Oregon ePermitting is the State of Oregon’s online permitting system, found at BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov. Homeowners and licensed contractors use it to apply for building permits, and you can search permit records on it without an account. Each city or county decides which permits it offers there.
If a search for your address came back empty, the cause can be a short date window, an address typed in too much detail, or an office that isn’t on the system.
Who runs Oregon ePermitting, and what does it cover?
The state Building Codes Division (BCD) supports Oregon ePermitting and publishes the list of cities and counties that use it. That participating jurisdictions list holds nearly 100 cities, counties and agencies, and BCD says the system provides Building, Planning, Licensing, Onsite/Septic (septic system permits) and Public Works to many of them.
Participation is voluntary. BCD says each participating city or county determines which permits are available for sale online.
The portal’s web address sits on accela.com, the software BCD calls Accela Citizen Access, and Crook County’s building page says to trust only emails ending in @crookcountyor.gov or @accela.com.
Which Central Oregon offices use Oregon ePermitting?
Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties and the City of Redmond are on BCD’s participating list. The City of Bend is not. Bend runs its own Online Permit Center, which the city describes as the application and plan review software for the City of Bend, and its older ePlans system is read-only and used to look up old records. Since Bend is not on BCD’s list, search for Bend permits in Bend’s portal, and confirm with the Bend Permit Center if you are unsure.
Deschutes County says its building and septic permits go through Oregon ePermitting. For a land use application, ask the county planning division where to file. Crook County’s building department sends people to Oregon ePermitting for permit history search, applying, paying and inspection scheduling.
Deschutes County’s Building Safety program, according to the county’s 2026 to 2027 work plan and 2025 annual report, offers construction plan reviews, consultations and inspections in the rural county and in the cities of Sisters and La Pine. In 2025 it issued 369 new single-family dwelling permits in that building jurisdiction: 280 rural, 59 in La Pine and 30 in Sisters. If your lot is inside one of those two cities, start with Deschutes County and confirm with the county which office issues your permit.
If your lot is inside another small city, check whether the city or the county issues the building permit before you search.
What can you look up without an account?
The portal home page has separate searches for Building, Licensing, Onsite/Septic, Planning and Public Works. The Building search accepts a permit number, a street number and name, a parcel number, a project name, or a contractor’s license number or business name.
No official page lists the record fields. At Sand & Sage, when we open records from the public search, they typically show the permit number, type and status, the work location, a project description, the licensed professional and license number, the owner and the job value. Treat that as typical, not guaranteed.
Inspection results are a separate question. BCD’s inspection scheduling guide says that after an inspection you can return to the record to see its status and the inspector’s notes under Completed inspections. That guide is written for the person who scheduled the inspection, and we have not confirmed that every public record shows them.
Deschutes County says secured plans are only available to the applicant, who downloads them from their own account. Most other permit documents for Deschutes County properties are on the county’s DIAL site.
DIAL is the county’s free property lookup. By tax lot, its Permit tab shows permit history, inspection history, work descriptions and inspector notes, and it covers properties inside Bend, Redmond, La Pine and Sisters too.
How do you search permit records, and why does a search come back empty?
The portal’s own tip on the search page is to enter just the exact street number and a portion of the street name, and to enter only the first 3 characters of the street name. We do exactly that: the street number plus the first three letters, nothing else. The search is finicky about address format.
Leave the City field blank. The portal notes that adding a city may limit the search results. Deschutes County gives the same advice for its permit status searches: street number, first three letters of the street name, and less is more.
BCD’s guides add a few address habits. Leave off the street direction, such as W or SE, and if a name with a number such as 1st returns nothing, BCD’s Easy Inspection Scheduling guide says to try spelling it out. For highways, BCD’s trade permit guide says the name may be listed as HWY or Highway.
Then change the dates. The search pre-fills a start date, and the portal tells you to change the Start Date field to find older permits. The portal’s notice and one of BCD’s guides describe the default window differently, so don’t count on a specific number. We set the start date back to 1900 on every search, and the portal accepted that date when we tested it.
