Sandy, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In Sandy, the City’s Building Division reviews plans, issues permits and inspects structural, mechanical and plumbing work, while Clackamas County issues and inspects every electrical permit in the city. Under the Master Fee Schedule dated July 1, 2026, the building permit minimum is $98 and plan review adds 70% of the permit fee. New sewer connections are restricted by a development moratorium that the City Council has renewed in stages since October 2022.

The division is part of the Development Services Department at City Hall, 39250 Pioneer Boulevard, open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (503-489-2173, building@ci.sandy.or.us). Terre Gift is the Building Official, and the department is led by Development Services Director Kelly O’Neill Jr. Sandy, a Clackamas County city, had 13,323 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.

The City permits land inside Sandy’s city limits only; Clackamas County Building Codes in Oregon City permits the unincorporated land around it and sells the electrical permits for Sandy itself.

What requires a building permit in Sandy?

Sandy’s own pages explain the common cases, but some of the FAQ answers predate the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, whose chapter 1 has been mandatory since October 1, 2026. Where they differ, the lists below follow the state code and say what the City’s page states. The City’s plumbing page is specific: a permit is needed to replace a water heater or underground piping, alter piping inside a wall, ceiling or floor, add a fixture where none was, install a new backflow device, or after an emergency repair to more than 5 feet of pipe.

What Sandy decides and what the state holds

Permit exemptions come from sections R101.2.2 and R105.2 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code; its technical chapters become mandatory on April 1, 2027, and the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code has governed commercial work since April 1, 2026. Sandy sets its fees and SDCs, its development code (setbacks, design standards, fence heights, construction hours), the sewer moratorium and its business license rules, which do not accept the Metro license.

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

Sandy building department: who handles permitting

Sandy’s Building Division is a small office: the Development Services Director, the Building Official, a permit technician and an executive assistant. Planning in the same department handles land use, design review and the residential design standards. Clackamas County Building Codes handles all electrical work for Sandy, and the State of Oregon runs the ePermitting system the City uses.

Permit types

Residential permits

Contractors can buy plumbing, mechanical and structural permits that need no plan review straight through Oregon ePermitting, 24 hours a day. Work that needs plan review uses the City’s 2026 application forms, which carry the Development Services Department’s address and phone and ask for a valuation that covers equipment, materials, labor, overhead and profit. A new house package draws on the July 2025 residential application checklist, the September 2025 site plan checklist, the residential design standards worksheet, a driveway slope worksheet, a residential erosion control plan agreement, the January 2026 subcontractor list, the moisture content sheet, the City’s design criteria and its engineer or architect signature requirement. An application expires if the permit is not picked up within 180 days of being deemed ready to issue.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial plan review costs 70% of the permit fee, the same rate as for houses, plus 55% for fire and life safety review and 1% for seismic review where they apply. Commercial mechanical work is priced on its own valuation table, from $98 for jobs up to $1,000, and medical gas piping and fire sprinkler or alarm systems use the structural valuation table. Phased permits cost $287 plus 10% of the total project permit fee, up to $1,500 a phase, and deferred submittals 10% of the permit fee for the deferred portion, at least $250. Permanent signs need a sign permit ($87 plus a fee on the sign’s value from the building table).

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

What comes before the building permit

Land use comes first, and that is where the moratorium bites: subdivisions, most partitions, ADUs, duplex conversions and design reviews that add sewer flow cannot be accepted while it lasts. Remodels and additions that do not increase sewer flow are unaffected, according to the City’s moratorium FAQ, and development served by an on-site septic system is exempt from the application ban; septic permits in Clackamas County come from the County’s Septic and Onsite Wastewater Program as DEQ’s agent. Erosion control needs its own permit ($172 for a single-family dwelling plus $98 plan review). The City’s FAQ adds a zoning rule for backyards: a pool, hot tub or other outdoor water deeper than 18 inches must be enclosed by a fence or railing 4 to 8 feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates. On FEMA’s list of flood-program participants, Sandy’s effective map is the one issued January 18, 2019.

