Licenses and permits in Oregon

The Corporation Division filing is not a license to do the work. What you need depends on the activity and the city. Start with the state license directory, then the city or county, then the agency that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in Oregon

• No general statewide business license. Oregon does not have a general business license.¹
• Contractors are licensed by the Construction Contractors Board, and the initial license is $400² for two years.
• Some home food needs no ODA license. The exemption has a sales cap and a list of places you cannot sell to.
• Alcohol licenses are online only. You do not pay the fee when you apply.

Do this

1. Start with the license directory. It is a searchable directory of over 1,100 licenses, permits, and certifications. A city or county may require its own license. The Secretary of State names Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Medford as examples and tells you to check the city if you are inside city limits. The page lists a Portland bureau phone, 503-823-5157¹, and phones for Salem, Eugene, and Medford. The city sets its own fee. This page does not state those local fees.* Ask the city before you pay anyone who offers a “state business license.”
2. Get a contractor license if the work is construction for pay. Anyone who works for pay on construction that improves real property generally needs a license. The board’s examples include roofing, painting, plumbing, electrical, and handyman work. Gutter cleaning, power washing to clean, and debris cleanup are examples the board says do not need a license. You must be at least 18, complete 16 hours of pre-license training, and pass the exam. The exam is $60, paid to the exam provider. The application fee is $400 for a two-year license. Renewal is $400² every two years. The right endorsement depends on residential or commercial work, and on the bond and insurance for that endorsement. The bond amount for each endorsement is on the endorsement chart the license page links. Read it before you apply. A contractor licensed as commercial must carry workers' compensation insurance even with no employees.³ A residential contractor with no employees may be exempt. Stay compliant has the general employer rule.
3. Selling food from home? Read the cottage food exemption that the licensing page links to. It allows certain foods from a home kitchen, sold to consumers in person or online, and wholesale to grocers and other businesses, without a food-establishment license or an ODA inspection. The foods the licensing page names are baked goods, confectionery, and other food that is not time or temperature controlled for safety, if you qualify. The exemption PDF lists the allowed products and the label rules. Contact your local ODA food safety inspector to confirm you qualify.⁴ Annual sales must stay at or under $52,700. You cannot sell to an institution, including a restaurant licensed by a county health department, a caterer, a school, a day care, a hospital, a nursing home, or a correctional facility. The Department of Agriculture does not license restaurants. A unique identification number, if you want one on the label instead of an address, is $25⁵ a year. The label still has to say the food is homemade.
4. Selling alcohol? The OLCC questions page says OLCC no longer takes paper applications for annual licenses or special events. Apply online. Before you apply, submit at least sections 1 and 2 of the local government recommendation form to your city or county. Upload its response with your OLCC application. Do not pay the license fee when you apply. OLCC collects it if it issues a temporary letter of authority or the final license. The fee depends on the license. The OLCC fee list has each one. Use the license that matches what you will sell, and check that fee before you pay. A temporary letter of authority, if you get one, is not the license. Only one may be issued, it cannot exceed 180⁶ days, and it cannot be extended.
5. A licensed profession is a separate step from the company filing. The articles can name a professional service. That line is not the license. Register your business has the liability rule. The license comes from the board for that work. Start with the license directory to find the board.
6. Ordinary sales do not need a sales-tax permit. Oregon has no general sales tax. The Corporate Activity Tax and employer accounts are on Get your tax IDs.

What you get back

A local license where the city or county requires one, a state contractor or professional license if the work needs it, a food exemption or an inspection, and an alcohol license if you sell alcohol. Each one has its own renewal. Write the date down.