Start with the county, not the city
Oregon permit authority by county. Counties own electrical for much of the state, 1 runs no building programme at all, and 4 are run by a city, so the county is where a permit search should start.
Every county is a page
Colour shows wildfire code R327 adoption. 1 of 36 counties has adopted it, which is the point: the rule is local-option and almost nowhere has taken it up. Select a county to open its permit record.
- Adopted, in effect
- Adoption in progress
- Not adopted, or cannot adopt
- No adoption record found
Why this layer comes first
Permit authority in Oregon is not uniform, and the exceptions are not rare. Counties own electrical for a great many cities: Yamhill for McMinnville and Newberg, Linn for Lebanon and Scio, Polk for Dallas and Independence, and Clackamas for nearly every city in the county.
So for a great many Oregon houses the structural history is a city record and the electrical history is a county record, held in a different system. That is exactly what causes an inspector to report no permit on file for a panel upgrade that was in fact permitted.
The structural history is a city record. The electrical history is a county record.
The recurring pattern across every regional sweep
None of the three metro counties runs a normal building department. Multnomah runs none at all and routes permits to Portland, Gresham or Troutdale. Clackamas performs electrical for nearly every incorporated city in the county.
PermitsNONE. Multnomah County does not run a building inspection program in any trade.
PermitsWashington County Building Services, Department of Land Use and Transportation
PermitsClackamas County Building Codes Division, Department of Transportation and Development
PermitsColumbia County Building Division, Land Development Services
The counties own electrical across most of the valley, so a house here typically has its structural history in a city system and its electrical history in a county one.
PermitsMarion County Public Works, Building Inspection Division
PermitsPolk County Community Development, Building Division
PermitsYamhill County Department of Planning and Development, Building Division
PermitsLinn County Planning and Building Department
PermitsBenton County Community Development, Building Division
PermitsLane County Building Program, Land Management Division, Public Works
Snow load, wildfire code adoption and rapid new construction. Deschutes County adopted R327 for unincorporated areas and Sisters, while Bend adopted separately and Redmond has not.
PermitsDeschutes County Community Development, Building Safety Division
PermitsCrook County, dual jurisdiction serving unincorporated county AND the City of Prineville
PermitsJefferson County
The highest-stakes wildfire code question in the state. Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass have all adopted R327, two of them under pre-SB 83 ordinances that are grandfathered.
PermitsJackson County Development Services, Building Division
PermitsJosephine County Community Development, Building Safety Division
PermitsDouglas County Building Department
Wind-driven rain and a 135 mph design wind speed for ordinary houses in full ocean exposure. Curry carries a special wind region extending 15 miles inland that the national ASCE tool does not show.
PermitsClatsop County Building Codes Division, Community Development Department
PermitsTillamook County Department of Community Development, Building Division
PermitsLincoln County Department of Planning and Development, Building Division
PermitsCoos County Community Development
PermitsCurry County Community Development Department, Building Division
An anomalous loading environment. Structures with full exposure to Gorge winds are designed to a higher standard, and ground snow load at low elevation is unusually high.
PermitsHood River County, with an unusual three-way split
PermitsWasco County, full service
Where permit authority varies most. Two counties are administered by the state, two are run by a city, and one splits electrical from structural across two agencies.
PermitsCITY OF BAKER CITY, serving the entire county including all cities
PermitsHYBRID. County Planning Department issues permits; BCD provides plan review and inspection support
PermitsHarney County, all four disciplines
PermitsMalheur County, established 2019, EXCEPT the City of Ontario which runs its own
PermitsOregon BCD, PERMANENT, for the county PLUS nine cities
PermitsCITY OF LA GRANDE, serving the entire county
PermitsWallowa County, full four-program department
PermitsCity of Boardman under contract, PLUS Oregon BCD for electrical only
PermitsOregon BCD, TEMPORARY
PermitsOregon BCD, TEMPORARY, via the Pendleton field office
High desert, deep frost lines and the most seismically demanding sites in the interior. Klamath publishes the fullest county design criteria in Oregon; Lake publishes none and issues snow loads per site on request.
PermitsKlamath County, full program
PermitsLake County, all disciplines