Start with the known Seattle record number or street address, then follow SDCI’s geotechnical-report guidance to the named report. The guidance describes a Permit and Property Records search, a Geotechnical Reports section, and a linked report title leading to a PDF. A report from a nearby site can help estimate the likely scope of exploration or study. SDCI says a report requested for a permit is usually specific to the new site and project. Keep the neighboring report’s identity separate from the one sought for the new work.
Match the report to the project it describes
A technical PDF can look relevant because it discusses ground conditions near a proposed site. Before comparing anything in it, identify what the document actually covers. On a short note, copy four pieces of identity from a report if shown:
- Record and location: The permit or project number, address, parcel description, and site boundary named in that report. Mark any missing identifier unknown.
- Document identity: The exact report title, issue or revision date, author, and the project named on its cover. Keep an earlier version separate from a later revision.
- Study footprint: The exploration or sampling area and limits described by the document. A drawing that locates borings on one site describes that site; conditions under the lot next door can differ.
- Recommendation scope: The proposed work and design questions the report addresses. A recommendation belongs to the project it was written for.
This is a provenance note; an engineer evaluates whether the findings carry over. SDCI decides whether to require, accept or waive a report for any particular permit.
Imagine a fictional file for Cedar Lot A with report G-42. A second file concerns adjacent Cedar Lot B but refers only to G-42 by name. The shared street and nearby location explain why G-42 is worth reading; G-42 still belongs to Lot A. Keep G-42’s named site, project, date and study area on one line. On another, note the report title or SDCI request for Lot B, if one appears. If that second item is missing, ask for the named record or the record number that should contain it. Both lots are invented.
Find the geotechnical report PDF in Seattle’s Permit and Property Records
SDCI’s Research a Project guidance describes Permit and Property Records as a public document library using an address or record number. The geotechnical page says to find the report category and open the hyperlinked title. Copy the title and the record number shown with it before saving a file. An address alone can point to multiple projects or revisions, so match the report’s own project identity before using it as a source.
For Historical Microfilm Permit records, the Research a Project page warns that a scan date can differ from the original document date. Keep those dates separate if shown. Treat its broad current-record date range as general permit coverage rather than a start date for geotechnical reports.
For missing or older records, take the title, number, address and period to SDCI’s historic-record or Microfilm Library route. Its guidance lists SCI_Microfilm@seattle.gov for help with older or unlocated records. Use it to ask about a specific existing item. A failed page load, empty search or missing PDF link leaves an access question open; it doesn’t prove that no report was prepared.
The Seattle building-permit search guide helps identify the correct project record before this narrower report search. For another distinction between a design document and later technical evidence, the grading plan and as-graded report guide covers a separate San Diego record chain; its local route is specific to San Diego.
Once you have the report, check the permit, approval and inspection records to see what was approved and built. SDCI geotechnical guidance checked October 8, 2026.