Forest Grove, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In Forest Grove, building permits come from the City of Forest Grove/Cornelius Building Division, which does fire and life safety plan review and inspections for all structural, mechanical and plumbing projects in Forest Grove and, under the two cities’ shared arrangement, in Cornelius. Electrical permits and inspections are handled by Washington County. Contractors apply through Oregon ePermitting, homeowners by email, and the City’s fee table charges $914.85 on the first $100,000 of value plus $5.15 per added $1,000, with plan review at 65% of that fee.

The division works from Forest Grove City Hall at 1924 Council Street and is led by Building Official Cassi Bergstrom. City offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, and the division stops issuing permits and taking plans 30 minutes before closing. Forest Grove had 27,252 residents and Cornelius 15,520 in the Census estimates for 2025, both in Washington County.

For a Cornelius address, call Cornelius at 503-357-9112 before submitting plans to Forest Grove; Cornelius handles its own planning approvals and uses its own versions of the building, mechanical and plumbing applications.

What requires a building permit in Forest Grove?

The division covers new houses, duplexes and additions, remodels and alterations of non-residential buildings, and new multifamily, commercial and industrial buildings, each with its own process. Separate permits cover mechanical and plumbing work, signs, site development and prescriptive solar installations.

What the city decides and what the state holds

The City’s exemption page still prints some older thresholds for fences, decks and sheds. The 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, whose chapter 1 has been mandatory since October 1, 2026, sets those limits statewide: a one-story nonhabitable detached accessory structure is exempt up to 200 sq ft and 15 feet in height, and a city may not require a permit for a wood, wire-mesh or chain-link fence 7 feet or less. Zoning still limits fences here to 6 feet in rear and side yards and 42 inches in front yards, with a 10-by-10-foot clear vision area at driveways and corners (Development Code 10.7.040 and 10.8.150). Forest Grove controls its fee table, site review, utilities through its own Light & Power department, SDCs and business licensing.

Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in Forest Grove 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

Forest Grove building department: who handles permitting

The Building Division reviews plans and inspects. House plans are also reviewed by Planning, Engineering and Light & Power, and commercial plans by Planning, Engineering, Building, Fire, Police and Light & Power. Washington County Building Services issues electrical permits and does the electrical inspections. Clean Water Services issues the service provider letter for commercial sites, and its sewer connection charge is part of the fees for a new home.

Permit types

Residential permits

New single-family homes, duplexes and additions are filed by email or through Oregon ePermitting with the building, mechanical and plumbing applications, and Forest Grove and Cornelius each have their own versions of those forms. The Tri-County one- and two-family checklist asks for completed land use actions, zoning items such as flood plain and historic district, fire district and water district approval, sewer or septic, a soils report where required, an erosion control plan and a scaled site plan with setbacks, easements, driveway and utilities. Plans go in as separate, unlocked PDF files named for their content, with the site plan on one page. Before move-in the owner calls for the final inspection and receives a certificate of occupancy.

Plans with too many errors or inconsistencies are returned for revision. Once approved, one stamped set becomes the job site copy and another is archived as the City’s copy, and the City notifies the Washington County Assessor. The City’s setback drawing for the R-5, R-7, R-10 and SR zones shows a 35-foot maximum house height, a 14-foot minimum front yard and 20 feet to a garage door, side yards of 5 feet or 1 foot for each 3 feet of building height, a 15-foot rear yard, and detached accessory buildings no larger than 720 sq ft and at least 5 feet from the lot lines; the drawing also notes that an accessory building of 200 sq ft or less needs no permit.

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

Commercial permits

New multifamily, commercial and industrial buildings start with a preliminary meeting with the City’s Plans Review Board and a Clean Water Services provider letter (plus a 1200-C erosion permit over an acre). Step one is a site plan submittal, with one paper copy and a digital copy, and a site review fee; step two is the full plan set with plan review and fire and life safety review fees. Remodels of existing non-residential buildings pay plan check and site review fees up front, and after the final inspection the business must get a Business Occupancy Permit before moving in. Larger projects can still discuss paper submittals with the division.

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

Check on Metro’s map that the property is inside Forest Grove or Cornelius. New homes need water service, sewer, erosion control and tree planting arrangements; Public Works installs water meters and sewer laterals against deposits, and Light & Power extends electric service. Anyone doing business in the city, contractors included, needs a City business license.

