Permits & licensing, translated

Normally the contractor, and for electrical work Oregon law requires the licensed electrical contractor performing the work to obtain the permit. A homeowner can pull their own permits on their own home, but must sign a property-owner responsibility statement accepting liability for code compliance. If a contractor asks you to pull the permit for work they're doing, treat it as a red flag — it usually means they aren't licensed to.

Search the license number, business name, or owner name at the Oregon CCB's official lookup (search.ccb.state.or.us). Check four things: the status says Active, the surety bond is current, liability insurance is on file, and the complaint history is clean. For HVAC and electrical work, the CCB license alone isn't enough — the people doing electrical work must also hold trade licenses from the Oregon Building Codes Division. Our license is CCB# 199049; look us up any time.

Oregon's seller disclosure statement (ORS 105.464) asks directly whether work was done, whether a permit was required, and whether a final inspection was obtained — and you must answer to your actual knowledge. Disclosed unpermitted work scares buyers, lenders, and insurers; undisclosed unpermitted work invites a lawsuit; and if the disclosure reveals it, the buyer can revoke within five business days (ORS 105.475). Fixing it later means "as-built" permits — often with walls opened for inspection and roughly double the fees. The inexpensive permit at install time is the bargain.

Fees are set by each jurisdiction's adopted fee schedule plus a state surcharge — for a straightforward residential change-out they're typically a small fraction of the project cost, and we include them in the quoted price. Inspections in most metro jurisdictions schedule online or by phone and are usually fulfilled the next business day. The final inspection is your independent, on-the-record confirmation the work is safe and to code.