

Sources

All source pages were opened and checked October 22, 2026.

1. City of Vancouver, Residential Building Permits
2. City of Vancouver, Residential Addition Checklist
3. City of Vancouver, Residential Addition with a Remodel Checklist
4. City of Vancouver, Residential Remodel Checklist
5. City of Vancouver, Creating a Residential Site Plan Checklist
6. City of Vancouver, Residential Additions, Remodels, Accessory Structures application (PDF)
7. City of Vancouver, Stormwater Applicability Form (PDF, Rev 7/25/24)
8. City of Vancouver, ePlans
9. City of Vancouver, ePlans File Naming Standards
10. City of Vancouver, ePlans Plan File Requirements
11. City of Vancouver, Applicant Resubmit Task
12. City of Vancouver, Fences, Decks, and Sheds and General Residential Building Permit Information
13. City of Vancouver, Virtual Appointments
14. City of Vancouver, Property Information Lookup
15. Vancouver Municipal Code, VMC 17.08.100, Building permit applications
16. Clark County, Property Information Center
17. Clark County, Permit Center
18. Washington L&I, City Electrical Permits and Inspections
19. Clark County, Residential Permits