Expect results from other places. The search covers the participating jurisdictions across the state, so you may see permits from other cities and counties. Each result has an Agency column, and in the records we looked at, permit numbers start with a three-digit jurisdiction code. BCD’s list shows the codes: Crook County is 217, Deschutes County 247 and Jefferson County 451.
What do you need an account for?
You need an account to apply for a permit online. BCD says you do not need to register to search for information, schedule inspections or pay fees on an existing permit. Adding an email to your account gets you automatic status updates.
Homeowners can apply for their own building permit online where the jurisdiction allows it. BCD’s homeowner guide says every online application from a homeowner needs a Homeowner Acknowledgement Form, and that the city or county contacts you once fees are ready and once the permit is issued. Applying online is not approval.
Contractors add their license to the account before applying. Without a license on the account, the permit types offered can be limited, and it varies by jurisdiction. A user in Deschutes County’s FAQ who could apply only for a driveway access permit and an RV park was told to link a contractor license to the account.
What tips save time when a record isn’t there?
On the Oregon properties we research, Oregon ePermitting is one of the first places we look. These tips are field experience, not rules, so confirm anything that matters for your lot.
If a lot shows no septic record, search the neighbors. In our experience, a missing record on one address often turns up on the lot next door, and the neighbor’s records can show how the septic system on that street was permitted or repaired. Use the Onsite/Septic search and look through the septic records listed. Older septic records may only be on file with the county. In our experience, septic records from older land divisions may not clearly show which parcel they served, so treat a neighbor’s record as a lead to confirm with the county’s onsite septic program, not as proof for your lot.
If your real question is whether the lot can take a septic system at all, our SiteFacts guide to how septic feasibility works is the place to start.
If the lot has a driveway and no house, search for a past approach permit. In our experience, a driveway that meets a county road often has its own permit even when the lot has no building history. In Deschutes County’s FAQ above, driveway access shows up as a permit type offered through the system, and our post on driveway permits and access in Central Oregon covers what Crook and Jefferson Counties require.
If a vacant lot has no address, a permit may sit under a temporary address. BCD’s staff help says a temporary address is not linked to a parcel or owner. In our experience it is still worth trying the Parcel # field, and if nothing comes up, ask the county building department.
If you are checking a lot before you buy it, the permit record is one part of land due diligence, and our SiteFacts guide to what land due diligence covers goes through the rest.
When does it make sense to hand it off?
For questions about the system itself, the state’s Oregon ePermitting HelpDesk is at Oregon.ePermitting@dcbs.oregon.gov, 503-373-7396 or 1-800-442-7457 toll-free.
If the search turns up what you need but the filing is the part you would rather skip, that is where we come in.
If you own land in Deschutes, Crook or Jefferson County, our permitting service is built for the filing. You sign an authorization in DocuSign. We submit the application electronically and track its status through review.
We submit it and track it through review.
Submitted within 5 business days of complete information. Every correction round is at no added fee. A real person responds within 24 business hours.
Quick answers
Is BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov the same as Oregon ePermitting?
Yes. BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov is the site name the portal uses for the State of Oregon ePermitting System, and the old Building Codes Division ePermitting page now redirects to the portal at aca-oregon.accela.com.
Why can’t I find my Bend permit on Oregon ePermitting?
The City of Bend is not on the state system. It uses its own Online Permit Center. Search the city’s portal, or call the Bend Permit Center at 541-388-5580.
Do I need an account to search for a permit?
No. BCD says you do not need to register to search for information, schedule inspections or pay fees on an existing permit.
Can I schedule an inspection without an account?
Yes. BCD says you do not need to log in or create an account to schedule inspections, online or through Easy Inspection Scheduling. The system cannot schedule same-day inspections after 7:00 AM, and you cannot pick a time. The jurisdiction assigns it that morning.
Is there an extra fee for paying online?
BCD describes an optional technology fee that jurisdictions can choose to charge, set as a small percentage. We have not confirmed whether any Central Oregon office charges it, so check the fee schedule for your permit.
