Free Tool

Retaining Wall Permit Checker

Every Lower Mainland city has its own rules for when a retaining wall needs a building permit — and when it needs a professional engineer. The trigger ranges from 0.6m (2 ft) in Maple Ridge and Mission to 1.5m in Port Coquitlam, and it drops the moment anything heavy sits above the wall. Punch in your project and get your city's actual numbers.

Project address

Wall height (ft)

Wall length (ft) — optional

Terraced (more than one wall stepping up the slope)?

Anything above or near the wall? (check all that apply)

Driveway or parking above / near the wallPool or hot tub near the wallBuilding, deck, or structure above the wallGround slopes up behind the wallFence going on top of the wallSomething else near the wall

When a Permit Is Needed — The Short Version

Height: the BC Building Code baseline is 1.2m (4 ft), but cities set their own triggers — 0.6m in Maple Ridge and Mission, 0.91m in New Westminster, 1.0m in Richmond and Kent, and Burnaby requires a permit for every wall at any height.
Terraced walls: a series of walls whose combined height passes 1.2m needs a permit and engineering even if each tier is short — and tiers spaced too close together are treated as one tall wall.
Loads near the wall: a driveway within the wall's height of the face, a pool or hot tub within about 2× the height, a building above, or a slope approaching 1:1 — each of these is a "surcharge" that requires engineering regardless of how short the wall is.
Drops: any wall creating a 0.6m+ drop needs a guard or fence on top under the BC Building Code, permit or not.

Staying Out of Engineering — Legitimately

Good design can often keep a project under the thresholds: shorter tiers with generous benches instead of one tall wall, parking kept back from the wall face, hot tubs placed on the low side, slopes regraded gentler. We design for this on almost every residential job — it's usually thousands of dollars cheaper. But when the site genuinely needs an engineered wall, faking your way around it is how walls end up leaning within five years. We tell you which situation you're in, straight.

If You Do Need the Permit

We handle the whole path: site survey and wall layout, engineer engagement (structural + geotechnical where your city requires both), stamped drawings, permit submission, the build itself, and the engineer's field reviews for close-out. One contractor, one point of contact, from first site visit to final inspection.