Portland, OR
Portland building permit cost
A Portland building permit is priced from the project valuation by a five-band table whose smallest row is a $167.00 minimum — $167.00 for the first $500 plus $3.59 for each additional $100 up to $2,000, then $220.85 plus $13.91 per $1,000, and so on to $1,137.78 plus $5.63 per $1,000 above $100,000. Plan review adds 65% of the permit fee, the City's Development Services Fee adds a second table on the same valuation, and Oregon's 12% surcharge closes it out: a $250,000 commercial project comes to $4,159.54.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit fee, $1 to $2,000Permit fee | $167.00 + $35.90 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500, or fraction thereof | Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, $2,000 to $25,000Permit fee | $220.85 + $13.91 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and up to $25,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, $25,000 to $50,000Permit fee | $540.78 + $10.26 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and up to $50,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, $50,000 to $100,000Permit fee | $797.28 + $6.81 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and up to $100,000 | — |
| Building permit fee, $100,001 and upPermit fee | $1,137.78 + $5.63 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 | — |
| Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 1Other fee | $26.49 + $11.60 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500, or fraction thereof | Project valuation up to $2,000 and building class is none of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 2Other fee | $44.79 + $4.69 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and Project valuation up to $25,000 and building class is none of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 3Other fee | $152.66 + $3.49 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and Project valuation up to $50,000 and building class is none of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 4Other fee | $239.91 + $2.34 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and Project valuation up to $100,000 and building class is none of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 5Other fee | $356.91 + $1.96 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 and building class is none of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Residential, band 1Other fee | $21.19 + $9.70 per $1,000 of project valuation above $500, or fraction thereof | Project valuation up to $2,000 and building class is one of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Residential, band 2Other fee | $35.74 + $3.74 per $1,000 of project valuation above $2,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $2,000 and Project valuation up to $25,000 and building class is one of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Residential, band 3Other fee | $121.76 + $2.81 per $1,000 of project valuation above $25,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $25,000 and Project valuation up to $50,000 and building class is one of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Residential, band 4Other fee | $192.01 + $1.88 per $1,000 of project valuation above $50,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $50,000 and Project valuation up to $100,000 and building class is one of residential, single family | — |
| Development Services Fee - Residential, band 5Other fee | $286.01 + $1.58 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof | Project valuation over $100,000 and building class is one of residential, single family | — |
| Plan review fee, 65% of the permit feePlan review | 65% 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 commercial tenant improvement in Portland with a construction valuation of $250,000, permitted with plans and filed as a building permit.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $250,000 |
| Building class | commercial |
Example total
$4,159.54
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 4Rules considered 17
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Building permit fee, $100,001 and upPermit fee"Building Permit Fee", band 5 of 5: "Fee for the first $100,000 — $1,137.78, plus $5.63 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof". The fee the band below produces at its top is exactly this band's opening figure.Show the working
| $1,137.78 + $5.63 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $1,982.28 |
Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 5Other fee"Development Services Fee - Commercial": "Fee for the first $100,000 — $356.91, plus $1.96 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof". Charged on the same valuation as the building permit fee and, in the schedule's own words, "Applies to all Building Permits, Site Development Permits (except where work involves only clearing) and Zoning Permits".Show the working
| $356.91 + $1.96 per $1,000 of project valuation above $100,000, or fraction thereof, in $1,000 steps | $650.91 |
Plan review fee, 65% of the permit feePlan reviewThe schedules print one line for it: "Plan Review 65% of the permit fee". Read on the `permit_fee` basis, so it is computed from the permit fee this run produced rather than from the valuation. The schedules also print a "For value-added revisions: 65% of the additional building permit fee (based on the additional valuation)", which is the same percentage applied to a change order rather than to the project.Show the working
| 65% of calculated permit fee | $1,288.48 |
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 | $237.87 |
| Total | $4,159.54 |
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.