Forest Grove permit costs and fees

The Building Division’s fee table, headed as the state Building Codes Division fee table, lists, for each valuation band, the building permit fee, the 12% state surcharge, the two added together, the fire and life safety fee at 40% and structural plan review at 65%. The City’s July 1, 2026 fee estimate for a new house uses the same table.

Worked example. An addition valued at $150,000 is in the $100,001 to $500,000 band: $914.85 plus 50 × $5.15 ($257.50) gives a building permit fee of $1,172.35. Structural plan review at 65% is $762.03 and the 12% state surcharge is $140.68, for $2,075.06 before mechanical, plumbing and the County’s electrical permit.

The City’s estimate for a 2,000 sq ft house with a 550 sq ft garage (valuation $374,590), as of July 1, 2026, totals $47,516.43: $2,331.10 for the building permit, $1,515.22 plan review, $472 site review, $187.50 mechanical, $432.60 plumbing, a $13,436 Transportation Development Tax, $8,353 water SDC, $6,010 parks SDC, $7,332 Clean Water Services sewer connection, $585 erosion control, a $504 tree planting deposit, $449.51 Metro tax, $3,400 school excise tax (the estimate’s figure; the district rate is $1.63 per sq ft of heated space) and Light & Power charges. The estimate labels the building permit line as including the 12% surcharge, while the fee table shows $2,331.10 as the fee before surcharge. A 720 sq ft ADU is estimated at $27,207.72, or $17,854.72 if it shares the house’s water meter. Payments over $500 must be made by check or cash.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Mechanical and plumbing permits are issued by the Forest Grove/Cornelius Building Division on its applications or through Oregon ePermitting; commercial mechanical work has its own fee table based on value. Electrical permits and inspections for Forest Grove are done by Washington County Building Services.

How to apply for a Forest Grove building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The City’s process pages give no review times, but they set conditions that hold a job up if missed: Cornelius projects clear Cornelius first, commercial site plans need the Clean Water Services provider letter, the system rejects locked PDF files, and nothing is taken in or issued in the 30 minutes before closing (the inspection page says after 4 p.m.). Changes to approved plans are reviewed at $73.25 an hour.

Inspections in Forest Grove

The Building Division inspects every business day. The issued permit lists the inspections the job needs and carries a QR code for scheduling; requests go through Oregon ePermitting, online or in its mobile app, using the state’s inspection codes. Electrical inspections are booked with Washington County on 503-846-3470. A new home needs a final inspection and certificate of occupancy before anyone moves in, and a commercial tenant needs the City’s Business Occupancy Permit after its final.

Light & Power can supply temporary construction power; the City’s estimate lists a $486 temporary power fee and a $663 service extension for a typical new house, with questions to 503-992-3250.

Forest Grove permit search and official resources

The City posts a monthly Permits Issued report in its archive center, with reports through September 2026. Permits filed through Oregon ePermitting can also be looked up on the state system, and the division answers other records questions on 503-992-3229. Forest Grove takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program; FEMA’s Community Status Book shows its present flood map as effective October 19, 2018.

• Forest Grove/Cornelius Building Division
• Permitting process and application forms
• Schedule an inspection
• Building fee table
• New single-family home fee estimate, 2026–27
• ADU fee estimate, 2026–27
• Electronic submittal requirements
• Residential fence requirements
• Monthly permits issued reports
• Oregon ePermitting
• Washington County Building Services (electrical)
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1 (permits and exemptions)
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

Forest Grove building permit FAQ

Who issues building permits in Forest Grove?

The City of Forest Grove/Cornelius Building Division at City Hall, 1924 Council Street (503-992-3229), for structural, mechanical and plumbing work. Electrical permits come from Washington County.

Does Forest Grove also permit Cornelius?

Yes. The joint Building Division reviews and inspects Cornelius projects, but Cornelius addresses must call Cornelius at 503-357-9112 before sending plans to Forest Grove.

How much is a building permit in Forest Grove?

The minimum is $27.30 plus the 12% state surcharge; a $150,000 addition pays $1,172.35, plus $762.03 plan review and $140.68 surcharge.

What do the fees for a new house add up to?

The City’s July 2026 estimate for a 2,000 sq ft house is $47,516.43, most of it SDCs, the Transportation Development Tax and the sewer connection.

How tall can my fence be?

Zoning allows 6 feet in rear and side yards and 42 inches in front yards. Under the state code a wood, wire-mesh or chain-link fence 7 feet or lower needs no building permit, unless it is a swimming pool barrier.

Can I pay by card?

Amounts over $500 must be paid by check or cash.

Simplify Forest Grove 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 Forest Grove permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.