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Addressing System
Address Post and Placard Installation
Addresses are assigned to every property/parcel that contains a structure or property improvement. See Clallam County Code Title 19, Chapter 40 for current regulations.
Applications for address assignments are submitted through the online permit portal. The review of an address application is performed by several County departments in coordination with Peninsula Communications. The review determines the appropriate address number for the site, and whether the property is eligible for an address.
Once an address number is assigned, notification will be sent with instructions on picking up the address placard and finalizing the process.
Important things to know about address assignments
Most address assignments are processed at the request of the property owner. An Address Assignment application may become a requirement during a Building Permit application if a building project will cause the property/parcel to require an address.
Proposed projects that approach a County road will be required to obtain a Road Approach Permit before an address can be assigned. Road Approach Permits are issued by the County Roads Department. Applications can be submitted through the online permit portal.
In all cases, driveways with four primary addresses shall be considered private roads and named through the County Road Department.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to notify the County of any changes to their property that may require additional address numbers or reassignment of address numbers. Examples of such changes include:
- A change in location of the driveway
- The replacement of structures in new areas of the property
There are also circumstances in which an address may need to be changed without a request from the property owner. The purpose of such changes is to aid in timely and efficient response of emergency services. Below are some examples of when address changes may be required:
- Errors: When an address is identified that does not meet E911 standards, the County will initiate the readdressing process.
- Readdressing: During the addressing of parcels, changes to existing nearby addresses may be necessary to accommodate a new address. This may take the form of renumbering existing addresses or naming a common/shared driveway as a road.
The Clallam County Addressing System was designed by a committee of Emergency Service Responders and other service providers (Postal Service, Utilities, Local Government, etc.) in response to critical emergency service needs. The system is designed to uniquely and positively identify every address location in the County, provide the simplest, most effective way to locate an address in an emergency, and be the most convenient and understandable for general use. Most addresses outside of Port Angeles and the central portion of Sequim were converted to the new system over the period from 1991-94.
How Addresses in Clallam County Work
With a few minor exceptions, there are two kinds of addresses in Clallam County:
- City Grid type addresses in and around Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks, and Neah Bay
- Rural addresses in the rest of the county
Rather than extend the city grid addressing throughout the county, where roads do not follow a rectangular grid pattern, the rural system was applied there. In cooperation with each city, a permanent boundary was drawn around each city to separate the city addressing system from the rural addressing system. Unincorporated areas within that boundary are addressed with an extension of the city system. These boundaries were drawn to minimize the confusion when crossing between systems - in particular, to insure that no road would have a set of city-type addresses on one section and a set of incompatible rural addresses on another. By making these boundaries permanent (rather than following city limits) potential conflicts were resolved and prevented once and for all, and annexations will not force address changes.
Grid Boundary Maps
Rural System
The majority of the county is addressed using the rural system. Unlike city grid systems, numbers do not increase from fixed baselines. Numbering starts over at the beginning of each road and increases from there at a rate of 1000 per mile, measured to the driveway. Consequently addresses match odometer readings on each road. Even numbers are on the right, Odd on the left as you travel in the direction of increasing numbers. Generally a high last digit indicates the location is farther from the road. (e.g. 1342 Monroe Road would be 1.34 miles up Monroe Road from Highway 101 on the right side with a relatively short driveway. 739 Carlsborg Road would be 0.73 miles up Carlsborg Road from Highway 101, on the left side, with a relatively long driveway.)
If a road extends two directions from its origin, addresses are numbered both ways from that point with an E and W (or N and S) preceding the road name to designate which branch of the road the address is on.
If two or more addresses share a driveway, the lowest number indicates the first house, the highest number the last house, and the others in order in between (skipping numbers for vacant lots). There can be up to three addresses on a shared driveway before it must be named as a private road. (e.g. 451, 453 and 457 O'Brien Road are located on a driveway that begins 0.45 miles up O'Brien Road from Highway 101 on the left, with 451 closest to O'Brien Road, followed by 453, then 457.)
Addresses on Highways 101 and 112 are the same except that the "beginning" of the road is the point where State mileposts begin. Consequently addresses match mileposts. (e.g. 255342 Highway 101 is 0.34 miles east of milepost 255 on the right.)
Multi-unit addresses, like apartments or mobile home parks, can share a single address based on the main entrance to the complex, with unit numbers to identify each separate unit. (e.g. 342 Spath Road Number 22 would indicate space number 22 in a mobile park that is 0.34 miles up Spath road on the right.)
City Systems
Existing address systems in Port Angeles and Sequim have been extended to the newly defined grid boundaries. A grid system was created in Forks and Neah Bay, and implemented along with the countywide system. Maps are available to show grid boundaries around each city. Addresses increase by 100 per block away from each city's address baselines.
Port Angeles: On east-west streets, the 100 block begins at Laurel Street (the baseline) with 8 blocks per mile east and west from there. An E or W indicates which side of the baseline the address is on and in which direction the numbers increase. On north-south streets, the 100 block begins at First Street (the baseline) with 16 blocks per mile north and south from there, with an N or S before the street name as above. Since the streets in the townsite area are not parallel to the streets to the south, there is a jump in numbers at Park Avenue which begins on the south 2700 block. Even numbers are on the south and west sides of the street, odd on the north and east. Port Angeles Grid Boundary Map (PDF)
Sequim: On east-west streets, the 100 block begins at Sequim Avenue with 8 blocks per mile west and variable size blocks east from there. An E or W indicates which side of the baseline the address is on and in which direction the numbers increase. On north-south streets, the 100 block begins at Washington Street (Highway 101), except where it curves to the south on each edge of town, with variable size blocks north and south from there, and an N or S before the street name as above. Even numbers are on the north and east sides of the street, odd on the south and west. Sequim Grid Boundary Map (PDF)
Forks: On east-west streets, the "0" block begins at Forks Avenue (Highway 101), except on each edge of town where it curves to the west. On north-south streets, the "0" block begins at Division Street. Blocks are variable sizes in all directions. Directional indicators are used only on streets that cross a baseline. Even numbers are on the south and west sides of the street, odd on the north and east. Forks Grid Boundary Map (PDF)
Neah Bay: On north-south streets, the "0" block begins at Bayview Avenue with numbers increasing to the south. On east-west streets, the "0" block begins at the bluff at the west edge of town, with numbers increasing to the east. Even numbers are on the south and west sides of the street, odd on the north and east.
How to Obtain an Address
- Complete an application through our online system
- Obtain a Road Approach permit (if required)
- Pick up post(s) and placard(s) when notified