Commercial General Contractor in Portland, OR

Permitting for a Portland commercial project

Commercial permits in Portland go through Portland Permitting and Development (formerly the Bureau of Development Services). Most commercial projects are not issued over the counter. We submit full plan sets, and staff from building, zoning, fire, transportation, and other groups review the project at the same time. If a reviewer needs changes, they send back a checksheet, and each round adds review time.

Smaller commercial tenant improvements, interior remodels that do not change the use, usually go through a Single PDF submission. Applications of 35 pages and under may qualify for that path. Larger projects, like new construction, go through the PDX E-Plans and ProjectDox system instead. If your site sits just outside the city, in unincorporated Multnomah County, it runs through the county rather than the city.

Checksheets are the part that moves your date

When a reviewer needs more information or a correction, they issue a checksheet and post it to the city's DevHub system under Upload Corrections. Nothing moves until that round is answered. One clean set of drawings can clear review while a set with open questions goes around two or three more times, and each lap is real calendar time. That is the single biggest reason we spend the effort up front instead of submitting early and sorting it out later.

Ask the questions before you are committed

Portland offers early assistance meetings with the plan review groups, plus free 15 minute appointments for permit, code, and zoning questions. On a project with anything unusual about it, a change of use, an older building, a tricky site, we use those before the design is locked. It is far cheaper to move a wall on paper than to answer a code question after the drawings are stamped.

Owners with ongoing work: the Facility Permit Program

If you own or manage a Portland building with a steady stream of improvement work, the city's Facility Permit Program assigns one team to handle plan review and inspections across your registered buildings. It covers maintenance, tenant improvements, remodels, space alterations, and mechanical, plumbing, and electrical additions. It does not cover new construction or additions, and condominiums and apartment buildings are not eligible. Buildings re-register annually. For a property manager turning suites regularly, it is worth asking about.

The code your Portland project is built to

Portland does not write its own building code. Commercial work here is built to the Oregon Structural Specialty Code, adopted statewide by the Oregon Building Codes Division. The 2025 edition is based on the 2024 International Building Code, International Fire Code, and International Existing Building Code, and its construction provisions became mandatory on April 1, 2026. In an older building, the existing building code is often the part that decides how far an upgrade has to go, so we read it against your actual structure early.

We handle the plan review, the permit, and the inspections, and we build your schedule around the real review timeline. Jurisdiction and code facts on this page verified July 2026.

Why Portland businesses choose Modern Northwest

• Licensed in Oregon. Oregon CCB #198582, licensed, bonded, and insured, so your Portland project is fully covered and permitted right.
• Home turf. Our shop is in Portland, so we know the city's building departments and neighborhoods.
• Commercial construction is our focus. Tenant improvements, ground-up, medical and dental, retail, restaurants, and industrial, since 2008.
• One point of contact. A single project manager runs your job, on schedule and on budget, with honest updates.

Frequently asked questions