TL;DR (generated, confidence: high)

The City of Portland uses ProjectDox for online public works permit review, with separate contact channels for permitting/invoicing and construction/inspection matters. Not all improvements require a public works permit.

Key points:

Public Works Permitting handles submittals, invoicing, and paperwork at publicworkspermitting@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-1987 (Public Works Permitting ↗)
Public Works Construction handles construction and inspection questions at publicworksconstruction@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0988; staff work remotely but inspectors operate in field (Public Works Permitting ↗)
Not all improvements require a public works permit; sewer/stormwater and sidewalk/frontage improvements use separate processes (Public Works Permitting ↗)
ProjectDox is the city's digital document management system for online public works permit review (Public Works Permitting ↗)
Plan Preparation and Manuals and Standards resources available to support permit preparation (Public Works Permitting ↗)
Applicant training videos available for ProjectDox use (Public Works Permitting ↗)

Entities: department: Public Works Permitting · Public Works Construction | system: ProjectDox | email: publicworkspermitting@portlandoregon.gov · publicworksconstruction@portlandoregon.gov | phone: 503-823-1987 · 503-823-0988

Public Works Permitting

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Breadcrumb: Home > Public Works Permitting

Source: Public Works Permitting ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:04:13 GMT

Contact

For processing of submittals, invoicing, and other related paperwork: Public Works Permitting at publicworkspermitting@portlandoregon.gov or at 503-823-1987

For construction or inspection questions: Public Works Construction at publicworksconstruction@portlandoregon.gov or leave a voicemail at 503-823-0988. Construction office staff are working remotely. Inspectors are still doing work out in the field.

Improvements that require a Public Works Permit

Not all improvements are done under a public works permit.

There are varying degrees of work that can occur through separate processes:

Resources to help with plan preparation

Public Works uses ProjectDox for online plan review

The City of Portland uses the digital document management system, ProjectDox, for reviewing public works permits ↗.

Please review ProjectDox training for applicants: How to use ProjectDox ↗