Grants Pass, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In Grants Pass, the City’s Building Division enforces the state building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical codes and the fire and life safety codes inside the city’s jurisdiction, including the urbanizing area, so one office issues every building and trade permit there. Applications start with the City’s online structural permit form; staff then open the permit in the self-service E-Permitting portal for plan uploads and the plan review fee, and a three-track system sets review at 10, 20 or 120 working days. A $20,000 remodel pays a $175.38 permit fee plus 65% for plan review.

The division is in Room 202 of City Hall, 101 NW A Street (541-450-6060), and is made up of the Building Official, Ken Sandlin, and two inspectors who also review plans. Plans are taken from 8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. on weekdays, and inspectors are available for consultation from 8 to 10 a.m. Grants Pass, the Josephine County seat on the Rogue River, had about 39,200 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.

The City’s jurisdiction covers Grants Pass and the urbanizing area inside its urban growth boundary; Josephine County Building Safety handles the rest of the county, including Cave Junction.

What requires a building permit in Grants Pass?

Within its jurisdiction the Building Division applies the state codes, so the usual Oregon list applies: new buildings, additions, structural remodels, garages and larger sheds, decks over the exempt height, manufactured home placement, demolition and trade work. The City’s own handouts and fee schedule add the local details below, and it also enforces the Uniform Housing Code and the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings.

The City publishes its design values for local buildings: seismic design category D1 under the residential code, a 25 psf roof snow load, soil bearing of 1,500 psf unless a soils report justifies more, a rainfall design rate of 1.3 inches per hour and a 12-inch frost depth. Deck footings must be at least 18 inches across and 12 inches below grade, and footings on steep slopes as defined in the Development Code need a geotechnical design.

What Grants Pass decides and what the state holds

Per the Building Codes Division, the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code has been required since April 1, 2026; the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code’s chapter 1 took over permit and exemption rules on October 1, 2026, with its technical chapters required from April 1, 2027. Grants Pass sets its fees, its review tracks, the Development Code, floodplain rules and system development charges, and since a 1998 agreement with Josephine County it holds development jurisdiction inside the urban growth boundary.

Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in Grants Pass 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

Grants Pass building department: who handles permitting

The Building Division handles all building permits, structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical, plus plan review and inspections. The Planning Division reviews every site plan for zoning, setbacks, landscaping and access, and has a Certified Floodplain Manager who provides flood map determinations. Some properties recently brought into the urban growth boundary still have rural zoning and are managed by Josephine County under its rural plan and Rural Land Development Code. Septic permits in Josephine County come from Oregon DEQ’s onsite program.

Permit types

Residential permits

For a house, an addition or a remodel, fill in the online structural permit form; the City processes it the first business day after it arrives, or within 24 hours during business hours, and then tells you the permit is ready for documents and the plan review fee in the self-service portal. The City’s residential checklists for new plans, additions and interior remodels, a sample site and landscaping plan, and its manufactured home checklists list what to upload. A permit authorization form is needed when an owner or agent authorizes someone else to apply and sign. The City also publishes ADU building plans.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the commercial building permit application with the new or major addition checklist, the tenant addition or remodel checklist, or the interior-only remodel checklist, plus the special inspection agreement, the energy additional measures form and, for HVAC, the commercial mechanical equipment checklist. Fire life safety review adds 40% of the permit fee when required, and deferred submittals cost 10% of the permit fee on the deferred work, with a $250 minimum. Commercial occupancy is covered in the City’s certificate of occupancy brochure.

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

Projects that need a development permit under the Development Code, including commercial, industrial and multifamily development, subdivisions, partitions and variances, go on Track 3 (120 working days) for the land use decision first. Floodplain, steep slope, riparian and wetland sites go on Track 2 with an elevation certificate or slope report. Work in the street needs an encroachment permit, and ordinances bar structures and fences within 20 feet of the edge of a creek bank.

Grants Pass permit costs and fees

Building fees come from the City’s Comprehensive Fee Schedule, last revised January 1, 2026. The Council amended it on August 5, 2026, but only for planning corrections, Owl Plaza and parks fees; the building tables were not changed. Valuation uses the ICC Building Valuation Data table current on April 1 each year.