- Building permit fee, $1 to $2,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, $2,000 to $25,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, $25,000 to $50,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Building permit fee, $50,000 to $100,000 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 1 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 2 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 3 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Commercial, band 4 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Residential, band 1 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Residential, band 2 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Residential, band 3 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Residential, band 4 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Development Services Fee - Residential, band 5 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 4 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The valuation falls in the top band, whose published line is $1,137.78 for the first $100,000 plus $5.63 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof: 150 further thousands is $844.50, so the permit fee is $1,982.28. The Development Services Fee - Commercial is charged on the same valuation from its own top band, $356.91 plus $1.96 per additional $1,000, which is $650.91. Plan review is 65% of the permit fee, $1,288.48. The state surcharge is 12% of the permit fee, $237.87. Total: $4,159.54.
The same project on unincorporated Multnomah County land is $3,508.63, because the county's schedule has the same building permit fee table — the same $1,982.28 — the same 65% plan review and the same 12% surcharge, and no Development Services Fee at all. The $650.91 is the whole difference.
Two caveats belong with the numbers. The Development Services Fee used here is the commercial table, which is the one that applies to a project that has named a commercial occupancy and also the one applied by default when no occupancy is named. And the surcharge is computed on the permit fee rather than on the finished total; on the total it would be $470.60, which is $232.73 more.
What is different in Portland
The permit fee table is the easy part, because it is short and it chains. Five bands, and at every seam the figure the lower band produces at its top is exactly the figure the next band opens with: $220.85 at $2,000, $540.78 at $25,000, $797.28 at $50,000 and $1,137.78 at $100,000. The smallest row is a minimum, so a $500 job and a $2,000 job both pay $167.00 for the first part, and only the second is charged the $3.59 steps. One band counts in hundreds rather than thousands — $3.59 for each additional $100, which is $35.90 per $1,000 — and that is what makes the arithmetic land exactly on the next band's opening figure.
What makes Portland different from most of this site is that the permit fee is not the whole of the City's charge on a building permit. The Development Services Fee is a second table applied to the same valuation, and it "applies to all Building Permits, Site Development Permits (except where work involves only clearing) and Zoning Permits". It has a Commercial version and a Residential version, applied by occupancy: the residential table is for one- and two-family dwellings and the commercial table is the residual category, so a project that has not named an occupancy is priced with the commercial table. On a $250,000 valuation the commercial table is $650.91 and the residential table, for a one- or two-family dwelling, is $523.01.
It also does not close at its own first seam. The commercial table's first band produces $26.49 plus fifteen steps of $1.16 at $2,000 — $43.89 — while its second band opens at $44.79, ninety cents higher. The residential table closes exactly: $21.19 plus fifteen steps of $0.97 is $35.74, which is what its second band opens with. The same document therefore disagrees with itself in one table and not the other, and this site reports the ninety cents rather than smoothing it.
Plan review is 65% of the permit fee, printed as "Plan Review/Process Fee — For the original submittal - 65% of the building permit fee, maximum of 2 allowable checksheets", with $336.00 per additional checksheet and the same 65% applied to the additional permit fee on a value-added revision with a $489.00 minimum.
Then the 12% state surcharge, imposed by ORS 455.210(4) as four separate surcharges — 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 — and collected by the City. The pages here charge it on the permit fee the table produces and not on the total, because the plan review fee is itself a percentage of that figure and charging a percentage of a percentage compounds it. Read on the finished total instead, the same $250,000 project's surcharge would be $470.60 rather than $237.87 — $232.73 more — and the page says so rather than choosing quietly.
None of this starts with the City. The valuation method is mandated by OAR 918-050-0100: the ICC Building Valuation Data Table current as of April 1, multiplied by square footage, with the square footage measured from outside exterior wall to outside exterior wall for each level. For commercial work the rule is explicit that the fee is computed on "the greater of either" that figure or "the value as stated by the applicant", so a low stated value does not lower the fee. And the fee is not the whole cost of the permit: the building table caps included inspections at three in its smallest band and seven in the band below the top, and charges $167.00 for each inspection after that.
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 Building Permit Fee table, the Development Services Fee, plan review at 65% of the permit fee and the 12% state surcharge. It excludes:
- Construction excise taxes: Metro's and the City's Affordable Housing Construction Excise Tax, which are taxes on permit valuation imposed by other bodies rather than permit fees.
- The Fire and Life Safety Review Fee, at 40% of the building permit fee, which is charged by the Fire Marshal rather than by Portland Permitting & Development.
