Multnomah County, OR
Multnomah County plumbing permit cost
A plumbing permit for unincorporated Multnomah County is priced by $63.00 per fixture or item — a water heater
a water closet, a tub, a hose bibb, a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, a backflow preventer — and a new one- or two-family house is priced by its baths instead: $792.00 for one, $1,187.00 for two, $1,388.00 for three and $334.00 for each additional bath or kitchen, with 100 feet included for every utility connection. Plan review is 25% and the state adds 12%.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| New one- or two-family dwelling, 1 bathPermit fee | $792.00 flat fee | dwelling scope is new 1 2 family and bathrooms is 1 | — |
| New one- or two-family dwelling, 2 bathPermit fee | $1,187.00 flat fee | dwelling scope is new 1 2 family and bathrooms is 2 | — |
| New one- or two-family dwelling, 3 bathPermit fee | $1,388.00 flat fee | dwelling scope is new 1 2 family and bathrooms is 3 | — |
| New dwelling, each additional bath or kitchen, $334.00Permit fee | $1,388.00 for the first 3 bathrooms or kitchens, plus $334.00 for each additional bathroom or kitchen | dwelling scope is new 1 2 family and bathrooms over 3 | — |
| Each fixture or item, $63.00Permit fee | $63.00 per fixture | dwelling scope is not provided | — |
| Replacing in-building water supply lines, residential, $128.00 first floor and $52.00 each afterPermit fee | $128.00 for the first story, plus $52.00 for each additional story | plumbing item is water lines residential and stories over 0 | — |
| Plumbing plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan review | 25% of calculated permit fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| State of Oregon surcharge, 12% of the permit feeState surcharge | 12% of calculated permit fee | Every permit of this type | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A bathroom and kitchen remodel in unincorporated Multnomah County replacing four fixtures — a water closet, a basin, a tub and a water heater — filed as one plumbing permit.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixtures | 4 |
Example total
$345.24
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 3Rules considered 8
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Each fixture or item, $63.00Permit feeThe schedule's own fixture list, one rate for every row on it: "Water heater $63.00", "Water closet $63.00", "Tubs/shower/shower pan $63.00", "Back flow preventer $63.00", "Dishwasher $63.00", "Garbage disposal $63.00", "Hose bibb $63.00", "Basins/Lavatory $63.00", "Drinking fountains $63.00", "Ejectors/Sump $63.00", "Expansion tank $63.00", "Ice maker $63.00", "Interceptor/Grease trap $63.00", "Sink(s) Basins(s) Lav(s) $63.00", "Urinal $63.00", "Floor drains/Floor sinks/Hub $63.00" and "Other $63.00".Show the working
| $63.00 per fixture | $252.00 |
Plumbing plan review fee, 25% of the permit feePlan reviewThe schedule's plan review row prints "25% of total mechanical permit fee - Maximum number of allowable checksheets: 2" — the word "mechanical" is a slip in the City's own document, since the heading above it is "Plan Review Fee" and the paragraph above that scopes the fee to plumbing and medical gas systems under OAR 918-780-0040. Read as 25% of the plumbing permit fee, on the `permit_fee` basis, and recorded as a reading.Show the working
| 25% of calculated permit fee | $63.00 |
State of Oregon surcharge, 12% of the permit feeState surchargeThe Building Codes Division's own backgrounder: "A state surcharge fee of 12% is applied to all building permit types issued in the State of Oregon" and "Surcharge fees are calculated by using the total permit fee: Total permit fee × 0.12 (12%)", for building, mechanical, plumbing (including fixtures), electrical (including services) and structural permits. It implements ORS 455.210(4), which imposes four surcharges on "the total permit fees": 4% for state administrative costs, 2% for state inspection costs, up to 1% for administering and enforcing the state building code, and 4% for the electronic building codes information system. Read on `permit_fee` — the figure the permit fee table produces — and not on plan review, which is itself a percentage of that figure; the alternative reading is stated on the pages with its size.Show the working
| 12% of calculated permit fee | $30.24 |
| Total | $345.24 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- New one- or two-family dwelling, 1 bath — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New one- or two-family dwelling, 2 bath — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New one- or two-family dwelling, 3 bath — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New dwelling, each additional bath or kitchen, $334.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Replacing in-building water supply lines, residential, $128.00 first floor and $52.00 each after — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 3 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The work is an alteration rather than a new dwelling, so the dwelling rows do not apply and every item is $63.00: four fixtures are $252.00. Plan review is 25% of that, $63.00, and the state surcharge is 12%, $30.24. Total: $345.24.
