Silverton, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In Silverton, the City’s Building Department does the plan review, permit intake, permit issuance and every inspection for residential and commercial projects inside the city, including electrical work. Applications go through the City’s iWorQ permit portal, by email to permits@silverton.or.us or in person at City Hall. Fees were updated on January 1, 2026, and the City no longer accepts permit forms from before that update.

The department works from Silverton City Hall, 410 N. Water Street (503-874-2207); payments can also go to the finance department on City Hall’s first floor. Daryl Jones is the Building Official, within Community Development, which Director Jason Gottgetreu leads. Silverton, in Marion County, had 10,450 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.

The City’s permits apply within Silverton’s city boundaries; land outside them is unincorporated Marion County. Silverton permits issued before July 1995 are held by the Marion County Building Department.

What requires a building permit in Silverton?

Silverton sorts its permits by whether they need plan review. New dwellings, solar, additions, remodels, ADUs, accessory structures and fire sprinklers go on the residential plan-review application, and commercial projects on the commercial one; mechanical, electrical and plumbing work that needs no plan review is an over-the-counter permit, and most can be issued the same day. Each permit needs its own form.

What Silverton decides and what the state holds

Exemptions come from sections R101.2.2 and R105.2 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, whose chapter 1 has been mandatory since October 1, 2026; its remaining chapters become mandatory on April 1, 2027, and the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code has covered commercial work since April 1, 2026. Silverton sets its own permit fees and forms, its zoning and land use rules, public works site plan standards, construction noise hours and downtown construction parking.

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

Silverton building department: who handles permitting

Silverton runs a full program: the state’s directory lists it as providing all building permits, so structural, mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits and inspections all come from the City. The department’s listed staff are the Building Official, a building inspector and a planning and permit assistant, with Planning in the same Community Development department. Marion County’s Building Inspection Department is DEQ’s agent for septic systems.

Permit types

Residential permits

In the portal, choose the residential application (plan review required) for a new dwelling, ADU, addition, remodel, accessory building, solar or fire sprinkler system, and attach the plans, trusses, engineering and plot plan, the solar fee table if it applies, and all contractor details, or the application is not accepted. A new house uses the City’s New Single Family Home Application Package, the public works site plan requirements and sample drawing, the subcontractor registration list, the residential lighting and moisture certificates, and a sample fee worksheet for new houses and ADUs. The City’s homeowner page asks for three sets of building plans with the application and a site plan, which can be emailed or brought in. The City’s posted sample plans for decks, pole barns, covered patios, garages and carports show the level of detail expected.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and institutional projects use the commercial plan-review application, with building plans, engineering, a plot plan and full contractor information at submittal. Commercial inspections have been held Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., since May 1, 2024. Mechanical and plumbing plan review, where a project needs it, is 30% of the permit fee; electrical plan review is 35% or one hour’s fee, whichever is higher.

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

What comes before the building permit

Planning, in the same Community Development department, handles zoning and land use, with hearing notices posted on the City’s land use page. A new house needs a site plan drawn to the City’s public works requirements, and work in the right-of-way gets its own public works inspection. Construction outside the allowed noise hours needs the City’s request form, and contractors parking downtown use a construction parking permit. On a septic lot, Marion County issues the septic permit for DEQ. Silverton’s FEMA flood map in force dates from January 19, 2000, and the city is listed as a National Flood Insurance Program participant.

Silverton permit costs and fees

Silverton publishes its building fees on its permit application forms, all effective January 1, 2026, with formats revised on December 30, 2025. The structural fee is on the structural permit form, and a sample fee worksheet covers new single-family houses and ADUs. Each trade form has its own line for the state surcharge, entered as 12% of the permit fees.

Worked example. Adding two bathrooms with seven new fixtures in total, and no new piping runs, comes to 7 × $35 = $245 on the plumbing form, above the $95 minimum. The 12% state surcharge adds $29.40, for $274.40; if the job needs plan review, 30% of $245 ($73.50) is added.

