Permit Data & Metrics

Information
Picture of a diverse group of people meeting around a wooden table with laptops and statistics.
In 2021, the City Auditor performed a building permit review audit and found that the City falls short of its goals and commitments to customers. It found that seven bureaus and City Council are all responsible for plan reviews, but no one entity manages systemwide performance.

To promote greater transparency into the City’s building permit process, the City of Portland is unveiling new dashboards that give a quick view of the outcomes of the City’s permitting improvement efforts and areas for continued progress.

The dashboards illustrate the average time to get a building permit issued for different types of construction projects, from new commercial buildings to home remodels. The dashboards break down the different phases involved in the issuance of a permit: from the time a permit application is submitted to when a complete application and set of plans can be reviewed, to the amount of time it takes to review a permit application and set of plans, to the amount of time it takes a permit to get from the “pre-issuance” phase [describe] to being issued, at which point construction work can begin.

Since 2021 there have been significant improvements made to track and measure successes and challenges and communicate with customers and staff. Visit the links below for more information.

Permit Metric Dashboard

Monthly Permit Improvement Timelines

If you need assistance with your permit, please contact the Customer Success team at https://www.portland.gov/bds/development-permit-processes/report-problem