The comparison worth making is with a new house on the same schedule. A new two-bath single family residence is $1,187.00 for the whole plumbing permit — $1,626.19 with review and surcharge — and the same $63.00 rate would price its fixtures at a fraction of that. The two rows are alternatives rather than a sequence: the dwelling row says "New 1 & 2 Family Dwellings Only" and includes 100 feet for each utility connection, so a house is never charged both ways. It is also why the answer to "how much is a plumbing permit" depends on what is being built and not only on how much of it there is.
The county's plumbing permit costs exactly what the city's does for this job: $345.24 either side of the line. Only the building permit differs between the two jurisdictions, and it differs by the Development Services Fee the city charges and the county does not.
What is different in Multnomah County
The county's plumbing schedule is the city's, amount for amount, so the same two routes apply on both sides of the line. A new one- or two-family dwelling is priced by how many baths it has: $792.00, $1,187.00, $1,388.00 and $334.00 for each bath or kitchen after the third, and the heading says what the row includes — "Includes 100 feet for each utility connection". Everything else is $63.00 per fixture or item, across more than thirty named rows that run from a water heater to an ice maker, a dishwasher, a floor drain, a hose bibb and a grease interceptor.
Which route applies is the first question rather than a detail, because the two are alternatives: a new house charged by its baths and then again per fixture would be billed twice for one permit. The $63.00 rows therefore apply only where the dwelling rows do not, which in practice means an alteration, an addition, a replacement, or plumbing in a commercial or multi-family building.
Both halves of the dwelling row come from the state's rule, OAR 918-050-0100: a residential plumbing permit fee "includes one kitchen and is based on the number of bathrooms, from one to three, on a graduated scale", with an additional set fee for each bath or kitchen beyond, and "no additional fee shall be charged for the first 100 feet of water and sewer lines, hose bibbs, icemakers, underfloor low-point drains, and rain drain packages". The same rule is why exterior lines past the first 100 feet are priced separately — $180.00 for the first 100 feet and $137.00 for each additional 100 — and why storm water retention or detention facilities, irrigation systems, fire suppression systems and any private storm drainage beyond the first 100 feet are outside the plumbing permit.
Two rows are worth knowing for a remodel. Replacing in-building water supply lines in a residence is $128.00 for the first floor and $52.00 for each additional floor, and the commercial route beside it is priced per branch — $128.00 for the first five branches, $31.00 for each fixture branch over five. And a separate, more expensive sewer cap row at $159.00 sits two pages after the $63.00 "Fixture/Sewer cap" row.
Plan review is 25% of the plumbing permit fee, and the row in the schedule prints "25% of total mechanical permit fee" — a copy-and-paste slip in the department's own document, since the heading above it is "Plan Review Fee" and the paragraph above that scopes the charge to plumbing and medical gas systems under OAR 918-780-0040. It is modelled as 25% of the plumbing permit fee here, as on the city's page, and recorded as a reading. Then the 12% state surcharge, which applies to plumbing permits "including fixtures" and is the same in the county as in the city.
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This estimate is the plumbing schedule's dwelling or fixture fee, plan review at 25% of that fee and the 12% state surcharge. It excludes:
- Exterior and site line work: rain drain, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water service at $180.00 for the first 100 feet plus $137.00 per additional 100 feet, interior mainline water and drainage piping on the same terms, catch basins and area drains at $63.00, manufactured home utilities at $144.00, and the storm water retention or detention facility row at $162.00.
- The commercial route for replacing in-building water supply lines, priced per branch rather than per floor: $128.00 for the first five branches and $31.00 for each fixture branch over five.
- Fixtures the schedule prices but this release does not model: solar potable water units at $139.00, the $159.00 sewer cap, and commercial roof drains at $63.00.
- Irrigation, fire suppression and storm water facilities, which the state's rule excludes from the plumbing permit altogether and which are permitted or billed separately.
- Every hourly charge the schedule's later pages carry, including additional plan review.
- The building, electrical and mechanical permits on the same project: the building permit carries the 65% plan review and the 12% surcharge, and this site prices the building and electrical permits on their own pages.
- Sewer, stormwater and water charges, which are utility accounts rather than permit fees, and any system development charge.
