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Building permits in 97231, Portland

Data through September 2026 · updated 18 Oct 2026

520 building permits were issued in ZIP code 97231 by Portland Permitting & Development, October 2024 through September 2026: under 1% of the 76,879 in Portland, the 28th busiest ZIP code. Electrical permits lead with 189. 257 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 2% fewer than the 263 in the 12 months before. Permits from a city that runs its own permit office are not counted.

520permits in 97231
257last 12 months
85%for homes
38days, usual issue to final
Sep 2026records through

Permits in 97231 by kind of work

Share here is the part of the 520 permits in 97231; citywide is the same for all of Portland.

Kind of workPermitsShare hereCitywide
Electrical18936%31%
HVAC15730%21%
Plumbing6713%20%
Remodels & repairs275%5%
Solar224%4%
New homes143%3%
Garages, sheds & shade structures92%under 1%
Roofing3under 1%under 1%
Additions2under 1%1%
Demolition2under 1%under 1%
Fences & walls1under 1%under 1%
Other275%13%

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Permits in 97231 by year

Permits issued in each calendar year of the window.

YearMonthsPermitsPer year
2024 (from October)361244
202512276276
2026 (through September)9183244

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How permits in 97231 finish

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

Measure97231Citywide
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 202526337,776
Finished95.8%93.3%
Expired1.1%1.5%
Usual days, issue to final3844

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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 We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.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 97231, Portland", https://contractorrecords.com/portland/zip/97231, 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 97231 by kind of work · Permits in 97231 by year · Permits in 97231: finished and days to final.

Common questions

  • How many building permits were issued in 97231?520 permits issued by the city in ZIP code 97231, October 2024 through September 2026: 189 electrical, 157 HVAC, 67 plumbing. 257 were in the last 12 months.
  • What is built most in 97231?Electrical: 189 of the 520 permits (36%), against 31% citywide.
  • How long does a permit take in 97231?The usual permit issued here Oct 2024–Sep 2025 took 38 days from issue to final (251 permits with a final date), against 44 days citywide.
  • Who did the work in 97231?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.