Check Permit Timelines

The dashboard is updated every Monday.

There are four screens:

• The About tab contains a brief introduction, instructions on access the tutorials, and a link to provide feedback on the dashboard.
• Commercial & Residential Snapshot allows you to see data on applications and issuances for different types of commercial and residential permits, which can be broken down by work type (such as new construction, alterations, demolitions) and permit sub-types (such as apartments and condominiums, office buildings, and single-family homes). This dashboard includes average and median times taken to reach "approved to issue" status, at which point City development review teams finish their work and await payment of final permit fees by the customer. The dashboard also features the total valuation of the types of issued permits that are selected. You can also select a period of time, going back to January 2020, for which to evaluate permit data.
• Commercial & Residential Historical Data illustrates data reported by year since 2020 on the numbers of commercial and residential permit applications received and issued, their valuations and the average and median times to reach "approved to issue" status.
• Commercial & Residential Review Snapshot shows the median and average numbers of business days taken by City staff and applicants, for each type of review, for all types of commercial and residential building permits.

View the tutorial: It is highly recommended that you view the tutorial before navigating the dashboard. You can refresh the tutorial at any time by selecting the information button in the right-side of the banner.

View full size image of This is the header for the Portland Permit Review Dashboard with the “Information” icon illustrated.

Filters carry over from tab to tab. If you don’t see a filter option available, refresh or reload the web browser window.  

To select multiple options from the Work and Permit Sub Type drop-down menus, click the first item. Then, while holding down the Ctrl key (Command key (⌘) for Apple Mac users), click each additional item you wish to select.

View full size image of This illustrates different types of construction permits in a drop-down menu that can select multiple types of permits.

View full size image of This illustrates different types of sub-categories of construction permits that can be chosen, such as for accessory dwelling units and other accessory structures, as well as for decks and fences.

• Application: The permit application has been received but has not yet advanced to “under review” status. (It is likely that the permit does not yet meet minimum submittal requirements.)
• Approval (Approved to Issue): The City of Portland’s review teams have completed their work and are ready to issue the permit once the final permit fees are paid.
• Application Submittal to Under Review: This measures the number of business days from when a permit application is submitted until it reaches "Under Review" status. This includes the time it takes for the permit to be setup for technical pre-screening by Life Safety and Zoning staff and for all intake fees to be paid.
• Final Review to Approved to Issue: This shows the average number of business days it takes for the final quality control process to be completed and a final bill to be calculated and provided to the applicant for payment.
• Issued: The permit has been issued and construction can begin. Construction may be underway but has not yet proceeded to its first inspection.
• Under Inspection: Construction has at least progressed to its first inspection.
• Under Review:  The permit’s plans are currently being reviewed.
• Final: The building passed all inspections and received its certificate of occupancy. Construction is complete.

Have you ever heard someone throw around "average" and "median" interchangeably? While they both aim to find the "middle" or "typical" value in a set of numbers, they tell very different stories. Understanding the difference is key to truly understanding the data you're looking at.

Average  

The average is what most people think of when they hear "average." You get it by adding up all the numbers in a group and then dividing by how many numbers there are.

Think of it this way: The average tries to balance everything out evenly. If you have a few really big numbers, they can pull the average way up. This makes the average very sensitive to outliers (extreme values). For example, if you're looking at permit that required a right-of-way approval before the permit could proceed, that could dramatically inflate the average business days for the whole group of permits. 

Median

If all the building permits were arranged from the fastest to the get approved to the slowest, the median is the permit right in the middle. That means half of the permits were approved faster than that middle one, and half were approved slower. 

Why does it matter?

Choosing between the average and the median depends on what you want to understand from your data.

• Use the average when you want every single value to contribute to the central measure, especially if your data doesn't have extreme highs or lows.
• Use the median when there might have a few very large or very small numbers that would otherwise distort the "typical" permit timeline. 

The project’s final valuation (cost) can influence the building permit timeline, primarily through the cost of permit fees and the scope of work, which impact the time needed for plan review and inspections.

The City uses a fee schedule based on the project's estimated construction cost which determines the complexity and required review time. Larger, more complex projects require more extensive plan review and inspections, which can extend the overall permitting timeline.  Snapshot tab displays the Final Valuation of Issued Permits—a measure of economic vitality and invest in the city. This tool allows you to compare the scale of your project to other projects in the permitting pipeline. 

After the initial project intake, review tasks are added. The selection of these tasks depends on the scope of the permit type and scope. Not all available review tasks are required for every permit. Some assigned reviews are run concurrently. 

After submitting your project for review, you can view the specific tasks required for your project in ProjectDox or Portland Maps, depending on your project.

Start Guide: How to get a building permit
Learn how to research a property, prepare application materials and submit your permit for review.

Portland Maps 
Learn how to use Portland Maps and research the status of a permit.

ProjectDox online plan review
Depending on your project, you may be asked to use an online tool to review and manage building plans and documents. Learn how to access and use ProjectDox to complete plan review tasks online.