Published October 6 2020
The Bellevue Development Services Department has introduced a swifter, more streamlined building permit payment process that allows customers to pay fees directly from their checking accounts.
“Over the years, through the introduction of online permitting and other advances, we have consistently worked to make permitting cheaper and easier,” notes Development Services Director Mike Brennan. “We committed to implementing eCheck in Bellevue to make getting a permit that much easier.”
Bellevue and Kirkland are the only jurisdictions offering electronic payment through MyBuildingPermit.com. Until August, when Paypal eCheck was launched here, the only way a customer could pay permit fees through the portal was by credit card.
The new eCheck option – applicable to all permit types – opens permit payment to people without credit cards, and thus takes interest charges for the user out of the equation. The option to pay with a credit card remains available as well.
Development Services had to make technical and process adjustments to integrate eCheck into its permit payment systems. About 5 percent of permits were paid for using e-check in August and September, with the number of eCheck users growing.
MyBuildingPermit.com facilitates online permitting for 13 area cities, as well as King and Snohomish counties. MBP is one several products provided by the nonprofit eCityGov Alliance.