Apply for a permit to close all or part of a sidewalk, travel lane, or street

Service
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) issues "complex" temporary street use permits to close sidewalks, all types of travel lanes, or entire streets, and for reserving on-street parking needed for such closures, for things like construction, utility work, crane lifts, and tree trimming.

This application takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Permits are typically issued within 15 business days.

Determine the plan or diagram you will need to proceed

All complex temporary street use permits require a traffic control plan or a work space diagram. Determine which one you will need with this flow chart.

Prepare the appropriate plan or diagram

Prepare your traffic control plan or work space diagram using our basemap tool. Please click here for more details.

Notify TriMet in advance

If your closure is on a street with a TriMet bus route or MAX line, you are required to notify TriMet at least five business days in advance.  Longer duration projects or closures that will require a bus detour may require significantly more advance notice.  Coordinate with TriMet at foc@trimet.org prior to submitting this permit application.  Check TriMet's route map to see if your jobsite is on a transit route. 

Confirm you meet insurance requirements and email your insurance documentation

We require a current certificate of insurance (COI) on file naming the City of Portland as additionally insured prior to the issuance of the permit. The named insured company on this certificate must match exactly with the company name on your permit application. 

For more details, visit the Insurance Requirements page.

To avoid delays, you may wish to confirm with our insurance coordinator that your company has met this requirement. 

Insurance documents are processed by the city's Insurance & Bonds Group. Please contact them with any questions and send insurance documents by e-mail. 

Fill out your permit application

These permits are for the temporary use or closure of sidewalks, any type of travel lane, including bike lanes, or the entire street. To reserve on-street parking on the same block as the closure because that parking is needed to facilitate the use or closure, include this request on the same application.

There are two complex applications, one for short-term requests (less than 4 weeks), and one for long-term requests of 4 weeks or more. Please fill out the appropriate form at the link:

Apply for short-term (less than 4 weeks) complex temporary street use permit

Apply for long-term (4 weeks or more) complex temporary street use permit

Wait for processing and review

Once we receive your completed application with all the necessary information, we will do an initial review of your request.  When this initial review is complete, we will send you an email update, which will include a fee estimate and a proposed date of issuance.

We will then assign your request to be reviewed by our traffic engineers.  During their review, they may contact you for more information or to notify you of changes to your proposed plan.

Pay for your permit

When the permit has been reviewed and approved, we will email you a link to pay online by a certain due date. The permit can be paid for with credit card or electronic check. For pricing information, explore our current fee schedule.

Receive your permit

When payment confirmation is received, we will email you your permit copy and any supporting documents within a business day. This is not automated; you will typically receive your permit within one business day of your payment.

Please note: Temporary street use permits are date-specific.  Once a street use permit has been paid for and issued, it is considered valid only for the dates printed on the permit.  If you are unable to implement the closure for those specific dates, please fill out a change request form and ask to change the dates, cancel the permit, or put it on hold.  If you do not notify our office of a change prior to the permit start date, you are responsible for all permit fees that have already accrued.  Getting the permit dates changed after the start date will typically result in additional fees.