Clatsop County, Oregon Building Permit Guide

Clatsop County Building Codes Division issues every building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permit outside the five cities, plus the electrical permits inside all of them and Cannon Beach’s plumbing permits. A new house on rural land starts with a county development permit from Land Use Planning, then unlocked PDF plans go to the division for electronic review. On the county fee table, $150,000 of work carries a $1,476.85 permit fee, plus 75 percent plan review, the 12 percent state surcharge and a 3 percent technology fee.

What requires a building permit in Clatsop County?

The division’s question-and-answer page names the usual structural jobs: adding a room, finishing an attic or basement as living space, cutting or widening openings, moving walls, building a stairway and building a deck more than 30 inches above grade. Replacing a water heater needs a plumbing permit, and any new outlet, fixture or circuit needs an electrical permit.

The exemption list comes from chapter 1 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, which became mandatory on October 1, 2026. Section R101.2.2 also leaves fences and in-ground pools at houses outside the permit unless a local ordinance requires one; the county’s FAQ lists fences over 7 ft as needing a structural permit. Exempt work in a mapped flood hazard area still needs a county floodplain approval.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The building program pays for itself from plan review and permit revenue, under a fee schedule the Board of Commissioners approves, and the county sets its own intake rules, such as electronic review and a combined house permit. The codes, the valuation method (the ICC table in force each April 1) and the trade licenses are the state’s.

Clatsop County building department: who handles permitting

Permitting here is split by trade as well as by place. The county’s 2023 operating plan gives the division all structural, mechanical and plumbing work in the unincorporated county and all electrical work everywhere; the state’s Local Building Department Directory shows the rest, city by city.

Zoning inside a city is that city’s job.

Permit types and approvals before filing

Residential permits

A new one- or two-family house is issued as a single dwelling permit that bundles the structural, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work for the house itself. It does not cover a temporary electrical service, any detached accessory building or road and right-of-way work, which are permitted separately. The plumbing and electrical applications are signed by the licensed contractors doing that work, or by an owner doing the work. The county’s plan checklist requires trusses designed for 135 mph wind and a lateral wall bracing design under ORSC R602.10 or an engineer’s design. Additions and accessory buildings use the structural application and the 2026 accessory structure packet.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit applications, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multifamily work uses the same structural application. On top of the 75 percent structural review, a fire and life safety review adds 50 percent of the permit fee, and a deferred submittal costs 65 percent of the fee on the deferred portion with a $300 minimum. Phased projects pay at least $353 plus 10 percent of the project’s permit fees, capped at $1,500 a phase. The first pre-application meeting for a commercial or multifamily project is free.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial building permits through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Agency sign-offs: the fire, water and sewer or septic providers sign the county’s Agency Review and Approval Form before a development permit can be requested.
• Development permit: Land Use Planning issues development permits for new or replacement houses, accessory buildings and grading outside city limits and urban growth boundaries under the Land and Water Development and Use Code (LAWDUC, revised in 2026 by Ordinances 26-04 and 26-08). The 2026 packet lists the development permit at $85, a new address at $225 and a grading, drainage and erosion control permit at $150.
• Hazard overlays: a site in the flood hazard overlay needs an approved floodplain application ($110) first, and a site in the geologic hazard overlay needs a geologic hazard review or waiver ($85) with a report meeting LAWDUC 5.3025.
• Access: a road approach permit comes from county Public Works for a county road or ODOT for a state highway; on a private road the owner shows an easement or the owner’s approval.
• Septic: the county Onsite Septic Program handles site evaluations and system permits as DEQ’s local agent.

Building permit fees

The fee schedule is the county’s Administrative Policy A-9, adopted by board resolution on June 8, 2022 and in effect since July 1, 2022; the Building Codes page still names it the current schedule. The building official sets the valuation, including finish work, trade systems and the contractor’s profit, from the ICC table or the contractor’s figure.

State surcharge, in the county’s words: “All permits are subject to the current State of Oregon Surcharge,” listed at 12%. The same schedule adds “a 3% technology fee” to all applications, permits and fees, and a 1 percent seismic surcharge on structures designated Tsunami Risk Category III or IV. Permit extensions are free the first time, then $238 and $357, and they carry no state surcharge; reinstating a permit that expired within the past 12 months costs $119 per discipline plus the surcharge.

Worked example: $150,000 of work falls in the top band: $1,167.35 plus 50 × $6.19 = $1,476.85. Plan review at 75 percent is $1,107.64, the 12 percent surcharge $177.22 and the 3 percent technology fee $44.31, for $2,806.02 before any trade permits.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Because the county issues electrical permits in every city, an electrician wiring a house in Seaside or Astoria buys the permit from the county even though the city issues the building permit. Plumbing is county-issued in Cannon Beach and on rural land, and city-issued in the other four cities.

