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ADU Designs

Certified House Plans in Portland – City of Portland, Oregon

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The City of Portland offers an option to expedite the review and approval for new Single-Family construction and new detached Accessory Dwelling Unit construction through a process called Certified House Plans (CHP). Certified House Plans (CHP) are designs pre-approved by the City of Portland for building code compliance to construct homes and ADUs that are identical in design, and construction materials.  Certified House Plans offer more predictability and some cost savings in the permit review process.

Learn about the benefits of certified house plans and how to apply.

Benefits of Certified House Plans – Using Pre-Approved Plans

Cost-efficiency 

Certified House Plans can help save on design and engineering costs as they eliminate the need to create custom blueprints for each new home or ADU. After the initial establishment of the CHP, the subsequent review fees for building code review will be billed at a reduction of 50 percent.

Expedited permit issuance 

By opting for Certified House Plans, when you are ready to apply for a building permit, your plans have already undergone building code review. This reduces the number of reviews needed for each build.

Cost-efficiency 

Certified plans can help save on design and engineering costs as they eliminate the need to create custom blueprints for each new home. 

Building Code Consistency

The standardized nature of CHP ensures building code consistency across multiple builds. This consistency can lead to more predictable outcomes in terms of construction timelines and finished builds.

First, establish your plans as Certified House Plans 

  • Submit a complete set of construction drawings via DevHub Plans may apply either a prescriptive or engineered lateral design.
  • Follow the submittal process for New Construction.
  • Application should clearly state that it is for a Certified House Plan review.
  • The Permitting Services Technician will review the submittal and set up the plan for review.
  • Intake fees will be emailed for payment.
  • Once the full review fees are paid for Building Plan review/processing and Land Use Plan review, the CHP application will go under review. 
  • The Life Safety and Structural reviewer will review the structure for development on multiple sites. Once the plan is approved through this process, changes cannot be made for individual sites. When changes are needed on the pre-approved plan, the plan must be used for permit issuance unchanged, and changes proposed through a permit revision.
  • The Planning and Zoning reviewer will review the structure for limited standards that do not change from lot to lot (e.g. building coverage and street-facing windows). Because many of the zoning standards are zone- and lot-specific, the plans are not pre-approved for all zoning standards and full Land Use Plan review fees apply.
  • Review time follows normal schedule for RS new construction permit submittals (15 working days).
  • Change marks will need to be incorporated to result in a clean set of approved plans.
  • Once a CHP has been approved, the folder status will be changed to “issued.” This plan can now be used for a New Single-Family Residence (NSFR) or Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). 

Once Established as a Certified House Plan (CHP) 

Once the design has been designated as a CHP, a building permit application can be submitted to use the CHP on a specific property. With each submittal, the building code review fees will be billed at a reduction of 50 percent. 

  1. Applicant: The applicant must be the same company that applied to establish the CHP.
  2. Prepare application materials: Gather all the required design plans and all submittal requirements for New Single-Family Residence (NSFR) or ADU
  3. Building permit description: The scope of work should state, Pre-approved Certified House Plan/CHP permit number ##-######-RS
  4. Submit your application: Use our online permitting portal, DevHub.
This image is a screen shot of DevHub PDX that shows where to submit Certified House Plans.

5. Review Process: We will review the submitted plans. Please respond to any feedback we ask for in the form of Checksheets. If the plans meet all criteria, they will be approved. Changes to the structure cannot be made during the initial permit review and issuance for the project to remain in the CHP program. If changes are needed, they may be proposed through a permit revision after the permit with the pre-approved plan is issued.

Questions about Certified House Plans? 

For general questions, call our General Inquiries phone number at 503-823-7300. 

For specific questions about your project, schedule a 15-Minute Appointment with a Permit Technician. 

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