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Building permits in 97203, Portland

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

3,135 building permits were issued in ZIP code 97203 by Portland Permitting & Development, October 2024 through September 2026: 4% of the 76,879 in Portland, the 9th busiest ZIP code. Electrical permits lead with 934. 1,655 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 12% more than the 1,480 in the 12 months before. Permits from a city that runs its own permit office are not counted.

3,135permits in 97203
1,655last 12 months
71%for homes
35days, usual issue to final
Sep 2026records through

Permits in 97203 by kind of work

Share here is the part of the 3,135 permits in 97203; citywide is the same for all of Portland.

Kind of workPermitsShare hereCitywide
Electrical93430%31%
Plumbing68722%20%
HVAC64721%21%
Solar1595%4%
Remodels & repairs1485%5%
New homes732%3%
Additions471%1%
Demolition381%under 1%
Garages, sheds & shade structures13under 1%under 1%
ADUs & casitas9under 1%under 1%
Roofing2under 1%under 1%
Other37812%13%

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Permits in 97203 by year

Permits issued in each calendar year of the window.

YearMonthsPermitsPer year
2024 (from October)33321,328
2025121,5641,564
2026 (through September)91,2391,652

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How permits in 97203 finish

Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends.

Measure97203Citywide
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 20251,48037,776
Finished92.6%93.3%
Expired2.1%1.5%
Usual days, issue to final3544

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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 We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.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, "Building permits in 97203, Portland", https://contractorrecords.com/portland/zip/97203, data through September 2026, from Portland Permitting & Development building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · By year · How permits finish.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits in 97203 by kind of work · Permits in 97203 by year · Permits in 97203: finished and days to final.

Common questions

  • How many building permits were issued in 97203?3,135 permits issued by the city in ZIP code 97203, October 2024 through September 2026: 934 electrical, 687 plumbing, 647 HVAC. 1,655 were in the last 12 months.
  • What is built most in 97203?Electrical: 934 of the 3,135 permits (30%), against 31% citywide.
  • How long does a permit take in 97203?The usual permit issued here Oct 2024–Sep 2025 took 35 days from issue to final (1,352 permits with a final date), against 44 days citywide.
  • Who did the work in 97203?The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't say. Ask a contractor for the permit numbers of past jobs and check them with the city.