Keizer, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In Keizer, building permits for houses, remodels, accessory buildings, signs and commercial work start at the Building Permit Division in Keizer City Hall, 930 Chemawa Road NE (503-856-3440). The City takes the application on a Marion County form and issues the permit at City Hall, while Marion County Building Inspection reviews the plans, does the fire and life safety review and carries out the inspections. Structural fees follow Marion County’s table, which starts at $60 for work valued up to $2,000, and Keizer adds a zoning fee of 20% of the County building fee.

Keizer has about 39,100 residents (Census estimate for 2025). Keizer’s Planning Department says it reviews, processes and issues building permits, and Marion County’s own table for Keizer puts the permit with the City; the state’s directory of local building departments, by contrast, lists only Marion County for Keizer.

The rules below apply inside Keizer’s city limits; unincorporated Marion County and the City of Salem to the south are separate jurisdictions.

What requires a building permit in Keizer?

Keizer’s own permit page says a permit is required for new construction, additions and alterations, including structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, manufactured dwelling, boiler and elevator work, with a separate permit for each structure. It adds that almost all commercial projects need one.

Keizer’s page still lists replacing all roofing and roof sheathing as permit work; chapter 1 of the 2026 residential code, now mandatory, exempts reroofing, damaged sheathing included, where the added dead load is 4 psf or less.

What Keizer and Marion County decide, and what the state holds

The building code itself is the state’s. State tables from the Building Codes Division show the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code in force (mandatory April 1, 2026), the permit and exemption rules in chapter 1 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code mandatory from October 1, 2026, and its remaining chapters mandatory on April 1, 2027; new electrical and plumbing codes also took effect on October 1, 2026. Keizer decides zoning, floodplain and greenway rules, public works permits and its system development charges; Marion County sets the permit fee table, reviews plans, inspects and handles septic.

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

Keizer building department: who handles permitting

The City and the County split the work by permit type, and Keizer’s FAQ says both offices issue permits only to contractors who are licensed and bonded. Marion County’s own listing for Keizer puts land use approval, site plan approval, driveways and the building permit itself with the City, and shows the County doing plan review, fire and life safety review and inspections, with fire marshal review by the Keizer Fire Department and sewer connection approval by the City of Salem, which treats Keizer’s wastewater.

Permit types

Residential permits

A new house, an addition or an interior remodel is filed with the City on the County’s structural permit application, with a site plan the City reviews for zoning. Owners doing their own work add the County’s CCB homeowner permit form, and carports, decks and covered patios are valued at half the private-garage rate.

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

Commercial permits

New commercial buildings, alterations, tenant improvements and changes of use also start at City Hall, where Keizer charges a site plan review with the building permit ($284 for commercial and $384 for industrial work). The County’s commercial plan and site plan checklists apply, and deferred submittals go to the County on its deferred submittal form.

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

Every application gets a zoning review of the site plan, which the County says is done by its Planning Division or by the city. In Keizer that means the Keizer Development Code: setbacks, accessory structure rules, the River-Cherry overlay and the floodplain and greenway rules. Work in the street right-of-way, a new or widened driveway, or sidewalk repair needs a Public Works permit ($101 for a driveway or sidewalk permit), filed at the Public Works front desk in City Hall. Ground disturbance over 2,000 sq ft, or over 200 sq ft within 50 feet of a waterway, needs a Keizer erosion control permit, and sites of 5 acres or more also need DEQ’s 1200-C stormwater permit. Septic systems are permitted by Marion County, which runs the onsite program as DEQ’s agent.

Keizer permit costs and fees

Structural permit fees come from Marion County’s schedule. The County posts it as its “2026 BOC Approved Fee Schedule”; the building pages still carry the footer “Effective September 1, 2015, Order No. 15-70”, and only the septic page shows a July 1, 2026 update. Keizer’s own “Fees and Charges for Services” list, dated as of July 1, 2026, adds the City’s zoning, land use and development charges.

Worked example. A $20,000 kitchen and bath remodel in an existing house falls in the County’s $2,001 to $25,000 band: $60 for the first $2,000 plus 18 × $8 for the remaining $18,000 gives a structural permit fee of $204.00. Plan review at 65% adds $132.60, for $336.60 before the 20% zoning charge ($40.80), the state surcharge and any separate plumbing, mechanical or electrical permits.

