16 published records
Business licenses and permits in Portland, Oregon
Portland and Multnomah County jointly administer a net-income business tax through one Revenue Division. Portland Permitting & Development (PP&D, formerly the Bureau of Development Services) handles building, sign, zoning and occupancy permits. Inside city limits, Multnomah County Environmental Health Services — not the Oregon Health Authority — is the food-permitting and child-care-inspection authority, and it runs an unusually developed food-cart and food-cart-pod licensing system layered with PP&D zoning, PBOT right-of-way, and Portland Fire & Rescue propane permits.
What are you opening in Portland?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Portland
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning Confirmation Letteronly if it applies to you | Portland Permitting & Development | $100–$1,706 Tier 1 (e.g. a DMV new/renewal auto dealer license, or an OLCC non-conforming-use confirmation) is $100; Tier 2 (a DMV auto-dismantler license, a Land Use Compatibility Statement, a bank letter, or an ODOT outdoor advertising sign permit) is $409; Tier 3 (documenting a non-conforming situation, complex zoning analysis, review or release of covenants, or an archaeological evaluation) is $1,706 | one-time, per request | 2026-09-09 |
| Fire Alarm / Suppression System Permitonly if it applies to you | Portland Fire & Rescue, Fire Marshal's Office | Fire alarm system, based on installed-materials valuation: $47.50 minimum (up to $500), rising in the same stacked-tier structure as a building permit to $2,063 plus $11.90 per additional $1,000 above $100,000. Automatic sprinkler/standpipe/private hydrant/hose/underground fire line/spray booth: inspection fee equals (sprinkler system square footage x $1.33) or the work valuation, whichever is higher, starting at a $50 minimum, plus a 12% state surcharge. Fixed extinguishing system or commercial kitchen hood spray booth: $50 minimum, rising to $1,109.50 plus $6.25 per additional $1,000 above $100,000; a premanufactured spray booth alone is $75. Plan review for any of these is 65% of the inspection fee. | one-time, per system installed | 2026-09-09 |
| Portland Business License Tax & Multnomah County Business Income Tax | City of Portland Revenue Division | City of Portland Business License Tax: 2.6% of net business income (Portland City Code Chapter 7.02, effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2018 or later). Multnomah County Business Income Tax (MCBIT): 2.0% of net income, administered jointly under the same registration and combined return by intergovernmental agreement — a combined 4.6% of net income for a business operating inside Multnomah County. Small-business exemption thresholds are set on GROSS RECEIPTS, not net income, and differ by government: the City exempts gross receipts under $75,000 for tax years beginning in 2026 (rising to under $100,000 for tax years beginning 2027 or later; it was under $50,000 for 2007-2025); the County exempts gross receipts under $100,000 (in effect since 2020, up from $50,000, and originally $25,000). A related regional tax, the 1% Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) Business Income Tax, is also collected by the same Revenue Division but only on businesses with more than $5,000,000 in gross receipts, and is a three-county (Metro) tax rather than a City or Multnomah County requirement — it is deliberately excluded from the combined rate above. | annual — calendar-year filers file by April 15 (the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends), matching the federal/Oregon income tax deadline; registration is due within 60 days of starting business activity in Portland or Multnomah County | 2026-09-09 |
| Commercial Building Permit | Portland Permitting & Development | Calculated from total construction valuation in stacked tiers: $1-$500 is a flat $167 minimum; $501-$2,000 is $167 for the first $500 plus $3.59 per additional $100; $2,001-$25,000 is $220.85 plus $13.91 per additional $1,000; $25,001-$50,000 is $540.78 plus $10.26 per additional $1,000; $50,001-$100,000 is $797.28 plus $6.81 per additional $1,000; over $100,000 is $1,137.78 plus $5.63 per additional $1,000. A separate, additive Development Services Fee - Commercial applies to every building, site-development or zoning permit on the same stacked-tier structure at roughly one-sixth the size of the building permit fee ($26.49 minimum). A Zoning Permit Fee (commercial minimum $159) and a Zoning Inspection Fee (the greater of 20% of the building permit fee or a $125 minimum) also apply to new construction and any permit requiring Planning/Zoning review. New-construction valuation is set using the ICC Building Valuation Data Table as required by Oregon Administrative Rule 918-050-0100, not simply the applicant's stated cost. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-09 |
| Change of Occupancy / Certificate of Occupancy Reviewonly if it applies to you | Portland Permitting & Development | $701 flat — Change of Occupancy or Use Review Fee, charged when a space's occupancy classification or use changes without a concurrent new building permit | one-time, per issuance | 2026-09-09 |
| Fire Safety Inspection Program — Existing Commercial Occupancy | Portland Fire & Rescue, Fire Marshal's Office | Basic Inspection Fee of $50 per occupancy, plus a non-residential size charge: $0 for 0-1,000 sq ft; $10 plus $1 per 100 sq ft over 1,000 for 1,001-10,000 sq ft; $200 plus $0.80 per 100 sq ft over 10,000 for larger space. Discounts apply to business/factory/mercantile occupancies: 30% off if no hazards are found, 20% off if fully sprinklered, 50% off if both. A $40 minimum applies regardless of discounts, and a non-residential inspection is capped at $2,000 (excluding violation, penalty and reinspection charges). An unmitigated violation found on reinspection adds $100 per violation class plus $150/$300/$600 for the first/second/third reinspection. | recurring — every two years for most commercial occupancies; annually for a state-licensed institution such as a child care centre | 2026-09-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Portland?
