PortlandOnline

POL Government Bureaus & Offices Management & Finance Bureaus Revenue Bureau Taxes & Fees Business Licenses Program
Business Licenses
License & Tax Forms
Applications, Renewals, etc
Business License and Tax Codes & Policies
For the City of Portland and Multnomah County
New Business License Lists
Monthly list of new businesses license applicants
FAQ's - Available in Six Languages!
General Information
New Business Welcome Kit
Information for new businesses
Contact Us

On the Web:

www.portlandonline.com/revenue

Hours:

Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm  

(closed most holidays)  

Address:

111 SW Columbia St, Suite 600

Portland OR 97201

Phone: 

General Line: (503) 823-5157

Directory by Service

Directory by Staff

FAX: 

(503) 823-5192

Twitter:

About City of Portland
& Multnomah County
Business Licenses & Taxes

The City of Portland began requiring a business license in 1854. Over the years, the City of Portland Business License has been required for regulatory and revenue purposes. Today, Portland's Business License is for revenue purposes for the General Fund. The General Fund finances Police, Fire, some Parks programs, and general government functions. Business License revenue is the second largest source of revenues for Portland's General Fund needs.

 

Within 60 days of the start of business activity in the City of Portland OR Multnomah County you are required to submit a Registration Form (Form REG). No payment is due with this form.

 

There are certain exemptions to operating a business without a business license, however exempt businesses must submit a request for exemption.

 

Need additional help?  If you have questions you can't find the answer to in this site, don't forget that you can always email or call us (503) 823-5157.

 

The Portland Development Commission also provides a comprehensive handbook in PDF format that can answer many general questions about starting a business in Portland.


PDF Information
Some of the links on this page are to PDF documents. To open PDF files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, it is available for free from Adobe.com.
Download Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader
Bureau Staff At Work
Bureau staff at work
FAQs in many languages
Chinese (Traditional) FAQ - Currently Undergoing Revision
English FAQ
Japanese FAQ - Currently Undergoing Revision
Korean FAQ - Currently Undergoing Revision
Russian FAQ - Currently Undergoing Revision
Spanish FAQ
Questions & Comments
If you have any questions or comments, please contact our site administrator.