Wasco County, Oregon Building Permit Guide

Wasco County Building Codes Services issues all building permits in Wasco County, for the six cities as well as rural land, and inspects the work. Licensed contractors can file on Oregon ePermitting; others use the county’s forms. Zoning comes first, from the county Planning Division outside the cities, and the county charges the state’s permit fee table, so $150,000 of work carries a $1,605.23 permit fee before plan review and the 12 percent surcharge.

What requires a building permit in Wasco County?

Building Codes Services issues structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, renewable electrical energy, manufactured dwelling placement and RV or manufactured park development permits. Its structural application asks, among other things, whether an accessory structure will have a bathroom, whether a geotechnical report is required and whether the site is in a floodplain, which shows what the reviewers look at.

Those are the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code exemptions, mandatory from October 1, 2026. Qualifying farm buildings go on the county’s farm building exemption form instead of a structural permit. Exempt work can still need county or city zoning approval, and its wiring or plumbing still needs a trade permit.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The county runs its program under Ordinance 19-002 and its Building Codes Services and Electrical Program operating plans, which it posts with its contact details. The codes, and the fee table itself, are the state’s: the county charges the state permit fees adopted for Oregon jurisdictions. The county sets its own planning fees, its intake checklists and local design values, and it applies two sets of land use rules: the general land use and development ordinance, and a separate one for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Wasco County building department: who handles permitting

The Building Codes Division’s directory lists Wasco County as the building department for every place in the county: Antelope, Dufur, Maupin, Mosier, Shaniko, The Dalles, the communities of Friend, Tygh Valley and Wamic, and the unincorporated county, each marked “all building permits.” The directory lists no separate city building department anywhere in the county.

The structural application asks whether the property is inside city limits and has spaces for the zoning and sanitation sign-offs, so the right planning office has to approve the project before Building Codes Services takes it in.

Permit types and approvals before filing

Residential permits

The Residential Plan Submittal Intake Checklist (December 2025) starts with planning and zoning, water district, erosion control and DEQ, septic or sewer approvals, and requires the site plan, floor plans and elevations to be signed or stamped by the approving jurisdiction. One complete set of construction documents is enough, electronic preferred. The county’s General Building Requirements sheet (February 2026) gives the design values to draw to: 24-inch frost depth, severe weathering, seismic design category C, a 1,500 psf default soil bearing value, 99 mph wind, a 36 psf minimum prescriptive ground snow load (25 psf roof), engineering where the ground snow load exceeds 70 psf, and a three-story limit for houses. New houses record their additional energy measure on the county’s selection form.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the commercial plan review checklist and follows the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code. The fee form adds a fire and life safety review at 40 percent of the permit fee, and the alternate materials form covers a request to use a material or method the code does not list. Phased projects pay at least $275 plus 10 percent of the building permit fee per phase, up to $1,500 a phase, and deferred submittals pay 65 percent of the fee on the deferred portion, with a $100 minimum.

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

• County land use: outside the cities, the Planning Division applies the land use and development ordinance, or the National Scenic Area ordinance inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. On the 2026 fee schedule (June 16, 2026) a structural sign-off without a land use application is $386.75, a rural residential dwelling review $735.90, a guest house or ADU $546.10 and a new address $94.90.
• Septic: North Central Public Health District runs the onsite program for DEQ. Since July 1, 2026 every septic application and permit goes through Oregon ePermitting; site evaluations, permits and authorization notices are applied for there, and an issued installation permit or authorization notice is valid for one year.
• Wildfire rebuilding: the Planning Division offers help to owners redeveloping after a wildfire.

Building permit fees

The fee table printed on the structural application is headed “State Permit Fees Adopted for State of Oregon Jurisdictions.” Valuation is set from the ICC Building Valuation Data table current on April 1 each year, under OAR 918-050-0100.

State surcharge, in the county’s words: “The 12% surcharge is not included in any of the fees below.” The application then lists the surcharge, plan review, fire and life safety, construction excise tax, seismic review and a 3% technology fee as separate lines.

