How to Respond to a Portland Permit Checksheet

When Portland Permitting and Development reviews a permit and finds items that do not meet code or are missing, each review group posts a checksheet in DevHub. The permit cannot issue until every group is satisfied. The fastest path is one complete response that answers every item from every group.

What a checksheet is

Each review group, such as zoning, structural, life safety, environmental or water, writes its own checksheet. A permit with five review groups can carry five checksheets. Each one lists what the reviewer needs: a revised sheet, a calculation, a detail, a note or an answer to a question.

Before you upload anything

• Wait for every review. DevHub only lets you upload when all mandatory reviews are in Approved, Checksheet or Not Required status. If any review is still Open, it is not time to upload.

• Check DevHub yourself. The City does not send an email when a new checksheet posts. It does email you when you can upload corrections.

• Find the Review Goal Date. PortlandMaps shows the current review goal date for each group under Advanced, Permits, then your IVR number.

How to answer it

1. Open each checksheet from DevHub, Upload Corrections, and list every item in one place.

2. Sort the items by discipline: drawings, structural, energy, zoning, stormwater.

3. Revise the sheets so each item is resolved on the drawings, not only in the response.

4. Write a response that names each checksheet item and where it was resolved, by sheet and detail.

5. Upload PDFs only, under 100 MB each and oriented right side up, with a description for each document.

6. Check the acknowledgements box and submit.

The comment box under Additional Information is limited to 200 characters and is not a checksheet response. The response belongs in the documents.

What restarts the cycle

• Partial responses. The City says incomplete corrections are rejected and the review cycle starts over.

• Answers without drawings. A reply that says a change will be made, without the revised sheet, leaves the item open.

• New scope. Changes that were not asked for can trigger review by groups that had already approved.

• Bad files. Sideways pages, oversized files and non PDF files are rejected at upload.

Do not let it sit

Under the City's program for extensions and reactivations, a permit that is not yet issued and has no activity for 180 days can be marked abandoned. A checksheet left unanswered is the most common way a project drifts toward that line.

Common questions

How long do I have to answer a Portland checksheet?

The City's upload page does not set a deadline. Under its program guide, a permit that is not yet issued with no activity for 180 days can be marked abandoned, so answer as soon as every review is complete.

Can I upload corrections for one review group at a time?

DevHub uploads open when all mandatory reviews are in Approved, Checksheet or Not Required status. If you need to submit for groups already in Checksheet status, DevHub has a Request to Upload button, and a permit technician grants or denies it.

Will the City tell me when a checksheet is posted?

No. The City does not email when a new checksheet posts. It does email when you can upload corrections, so check DevHub regularly.

Why was my correction upload rejected?

The usual causes are an incomplete response, files that are not PDF, files over 100 MB, or pages that are not oriented right side up.

How SASHKOV handles it

• Reads every checksheet and builds one item list across all review groups.

• Coordinates structural, civil and energy items with the licensed consultants under one SASHKOV contract.

• Revises the set so every item is resolved on the drawings, with a response that points to sheet and detail.

• Uploads one complete response through DevHub and tracks each group to issuance.

Where a building requires a licensed architect or engineer of record, SASHKOV brings them into the contract.

Stuck in a correction cycle? See Corrections and Permit Recovery. If the permit has already gone quiet, read Expired Building Permits in Portland.

Have a checksheet open now? Send the checksheet and permit number, and SASHKOV will scope the response and the timeline in business days.