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Plumbing permits in Portland, OR

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

15,031 plumbing permits were issued in Portland, October 2024 through September 2026: about 7,516 a year and 20% of all permits. 8,093 plumbing permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 17% more than the 6,938 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is April. The usual one took 26 days from issue to the city's final. 97206 has the most, 1,185.

15,031permits issued
8,093last 12 months
Aprbusiest month
26days, usual issue to final
98%finished
Sep 2026records through

Plumbing permits by month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.

Oct 2024: 662Oct2024Nov 2024: 482Dec 2024: 467Jan 2025: 520Jan2025Feb 2025: 559Mar 2025: 548Apr 2025: 668May 2025: 657Jun 2025: 621Jul 2025: 591JulAug 2025: 604Sep 2025: 559Oct 2025: 698Nov 2025: 575Dec 2025: 554Jan 2026: 658Jan2026Feb 2026: 597Mar 2026: 755Apr 2026: 740May 2026: 696Jun 2026: 757Jul 2026: 678JulAug 2026: 678Sep 2026: 707
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Oct 2024662
Nov 2024482
Dec 2024467
Jan 2025520
Feb 2025559
Mar 2025548
Apr 2025668
May 2025657
Jun 2025621
Jul 2025591
Aug 2025604
Sep 2025559
Oct 2025698
Nov 2025575
Dec 2025554
Jan 2026658
Feb 2026597
Mar 2026755
Apr 2026740
May 2026696
Jun 2026757
Jul 2026678
Aug 2026678
Sep 2026707

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When plumbing permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). April is the busiest (112), December the quietest (82). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 94 (100 = an average month)February: 92 (100 = an average month)March: 104 (100 = an average month)April: 112 (100 = an average month)112May: 108 (100 = an average month)June: 110 (100 = an average month)July: 101 (100 = an average month)August: 102 (100 = an average month)September: 101 (100 = an average month)October: 109 (100 = an average month)November: 84 (100 = an average month)December: 82 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January94
February92
March104
April112
May108
June110
July101
August102
September101
October109
November84
December82

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How long a plumbing permit takes

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 6,442 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 20256,938
Finished97.7%
Expired0.7%
Usual days, issue to final26
Middle half, days9–96

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ZIP codes with the most plumbing permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 15,031 plumbing permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
972061,1858%
972021,1338%
972191,0587%
972111,0157%
972171,0037%
972139286%
972148496%
972128376%
972036875%
972156274%

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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
Plumbing Permit / Residential 1 & 2 Family9,55364%
Plumbing Permit / Commercial/Multifamily2,20115%
BES - Sewer Repair Permit / Single Family Dwelling1,74412%
Facility Permit / Plumbing4563%
BES - Sewer Connection Plumbing Permit / Single Family Dwelling4313%
BES - Sewer Connection Plumbing Permit / Commercial2992%
Mechanical Permit / Residential 1 & 2 Family119under 1%
BES - Sewer Repair Permit / Commercial98under 1%
BES - Sewer Connection Plumbing Permit / Multi-family Dwellings63under 1%
BES - Sewer Repair Permit / Multi-family Dwellings48under 1%

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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

Plumbing 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, "Plumbing permits in Portland, OR", https://contractorrecords.com/portland/plumbing-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): Plumbing permits by month · Plumbing permits by calendar month (index) · Plumbing permits: days to final · Plumbing permits by ZIP code · Plumbing permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many plumbing permits does Portland issue a year?About 7,516 a year in Portland: 15,031 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 8,093 of them in the last 12 months.
  • How long does a plumbing permit take in Portland?The usual one took 26 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 9 to 96 days (6,442 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 plumbing permits?April (112 against an average month of 100); December is the quietest (82). 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 plumbing permits in Portland?97206, with 1,185 of the 15,031 (8%); then 97202 (1,133).