How to Look Up Building Permits and Check Permit Status in Vancouver and Clark County, WA

If you're doing a Clark County permit search, you're usually after one of two things. Either you applied for a permit and want to know where it stands, or you're buying (or already own) a house and want to see its permit history: what was permitted, what's still open, and what might be missing.

One quick note before we start: this guide is about Clark County, Washington. Searches for "Clark County permits" also turn up Clark County, Nevada, Ohio and Indiana, so make sure the site you land on is a Washington one (clark.wa.gov or the city's own site).

The other thing to know is that who issues the permit depends on where the property is. If the address is in unincorporated Clark County, the county handles it. If it's inside Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Ridgefield or Washougal, that city does. Each one has its own lookup, so start by figuring out which one you're in.

Step 1: Figure out which jurisdiction the property is in

Clark County's Property Information Center lets you search by tax parcel number, house number or street address (partial addresses are okay). According to the county's Permit Status page, the property details include the jurisdiction, permits, year built and parcel number. Once you know whether it's county or city, jump to the right section below.

Looking up a permit in unincorporated Clark County, WA

Clark County's current permit system is called LMS. From the LMS Online search page, you can search building and fire permits by:

• Address (search by address; enter at least 3 characters of the address)
• Permit number
• Contractor
• Date
• Project name

The address search page notes that to see all the details about your permit, you have to log in to your account.

What the statuses say. LMS lists job statuses including Submitted, In Review, Application Incomplete, Ready For Issue, Issued, Completed, Expired, Stop Work, Cancelled, Withdrawn, Denied and Draft. Those are the labels as they appear in LMS — check the portal (or ask the county) what a given label means for your permit.

Older permits. The county also has an older system called Tidemark. The Property Information Center's Permits tab shows permits from both Tidemark and LMS, with their status, and many records link to documents you can view and download (look for the icon in the Docs column). For Tidemark records you can't view there, submit a public records request. The county's Property research and records page walks through those steps.

More on county permits

Looking up a permit in the City of Vancouver, WA

The city's Online Permit Center is a permit-number Quick Lookup, not an address or public property-history search. The city's inspection scheduling page says you enter the permit number and click Look Up Permit. From there you can verify permit status and get inspection results and history. Start from the city's Building Permits, Licenses and Inspections page if you need the broader menu of links.

If you submitted plans electronically: the city's Checking the status of your submittal page explains how the electronic plan submitter signs in to ePlans, finds the application, and runs the Plan Review – Department Review Status COV report. That report shows which departments it went to and each reviewer's status.

Researching a property's permit history: use Clark County's Property Information Center (Permits tab) for the address, and the city's Public Records Request page for records you can't find online. The city's Property Information Lookup page is another starting point. Don't treat the Online Permit Center as an address search or a house-history tool.

More on Vancouver permits

Camas, WA

Camas's online permit portal (Civic Access) is at the city's self-service site. The city's Community Development page describes the EPL system as letting applicants apply for permits, track permitting status, request inspections and manage resubmissions. The portal has a public search (logged-out Search Public Records) for looking up records without an applicant account.

For help finding a record, the Camas Building Division lists [email protected] and 360-817-1568. For older records, Camas links a public records request portal from its Community Development page.

More on Camas permits

Battle Ground, WA

Battle Ground uses a Customer Self-Service (CSS) portal: Battle Ground CSS. The city's FAQ says you can follow a permit's progress there with the property's address or parcel number, and you don't need an account to search. To see your own active cases, invoices, plans and inspection history, the city's CSS user guide says you need to be logged in. Questions go to [email protected]. For records you can't find online, use the city's Public Records Requests page.

More on Battle Ground permits

Ridgefield, WA

Ridgefield's Application search has a search box that says you can enter a permit or license number, an address, or a name — that's what the portal screen shows; results can vary, so don't over-promise what you'll get back. Parcel Search on the public portal home is useful for property context. For permit history and records you can't confirm online, use the city's Public Records page. The city's Building & Permitting Services page lists the Permit Center at [email protected] and 360-887-3908.

More on Ridgefield permits

Washougal, WA

Washougal doesn't list an online permit lookup on its building pages. Its Building Application Information page has applications going by email ([email protected]) for over-the-counter permits, or dropped off at the Washougal Permit Center. To ask about a permit or a property's permit records, call Building at 360-835-8501 (see Building Application Information), or use the city's public records request. (CivicClerk on the city site is for agendas and minutes only — not permit records.)

More on Washougal permits

Looking up the permit history on a house you're buying

If you're checking a house rather than your own application, the same tools work. Search the address in the right jurisdiction's portal where that portal supports it (Clark County LMS and Battle Ground CSS do; Vancouver's Online Permit Center does not — use the Property Information Center and records request instead), or for county properties, open the Permits tab in the Property Information Center. Look for:

• Past permits that were issued and completed (finaled)
• Open permits that were issued but never finished
• Expired permits
• Work you can see in the house that doesn't show up in any permit record

Not every record is online. If you don't find what you need, each jurisdiction above has a way to request records.

If the search turns up gaps, I wrote about what that can look like in practice in buying a house with unpermitted work.

If your permit is stuck in corrections

If your status shows that changes were requested, that's common and fixable. Vancouver's ePlans status page, for example, lists Revise and Resubmit as a review result meaning changes are needed before approval. I explain what correction comments are and how to respond in permit correction comments.

Already a PermitNorth client?

If I'm handling your permit, you can check where your PermitNorth project stands on our project status page, using the PermitNorth project number from your emails (it looks like PN-####) and the project ZIP code. It shows only the project type, jurisdiction and where it stands.

This lookup is only for PermitNorth client projects. It can't search city or county permits, and it won't show a house's permit history. For those, use the official portals above.

FAQ

Can I do a Clark County permit search by address? Yes. Clark County's LMS has a search by address (enter at least 3 characters). The Property Information Center also searches by street address, house number or parcel number. Battle Ground's CSS portal lets you follow a permit with an address or parcel number without an account (per the city's FAQ). Ridgefield's portal search box accepts a permit or license number, an address, or a name — that's what the screen says; results can vary. Vancouver's Online Permit Center is a permit-number Quick Lookup only, not an address search; for Vancouver property history, use Clark County's Property Information Center (Permits tab) and the city's public records request. In Washougal, the city doesn't list an online permit lookup on its building pages — contact Building or file a records request.

What does an "open" permit mean? Check the status label in that jurisdiction's portal, and ask the permit office what it means for that property. Don't rely on a general definition — each city and the county use their own labels.

How do I get copies of approved plans for a house? For unincorporated Clark County, some permit records link to documents in the Property Information Center's Docs column. For anything that isn't online, use each jurisdiction's records request: Clark County, Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Ridgefield, and Washougal.

Can I check a city or county permit on the PermitNorth site? No. The PermitNorth status page is only for current PermitNorth clients checking their own PermitNorth project. To look up city or county permits, use the official portal for that jurisdiction.

What I handle, and what I don't

I prepare residential building permits, manage the submittal and respond to corrections through approval, in Clark County, Vancouver, Camas, Battle Ground, Ridgefield and Washougal. Trade permits (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) are outside my scope. Each trade pulls its own.

If you'd rather not track the portal yourself, see what I do at services and deliverables, or tell me about your project and I'll give you one fixed price that includes every correction cycle through approval.