St. Helens, Oregon Building Permit Guide

In St. Helens, the City’s Building Department issues plumbing, mechanical, structural and fill permits, reviews the plans and does the inspections, while Columbia County issues electrical permits inside the city. Licensed contractors file through Oregon ePermitting; homeowners email the City’s building permit application. The City Council adopted new building fees in Resolution No. 2069 on April 1, 2026, with a $117 minimum structural permit and plan review at 65% of the permit fee.

The department is at City Hall, 265 Strand Street, and is reached at 503-397-6272 (option 4, then option 3). Because of staff reductions and furloughs, the main City Hall lobby is closed and staff meet by appointment only; the City Hall Annex lobby at 275 Strand Street is open Monday 1 to 5 p.m. and Tuesday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., and closed Fridays. Mike De Roia is the Building Official. St. Helens, the Columbia County seat, had 14,450 residents in the Census estimate for 2025.

The City’s permits cover land inside St. Helens. Outside the city, Columbia County Land Development Services handles building permits, and inside it the County handles electrical work.

What requires a building permit in St. Helens?

St. Helens issues four kinds of permit itself: structural, plumbing, mechanical and grade-and-fill. A structural permit is needed for new buildings, additions and structural alterations; plumbing and mechanical permits for new or changed fixtures, piping and appliances; and a grade and fill permit for earthwork, priced from $110 for up to 100 cubic yards. The department also investigates structures that are a hazard to the public.

What St. Helens decides and what the state holds

The exemptions are the state’s, from sections R101.2.2 and R105.2 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, which has been mandatory for chapter 1 since October 1, 2026 and becomes mandatory in full on April 1, 2027; commercial work has followed the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code since April 1, 2026. St. Helens sets its own fees under chapter 15.04 of its municipal code, its land use and engineering requirements, the grade and fill program, permit extensions and its system development charges.

Oregon’s building code and its exemptions are the same in St. Helens 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

St. Helens building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department reviews plans and inspects the permits it issues, and enforces the code on hazardous structures. Planning, Public Works and Engineering must sign off on a new house before the Building Department starts plan review. Columbia County Land Development Services issues electrical permits for St. Helens and runs the septic program as DEQ’s agent.

Permit types

Residential permits

Licensed contractors submit structural, grade-fill, plumbing and mechanical permits online in Oregon ePermitting. Homeowners, and anyone applying for a deferred or phased permit, download the City’s Building Permit Application from the forms page and email it in. The one- and two-family dwelling checklist asks for scaled plans showing lateral design details, a site plan with setbacks, corner elevations (2-foot contours where the lot falls more than 4 feet), easements, wells or septic systems, known fill sites or landslide hazard areas and drainage, plus foundation and floor plans, cross sections, elevations and wall bracing or lateral analysis; Engineering also wants a drainage and discharge plan. The City publishes separate checklists for manufactured home placement, multifamily buildings, tenant improvements and moving a house, along with a special inspection agreement and a moisture content form.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial projects use the same structural valuation table, with plan review at 65% and fire and life safety review at 40% where needed; complex projects that need a registered design professional, or that ask for code alternatives, may also pay consultant review at the service agreement’s hourly rate. Commercial mechanical permits are valued separately, from $110 for jobs up to $7,000, with 65% plan review, and commercial plumbing starts at $110. Deferred submittals cost 65% of the permit fee for the deferred portion, at least $250, and phased projects $165 per phase plus 10% of the total building permit fee, up to $1,500.

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

Planning, Public Works and Engineering sign-offs come first, and a planning release fee can apply where Planning approval is required. System development charges are collected on the building permit, using worksheets from the Engineering Department. Site plans must flag any known fill sites or landslide hazard areas, and where the lot falls more than 4 feet the elevations must show the real grade. On a septic property, Columbia County’s On-site Wastewater Program handles the septic side. St. Helens sits in the participating section of FEMA’s flood-program status book, with maps effective November 26, 2010.

St. Helens permit costs and fees

Resolution No. 2069, adopted unanimously by the City Council on April 1, 2026 and effective that day, sets all Building Department fees and replaces every earlier fee resolution; its fee exhibit is headed effective April 2, 2026. The City said the increase generally followed the West region CPI (3%), the first since July 2020. The Building page still links the 2020 schedule, but the resolution is the adopted one. In the City’s words, the state surcharge is “12% x Structural fee”, subject to increase by the state.

