Building Inspection Program
The Tacoma Fire Department inspects the City’s commercial buildings (e.g., businesses, schools, institutions, apartments, churches, hotels) to ensure compliance with the adopted Fire Code. These annual inspections are one of the lowest-cost ways to help protect your property and the safety of your employees and visitors.
Building Inspection Program
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Building Inspection Program is a comprehensive annual inspection of Tacoma’s buildings and businesses. The Tacoma Fire Department utilizes the adopted Fire Code to determine which businesses and buildings will be inspected.
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The program applies to commercial, multi-family, and industrial buildings and business owners. Businesses legally permitted in a single-family residence are generally exempt from the inspection program.
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The annual inspection covers all business areas, public areas, and the exterior space of a building.
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The fee is determined by the building or business’s occupancy type and area (sq. ft.). We charge a single fee for our initial inspection and a reinspection if necessary.
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View the fee schedule.
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You will receive an invoice within 30 days. The invoice will be sent to the email address you provide for our records or, if you don’t have an email address, to your mailing address.
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You will have 30 days to submit payment.
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Yes, we accept credit card payments over the phone at (253) 591-5751.
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Yes, other comparable departments use a similar fee structure for safety inspections.
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The building owner will be charged for any spaces they occupy and the portions of the building that are not currently leased.
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If violations are found, you will be asked to correct them. We will conduct a courtesy re-inspection within 15-30 days to verify the violations have been corrected. Violations considered an imminent danger or life-threatening will result in immediate corrective action.
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If the violations are not corrected by the time of your courtesy reinspection, you will be referred to the Fire Prevention Division for further follow-up. Referrals to the Fire Prevention Division will likely result in additional fees and fines being issued.
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The building inspection program has many benefits, but the most important is the increase in life safety for you, your customers, and your employees. By identifying and eliminating hazards, we can significantly reduce the probability of a fire occurring at your business. Additionally, annual fire safety inspections are one of the factors that the insurance industry uses to calculate insurance rates paid by businesses.
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Please review our building inspection checklist for a complete list of all items that will be inspected for compliance.