Worked example. A $20,000 remodel sits in the $2,001 to $25,000 band: $40.56 plus 18 × $7.49 ($134.82) gives a permit fee of $175.38, and plan review at 65% adds $114.00. The 12% state surcharge ($21.05) and 10% planning surcharge ($17.54) apply to the permit fee, for $327.97 before any trade permits. The table’s bands do not join exactly at their edges, so estimates should use the band the valuation falls in.

A new house, start to finish

The City’s 2026 example for a 1,500 sq ft, three-bedroom home with a 440 sq ft garage on City water and sewer shows $2,503.05 in building permit fees and surcharges, $8,908.31 once the parks, transportation, storm and sewer SDCs are added, and $19,177.31 with a 3/4-inch water meter, the school construction excise tax of $1.23 per sq ft and the City’s building permit excise tax. SDCs scale with house size: sewer is $3,144 for a home up to 1,700 sq ft, $4,625 up to 2,900 sq ft and $6,336 above that, and the water SDC on a 3/4-inch meter runs from $3,423 to $6,898. The transportation SDC for a single-family residence is $1,440.95 and the parks SDC $1,126.71.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Grants Pass issues and inspects electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits itself, on City application forms for each trade. Residential mechanical permits carry a $30 base issuance fee plus per-item charges, such as $9 for a furnace and $22.50 for a ducted heat pump; commercial mechanical work is priced on valuation with a $52.25 minimum.

How to apply for a Grants Pass building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Track 1 permits are available in 10 working days and Track 2 in 20; anything that needs a land use decision moves to Track 3, with a decision within 120 days. The City’s intake check needs a full set of scaled site plans, building plans and supporting maps, and Track 2 projects must add the elevation certificate, parking plan, slope report or wetland and riparian information that applies. A lot in a subdivision that has not been final platted can be reviewed but held until the plat records.

Inspections in Grants Pass

Request inspections one business day ahead, by phone or through the Customer Self Service E-Permitting portal, which also tracks permits, invoices and payments. Inspectors take consultation questions from 8 to 10 a.m. on weekdays. A re-inspection costs $22, and when one is charged no further inspection is done and no certificate of occupancy issued until it is paid. Floodplain buildings need their elevation certificate on file, and the City keeps those certificates for all new floodplain construction.

Grants Pass permit search and official resources

Permits filed through the self-service portal, with their inspections, documents and invoices, can be looked up there; approved documents can be downloaded once a permit is issued. The City also provides flood insurance rate map determinations and keeps a file of elevation certificates for new construction in the floodplain. Grants Pass joined the National Flood Insurance Program in 1981 (community 410108), and its current FEMA maps are dated December 3, 2009.

• Grants Pass Building Division and online structural permit form
• Grants Pass Customer Self Service E-Permitting
• Grants Pass three-track review system
• Grants Pass documents, forms and fee schedules
• Grants Pass Comprehensive Fee Schedule
• Example of permit fees and charges for a single-family home, 2026
• Example of permit fees and charges for an ADU
• Grants Pass flood management
• Grants Pass Planning Division and urban growth boundary
• Grants Pass deck construction standards
• Grants Pass design criteria and codes in effect
• Grants Pass City Council agendas and results
• Oregon Building Codes Division: codes in effect
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1 (permits and exemptions)
• FEMA Community Status Book for Oregon
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board license search

Grants Pass building permit FAQ

Who issues electrical permits in Grants Pass?

The City’s Building Division, which issues building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits for the city and its urbanizing area.

How much is a building permit in Grants Pass?

$40.56 for the first $2,000 of valuation plus $7.49 per $1,000 up to $25,000, with plan review at 65% and the 12% state and 10% planning surcharges; a $20,000 remodel comes to $327.97.

How long does plan review take in Grants Pass?

10 working days on Track 1 and 20 on Track 2. Projects that need a land use decision go on Track 3, listed as 120 working days, with the decision within 120 days.

Can I build in the Grants Pass floodplain?

Yes, with a floodplain development permit and elevation certificate, and every new structure must be built 1 foot above the base flood elevation.

When can I drop off plans in Grants Pass?

The Building Division takes plans Monday to Friday from 8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., though the City’s standard route is its online structural permit form.

What does a new house cost in Grants Pass fees?

The City’s 2026 example for a 1,500 sq ft home totals $19,177.31, including permit fees, SDCs, a water meter and excise taxes.

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