Payments can be made online for amounts under $1,500, in person at the City Hall finance counter, in the drop box by the flagpole or by mail with the permit number or job address; the City does not take payments by phone. Homeowners on lower incomes may qualify for the City’s Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program, run by the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments, which lends up to $25,000 for repairs such as electrical, plumbing, roofing, heating and structural work, at 4% simple interest for the first five years and no monthly payments until the home is sold or transferred.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Because Silverton issues electrical permits itself, electricians, plumbers and mechanical contractors all file with the City, usually on the no-plan-review application with the matching fee table attached. A new single-family house is priced for electrical by floor area, with the service included. Electrical inspections are generally done in the afternoon. Other electrical items on the 2026 form include limited energy wiring and a manufactured or modular home service at $80 each, a temporary service of 200 amps or less at $82.61, a reconnect only at $82.61 and each pump, irrigation circle, sign or outline lighting at $82.61; larger solar systems over 25 kva pay $250 plus $7.50 per added kva.

How to apply for a Silverton building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The City does not post a review time for plan-review permits; over-the-counter mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits are mostly issued the same day. The avoidable delays it names are using an application form from before January 1, 2026, which is refused, and leaving plans, trusses, engineering, the plot plan or contractor information off a plan-review application, which keeps it from being accepted. Missing or updated files can be added later through the portal’s search for existing permits.

Inspections in Silverton

Book inspections through the portal before 5 p.m. for a next-day visit, or leave a message on the inspection line at 503-874-2208; phone requests received after 7 a.m. go on the next business day. Each request needs the permit number, address, requested date and inspection type: B for structural, M mechanical, P plumbing, E electrical, PW public right-of-way, or C for a combination. Combination inspections apply only to new single-family houses and exclude electrical and public works inspections, which are booked separately.

Commercial inspections run Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and electrical inspections are generally in the afternoon. Results are emailed through iWorQ to the applicant email on the permit and do not appear on the portal, so check that address; if nothing arrives, call 503-874-2207. An added or repeat inspection costs $95, and inspections outside business hours $142.50 an hour.

Silverton permit search and official resources

The Silverton permit portal’s Search Existing Permits page finds permits by number, address, date or contractor; contractors need their access code to act on a permit. Permits issued after July 1995 are in the City’s system, while older Silverton permits are held by the Marion County Building Department. The Building Department’s pages also post building permit statistics and a separate guide to accessory dwelling unit development, and the City’s staff directory lists direct lines for the Building Official and the building inspector.

• Silverton Building Department
• Apply for a building permit (forms effective January 1, 2026)
• Silverton iWorQ permit portal
• Request an inspection or check results
• Homeowner information and housing rehabilitation loans
• Mechanical permit fee table, January 2026
• Plumbing permit fee table, January 2026
• Electrical permit fee table, January 2026
• Renewable energy (solar) electrical fee table, January 2026
• Marion County onsite septic program
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1
• BCD Local Building Department Directory
• FEMA Community Status Book for Oregon
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

Silverton building permit FAQ

Does Marion County issue permits in Silverton?

No. The City of Silverton issues all building permits inside the city, electrical included. Marion County holds Silverton permits issued before July 1995 and runs the septic program for DEQ; its Salem office is not where Silverton building permits are filed.

Can I still submit a paper application?

Yes. The City accepts applications by email or in person at 410 N. Water Street, but only on the forms updated January 1, 2026.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Through the portal by 5 p.m. for the next day, or on the inspection line at 503-874-2208; calls after 7 a.m. are scheduled for the next business day.

Why can’t I see my inspection result online?

Silverton emails results to the applicant email on the permit; they are not shown in the portal.

Can I pay my permit fees by phone?

No. Pay online if the total is under $1,500, or in person, by drop box or by mail.

What does a small plumbing permit cost?

$35 per fixture with a $95 minimum, plus the 12% state surcharge; a single water heater swap therefore pays the $95 minimum plus $11.40.

Who inspects electrical work in Silverton?

The City’s own Building Department, usually in the afternoon; book it as an E inspection, separate from any combination inspection.

Can a homeowner do their own work?

Yes, on their own home if it will not be rented, sold or leased, with the permits the work needs.

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