How Do I Submit a Street Use Fee Dispute Request?

Street Use fees or charges are generated from many sources. Customers can dispute fees and charges or request more information about a fee. This article provides information how to submit a Fee Dispute Request.

Note: The person requesting the dispute must be a contact on the record or employed by a company that is a contact on the record.

Note: The steps in this article are specific to Street Use fees.

This article provides the steps to:

• Complete the Dispute Request Form
• Upload the Dispute Request Form

Complete the Dispute Request Form

The first step before starting your dispute request is to fill out the Dispute Request Form. Have a copy of the invoice available to provide details necessary to complete this form.

TIP: To find your invoice, see help article How to Find and Pay Your Current Street Use Invoice.

Note: Complete a separate form for each permit number where you have a question or are disputing fees.

1. Open the Dispute Request Form.
2. Enter today's date in the Submittal Request Date.
3. In Step 1: Request Type, check the checkbox next to each item that applies.
   • Dispute - Check this checkbox if you are disputing a fee or a charge.
   • Fee/Charge Inquiry - Check this checkbox if you have a question about a fee or a charge.
     
4. In Step 2: Request Details, fill in the fields.
   • Permit Number - Enter the permit number associated with the fee(s) or charge(s) in question or that you are disputing. For example: "SUCONST0000000."

     Note: You may only have one permit number per form.

   • Permit Address - Enter the project's street address. For example, "700 5th Ave."
   • Requestor Email - Enter the requestor's email address.
   • Requestor - Enter the name of the individual requesting the inquiry or dispute. This individual must be a contact on the permit or must be employed by a company on the permit.
   • Company or Agency Name - If the contact on the permit is a company, enter the name of the company or agency requesting the inquiry or dispute. If the contact on the permit is an individual, enter "N/A."

     Note: This company or agency must be a contact on the permit.

   • Mailing Address - Enter the mailing address of the requestor.
     
5. In Step 3: Request Description Details, identify each fee or charge that you have a question on or are disputing - one row per inquiry or disputed fee/charge.

   Note: There is a limit of five entries per form. For additional inquiries or disputes on the same record, fill out an additional form(s).

   • Date - Enter the Service Date listed in the Notes column of your invoice document. For fees that have no Service Date, use the date that displays associated with the fee.
   • Amount - Enter the total dollar amount you are being charged.
   • Type of Charge - Enter the type of charge, for example, Use Fee, Modification Fee, Issuance Fee, Renewal Fee, Occupational Fee, Review Charge, or Inspection Charge.
   • Inquiry/Dispute Reason - Enter your question or what you are disputing and the amount you are disputing.
     
6. In Step 4: Invoice Details, enter any related Street Use Invoice (SUINV) number in Invoice Number, if you know the SUINV number.
   
7. Save the form as a PDF file with a naming convention of <Your record number> - Dispute Request Form. For example, SUCONST0000000 - Dispute Request Form. Steps may vary by browser.

Upload the Dispute Request Form

The instructions below provide the steps to submit a fee dispute request:

1. When you are ready to upload your Dispute Request Form, login to Seattle Services Portal.

   IMPORTANT: If you do not yet have a Seattle Services Portal account, you must register before proceeding and must be authorized to upload documents on this permit.

2. On the My Records page, locate your Permit record in the list.
3. Click on the blue linked Record Number of your permit to open it. Note that you do NOT need to click Make Changes. 

   IMPORTANT: Dispute Request Form is uploaded to the Permit record, for example SUCONST0000000, on which the fee was incurred, NOT against the Invoice (SUINV) record.

   
4. Under Record Info, click on the Attachments tab (blue link).

   TIP: If you do not see the Attachments tab, verify that you are on the Permit record. Invoice (SUINV) records do not have the tab.

5. Click Select (the button in the lower left-hand corner).
   
6. Click Select a second time on the File Upload form that opens.
   
7. Browse to your document, click on the file name to select the file, and click Open. The system has a character limit for file names, so if the name is too long, you may get an error message. Do not include any special characters in the file name. Your screen may look different depending on the browser you use.
   
8. Click Done.
   
9. Select a Document Type of Dispute Request Form.

   IMPORTANT: It is important to select a Document Type of Dispute Request Form so the system knows how to route your dispute request to a team that can help. If you choose a different document type, the document will upload, but no action will be taken.

10. Enter a Description (optional).
11. Click Save.
    
    
12. Your Dispute Request Form is now listed under Attachments at the end of the list.
    
13. Once you have submitted your Dispute Request Form, the team that will help you is notified of your dispute request and will work with you on resolution.
14. To track the status of your request, click the Status tab, and then click the arrow next to SDOT Fee Dispute to expand it and view additional details.