Electrical Permit in Portland, OR
Permit Summary
Who Can Do the Electrical Work?
Homeowner Eligibility Rules
An owner may obtain a permit and perform qualifying work on an eligible residential or farm building if the owner or an immediate family member performs the work and the owner does not intend to sell, exchange, lease, or rent the property. PP&D's residential guidance further limits homeowner permits to the recorded individual property owner who owns and lives in the home; it excludes LLC ownership, rental or sale/lease properties, ADUs, and residential types such as apartments, condominiums, and triplexes. For a duplex, the homeowner may work only on the side used as the primary home.
Contractor Rules
Commercial electrical permits may be purchased only by a licensed contractor. Portland requires contractors to hold an Oregon Construction Contractors Board license and, for most electrical work, the applicable Oregon Building Codes Division electrical license and supervising electrical license; permit applications and company materials must list the license number. For residential work, a licensed electrical contractor is required unless the property owner qualifies for the owner-work exception.
Permit & Plan Review
Electrical Work Covered
A Portland electrical permit is required for regulated electrical installation, alteration, replacement, service, and wiring work unless an exemption applies. Residential examples include adding light fixtures or outlets, changing a fuse box to circuit breakers, installing or repairing hard-wired systems, replacing a service panel, running new wiring, and installing or modifying low-voltage systems. PP&D states that electrical work in commercial buildings requires a commercial electrical permit, subject to applicable statutory and code exemptions.
Plan Review Rules
Electrical plan review is required for complex installations under Portland Title 26 and OAR 918-311-0040, and may also be requested voluntarily. Portland lists triggers including fire pumps, emergency systems, new motor load of 100 HP or more, six or more residential units, patient-care areas, recreational vehicle parks, hazardous locations, supply over 600 volts, certain 400-amp-or-larger high-fault-current services or feeders, services or feeders of 600 amps or more, buildings over three stories, marinas or boatyards, floating buildings, commercial-use agricultural buildings, 150 KVA-or-larger separately derived systems, and Group A, E, I-2, or I-3 occupancies. The current fee schedule also identifies solar and wind generation systems over 25 KVA as requiring plan review. Required plans are submitted in two scaled sets and must show the work in sufficient detail, including feeder and one-line diagrams, grounding/bonding, conductor sizes, fault current, load calculations, fixture schedules, and project/preparer information. Portland states commercial electrical plan review generally takes 10 business days.
Quick / No-Plan Permit Rules
Portland provides a standard no-plan trade-permit path through Development Hub PDX for electrical work that does not require plans. Applicants provide the work description, location, person or company doing the work, and applicable fixture or work quantities; contractors should have their active CCB and BCD licenses listed in DevHub. Electrical work requiring plans must use the Trade Permits with Plan Review process instead. Standard residential electrical permits are issued within 24 hours after payment.
Service, Panel & Utility Requirements
Service / Panel Rules
A residential electrical permit is required to replace a service panel or change a fuse box to circuit breakers. Service or feeder work is permitted and charged by amperage; the application must identify the panel or service amperage. Portland's residential guidance treats a 200-amp service/feeder permit as covering the first main distribution panel and existing circuits that must be moved or extended solely to reach the replacement panel; new or altered subpanels and new or extended circuits require additional permit scope. Service, panel-change, and added-subpanel projects require the applicable service inspection before final approval.
Service Reconnect Rules
For a residential property whose power has been off for six months or more and where the utility requires a City inspection before reconnecting service, apply for a 'Service/reconnect Only' electrical permit. This permit is for one inspection and ordinarily does not authorize electrical work. If the inspection finds work is needed before approval to energize, a licensed electrical contractor must obtain a full electrical permit. Portland's current fee schedule lists the reconnect-only permit fee as $190.
Low-Voltage Rules
Portland does not treat low-voltage work as categorically permit-exempt. Residential guidance says a permit is required to install or modify low-voltage systems such as security alarms, stereo, computer, and phone systems. The current fee schedule includes limited-energy installation and signal-circuit/limited-energy-panel fees. Oregon law separately exempts cable-television installations from electrical permit and licensing requirements, and other statutory or administrative-rule exemptions may apply to specific systems.
Utility Coordination Rules
Service changes, reconnects, and other work affecting utility energization require coordination with the serving electric utility as applicable. Oregon law generally prohibits a person selling electricity from energizing an electrical installation until it has been approved by an authorized electrical inspector, subject to statutory exceptions. Portland uses the reconnect-only permit when service has been off for six months or more and the utility requires a City inspection before restoring power.
Inspections & Permit Life
Electrical Inspection Stages
Required inspections depend on the scope. Portland's electrical inspection codes include rough-in (105), underground (110), service reconnect (111), temporary service (115), permanent service (120), low voltage/alarm (125), circuits/feeders (145), generator/transfer switch (150), and final electrical (199), among others. Residential permits require the 199 Final Electrical Permit inspection to close the permit; rough-in work must be inspected before it is covered, and service/panel work requires the applicable service inspection.
Permit Expiration / Inspection Interval
Under Portland Code 26.04.080, an electrical permit application that is inactive for 180 days is deemed abandoned. For an issued permit, if no inspection is approved within 180 days after issuance, the permit expires; each approved inspection automatically extends the permit for another 180 days. Portland may grant an extension of up to 180 days for justifiable cause if requested before expiration, and may reactivate an expired permit within 180 days if the scope has not changed. A permit may be reactivated only once. The current fee schedule sets the reactivation fee at one-half of the fee for a new permit, with a $228 minimum.
What You Need Before Applying
Requirements
Obtain the electrical permit before starting regulated work unless an exemption applies, submit a complete application, pay applicable permit and plan-review fees, and perform the work in compliance with Portland Title 26 and the currently effective 2023 Oregon Electrical Specialty Code. The person doing the work must qualify as an eligible owner or appropriately licensed electrical contractor. Projects that trigger electrical plan review must submit the required plans and specifications before permit issuance.
Exemptions
Portland Title 26 exempts work performed under a valid Electrical Master Permit (Industrial Plant) Program, minor installations covered by a valid minor label, certain housing-authority repairs, replacement of light bulbs, fluorescent tubes or approved fuses, connection of approved portable equipment to properly wired receptacles, certain exempt HVAC/R electrical components, and other work exempted by Oregon statute or rule. PP&D also states that ordinary residential work such as fixing appliance cords, replacing a fuse, or replacing an existing appliance does not require a residential electrical permit.
Required Documents
Standard no-plan applications require complete project and applicant information, including the work description, work location, party doing the work, and fixture or work quantities; contractors must list applicable active CCB and BCD license information. Service upgrades must identify amperage, and residential rewiring applications use the area being rewired. When plan review is required, submit the electrical permit application and two scaled plan sets showing the scope and code compliance, including feeder and one-line diagrams, panel/circuit information, fault current, load calculations, fixture schedules, owner and project address information, preparer/license information, and emergency-system information when applicable.