Worked example. An $80,000 remodel is in the $50,001 to $100,000 band: $627 plus 30 × $7 ($210) gives a structural fee of $837. Plan review at 65% adds $544.05, the 4% technology fee on the permit fee $33.48 and the 12% state surcharge $100.44, for $1,514.97 before any plumbing, mechanical or County electrical permit.

A manufactured dwelling placement costs $540 plus the state’s $30 fee, and a residential stand-alone fire suppression system $368 to $500 by floor area. Residential demolition is $110 and commercial demolition $270. Each plumbing fixture in a remodel is $28, with a $66 residential minimum.

Any permit type without its own listed fee has a $110 minimum, and staff time outside permit work is billed at $45 an hour. Refunds are issued only when the amount due back is more than $75.

Trade permits and who may pull them

St. Helens issues plumbing and mechanical permits, with plumbing plan review at 30% and mechanical at 65% where plans are required. It does not issue electrical permits: the state directory lists Columbia County as the electrical permit office for St. Helens, so electricians and owners doing electrical work apply to the County.

How to apply for a St. Helens building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The City publishes no review time, and it warns that with the lobby closed, replies to email and phone calls may be slow. Plan review cannot start until Planning, Public Works and Engineering have signed off, and plans with copyright problems cannot be reviewed. Changes to approved plans cost $100 an hour, half-hour minimum. A permit can be extended, withdrawn or reactivated with the City’s request form, at the Building Official’s sole discretion under section 15.04.100 of the municipal code.

Inspections in St. Helens

Inspections are scheduled through Oregon ePermitting, online or by text message: the state’s SelecTXT service at (888) 299-2821 lets you schedule, reschedule or cancel an inspection, add notes for the inspector and view results, using the permit’s tracking number and the inspection code from the City’s inspection code brochure. Electrical inspections are booked under the County permit.

A reinspection costs $150 once the same type of inspection has failed twice. Inspections outside normal business hours cost $150 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and inspections with no listed fee $110 an hour; each inspection beyond the number a permit allows is also $110 an hour, with a one-hour minimum, and a structural special inspection or consultation $110. A temporary certificate of occupancy runs 30 days and costs $163 for a home or $276 for a commercial building.

St. Helens permit search and official resources

The City posts lists of building permits issued each year from 2007 through 2025 on its website, and permits filed through Oregon ePermitting show up in the portal’s public search. Older files and plans can be requested through the City’s public records request process.

• St. Helens Building Department
• Building Services forms and applications
• One and two family dwelling permit checklist
• Resolution No. 2069, Building Department fees (April 1, 2026)
• City resolutions
• Permit extension, withdrawal and reactivation request
• Texting inspection request brochure
• Building permits issued, by year
• System development charges
• Public records requests
• Columbia County Building Division
• Columbia County On-site Wastewater Program
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1
• BCD Local Building Department Directory
• FEMA Community Status Book for Oregon
• Oregon ePermitting
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

St. Helens building permit FAQ

Who issues electrical permits in St. Helens?

Columbia County. The City issues structural, plumbing, mechanical and grade-and-fill permits only.

How much is a building permit in St. Helens?

The minimum is $117. An $80,000 remodel pays $837 plus 65% plan review, the 4% technology fee and the 12% state surcharge, $1,514.97 in all.

Can I visit the Building Department?

By appointment only, because the main City Hall lobby is closed; call 503-397-6272, option 4 then option 3.

How does a homeowner apply?

Download the City’s Building Permit Application and email it with the plans; ePermitting is for licensed contractors.

Can I schedule an inspection by text?

Yes. Text (888) 299-2821 with the permit’s tracking number and the inspection code to schedule, reschedule or cancel.

Do I need a permit to bring in fill?

Fill and grading are permitted by the City; a job of up to 100 cubic yards costs $110 plus 65% plan review.

How do I extend or reactivate a permit?

Email the City’s permit extension, withdrawal and reactivation request to buildingsafety@sthelensoregon.gov with the permit number and reason; extensions and reactivations are at the Building Official’s discretion.

Which fee schedule is current?

Resolution No. 2069, adopted April 1, 2026. The 2020 schedule still linked on the Building page has been superseded.

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