- The $63.00 per-fixture rate applied to a new house. Where the dwelling rows apply, the fixtures are inside them, and a permit is never charged both ways.
- The cost of the fixtures and their installation, which is the work rather than the permit.
What you need before applying
- A new house is priced by its baths, with 100 feet included per connectionRequired
The plumbing schedule's first table is "New 1 & 2 Family Dwellings Only - Includes 100 feet for each utility connection": $792.00 for one bath, $1,187.00 for two, $1,388.00 for three and $334.00 for each additional bath or kitchen. OAR 918-050-0100 is where both halves of that row come from — a residential plumbing permit fee "includes one kitchen and is based on the number of bathrooms, from one to three, on a graduated scale", and no additional fee is charged "for the first 100 feet of water and sewer lines, hose bibbs, icemakers, underfloor low-point drains, and rain drain packages". Everything that is not a new dwelling is $63.00 per fixture or item.
Common questions
How much is a plumbing permit in unincorporated Multnomah County?
$63.00 per fixture or item for most work — a four-fixture remodel is $252.00 before review and surcharge — and for a new one- or two-family dwelling it is priced by baths instead: $792.00 for one, $1,187.00 for two, $1,388.00 for three and $334.00 for each additional bath or kitchen, with 100 feet included per utility connection. Plan review is 25% of the permit fee and the state surcharge is 12%.
Is the county's plumbing permit the same as Portland's?
Yes, in every amount — the two schedules are identical, including the $63.00 fixture list, the bath-based dwelling rows and the 25% plan review. What differs between an address in the county and one in the city is the building permit, which is where the city's Development Services Fee applies, and the demolition fees. Plumbing work costs the same either way.
How much is a water heater permit?
$63.00 if it is the only item on the permit, with $15.75 of plan review and $7.56 of state surcharge — $86.31 in all. A water heater is one row on the fixture or item list. It is not covered by the dwelling rows, which apply to a new one- or two-family dwelling rather than to a replacement.
Why is a new house priced by baths rather than fixtures?
Because OAR 918-050-0100 requires it: a residential plumbing permit fee "includes one kitchen and is based on the number of bathrooms, from one to three, on a graduated scale", with an additional set fee for each additional bath or kitchen, and no additional fee for the first 100 feet of water and sewer lines, hose bibbs, icemakers, underfloor low-point drains and rain drain packages. The schedule's rows are that scale, and the "Includes 100 feet for each utility connection" in the heading is the same rule.
Does the plumbing permit include the line to the street?
The first 100 feet are included through the dwelling row, as the state's rule requires. Past that the schedule prices exterior lines separately: rain drain, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water service are each $180.00 for the first 100 feet and $137.00 for each additional 100 feet, in addition to the fixture fees. Storm water retention and detention facilities, irrigation and fire suppression are outside the plumbing permit entirely.
What is the plan review fee for plumbing?
25% of the plumbing permit fee, capped at two allowable checksheets. The schedule's own row says "25% of total mechanical permit fee", which is a slip in the document — the heading above it is "Plan Review Fee" and the paragraph above that scopes it to plumbing and medical gas systems under OAR 918-780-0040. A building plan review in the same jurisdiction is 65% of the building permit fee.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CountyPrimary source
Plumbing Permit Fee Schedule, Unincorporated Multnomah County, effective July 10, 2026
Four pages, sha256 beginning a42ebd9f8969, read in three modes and identical in every amount to the City of Portland's plumbing schedule. A new one- or two-family dwelling is priced by the number of baths — $792.00, $1,187.00, $1,388.00 and $334.00 for each additional bath or kitchen — and everything else at $63.00 per fixture or item. Its plan review row prints "25% of total mechanical permit fee", the same slip in the City's document, read here as 25% of the plumbing permit fee.
- State agencyStatePrimary source
State of Oregon Permit Surcharge Fee — BCD backgrounder
The same 12% the city's pages carry, because it is the state's and not either jurisdiction's: "A state surcharge fee of 12% is applied to all building permit types issued in the State of Oregon", applied as "Total permit fee × 0.12", and it implements the four surcharges of ORS 455.210(4) — 4% for state administrative costs, 2% for state inspection costs, up to 1% for administering the state building code and 4% for the electronic building codes information system. It covers building, mechanical, plumbing including fixtures, electrical including services and structural permits, so it is on all three permits this page prices.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.