System development charges for a new house

Keizer collects system development charges when a new dwelling is permitted. For a single-family home its July 1, 2026 list shows a park SDC of $2,825, a water SDC of $1,585 for a 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch meter, a transportation SDC of $2,080 per dwelling inside the Keizer urban growth boundary ($945 in the Keizer Station area), and a wastewater treatment SDC of $401 that the City of Salem sets for properties with a meter of 3/4 inch or less.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Mechanical permits and electrical or plumbing permits that need no plan review can be bought from Keizer, from Marion County or online through Oregon ePermitting. Electrical and plumbing permits that need plan review, and every fire sprinkler permit, go to the County. Keizer’s FAQ adds that when an electrical contractor does the work the contractor must take out the permit, and that electrical permits cannot be transferred.

How to apply for a Keizer building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Marion County starts its review once an application with its site plan and construction plans is complete, and the site plan must pass zoning before the permit is issued. Common causes of delay are a site plan that does not meet the County’s residential site plan checklist, a lot in the floodplain or the Willamette greenway without the certified elevation information Keizer asks for, an encroachment into the floodway without an engineer’s no-rise certification, and a trade permit filed at the wrong office.

Inspections in Keizer

Marion County inspectors carry out the inspections on Keizer permits. Requests are made through Oregon ePermitting online or on the automated scheduling line, 1-888-299-2821, and a permit number that does not start with 555- has to have that prefix added (for example 555-12-01234). Marion County’s list for a new house starts with the footing inspection, with property pins exposed and a string line set, and runs through foundation, underfloor, exterior shearwall, plumbing top-out, a gas test held at 10 psi for 15 minutes, rough mechanical and electrical, framing (with the flood elevation certificate where one applies) and insulation to the finals.

The certificate of occupancy for a new house needs the County’s subcontractor form, and a one-time temporary certificate of occupancy for a one- or two-family dwelling costs $50.

Keizer permit search and official resources

Because Keizer’s permits run on Marion County’s system, the history of a Keizer address sits in Oregon ePermitting, which lets anyone check the status of permits applied for after February 1995 without an account. Older or missing files can be requested from Marion County with its research record request form (A-18), and Keizer takes public records requests for City files through its Forms & Fees page. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Keizer (community 410288) as a participant, with flood maps dated January 19, 2000, and the City’s floodplain and greenway sheet applies to mapped lots.

• Keizer Building Permit Division
• Keizer: where to apply for each permit type
• Keizer building permit FAQs
• Keizer fees and charges for services (as of July 1, 2026)
• Keizer erosion control permits
• Keizer Public Works right-of-way, driveway and sidewalk permits
• Keizer floodplain and greenway development information sheet
• Marion County Building Inspection
• Marion County applications, forms and checklists
• Marion County building inspection fee schedule
• Marion County: scheduling inspections in ePermitting
• Marion County typical inspections for a new house
• Marion County research record request form
• Oregon ePermitting
• 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

Keizer building permit FAQ

Does Keizer issue its own building permits?

Yes, for most permit types: the City takes the application, handles zoning and issues the permit, while Marion County reviews the plans and inspects. The state’s directory of building departments lists Marion County for Keizer, and some trade permits are bought directly from the County.

Where do I apply for an electrical permit in Keizer?

Electrical work that needs plan review goes to Marion County Building Inspection in Salem. Electrical permits without plan review can be bought from Keizer, from the County or online through Oregon ePermitting.

How much is a building permit in Keizer?

Marion County’s table charges $60 for work up to $2,000 and $60 plus $8 per $1,000 above that up to $25,000, so a $20,000 remodel pays $204 plus $132.60 for plan review, a 20% zoning charge and the state surcharge.

Do I need a permit for a shed or deck in Keizer?

Not a building permit for a detached, one-story nonhabitable shed of up to 200 sq ft and 15 feet high, or a deck no more than 30 inches above grade. Keizer lists sheds, garages and carports over 200 sq ft and decks over 30 inches as needing one, and zoning rules apply either way.

What does a new house in Keizer pay in system development charges?

$6,891 in total on Keizer’s July 1, 2026 list for a single-family home inside the urban growth boundary with a standard water meter: parks $2,825, water $1,585, transportation $2,080 and Salem’s wastewater treatment charge $401.

How do I book an inspection in Keizer?

Marion County inspectors do the inspections on Keizer permits. Book through Oregon ePermitting or on the automated line, 1-888-299-2821, adding the 555- prefix to the permit number if it does not already start with it.

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