Zoning Confirmation Letter
Not every business needs this — the fee schedule's own Tier 1/2 examples are largely third-party license support (an auto dealer or auto dismantler license application, for instance) or documenting a legal nonconforming use. A prospective tenant can get a free preliminary zoning read from Portland Maps or the Zoning information line before paying for a formal letter.
Fire Alarm / Suppression System Permit
Applies whenever a business installs or alters a fire alarm, sprinkler, standpipe, or a fixed kitchen-hood suppression/spray-booth system — a commercial kitchen hood suppression system is billed under the fixed extinguishing system table. Billed at the same 2019 vintage as the propane and Fire Safety Inspection Program figures above.
Portland Business License Tax & Multnomah County Business Income Tax
Administered jointly by the City of Portland Revenue Division on behalf of both governments — one registration and one combined tax return covers both the City tax and the County tax. Portland's own code states the 'license' is 'strictly for revenue purposes' and is not a regulatory permit: there is no per-industry fee schedule like some cities use (a salon and a warehouse pay the identical 2.6%/2.0% rates on their net income), and there is no flat minimum fee — a business below both exemption thresholds must still register but owes no tax.
Commercial Building Permit
Issued by Portland Permitting & Development (PP&D) — the bureau many local guides still call by its former name, the Bureau of Development Services (BDS). Plan review is billed separately at 65% of the building permit fee for the original submittal (two checksheets included, $336 per additional checksheet). Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire-alarm/sprinkler work are permitted and fee'd separately under related tables in the same schedule.
Change of Occupancy / Certificate of Occupancy Review
Portland's fee schedule has no standalone 'Certificate of Occupancy' line for a brand-new building — where a business occupies a space that already required its own building permit, the occupancy sign-off is folded into that permit's final inspection rather than billed again. The $701 fee applies specifically to a change-of-occupancy or change-of-use review requested without a concurrent building permit, such as a new tenant moving into an existing space with no construction planned.
Fire Safety Inspection Program — Existing Commercial Occupancy
Portland Fire & Rescue inspects commercial buildings and multi-family housing (3+ units) on this recurring cycle rather than a one-time basis. As with the propane permit above, these dollar figures come from the fee schedule PF&R's own current page still links as current (effective July 1, 2019); confirm the live figure with the Prevention Division (503-823-3700) before relying on it for a specific project.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Land Use Services Fee Schedule, effective July 10, 2026Portland Permitting & Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Portland Policy FIR-12.01, Exhibit A — Fire Regulations Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2019 (Ordinance 189527)Portland Fire & Rescue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Business Tax Filing and Payment InformationCity of Portland Revenue Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Portland City Code Chapter 7.02, Business License LawCity of Portland · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Building and Other Permits Fee Schedule, City of Portland, effective July 10, 2026Portland Permitting & Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
- How the Fire Safety Inspection Program worksPortland Fire & Rescue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-09
Who issues business permits in Portland?
Permitting in Portland is split across 5 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Portland issuing agencies
- Portland Permitting & DevelopmentCommercial building permits · Certificate/change-of-occupancy review · Sign and awning permits · Zoning permits, zoning confirmation letters and land use review · Contractor CCB verification for permit issuance5 permits
- Multnomah County Health Department, Environmental Health ServicesRestaurant/food service establishment licensing · Mobile food unit and food cart pod licensing · Child care facility health, safety and sanitation inspections4 permits
- City of Portland Revenue DivisionPortland Business License Tax registration and filing · Multnomah County Business Income Tax collection (by intergovernmental agreement)3 permits
- Portland Fire & Rescue, Fire Marshal's OfficeFire code permits and plan review · Recurring fire safety inspections of commercial occupancies · Propane use permits for vending/food carts · Fire alarm, sprinkler and fixed extinguishing system permits3 permits
- Portland Bureau of TransportationVending cart and food cart permits in the public right-of-way1 permit
Other Oregon jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.