Woodburn, Oregon Building Permit Guide

The City of Woodburn’s Building Division issues structural, mechanical, fire alarm and fire sprinkler permits and inspects that work; electrical and plumbing permits and inspections inside the city come from Marion County. Every building application goes through Oregon ePermitting, where the plan review fee is invoiced and paid before review starts. A house remodel valued at $20,000 pays a $204.16 permit fee under the City’s one- and two-family table, plus 85% of that for plan review.

The division works from 270 Montgomery Street (503-982-5250) as part of Woodburn’s Community Development Department, with Melissa Gitt as Building Official. Woodburn, a city of about 31,900 people in the 2025 Census estimate, also requires Planning and Public Works to sign off on each permit under the Woodburn Development Ordinance (WDO) and the City’s public works standards.

Woodburn’s Building Division covers property inside the city limits; unincorporated land around the city is permitted by Marion County.

What requires a building permit in Woodburn?

Woodburn’s rule of thumb is that a permit is needed to build, enlarge, alter, repair, move or change the occupancy of a building, or to install or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system. The City publishes its own side-by-side list of residential and commercial work that does and does not need a building permit.

The City’s table uses older wording than chapter 1 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, mandatory since October 1, 2026, which exempts reroofing that adds 4 psf of dead load or less (but not townhouses, attached stacked two-family dwellings or photovoltaic roof coverings), and deck, patio or porch covers of up to 200 sq ft that are at least 3 feet from lot lines. The same chapter also exempts in-ground pools at houses unless a city ordinance requires a permit, though a pool barrier always needs one; Woodburn’s table lists below-grade and in-ground pools as permit work, so ask the Building Division (503-982-5250) which applies. Above-grade pools are on the no-permit side of the list, with barriers still required. Planning and Public Works reviews can apply even when no building permit is needed; fences and freestanding walls, for example, have their own Planning permit application.

What Woodburn decides and what the state holds

The technical rules are the state’s. For commercial work that means the 2025 Oregon Structural Specialty Code (mandatory since April 1, 2026); for houses, the Building Codes Division made chapter 1 of the 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code mandatory on October 1, 2026 and the rest of it mandatory from April 1, 2027. Woodburn sets its fee schedules, its submittal and acceptance policies, the WDO and its public works standards; the Building Official enforces the codes under City Ordinance No. 2415.

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

Woodburn building department: who handles permitting

The Building Division issues and inspects structural, mechanical, fire alarm and fire sprinkler permits. Marion County Building Inspection processes and issues the electrical and plumbing permits for Woodburn, and its table for the city lists fire marshal review by the Woodburn fire service. The Planning Division handles WDO review, land use applications, fence and wall permits and addresses, and Public Works assesses system development charges and issues right-of-way permits.

Permit types

Residential permits

On ePermitting, a new house is filed as a Residential 1 & 2 Family Dwelling permit with the City’s New Single Family Dwelling Packet. Accessory dwelling units, additions, alterations, conversions and solar installs are Residential Structural permits, each with its own packet (the New ADU Packet, the Addition Packet, the energy and additional measures form, or the prescriptive solar checklist). A manufactured home is a Manufactured Dwelling Placement permit with its packet, and alterations to one need engineering. Homeowners may apply for work on their own property and file the Homeowner Responsibility Acknowledgement, available in English and Spanish.

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

Commercial permits

New commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings use the City’s building packets and COM Check; tenant improvements add the accessibility form for existing buildings and a special inspection agreement, and commercial re-roofs use the re-roof checklist. Under the City’s acceptance policy, the Building Official first checks these projects against the land use conditions, public utility and right-of-way acceptance and city code. A standard application is accepted once land use is met and the civil plans for public improvements are approved; a phased application, requested in writing before applying, can let private construction start while the public improvement plans are still in review. After applying online, the applicant mails or delivers five copies of the site plan, construction documents, special inspection statement and geotechnical report.

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

What comes before the building permit

Planning and Public Works sign off on building permits only when the project meets the WDO and the City’s public works standards, so land use approval, a grading permit or a right-of-way permit may have to come first. The Planning Division’s land use fees were last amended by Ordinance No. 2640, adopted September 8, 2025 and effective October 8, 2025. Demolition needs its own permit for each structure, with a scaled site plan showing trees, utilities and erosion control, proof of ownership, Marion County permits for any private electrical or plumbing removal, and Public Works permits for sewer caps, meter removal or street trees. Septic systems are permitted by Marion County as DEQ’s agent.