Worked example: $150,000 of work is in the $100,001 to $500,000 band: $1,252.23 plus 50 × $7.06 = $1,605.23. Add $192.63 surcharge, $1,043.40 plan review and $16.05 seismic review for $2,857.31, before the technology fee and any construction excise tax. Card payments are made through a link the county emails from the ePermitting payment portal or by phone; checks go to Wasco County, and the office does not take cash by mail.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county keeps all the trades in one office: electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are on its forms page, with a separate renewable electrical energy permit and prescriptive solar checklists for residential and commercial systems. Its electrical work runs under a posted Electrical Program Operating Plan. The Building Codes Services page links both the Construction Contractors Board search and the Building Codes Division license search so owners can check a contractor and a trade license before hiring.

• Paid work: the contractor needs a CCB license, and the structural application asks for the CCB number and any BCD license number.
• Owner wiring: ORS 479.540 lets owners install electrical work without a license on residential or farm property belonging to them or an immediate family member, if it is not intended for sale, exchange, lease or rent; the permit and inspection still apply.
• Owner plumbing: plumbing licensing does not cover work not done for hire (ORS 447.060), but the plumbing permit does.
• Owner-builders: state law (ORS chapter 701) requires every applicant to sign a statement giving a license number or the basis for an exemption, and the county posts a Property Owner Statement form for owners.

How to apply

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Plans without the approving jurisdiction’s stamp on the site plan, floor plans and elevations do not meet the intake checklist. Extra review caused by changes to approved plans is charged at $104.74 an hour, and the posted hours run Monday to Thursday only; the office is also closed on holidays such as Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

Inspections

The county’s Structural Inspection Checklist (December 2025) sets the ground rules: the approved plans stay on site, the permit and address are posted, the inspector has safe access and OSHA-standard ladders, and the work is complete before the visit. At the footing and setback inspection the property corner pins must be exposed and string lines run on at least two sides. Underground or underfloor plumbing, mechanical and electrical work must be approved before the foundation is poured or the floor sheathed.

Inspections outside normal hours, when available, cost $104.74 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and renewing a temporary certificate of occupancy a second time or later is $100. Manufactured dwelling installations follow the county’s own inspection process sheet.

Code editions and flood maps

The state codes in force are the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code and the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, whose chapters 2 to 44 can still be met under the 2023 edition until April 1, 2027; the county’s inspection checklist is written to the 2023 residential code. The 2026 electrical and plumbing codes apply from October 1, 2026. Wasco County, The Dalles, Mosier, Dufur and Maupin are enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program; FEMA’s Community Status Book gives the Warm Springs Reservation of the Confederated Tribes its own entry and has none for Antelope or Shaniko.

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

Wasco County building permit FAQ

Does The Dalles issue its own building permits?

No. Wasco County Building Codes Services issues all building permits in The Dalles and the county’s other cities; the city handles its own zoning.

What does a building permit cost?

On the state fee table the county uses, $100,000 of work is $1,252.23 and $150,000 is $1,605.23, plus 65 percent plan review and the 12 percent surcharge.

Is the office open on Fridays?

The posted hours are Monday to Thursday only, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the office closed for lunch.

How many sets of plans do I need?

One, preferably electronic, with the site plan, floor plans and elevations stamped by the planning office that approved the zoning.

Who issues septic permits?

North Central Public Health District, through Oregon ePermitting since July 1, 2026; call 541-506-2603 if you need a paper application.

What snow load do I design for?

Look the site up on the state’s Design Criteria Hub; the county’s minimum prescriptive ground snow load is 36 psf, and sites above 70 psf need an engineered design.

Does a shed need a permit?

Not a one-story, nonhabitable shed up to 200 sq ft and 15 ft high (400 sq ft on 2 acres or more), though zoning rules still apply.

Permit search and official resources

Building permit records for every city and the rural county are kept by Wasco County Building Codes Services, so one call to 541-506-2650 covers a records question anywhere in the county. Permits bought on Oregon ePermitting can also be looked up with that site’s Building search; the county also emails its card-payment links from that portal. Land use files are with the county Planning Division or the city that decided them.

• Wasco County Building Codes Services
• Building forms and applications
• Structural permit application and fee table (July 2026)
• General building requirements and design values
• Residential plan submittal intake checklist
• Structural inspection checklist
• Wasco County Planning Division
• Wasco County zoning and permits
• Planning Division 2026 fee schedule
• North Central Public Health District septic program
• DEQ onsite septic agents by county
• BCD Local Building Department Directory
• Oregon ePermitting
• BCD adopted codes
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board

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