City of Portland Commercial Building Permits: The Process, Step by Step

By Erik Tishenko, Modern Northwest · Published November 4, 2026

City of Portland building permits for commercial work are issued by Portland Permitting & Development, the office formerly called the Bureau of Development Services (BDS). Any repair, alteration, or change of use in an existing commercial building, or in an apartment building with three or more units, needs a building permit. You apply online through DevHub, the city reviews the plans in three phases, and the city's goal for a first review is 10 days for an alteration and 20 days for new construction. Here is each step, from researching the building to the final inspection.

From the City of Portland's permit status page. These are goals for the first review, not the whole permit, and the city notes they can change with workload. For real-world totals, see our commercial construction timeline.

Building in Portland? Modern Northwest is a commercial general contractor licensed in Oregon (CCB #198582). Call (360) 326-2747 or see our Portland commercial construction page.

Step 1: Research the building

The city asks you to start with what is already on record. The approved and finaled permits for the building establish its existing conditions and occupancy. If no permit can be found, the existing occupancy may be established through a Life Safety appeal; otherwise, the city treats all work done without a permit as new, no matter when it was installed. Before applying, also check:

• the zoning and the codes that apply, both city titles and state building codes,
• the existing occupancy and existing permits on the site,
• the permit cost and system development charges (SDCs),
• whether the building is unreinforced masonry, since Title 24.85 can trigger seismic strengthening on work in existing buildings.

If the new use differs from the old one, read our guide to change of use permits, and see occupancy classification for how uses are grouped.

Step 2: Shell first, then the tenant improvement

In a new building, the space is often permitted as a shell, meaning the original permit did not set the occupancy. Portland's rule is strict: a tenant improvement permit cannot be submitted until the shell permit has been issued, and cannot be issued until the shell has final approval or has reached substantial completion as determined by the building inspector. The owner signs a Shell Permit Acknowledgement Statement as part of the shell submittal.

Step 3: Ask early

The city offers a free 15-minute appointment for questions about codes, zoning, the application and what to submit. For projects with complicated building or fire code questions, you can request a preliminary Life Safety meeting. Projects that need a land use review have their own early assistance, and a pre-application conference is required for Type III and IV land use reviews.

Step 4: Put together a complete submittal

An alteration or tenant improvement application has to be complete to get in the door. It includes:

• the building permit application and a building code summary,
• the life safety completeness checklist for commercial permits,
• the Shell TI Acknowledgement statement,
• architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and landscape drawings, as the project needs.

Drawings must be to scale where needed, at least 11 by 17 inches, with printed text at least 3/32 inch (about 12-point). You cannot reuse another professional's stamped drawings without their permission. What the code requires on the drawings themselves is covered in our guide to construction documents. Outside Portland, the process differs: see Washington County building permits and Clark County commercial permits.

Step 5: Apply on DevHub

Applications go in through Development Hub PDX. Most projects upload plans as a single PDF; large projects such as commercial new construction use PDX E-plans and ProjectDox. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work usually need their own permits, applied for once the building permit is approved.

Step 6: Review in three phases

1. Intake. The city prescreens the application in the order it arrived. If something is missing, you get a list through DevHub; once accepted, you get the intake fees.
2. Under review. Technical reviewers check the plans against the codes. Several groups may review one permit. If they need changes, they send a checksheet, and you must answer every item on every checksheet.
3. Pre-issuance. A final quality check. The permit is not issued until all fees are paid.

Status can be followed on DevHub or on PortlandMaps. Answering checksheets quickly and completely is the part of the schedule the applicant controls.

Step 7: Build and inspect

The inspection card lists the inspections the project will likely need and what has to happen first. On jobs that disturb the ground, erosion control, and sometimes tree protection, must be installed and approved before other ground work. Inspections are scheduled on DevHub or through the automated line at 503-823-7000, and results arrive by email. Every permit needs a final approval inspection to be complete, and the final inspections lead into the certificate of occupancy where one is required.

Bigger Portland projects

New buildings run the same steps with more review groups. New buildings, like the 4-story mixed-use building at 2425 NE Alberta we built from October 2023 to February 2025 and the 16-unit 55th Apartments we built from February to December 2024, take the new construction path rather than the alteration path, and the city sets a 20-day goal for their first review instead of 10.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

A Portland commercial permit starts with researching the building's permit history, moves through a complete submittal on DevHub, three review phases with checksheets, and ends with a final inspection. The city's goal for a first review is 10 days for alterations and 20 for new buildings. A tenant improvement in a new building has to wait for the shell permit first.

Who pulls the permit, owner or contractor, is covered in who is responsible for pulling permits. Modern Northwest has built commercial projects across Portland since 2005. Tell us about your project.