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Portland, OR building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

76,879 building permits were issued in Portland from October 2024 to September 2026, about 38,440 a year. Electrical permits lead with 23,696, then HVAC (16,519) and plumbing (15,031). 67% were for homes. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here: these pages show what was built, where, when and how fast the city signed it off.

76,879permits issued
38,440a year
67%for homes
93%finished (Oct 2024–Sep 2025 permits)
44days, usual issue to final
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Electrical

23,696permits
12,295last 12 mo
36days to final

HVAC

16,519permits
8,429last 12 mo
29days to final

Plumbing

15,031permits
8,093last 12 mo
26days to final

Remodels & repairs

3,972permits
1,852last 12 mo
110days to final

Solar

3,093permits
1,241last 12 mo
48days to final

New homes

2,203permits
1,097last 12 mo
252days to final

Additions

792permits
400last 12 mo
195days to final

Demolition

685permits
305last 12 mo
80days to final

Garages, sheds & shade structures

348permits
172last 12 mo
132days to final

ADUs & casitas

245permits
105last 12 mo
213days to final

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the city issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • ✓How long a permit takes from issue to the city's final inspection.
  • ✓Which permits finished, are still open or expired.
  • ✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
  • Who did the work. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Building and trade permits that Portland Permitting & Development (formerly the Bureau of Development Services) issued for property inside the City of Portland. Permits the bureau handles for places outside the city limits, and tree, nuisance, noise, land-use and right-of-way cases in the same file, are not counted. Gresham, Beaverton, Lake Oswego and the rest of the metro area run their own permit offices.

Hiring someone here?

The permit file can't tell you who does good work. Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up at the Oregon Construction Contractors Board, then ask the city whether they pulled the permit for your job.

How to check a contractor's license in Oregon →

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Electrical23,69631%12,295
HVAC16,51921%8,429
Plumbing15,03120%8,093
Remodels & repairs3,9725%1,852
Solar3,0934%1,241
New homes2,2033%1,097
Additions7921%400
Demolition685under 1%305
Garages, sheds & shade structures348under 1%172
ADUs & casitas245under 1%105
Roofing150under 1%77
Other10,10713%5,020

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: fences & walls (38).

Download this table (CSV)

Portland permit statistics →How long permits take in Portland →Portland permits by ZIP code →Portland building permit search: PortlandMaps, statuses and old records →

Before you start a project

All guides →

Nearby permit data

Permit data for other places in Portland. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Tigard, ORVancouver, WA

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Portland, PortlandMaps Public/BDS_Permit FeatureServer layer 22 (All Permits), read 18 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits that Portland Permitting & Development (formerly the Bureau of Development Services) issued for property inside the City of Portland. Permits the bureau handles for places outside the city limits, and tree, nuisance, noise, land-use and right-of-way cases in the same file, are not counted. Gresham, Beaverton, Lake Oswego and the rest of the metro area run their own permit offices.

  • The city's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Portland.
  • Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are trade permits filed on their own, so one job (a remodel, say) can show up as a building permit plus several trade permits.
  • Job value is the value declared on building permits only; electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits carry no value, so costs are shown only for kinds of work filed as building permits.
  • A final date is the city's finaled date. A permit that expired or was cancelled is not counted as finished even when the file gives it a closing date.
  • The ZIP code comes from the county tax lot the permit is filed on; permits not tied to a tax lot have no ZIP code.
  • Roofing and solar jobs are picked out of residential building permits by their descriptions; a reroof that needs no structural work needs no permit in Portland, so roofing counts are low.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Portland, OR building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/portland/, data through September 2026, from Portland Permitting & Development building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Portland issue a year?About 38,440 a year in Portland: 76,879 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 39,103 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the city issued, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Portland?Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Check a license at the Oregon Construction Contractors Board and ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Portland?Electrical: 23,696 of the 76,879 permits (31%), then HVAC (16,519), plumbing (15,031), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How long does a building permit take in Portland?The usual permit took 44 days from issue to the city's final (middle half: 15 to 125 days), from 34,874 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final. Each kind of work →
  • How do I look up a building permit in Portland?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the city's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Portland →
  • How many permits were issued in Portland last month?3,258 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 39,103 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 76,879 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work, a ZIP code or a status. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (76,879 permits).

IssuedKind of workCity permit typeStatusZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 20263,258Electrical (966)
Aug 20263,118Electrical (979)
Jul 20263,366Electrical (1,038)
Jun 20263,299Electrical (1,086)
May 20263,116Electrical (1,002)
Apr 20263,295Electrical (1,068)
Mar 20263,462Electrical (1,078)
Feb 20262,989Electrical (989)
Jan 20263,259Electrical (1,079)
Dec 20253,196Electrical (990)
Nov 20252,991Electrical (959)
Oct 20253,754Electrical (1,061)

Download this table (CSV)