How Do I Apply for a Minor Utility or a Utility Major Permit?

Instructions for Applying for a Minor Utility or Utility Major Permit

Follow these steps to apply for a Minor Utility or a Utility Major Permit using the Seattle Services Portal. This process helps ensure that your application for utility work impacts to the public meets Street Use's requirements for uses of the right-of-way with minimal impacts to the traveling public and existing infrastructure. For our example, we have selected a Minor Utility Permit. The application process for Utility Major Permit is the same.

Not sure what kind of SDOT permit you need? Refer to the SDOT web site for more information.

To submit an application for a Street Use Side Sewer permit, refer to How Do I Apply for a Street Use Side Sewer Permit.

What You'll Need to Start Your Application

Before you start, gather these documents. What you will need varies by the type of permit you are applying for. Most are available on the Street Use Permitting Checklists, Forms, and Templates page. The initial documents frequently required are:

• Letter of Authorization: A signed document that gives permission from the property owner to another party (like the Applicant) to manage the permit or pay the fees (like the Financially Responsible Party).
• ROW Impact Plan (for minor utility permits): A Right-of-Way Impact Plan (ROWIP) shows all temporary utility-related closures in the right-of-way. We use the ROWIP to understand how the right-of-way will function during utility work and identify safety, mobility, access, and utility work conflict issues that need to be addressed.
• Site Plan (for many minor permits): A site plan is a plan view drawing or an illustration of a site as if looking straight down from above. A site plan shows the project site, proposed installations, and existing conditions in relation to each other. We use the site plan to understand the proposed location, what is being installed, and how the proposed installations may affect use of the right-of-way (ROW).
• Utility and Restoration Plan (for utility major permits): A Utility and Restoration Plan identifies the location and area of the work, the type of utility being installed or modified, a topographic map of the area, impacts to trees and the traveling public, new or existing curb ramps, and plans for restoring the site once work is complete.
• Any additional documents specific to your project. A reviewer will notify you if additional materials are needed.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Log in or Register

1. Go to the Seattle Services Portal.
2. Log in:
   • If you already have an account, log in with your credentials.
   • If you don’t have an account, register for a new account before proceeding.

Step 2: Start Your Application

1. Click the Home tab.
2. Under Create New, click Permits – Street Use.
3. Records are grouped by type of permit. Click the triangle symbol next to each group to expand (or collapse) the list. A description is provided. For a Utility permit, expand the Utility group.
4. Click Minor Utility Permit (or Utility Major Permit).

Step 3: Provide Your Project Location

1. On the Location Information page, enter your project address. For best results, only enter the Street No. and Street Name when searching.
   • Street No. (required): Enter the house or building number.
   • Street Name (required): Enter the name of the road. For a numbered street, such as 700 5th Ave, only enter "5".
2. Click Search. If prompted, select the correct address or parcel number and click Select.
3. Click Continue to proceed.

Step 4: Provide Contact Information

1. On the Owner Pre-Selection page:
   • If your project owner is a high-volume customer, pre-select the contact information from the Owner Organization and Owner Organization Contact drop down lists.
   • Select “None of the Below” if your project owner is not listed or is not a high-volume customer.
2. On the Financially Responsible Party (FRP) Pre-Selection page:
   • If a high-volume customer if paying for the permit, pre-select the contact information from the FRP Organization and FRP Organization Contact drop down lists.
   • Select “None of the Below” if the financially responsible party is not listed or is not a high-volume customer.

3. On the Contacts page, provide contact details for:

   • Applicant:  You, the person applying for the permit.
   • Owner: The person or organization who owns the property, business, or asset. If your project owner is a high-volume customer, the Owner Pre-Selection information appears here.
   • Financially Responsible Party (FRP): The person or organization in charge of paying any permit fees. If the person or organization paying for the permit is a high-volume customer, the FRP Pre-Selection information appears here.
   • Onsite Contact: The person available if we need to speak with somebody onsite.
   • Optionally, add additional contacts like an Authorized Agent in the Additional Contacts section.
   1. To add a contact:
      • Click Myself to auto-populate the contact information from your Seattle Services Portal user account. 
      • Click Someone Else to find an existing contact. If the person or organization isn’t found, click the “Person or organization not listed? Add them here." link.

   Note: If the Applicant or Financially Responsible Party is different from the Owner, a Letter of Authorization will be required later.

4. Click Continue to proceed.

Step 5: Provide Your Project Details

1. On the Project Information page, fill in:
   • Optionally, enter a Project Name for your reference. This name appears on your invoice if you are billed.
   • For the Project and Location Description, enter a detailed description. The screen displays some guidance about the kind of information to provide.
2. Click Continue to proceed.

Step 6: Provide Related Information

On the Related Information page, optionally use this section to tell us about what else is related to your application:

• Add any relevant Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection (SDCI) or Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Street Use permit numbers.
• Optionally, enter a Customer Reference. There are two fields you may use for your reference. Customer Reference appears on your invoice, if you are billed.
• Optionally, enter Street and Utility Improvement Plan Number or Street and Utility Improvement Exception Reason.
• Optionally, update the 24-Hour Contact and Restoration Party information.