Sandy permit costs and fees

Building fees are in section 3 of the City’s Master Fee Schedule dated July 1, 2026, which the City says is usually updated once a fiscal year. Valuation follows the ICC Building Valuation Data table in force each April 1. In the schedule’s words, all building, plumbing and mechanical permits are subject to a State of Oregon surcharge of 12%, payable with the permit and subject to change at the State’s discretion.

Worked example. A $60,000 garage addition falls in the $50,000.01 to $100,000 band: $722 plus 10 × $7 ($70) makes a building permit fee of $792. Plan review at 70% adds $554.40, the 12% state surcharge on the permit fee is $95.04, and the 3% technology fee on the City’s $1,346.40 is $40.39, for $1,481.83 before plumbing, mechanical or County electrical permits.

A new home also pays system development charges: $12,766 for water per equivalent dwelling unit, $13,163 for wastewater per equivalent residential unit, $12,117.67 for parks and $9,716 for streets per single-family dwelling, before meter costs. The City posted notice of a December 7, 2026 public hearing on revised wastewater SDCs. Under the City’s refund policy, no fee of $300 or less is refunded and requests must come within 180 days.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Sandy issues plumbing and mechanical permits; simple plumbing repairs are priced per fixture ($30 each, $98 minimum), and most residential mechanical items cost $19 to $33 each. Electrical permits are handled entirely by Clackamas County, whose page notes that state law allows no electrical work until a permit has been issued. Sign and fire system permits go through the Building Division.

How to apply for a Sandy building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Sandy does not publish a plan review target. Several steps outside the building code can hold a project: land use and design review, sewer capacity under the moratorium, and the engineering, driveway slope and erosion control sheets in a new house package. Plans revised after review cost $115 an hour in added review. Staff may ask for more information on any ePermitting application, and a ready permit not collected within 180 days lapses.

Inspections in Sandy

Sandy inspects Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inspections are booked in Oregon ePermitting at BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov, through the ORinspect app or by phone at 1-888-299-2821; the State, not the City, supports the system (503-373-7396). Add notes such as a contact name or preferred time to the request. For plumbing, new water piping must be operational and exposed, and inspectors may ask for drain lines to be plugged and filled with water.

A reinspection costs $98, and inspections outside normal hours $136 an hour with a two-hour minimum. Electrical inspections are booked with Clackamas County under its own permit. Homeowners may work on their property from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at weekends, per the City’s construction hours policy.

Sandy permit search and official resources

Sandy permits issued through Oregon ePermitting can be found with the portal’s public permit search, which shows status and inspection results. For older paper files, contact the Building Division at 503-489-2173.

• Sandy Building Division
• Building permit applications (updated 2026)
• Residential building permit forms, new construction
• Plumbing permits: when you need one
• Building contact information
• Master Fee Schedule, July 1, 2026
• Building policies, including refunds
• Pause on new sewer connections: FAQ
• Resolution 2026-04, development moratorium
• Wastewater SDC hearing notice, December 7, 2026
• Clackamas County electrical permits
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1
• BCD Local Building Department Directory
• FEMA Community Status Book for Oregon
• Oregon ePermitting
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

Sandy building permit FAQ

Who issues electrical permits in Sandy?

Clackamas County. The City issues structural, mechanical and plumbing permits; call the County at 503-742-4240 for electrical.

How much is a building permit in Sandy?

At least $98. A $60,000 project pays $792 plus 70% plan review, the 12% state surcharge and a 3% technology fee, about $1,482.

Can I build an ADU in Sandy now?

ADU applications that need a new sewer connection or more flow fall under the moratorium in Resolution 2026-04, which runs from June 1, 2026 for six months unless extended; a hearing on extending it was set for November 2, 2026.

Does the moratorium stop my remodel?

Not if the remodel or addition does not change the sewer connection in a way that increases flow, according to the City’s FAQ.

When are inspections done?

Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., booked online, in the ORinspect app or at 1-888-299-2821.

Can I do my own plumbing?

Yes, as the owner of the building, with a permit; friends, tenants and general contractors may not do it for you.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Only over 7 feet, or when the fence forms part of a pool barrier; corner-lot and front-yard height limits still apply.

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