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Electrical permits in Portland, OR

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

23,696 electrical permits were issued in Portland, October 2024 through September 2026: about 11,848 a year and 31% of all permits. 12,295 electrical permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 8% more than the 11,401 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is March. The usual one took 36 days from issue to the city's final. 97219 has the most, 1,634.

23,696permits issued
12,295last 12 months
Marbusiest month
36days, usual issue to final
98%finished
Sep 2026records through

Electrical permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 1,083Oct2024Nov 2024: 842Dec 2024: 835Jan 2025: 1,002Jan2025Feb 2025: 869Mar 2025: 1,116Apr 2025: 1,050May 2025: 940Jun 2025: 964Jul 2025: 912JulAug 2025: 874Sep 2025: 914Oct 2025: 1,061Nov 2025: 959Dec 2025: 990Jan 2026: 1,079Jan2026Feb 2026: 989Mar 2026: 1,078Apr 2026: 1,068May 2026: 1,002Jun 2026: 1,086Jul 2026: 1,038JulAug 2026: 979Sep 2026: 966
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 20241,083
Nov 2024842
Dec 2024835
Jan 20251,002
Feb 2025869
Mar 20251,116
Apr 20251,050
May 2025940
Jun 2025964
Jul 2025912
Aug 2025874
Sep 2025914
Oct 20251,061
Nov 2025959
Dec 2025990
Jan 20261,079
Feb 2026989
Mar 20261,078
Apr 20261,068
May 20261,002
Jun 20261,086
Jul 20261,038
Aug 2026979
Sep 2026966

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When electrical permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). March is the busiest (111), November the quietest (91). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 105 (100 = an average month)February: 94 (100 = an average month)March: 111 (100 = an average month)111April: 107 (100 = an average month)May: 98 (100 = an average month)June: 104 (100 = an average month)July: 99 (100 = an average month)August: 94 (100 = an average month)September: 95 (100 = an average month)October: 109 (100 = an average month)November: 91 (100 = an average month)December: 92 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January105
February94
March111
April107
May98
June104
July99
August94
September95
October109
November91
December92

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How long an electrical permit takes

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 11,189 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 202511,401
Finished98.2%
Expired0.7%
Usual days, issue to final36
Middle half, days12–98

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ZIP codes with the most electrical permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 23,696 electrical permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
972191,6347%
972061,4676%
972021,4636%
972171,3656%
972111,2305%
972131,1995%
972201,0394%
972141,0054%
972039344%
972129024%

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The city's own permit types

How the city filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Electrical Permit / Residential 1 & 2 Family14,43361%
Electrical Permit / Commercial/Multifamily7,59232%
Facility Permit / Electrical1,6717%

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How Portland compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

Nearby permit data

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

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

Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · By ZIP code · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Electrical permits by month · Electrical permits by calendar month (index) · Electrical permits: days to final · Electrical permits by ZIP code · Electrical permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many electrical permits does Portland issue a year?About 11,848 a year in Portland: 23,696 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 12,295 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does an electrical permit take in Portland?The usual one took 36 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 12 to 98 days (11,189 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Portland file the most electrical permits?March (111 against an average month of 100); November is the quietest (91). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.
  • Which ZIP code has the most electrical permits in Portland?97219, with 1,634 of the 23,696 (7%); then 97206 (1,467).