Tillamook County, Oregon Building Permit Guide

The Tillamook County Department of Community Development issues structural, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits for the unincorporated county and for Bay City, Garibaldi, Nehalem, Rockaway Beach, Tillamook and Wheeler; Manzanita issues its own building permits but buys electrical permits from the county. Plans go in on paper, by appointment or by mail. Under the fee schedule in force since July 15, 2023, $150,000 of work carries a $1,200.02 permit fee before plan review, the 5 percent technology fee and the state surcharge.

What requires a building permit in Tillamook County?

The county’s consolidated building and zoning application covers new houses and replacements, additions, accessory buildings such as garages and sheds, alterations, demolition and “other” work it names as decks, pools, retaining walls, solar and driveways; each type of work needs its own permit. The 2023 fee schedule adds manufactured home placement, residential fire sprinkler systems and a separate review charge for work in geologic, dune or flood hazard areas.

Those exemptions are the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code’s, in force since October 1, 2026; the county’s Building page still links the 2023 edition. Its section R101.2.2 adds fixed docks with no superstructure and in-ground pools at houses, which need no building permit unless a local ordinance requires one; a pool-barrier fence always does. In this county the zoning check matters as much as the building code: an exempt shed still needs a zoning approval, and building in a mapped special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit after a required pre-application meeting.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The Board of Commissioners sets the fees by board order and the department sets its own procedures: appointments for submittals, paper plans, a five-day pickup window for issued permits and a 5 percent technology fee. The department also says the county has chosen to enforce stricter flood construction standards than the federal minimum to earn Community Rating System discounts on flood insurance. The building codes, licensing and the valuation table come from the state.

Tillamook County building department: who handles permitting

One county office covers almost the whole county. The state’s Local Building Department Directory lists Tillamook County for “all building permits” in six cities and in the unincorporated communities, including Beaver, Cloverdale, Hebo, Neskowin, Netarts, Oceanside and Pacific City. Manzanita is the exception.

The zoning column follows the county’s own rule: a copy of the city’s approved zoning permit must come with the building application for land inside those city limits or growth boundaries.

Permit types and approvals before filing

Residential permits

Houses start on the consolidated building and zoning application, which records the zone and setbacks, the road access, the water supply and whether waste goes to a sewer district or a septic tank, with the valuation and the wind exposure category. The trade work needs its own electrical, plumbing and mechanical applications, and the forms page adds the residential energy code form, the moisture content acknowledgement and the county design criteria. Those criteria set seismic design category D2, a 120 mph special wind region, a minimum ground snow load of 36 psf for prescriptive design (25 psf engineered) and footings at least 12 inches below finished grade, and they require a design professional for any lateral bracing that does not follow the prescriptive path.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work adds a fire and life safety review at 50 percent of the structural permit fee, a 1 percent seismic review for essential structures, and fees for deferred submittals (65 percent of the fee on the deferred part, at least $100) and phased projects ($326 plus 10 percent of the total permit fee, up to $1,500 a phase). Commercial fire sprinkler systems are priced on the valuation table. A temporary certificate of occupancy for a commercial building is $450.

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

• Zoning: outside the cities’ areas the county Planning Division gives the zoning approval on the same consolidated form; inside them, the city’s approved zoning permit is attached.
• Floodplain: a pre-application meeting is required before a floodplain development permit application, and the fee schedule charges $300 for geologic hazard, dune or flood hazard review.
• Septic: the department’s onsite wastewater program, DEQ’s contract agent for the county, issues site evaluations and system permits; it does not take septic applications through ePermitting.
• Wetlands: the application warns that a site in a jurisdictional wetland needs any state or federal permits before work starts.
• School excise tax: collected at submittal by check to the district: $1.45 per sq ft for a house in the Tillamook School District, $1.63 in Nestucca Valley and $1 in Neah-Kah-Nie, with lower rates for nonresidential space.

Building permit fees

Building Division fees were raised by Board Order 23-030, adopted June 7, 2023 and effective July 15, 2023; the order notes the schedule had not been revised since orders of 2011 and 2013. The Building Forms page still posts that 2023 Fee Schedule. Structural fees use the ICC valuation table in force on April 1 each year.

State surcharge, in the county’s words: the schedule prints no rate; it marks fees that “incur State Surcharge,” such as structural alterations and reinstatements, and those “not subject to State Surcharge,” such as demolitions, extensions ($50) and the refund processing fee ($50), and the application carries a separate “State Surcharge” line. The county’s own “Tech Fee” is “5% of all fees, besides surcharges.”

