A Tacoma side-sewer inspection card may contain a sketch of the line from a building toward the public sewer, but the City says it has cards for some, not all, properties. Use the City’s Wastewater Resources page to reach the DART map and its linked card instructions. Search by address or parcel, open each available card, and check a second page for the sketch.
Follow the parcel into the inspection-card file
Tacoma Permits’ official FAQ documents the DART route. In “Find address or place,” enter the street address or parcel number. Zoom to the parcel, click it, and open Identify Results → Permit/Site History → E-Vault Documents → Inspection Cards. The FAQ says a side-sewer card, when available, opens as a PDF. It also says the sketch indicates an approximate location. A map line or old sketch is a record clue, not a field survey or a current assessment of the pipe’s condition.
The City’s linked View and Print Side Sewer Inspection Cards instructions describe an address-based route as well. Enter the house number, then the street name or part of it under “What is the address?”; choose the suggested address and submit with the magnifying glass. If the address does not appear, the instructions suggest adding a direction or shortening the street name. Under “Inspection Cards and Filenames,” open each link rather than assuming the first belongs to the relevant work. The file names are alphanumeric; a more recent side-sewer inspection may begin “SS.” A card can have two pages, with the sketch on the second.
Keep the search keys and what each result actually showed:
- Parcel and address: Save the address as displayed, the parcel number, and any older or alternate street form that leads to the same site.
- Card and permit identity: Save each card’s filename, permit number if printed, date, work description, and the page bearing any sketch.
- Inspection outcome: Read the card’s own entries and signatures. A line sketched near the property does not by itself say a later repair passed inspection.
This specialized card search differs from the broader Tacoma permit-history guide, which separates older documents from current permit tracking. If you find a side-sewer permit in a newer system, retain its record number and inspect the dated inspection entries; do not attach an older card to that permit merely because the address matches.
An older card and a later permit can tell different parts of the story
Tacoma Permits’ G-055 Searching for Permit Records tip sheet, dated February 2020, describes DART’s inspection-card collection as including side-sewer records into the mid-2000s. The same sheet describes a separate Accela permit search with side-sewer permit records from 2001 onward. Those stated ranges overlap and describe different record views; they are not a guarantee that every inspection from either period has a card or that a particular later permit has an E-Vault sketch.
If you have a later permit number, the tip sheet says the permit record can show Record Info → Inspections, including date, type, result, and comments. Compare that result with any older card by work description and date. An old card may show where the line was depicted at one time, while a later permit may concern replacement or other work. Our final-inspection status guide explains why a recorded inspection event should be read separately from the final result.
A library permit had inspection results but no public attachment
A remote browser check on September 30, 2026, used the public address of Tacoma Public Library’s Main Branch in the City’s separate Accela permit portal. DART did not load in that session, so this check could not establish whether an E-Vault inspection card existed.
In Planning & Development Services → Search Permit Records → General Search, entering 1102 in both address-number boxes and TACOMA as the street name returned a list containing more than one directional address. The date fields remained at January 1, 1980–September 30, 2026; direction and street type were left unselected. The matching library row was 1102 TACOMA AVE S, with the project name Tacoma Library. Check the full returned address before selecting a record.
The SEWER26-0556 Wastewater Connection record showed Finaled. Under Record Info → Inspections, an August 10 final inspection was Not Ready, followed by an August 11 final inspection marked Pass. The latter’s View Details → View Result Comments described completion of the repair and inspection of the lined pipe and final connections. Reading only the earlier entry would miss the later result; reading only the headline status would omit the work and sequence it covered.
For that same record, Record Info → Attachments returned “No records found.” No card, sketch or PDF was retrieved. The completed repair record therefore answered a different question from the missing drawing. For your own property, carry its address and permit number into a request for the retained card or as-built that corresponds to the work. This was an anonymous online record check, not a site visit, pipe-condition assessment, or confirmation of every approval for the library.
When no card or sketch appears
First try the address variant suggested by the City’s card instructions, then search the parcel in DART. If DART does not load or the E-Vault folder is empty, the current Wastewater Resources page says to call Permitting at 253-591-5030, option 3 for permit records. The card PDF directs missing-card questions to Environmental Services at 253-591-5588. Give the site address and parcel number, any older street name, the approximate installation or repair years, and any side-sewer permit or card filename. Ask whether an inspection card, later side-sewer permit, or another retained record covers that specific work.
The older tip sheet suggests searching address and parcel separately because some permit records are associated with only one of those keys. That is a useful recovery step, not proof the City holds a complete set of cards. An empty online card search does not prove there was no connection or permit, nor does it establish the pipe’s condition. The City’s own coverage statement is limited to records for some properties. If the exact route or condition matters for work on the site, use the appropriate current field assessment rather than relying on an old approximate sketch.
Documentation checked September 29, 2026; the public-library permit and inspection record checked September 30, 2026.