Hood River County, Oregon Building Permit Guide

Hood River County Building Code Services, part of Community Development at 601 State Street, issues every building and trade permit on unincorporated land and in Cascade Locks. Inside the City of Hood River the county issues only plumbing and electrical permits; the city issues structural and mechanical ones. Permits can be filed on Oregon ePermitting, at the counter or on the county’s fillable form, and under the schedule effective July 1, 2026 a $250,000 project carries a $2,311.23 permit fee before plan review, the technology fee and the state surcharge.

What requires a building permit in Hood River County?

The county’s building page puts it simply: new construction, additions, remodels and repairs usually need a permit, from small farm structures to commercial projects. Its document library carries separate applications for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, demolition and removal, fill and grade, manufactured homes and solar panels, which together show the work it permits.

The exemptions are from the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1, mandatory since October 1, 2026. Exempt buildings still need zoning approval from the county Planning Department or the city, and any wiring or plumbing in them still needs a trade permit. A separate list in section R101.2.2 keeps in-ground pools at houses, fixed docks and freestanding tanks outside the building permit unless a local ordinance requires one; a fence that forms a pool barrier needs a permit everywhere.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The state writes the codes and the licensing rules; the county runs the program and sets its fees. On June 16, 2025 the county commissioners approved an amendment that raises structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permit fees automatically by 5 percent each year from July 1, 2025 through fiscal year 2029/2030, as printed on the July 2026 schedule. The county also collects charges it does not set: the school district’s construction excise tax and the parks district’s system development charge.

Hood River County building department: who handles permitting

The county describes its program as a shared one. It runs the entire building codes program on unincorporated land, including Odell and Parkdale, and in the City of Cascade Locks. In the City of Hood River it manages the plumbing and electrical codes, while the city handles structural and mechanical. The state’s Local Building Department Directory lists the same split.

Chad Lindley is also named as building official on Wasco County’s building page, but the two counties keep separate offices, fee schedules and permit counters. Community Development warns that it will never ask for payment by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency.

Permit types and approvals before filing

Residential permits

The 2026 building permit packet bundles the land use and building application with the agency sign-off sheet, a site plan example, the energy measure form and a system development charge and excise tax form. It asks for one complete paper set of drawings and any calculations, neatly organized and stapled with no pencil drawings, plus an electronic set emailed to the office or uploaded to ePermitting once staff give a file number. Floor plans must be at least 1/8 inch to the foot, and truss and I-joist engineering must be included. The structural permit comes first; the packet notes that mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits may be needed once it is issued, each on its own application. An application lapses if no permit is obtained within 180 days of being accepted as complete.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects add a fire and life safety review at 40 percent of the structural fee to the 65 percent plan review. A deferred submittal pays 65 percent of the fee for the deferred portion, with a $100 minimum, and a phased project pays $275 plus 10 percent of the total permit fee, up to $1,500 a phase. Commercial mechanical work is priced on the structural valuation table with an $87.26 minimum, and the state’s alternative materials form covers a request to use a method the code does not list.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning and sign-offs: Planning confirms the zone, setbacks and which agencies must sign; the water, sewer, irrigation and fire districts and county Public Works sign the application before it is turned in. Planning covers land outside the cities of Hood River and Cascade Locks, including land in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
• Septic: for a new house outside a sewer district, Environmental Health at the county Health Department, DEQ’s agent, handles the onsite system.
• Access: a new driveway onto a county road needs a Public Works review; onto a state highway, an ODOT permit.
• Charges at issue: the school district excise tax is $1.70 per sq ft for residential and $0.85 for nonresidential space (from July 1, 2026), and a new single-family house pays a county transportation SDC of $1,972 ($986 for an accessory dwelling unit), plus the parks district SDC.
• Flood maps: the Planning Commission listed a November 30, 2026 public hearing on the National Scenic Area ordinance (Article 75) and FEMA flood hazard maps.

Building permit fees

The adopted schedule now posted is the Hood River County Building Codes Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026. Valuation follows the ICC building valuation table in force each April 1.

State surcharge, in the county’s words: structural alteration fees are marked “Incurs State Surcharge,” reinstatements are “Subject To State Surcharge” and extensions are not, and the manufactured home lines spell it out as “$525 + $30(State) + $63(12% St.)”.