Step 7: Provide Utility Information

1. Scroll down to the Utility Information section.
2. Select at least one utility.
3. Specify the Method of Installation. 

Step 8: Provide Work Type Information

1. Scroll down to the Work Type Information section.
2. Select at least one work type.

Step 9: Specify the Permit Priority

1. Specify the permit priority.
2. Click Continue to proceed.

Step 10: Provide Project Use Information

1. On the Use Information page, scroll down and click Add a Row.
2. A pop-up window prompts you to provide right-of-way (ROW) usage information. Fill in the fields. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk. Click on a blue circle with a question mark for help.
   • Use Type (required): Select a ROW usage from the dropdown.
   • Space (required): Defaults to "A". The Space is an informational designation for an area in the right-of-way. You may leave the default value. Note: If you add another usage row for the same Use Type, then optionally update Space to "B," and so on.
   • Rate Start Day (required): Defaults to "1." You may leave the default value.
   • Use Start Date (required): Select the start date for your usage.
   • Duration (Calendar Days) (read-only): Defaults to "180" days.
   • Exp Date (read-only): Automatically calculates based on Use Start Date and Duration. It may not appear until the review step if you tab out of the field.
   • Total Days in ROW (required): Enter the total number of actual days that you will occupy the right of way. This value must be greater than zero and less than or equal to Duration.
   • Side of Street (required): Select the side of the street where work will be performed. For road closures, pick "Both Sides." If the work will be on more than one street frontage, you will be able to create another use row later in the process.
   • Work Days (required): Defaults to "Every Day." Select from dropdown if not every day. Options are:
     • "Weekdays Only" (Monday through Friday)
     • "Weekends Only" (full weekend)
     • "Every Day" (seven days a week)
     • "Partial Week" (not all weekdays or not all weekend or a combination that is not included in the above options)
   • Use Area (required): Enter the right-of-way area for the use, in square feet.
   • Sidewalk Impact (required): Concrete sidewalk or asphalt pathway. Defaults to "None." If your work will block the sidewalk, select a value from the dropdown.
   • Bike Lane Impact (required): 24/7 dedicated bike lane. Defaults to "None." If your work will block the bike lane, select a value from the dropdown.
   • Travel Lane(s) Impact (required): General purpose travel lanes. Defaults to "None." If your work will block the travel lane(s), select a value from the dropdown.
   • Transit Lane Impact (required): 24 hour dedicated bus or other transit lanes. Defaults to "None." If your work will block the transit lane, select a value from the dropdown.
   • Parking Lane Impact (required): Paid or unpaid parking lanes or spaces. Defaults to "None." If your work will block the parking lane, select a value from the dropdown.
   • Other ROW Impact (required): Alley, gravel shoulder, planting strip, etc. Defaults to "No". If your work will block other right of way, select "Yes."
3. Click Submit.
4. The pop-up form closes, and you are returned to the Use Details section. The ROW usage information you just added is visible.
5. Repeat steps to add additional ROW usage information.
6. Once all the ROW usage information is added, click Continue to proceed.

Step 11: Attach Required Documents

On the Documents page, some required documents are listed. Document requirements vary based on the ROW usages on your application. Some documents are required at application, and some are required later during the review process.

1. To upload a document, click Select under the Upload Documents section.
2. Select your document:
   1. Click Select in the File Upload popup.
   2. Select your document and click Open.
   3. Click Done in the File Upload popup.
3. Select your document type:
   1. In the Document Type dropdown, select the document type that matches the document you uploaded. For example, select "Right of Way Impact Plan" as your document type when uploading the matching document.
   2. Optionally, enter the Description of the document.
4. Click Save and wait for the upload to complete. Note: It may take a few minutes for your document to fully upload.
5. Repeat steps for each additional document required. When prompted, select the document type that matches the document you are uploading.
6. Click Continue to proceed.
   • If you see a red Attention message, that means you either have not selected the correct Document Type, and/or have missed a required document.
   • If a document is missing, go back to step 1 in this section and upload the missing document.
   • If you selected the wrong Document Type on a document that you have already saved, upload the document again and pick the Document Type that matches the Condition in the Attention message. You may also add a description explaining that you are uploading the document a second time with the correct Document Type.

Step 12: Review and Submit

1. On the Review page:
   • Verify that all information is correct.
   • Make edits as needed by clicking Edit in the relevant sections.
2. Scroll to the bottom. Agree to the certification statement by checking the box.
3. Click Continue to submit.

Step 13: Confirmation Displays

A message displays confirming that your application is submitted for review. 

• Your record number format depends on the permit type:
  • Minor Utility permit: SUUTIL0000000
  • Utility Major permit: SUUMP0000000
• Keep a record of your Record Number. 

An e-mail is sent to the four required contacts on the application notifying them of the application submission.

Congratulations! Your application has been submitted for review. The Street Use team will contact you if additional information is required. For questions or updates, email [e-mail] and include your Record Number in the subject line.

You can log into the Seattle Services Portal at any time to track the status of your application.

Need Help?

Visit the Seattle Services Portal help center, email [e-mail], or call [phone].