Woodburn permit costs and fees

Woodburn’s Building Division Fee Schedule is the one the City links as its adopted schedule; its tables are marked effective August 11, 2011. The schedule states that its fees do not include the State of Oregon permit surcharge or the school district construction excise tax.

Worked example. A $20,000 remodel of a house is in the one- and two-family $2,001 to $25,000 band: $67 plus 18 × $7.62 ($137.16) is a $204.16 permit fee, and plan review at 85% adds $173.54, for $377.70 before the state surcharge. The commercial table’s first two bands do not join up ($97 for up to $2,000, then $97.50 for the first $2,000), so commercial estimates are best taken from the band the valuation falls in.

System development charges

Public Works assesses SDCs, each set by its own resolution. For a single-family house the City’s SDC sheet lists $3,944 for water on a meter up to 3/4 inch, $2,977 for sewer, $6,988 for traffic, $7,658 for parks (Resolution 2225, effective September 15, 2025) and $55 per 500 sq ft of impervious surface for storm drainage. An ADU pays a $545 traffic SDC.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Mechanical, fire alarm and fire sprinkler permits are Woodburn permits; fire alarm and sprinkler permits have their own affidavit forms. Electrical and plumbing permits for Woodburn addresses are bought from Marion County or through ePermitting under the County, and County inspectors inspect that work.

How to apply for a Woodburn building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Woodburn puts the first round of residential plan review at about 10 to 15 business days and commercial at about 15 to 20. Review rounds after the second one before approval, and revisions after the permit is issued, are charged at $100 an hour with a one-hour minimum. Delays usually come from an unpaid plan review invoice, a missing site plan, scope or valuation, zip-file uploads, missing packets from the City’s submittal table, and on commercial jobs unmet land use conditions or civil plans that are not yet approved.

Inspections in Woodburn

Contractors and owners with a valid permit schedule Woodburn inspections through ePermitting. Requests received before the 7 a.m. cut-off are inspected the same day; later requests are done the next business day. Electrical and plumbing inspections are made by Marion County under its own permit numbers. A temporary certificate of occupancy needs the City’s application to the Building Official, and Planning and Public Works ask for three days’ notice of the inspections that go with it.

Woodburn permit search and official resources

Anyone can search permits processed through ePermitting and check their status without an account. For older files and approved plans, the Building Division’s operating plan says plan documents are typically retrievable within 48 business hours of a request. Woodburn’s FEMA flood maps (community 410172, a National Flood Insurance Program participant since 1979) are dated January 19, 2000.

• Woodburn Building Division
• Woodburn: when a permit is required
• Woodburn: apply for a permit and submittal packets
• Woodburn building forms, fees and policies
• Woodburn Building Division fee schedule
• Woodburn system development charges
• Woodburn School District construction excise tax, 2026–2027
• Commercial permit application acceptance policy
• Woodburn demolition policy
• Woodburn Planning Division fee schedule
• Woodburn City Council agendas and minutes
• Marion County Building Inspection (electrical and plumbing)
• Oregon ePermitting
• Oregon Building Codes Division: codes in effect
• 2026 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, chapter 1 (permits and exemptions)
• FEMA Community Status Book for Oregon
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board license search

Woodburn building permit FAQ

Who issues electrical permits in Woodburn?

Marion County. Woodburn’s Building Division issues structural, mechanical, fire alarm and sprinkler permits, while the County processes, issues and inspects electrical and plumbing permits for the city.

How much is a building permit in Woodburn?

For a house, $67 up to $2,000 of valuation, then $7.62 per $1,000 up to $25,000, with plan review at 85% of the permit fee; a $20,000 remodel comes to $377.70 before the state surcharge.

How long does plan review take in Woodburn?

The City puts a first round of residential review at about 10 to 15 business days and commercial at about 15 to 20; plans go to the examiners once the plan review invoice is paid.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Woodburn?

Yes. Homeowners may apply on ePermitting for work on their own property and sign the Homeowner Responsibility Acknowledgement.

Do I need a permit for a shed or patio cover in Woodburn?

Not for a nonhabitable, one-story detached shed up to 200 sq ft and 15 feet high, or a patio or porch cover up to 200 sq ft that is at least 3 feet from the lot lines under the 2026 residential code. Larger ones need a permit, and zoning rules still apply.

What is the school excise tax on a new house in Woodburn?

From August 28, 2026 the Woodburn School District rate is $1.70 per square foot for residential construction.

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