Worked example: $150,000 of work is in the $50,001 to $300,000 band: $613.02 plus 100 × $5.87 = $1,200.02. Plan review adds $780.01 and the technology fee 5 percent of both, $99.00, for $2,079.03 before the state surcharge and any school excise tax.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical work anywhere in the county, Manzanita included, is permitted by the county; Tillamook People’s Utility District also requires a county electrical permit before it connects a new service. Plumbing and mechanical permits come from the county everywhere except Manzanita. Electrical inspections are limited: the inspection page books north county electrical stops on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and south county ones on Tuesday and Thursday.

• Licensed work: a contractor paid for the job needs a Construction Contractors Board license, and the application asks for the CCB number, or the installer number for a manufactured home. Electricians and plumbers working for hire also need Building Codes Division licenses.
• Owners wiring their own property: ORS 479.540 lets an owner do electrical work without a license on residential or farm property owned by them or an immediate family member, if it is not intended for sale, exchange, lease or rent; the permit is still required.
• Owners doing their own plumbing: unpaid plumbing work is outside the plumbing licensing law (ORS 447.060), but it is not outside the permit and inspection.
• Owner-builders: ORS 701.325 has an owner who is exempt from CCB licensing state the reason for the exemption when applying.

How to apply

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The department turns away incomplete applications rather than holding them, and it does not take emailed or digital structural submittals unless staff agree in advance. Changes after approval go through the addendum form at $100 an hour. A permit close to expiring can be extended only by a written request with a justifiable reason, which the building official approves or denies; the extension fee is $50.

Inspections

Call the inspection hotline, 503-842-1815, before 7 a.m. on the day you want the visit, and choose 1 for structural or manufactured dwelling, 2 for mechanical, 3 for plumbing or 4 for electrical. Structural and related trade inspections can also be booked on Oregon ePermitting or its phone app. The daily routes are posted by 9 a.m.; the order is up to the inspector and no arrival times are given, and in summer inspections can run until 6 p.m.

Results, with any correction notes, appear on ePermitting under the permit’s inspection record. A re-inspection, or any inspection beyond the number allowed, costs $100, and inspections outside business hours are $150 an hour with a two-hour minimum.

Code editions and flood maps

The state codes in force are the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code and the 2026 residential, electrical and plumbing codes; the residential construction chapters may follow the 2023 edition until April 1, 2027, which is also the edition the county design criteria cite. The unincorporated county and all seven cities take part in the National Flood Insurance Program, each carried as a participant in FEMA’s Community Status Book. The county runs tsunami hazard overlay zones for Barview, Twin Rocks and Watseco, Cape Meares, Oceanside, Neskowin, Pacific City and Woods, and Tierra del Mar.

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

Tillamook County building permit FAQ

Can I apply on Oregon ePermitting?

Not for structural plans: the county says it lacks the setup for online structural submittals, so applications go in person by appointment or by mail.

What does a permit cost?

$1,200.02 on $150,000 of work, plus 65 percent plan review, the 5 percent technology fee and the state surcharge.

Does the City of Tillamook issue building permits?

No. The county does, after the city approves the zoning.

Who permits work in Manzanita?

The City of Manzanita issues building, plumbing and mechanical permits; electrical permits come from the county.

Is the office open on Fridays?

No. The department is open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

What school tax will I pay on a new house?

$1.45, $1.63 or $1 per sq ft, depending on the school district, by check to the district at submittal.

Who issues septic permits?

The department’s onsite wastewater program, as DEQ’s agent; call 503-842-3409.

Permit search and official resources

County permits carry numbers beginning 851 and can be looked up on Oregon ePermitting under the Building tab, where inspection results are also posted. For older property files and public record copies, ask the department and allow five business days; research and copy fees apply. Land use applications under review are listed on the Planning pages.

• Tillamook County Building Division
• Department of Community Development
• Department contacts
• Inspection and operations
• Building forms
• 2023 fee schedule (effective July 15, 2023)
• Board Order 23-030 amending the Building Division fees
• Consolidated building and zoning permit application
• Tillamook County design criteria
• Planning and appointment booking
• Flooding and floodplain services
• On-site wastewater treatment
• 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 Tillamook 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 Tillamook County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.