- Every hourly charge: additional plan review at $114.00 for half an hour or less and $228.00 an hour beyond, inspections outside normal business hours at $320.00 an hour, investigation where work began without a permit at $167.00 an hour with a one-hour minimum, key-milestone meetings and peer review at $228.00 an hour per discipline, and process management from $1,806.00 for the first five hours.
- Program and registration fees: the Facility Permit/Master Permit Program from $255.00 a year, the Field Issuance Remodel Program's $640.00 registration and $423.00 hourly rate, the Major Projects Group's $112,687.00 project fee, and the re-roof permit packets at $2,142.00 per packet of five.
- The deferred submittal fee at 10% of the building permit fee on the deferred portion, with a $570.00 minimum for one- and two-family projects and $912.00 for commercial, and 50% of that for submittals exempt from plan review under ORS 455.628.
- Phased-project plan review at 10% of the total building permit fee per phase, capped at $3,936.00 per phase plus $511.00.
- The $167.00 re-inspection for each inspection beyond a band's allowance, and the $167.00 inspection minimum on the investigation fee.
- Other permit types on the same project: electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are separate permits with their own schedules, and the plumbing and electrical pages of this site price two of them.
- The trade work itself, and the utility and site charges assessed by other City bureaus — sewer, stormwater, water, erosion control and street use — which the schedule prices separately or says will be "added separately".
- Anything on a site outside the city limits. Portland Permitting & Development also issues permits for unincorporated Multnomah County and for Maywood Park, and the same valuation there is priced by the county's schedule, which is the same building table without the Development Services Fee.
What you need before applying
- The valuation is set by a state rule, not by the CityRequired
The permit valuation method is mandated by the State of Oregon in OAR 918-050-0100: a structural permit fee for new construction and additions "shall be calculated using the ICC Building Valuation Data Table current as of April 1 of each year, using the occupancy and construction type as determined by the building official, multiplied by the square footage of the structure", and "the valuation used will be the greater of either the above calculated value or the value as stated by the applicant".
For an alteration or repair the schedule uses a different basis, its own defined "Fair Market Value": "the total value of all construction work for which the permit is issued, as well as all finish work, painting, roofing, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, elevators, fire extinguishing systems and other permanent work or equipment, and contractor's profit".
- A second table is charged on the same valuationRequired
The Development Services Fee applies, in the schedule's own words, "to all Building Permits, Site Development Permits (except where work involves only clearing) and Zoning Permits". It comes in two versions — Commercial and Residential — and which one applies depends on the occupancy: the residential table is for one- and two-family dwellings and the commercial table is the document's residual category, so a project that has not named an occupancy is priced with the commercial table, which is the higher of the two at every band. This is the only charge on this site's Oregon pages that the unincorporated county does not levy, and it is the entire difference between the two jurisdictions' totals.
- Plan review is 65% of the permit fee; a trade plan review is 25% of that permit's feeRequired
Plan review is 65% of the building permit fee and 25% of the electrical or plumbing permit fee.
The building schedule's own line is "Plan Review/Process Fee — For the original submittal - 65% of the building permit fee, maximum of 2 allowable checksheets", plus $336.00 for each additional checksheet, and the same 65% applies "for value-added revisions" on the additional permit fee with a $489.00 minimum. The electrical and plumbing schedules each print "Plan review fee — 25% of total electrical permit fee - Maximum number of allowable checksheets: 2", with one additional checksheet at $324.00. OAR 918-050-0100 is what requires a percentage at all: a plan review fee "shall be based on a predetermined percentage of the permit fee set by the municipality" — the percentage is local, the mechanism is statewide.
- A 12% state surcharge is added to every permitRequired
The Building Codes Division: "A state surcharge fee of 12% is applied to all building permit types issued in the State of Oregon", covering building, mechanical, plumbing (including fixtures), electrical (including services) and structural permits — "Total permit fee × 0.12". 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 the state building code and 4% for the electronic building codes information system. The pages charge it on the permit fee the table produces rather than on the finished total; the other reading is stated on each page with the dollar difference it makes, at 12%.