• Contractors: anyone paid to build needs a Construction Contractors Board license, and the structural application asks for the CCB number. Electrical and plumbing work for hire needs a license from the state Building Codes Division as well.
• Owner electrical work: the county’s FAQ says an owner must both own and occupy the dwelling to take out an electrical permit for their own work. ORS 479.540 frames the exemption as residential or farm property owned by the person or an immediate family member and not intended for sale, exchange, lease or rent; either way, a permit and inspections are required.
• Owner plumbing: ORS 447.060 takes plumbing done without pay outside the licensing law, but the county still requires a plumbing permit, and an owner’s minor repairs to existing fixtures need none.
• Mechanical: stoves, gas piping and vented appliances need a mechanical permit (minimum fee $119).
• Owner-builders: under ORS 701.325 an owner exempt from CCB licensing must state the basis for the exemption on the permit application, and the county provides an Owner’s Responsibility Statement on its 2026 forms page.

How to apply

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The county estimates about two weeks of review for house plans and up to three weeks for commercial plans that need life safety review; its checklist names a missing or incorrect wall bracing design as a cause of delay. Extra plan review caused by revisions costs $60 per half hour, and an expedited review, when the division can offer one, adds 100 percent of the standard review fee. A permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days of issue or stops for 180 days; an extension must be requested in writing before the expiry date.

Inspections

The division inspects Monday through Friday across the county. Requests can be made on Oregon ePermitting, by email to buildingdivision@clatsopcounty.gov or on the inspection request line, 503-338-3698. Email and request-line messages are collected at 7 a.m. each day; messages left on the general office voicemail, a staff member’s voicemail or a cell phone are not processed, and nothing is scheduled for a project that has no permit yet.

A printed color copy of the approved plans must be on site at every inspection, or the inspection can be cancelled and a re-inspection charged. Unless all the work is outside and accessible, an adult must be there to let the inspector in. Permanent certificates of occupancy are free; temporary ones are charged per 30-day period, up to three.

Code editions and flood maps

Permits applied for now fall under the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code, the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code (chapter 1 mandatory since October 1, 2026; its construction chapters become mandatory April 1, 2027) and the 2026 electrical and plumbing codes; the county’s Codes in Effect page still shows the 2023 residential code. Clatsop County has been in the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978 and applies its flood rules through LAWDUC Section 5.1000; FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the county and all five cities as participating. FEMA’s preliminary flood maps would add more than 1,000 structures in Warrenton, Astoria and the rural county to the special flood hazard area.

Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in Clatsop County as everywhere in the state, and an exemption from the building permit is not an exemption from zoning, land use or a trade permit. Site snow, wind and seismic values come from the state’s Oregon Design Criteria Hub. How Oregon’s statewide code works

Clatsop County building permit FAQ

I live in Seaside. Who issues my permits?

The City of Seaside issues the structural, mechanical and plumbing permits; Clatsop County issues the electrical permit.

How much is a building permit in Clatsop County?

$1,476.85 on $150,000 of work, plus plan review, the state surcharge and the technology fee.

Can I file plans on paper?

The county reviews every plan electronically and asks for unlocked PDF files sent by email or through Oregon ePermitting.

How long does plan review take?

About two weeks for a house and up to three weeks for commercial work that needs life safety review, once the plans are complete.

Who handles septic permits?

The county’s Onsite Septic Program (503-338-3687); from July 1, 2026 a first-lot site evaluation is $1,316 and a standard system permit $1,788, including the DEQ and GIS fee.

Do I need a permit for a garden shed?

Not for a one-story, nonhabitable shed up to 200 sq ft and 15 ft high, but zoning setbacks and flood rules still apply.

How do I book an inspection?

On Oregon ePermitting, by email or on the 503-338-3698 request line; requests are picked up at 7 a.m. each business day.

Permit search and official resources

The county’s building and development permit applications and their documents are public on Oregon ePermitting, and the division posts yearly lists of permits issued from 2014 to 2026. City building permits are kept by each city; septic records are in the county’s Webmaps database.

• Clatsop County Building Codes Division
• Permit fee schedule pages
• Fee schedule, Policy A-9, effective July 1, 2022
• How new house permit fees are calculated
• New dwelling permit packet
• One and two family dwelling packet 2026
• 2026 permit applications and forms
• Request an inspection
• Permits issued, by year
• Building code questions and answers
• Clatsop County Land Use Planning
• Development permit applications
• Search planning permits online
• Flood hazard overlay
• Onsite septic program
• Onsite septic fees effective July 1, 2026
• BCD Local Building Department Directory
• DEQ onsite septic agents by county
• Oregon ePermitting
• BCD adopted codes
• 2026 ORSC chapter 1 (exemptions)
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

Simplify Clatsop County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Oregon. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Clatsop County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.