Worked example: a $250,000 project sits in the $100,001 to $500,000 band: $1,252.23 plus 150 × $7.06 = $2,311.23. Plan review adds $1,502.30 and the 3 percent technology fee on both comes to $114.41, a total of $3,927.94. At the 12 percent rate shown on the manufactured home lines, the surcharge on the permit fee would be $277.35 more.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county issues the electrical and plumbing permits for the whole county, the City of Hood River included, and the mechanical permits everywhere except inside that city. Each trade has its own 2026 application, and a master electrical permit costs $100 plus the state surcharge to set up.

• Contractors: paid builders need a Construction Contractors Board license, and electricians and plumbers working for hire need the state trade license as well.
• Owner electrical: ORS 479.540 exempts an owner from licensing for wiring on residential or farm property owned by the owner or an immediate family member, if the property is not intended for sale, exchange, lease or rent; the permit still applies.
• Owner plumbing: under ORS 447.060 the plumbing licensing law does not apply to work not done for hire; the permit does.
• Owner-builders: the packet carries the state’s Information Notice to Owners About Construction Responsibilities (ORS 701.325), which makes an owner acting as contractor responsible for calling for inspections and fixing anything that fails, and the county posts a homeowner acknowledgement form in English and Spanish.

How to apply

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Applications missing agency signatures are not ready to file, and the energy measure form has to come with the application or the project is put on hold. Plan revisions after approval are billed at $104.74 an hour. Planners are available to the public from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; other times need an appointment.

Inspections

The county inspects Monday through Thursday, and requests must be in by 7 a.m. on the day of the inspection. Book on the Oregon ePermitting mobile app, on the ePermitting website, or through the state inspection line, 1-888-299-2881, using the IVR number on the permit and the inspection code. The permit card must be posted where it can be seen and the approved plans must be on site.

The packet’s typical inspection list runs from site utilities and footings (with property lines marked for the setback check) through foundations, slabs, underfloor, roof sheathing, shear walls, the framing and trade rough-in, insulation, and gypsum board and firewalls, to the final, which comes after the building is complete and before anyone moves in. The rough-in inspection waits until all framing, wiring, piping, ducts and gas lines are in, and the insulation inspection expects the exterior siding finished and the windows and doors installed with their labels available.

Code editions and flood maps

The county enforces the state’s current editions: the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code, the 2025 mechanical code and the 2026 residential, electrical and plumbing codes; residential construction chapters may still follow the 2023 edition until April 1, 2027. The county, the City of Hood River and Cascade Locks all belong to the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA’s Community Status Book gives all three a new effective flood map date of November 13, 2026, so check a site against the new maps.

Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in Hood River 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

Hood River County building permit FAQ

My house is in the City of Hood River. Where do I get permits?

The city issues the structural and mechanical permits; the county issues the plumbing and electrical permits.

Does Cascade Locks have its own building department?

No. The county runs the whole building program there; the city handles zoning, setbacks and addresses.

How much does a permit cost?

$2,311.23 for $250,000 of work under the July 2026 schedule, plus 65 percent plan review, a 3 percent technology fee and the state surcharge.

Will fees go up again?

The July 2026 schedule says structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permit fees increase by 5 percent annually from July 1, 2025 through fiscal year 2029/2030, under the amendment the commissioners approved on June 16, 2025.

Which days are inspections done?

Monday through Thursday; request by 7 a.m. the same day.

Can I send my plans by email?

The county wants one paper set with the application and an electronic set emailed to building@hoodrivercounty.gov or uploaded to ePermitting.

Who approves septic systems?

Environmental Health at the county Health Department, 541-387-6885.

Do I need a permit for a small shed?

Not for a one-story, nonhabitable shed of 200 sq ft or less and no more than 15 ft tall, though zoning still applies.

Permit search and official resources

County building and planning records are on Oregon ePermitting; county land use records begin with 415, and the county’s ePermitting guide shows how to search them by record number, address or owner name and open the attached documents. Structural permits inside the City of Hood River are city records.

• Hood River County Building Department
• Building applications and documents
• Adopted fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026
• Building permit packet 2026
• How to search county records on Oregon ePermitting
• Community Development
• Planning Department
• Environmental Health
• Road permits
• 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 Hood River 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 Hood River County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.