Common questions
How much is a building permit in Portland?
It depends on the project valuation, and it is more than one table. The Building Permit Fee starts at a $167.00 minimum for anything up to $500, then $167.00 for the first $500 plus $3.59 for each additional $100 to $2,000, then $220.85 plus $13.91 per $1,000 to $25,000, and continues through $540.78 at $25,000, $797.28 at $50,000 and $1,137.78 at $100,000 plus $5.63 per $1,000 above that. On top of it: the City's Development Services Fee on the same valuation, plan review at 65% of the permit fee, and the 12% state surcharge. A $250,000 commercial project is $4,159.54 in the city.
Why is a Portland permit more expensive than one just outside the city?
Because the City charges a second table on the same valuation that unincorporated Multnomah County does not. The Development Services Fee "applies to all Building Permits, Site Development Permits (except where work involves only clearing) and Zoning Permits", and comes in a Commercial and a Residential version. The building permit fee table itself is identical in both schedules — same bands, same minimum, same rates — as are the electrical and plumbing schedules and the 12% state surcharge. On a $250,000 commercial project the Development Services Fee is $650.91, which is exactly the difference between the city's $4,159.54 and the county's $3,508.63.
What is the Development Services Fee?
A second fee table charged on the same project valuation as the building permit fee, in both a Commercial and a Residential version, and the City's own fee rather than a state one. The Commercial table runs from $26.49 to $356.91 plus a rate per additional $1,000, and the Residential table from $21.19 to $286.01 plus a rate. Its first band does not close with its second: at $2,000 the commercial table's own rate produces $43.89 while the next band opens at $44.79, ninety cents higher. The residential table's seam closes exactly.
Is plan review included?
No, and it is the second largest line on the permit: 65% of the building permit fee, printed as "Plan Review/Process Fee — For the original submittal - 65% of the building permit fee, maximum of 2 allowable checksheets". On a $250,000 project that is $1,288.48. An extra checksheet is $336.00, and a value-added revision is another 65% on the additional permit fee with a $489.00 minimum. A trade plan review is a different percentage: 25% of the electrical or plumbing permit fee.
What is the 12% state surcharge on a Portland permit?
Oregon's own surcharge, imposed by ORS 455.210(4) and collected by the City: 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 — "Total permit fee × 0.12". The Building Codes Division states that it "is applied to all building permit types issued in the State of Oregon", including mechanical, plumbing including fixtures, and electrical including services. On a $250,000 project it is $237.87.
Who decides the permit valuation?
The state's rule does. OAR 918-050-0100 requires a structural permit fee for new construction and additions to be calculated from the ICC Building Valuation Data Table current as of April 1, multiplied by the square footage, measured from outside exterior wall to outside exterior wall for each level. For a commercial project it says the valuation used "shall be the greater of either" that figure or the value as stated by the applicant, so a low stated value does not lower the fee. Alterations and repairs are priced on the fair market value of the permitted work as the schedule defines it.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Building and Other Permits Fee Schedule, City of Portland, effective July 10, 2026
Eleven pages, sha256 beginning 1f61bb394035119e, read 2026-09-24 in three pdftotext modes and compared line by line. Two things in it are load-bearing for this site. The Building Permit Fee table (page 1) is identical to the one in the county's document, row for row, which is the fact that lets one set of rules price both. And the two Development Services Fee tables (pages 2 and 3) exist in this document and not in the county's — so the same valuation, the same building permit fee and the same plan review percentage produce a different total depending on which side of the city boundary the site is on.
- State agencyState
OAR 918-050-0100 — Statewide Fee Methodologies for Residential and Commercial Permits
Read 2026-09-24 from the Secretary of State's current-rules database, and the reason two rows of the county's schedule read the way they do: a structural permit fee for new construction is calculated from the ICC Building Valuation Data Table current as of April 1 multiplied by the square footage, a commercial one takes "the greater of" that figure or the applicant's stated value, a residential plumbing permit is "based on the number of bathrooms, from one to three, on a graduated scale" with no additional fee for the first 100 feet of water and sewer lines, and a plan review fee "shall be based on a predetermined percentage of the permit fee set by the municipality".
- 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.