The Oregon License Directory is the official State of Oregon website that provides a single information source for Oregon licenses, certifications, permits, and registrations (all referred to as licenses). Information on all known state licenses is available on this site, as well as links to license holder lookups (when available) and federal license summary information with links. In December 2005, cities, counties and regional jurisdictions began entering license information. Please be patient: Adding these additional licenses may take years, and your jurisdiction may not be participating yet.
There are 1,171 entries by 103 agencies
in our system with the most recent update on 5/6/2009.
USING THE OREGON LICENSE DIRECTORY
Welcome to the Oregon License Database, the nation's most comprehensive directory of state licenses and now in our test phase with some Oregon county and city licenses. We use the term licenses to include licenses, permits, registrations, certificates, authorizations, and charters issued by Oregon state government agencies as well as those of participating Oregon county and city jurisdictions.
The site is optimized for 800 x 600 screen resolution using Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. In the License Database, you can
Find your business or consumer licensing needs.
Determine your eligibility and how to register.
Download forms and instructions.
Find fees, relevant laws, and other requirements.
Search for license holders.
Find the agency to contact for more details.
Apply or renew online.
Find help for starting or expanding a business.
The State of Oregon and Governor Ted Kulongoski want to foster a positive business climate balanced by an effective regulatory presence. The governor's regulatory streamlining initiative is working toward this goal. The license database is a part of this initiative, making it easy for businesses and professionals to find, understand, and comply with licensing requirements and helping to ensure that citizens are being served by entities and individuals that are properly licensed.
Searching For A License
To find information about a particular license, locate the license in the database. Search by words, browse by categories or agencies, or use the popular license list to find a license. The word search on the Welcome page can perform a search for just the State licenses or search all licenses (State, County and City).
Search By Words
Enter a word, words, or partial word related to the license type in the search box. The search engine looks for the word(s) in the license name (title) and/or license description for all licenses. The search will return all licenses where the word(s) in its title and/or description match the word(s) entered. For example, "boiler" will include "boilermaker" and "national" will include "international". The results are displayed in alphabetic lists (by license name) that are grouped first by City/County/State and then by where the word(s) are found. Those licenses where the search word(s) are located in the license title as an exact phrase match will be in the first subgroup; licenses with the search word(s) found in the title, in any word order, are in the second subgroup; and licenses with the search word(s) found, in any word order, in the description are in the final subgroup. Entering more than one word will return a shorter list of licenses than a single word, because the search will be more limited. If you enter more than one word, all words must be in either the license title or description. The search engine looks for exact matches with the word(s) that are entered so it is critical that words are spelled correctly. Some characters such as apostrophes, dashes and periods are ignored in the search. If there are no matches found for all your searched words, then you have an option to do an "OR" search which looks for matches with any of the searched words in the title or description.
You do not need to enter the words "certificate", "license", "permit", "registration" or variations of these words (i.e. licensing, licensed, licenses) as part of your search. These words, and a small group of unsearchable words (such as; "index", "state", "and", and "the") occur too often to be useful in finding a specific license. Similarly, single letters or words with only two characters in them are not used in the search. If you do a word search that only uses unsearchable words, then the result of the search action is to give you a new screen showing these words with a line through them. To continue with your search, click on the 'Search again' link and key in your new search words. If you do not find the license you seek, try another word. For example, if "angling" did not work for you, try "fishing." If you enter two or more words and do not find the license, try entering only one of the words. If you cannot find the license with the word search, try to browse by agency, browse by category, or use the popular licenses list.
Do not enter license holder names or license holder numbers or form numbers in the search by words box. If you are looking for a license holder, first find the license using the word, category, agency, or popular license search, then follow instructions on the search results page (see "Search results page" for more details). If you need an application form look in the detailed information for the license (see "How to find application forms" for more details).
Word Search for Licenses by Zip, City or County
First click on the "Search for participating City or County licenses information" icon on the Welcome page. This will bring up the Search for Licenses by Zip Code, City or County word search page. You have a choice of four ways to search (Word(s) & All licenses, Word(s) & Zip Code, Word(s) & City, or Word(s) & County). Enter a word, words, or partial word related to the license you seek and then click the radio button for the type of search you want to run. Enter a zip code or select a city or county for the latter three options.
Browse by category
First click on the "Browse by participating Agency or Category for license information" icon on the Welcome page. You will find a list of 14 categories: agriculture, business, charitable, education, environment, financial, food/beverage, health/medical, professional/occupational, recreation, safety, structures/equipment, vehicles/drivers, and other. Select the most relevant category for the license you seek. For example, the agriculture category includes licenses for agribusiness, farming, ranching, agriculture equipment, agriculture chemicals, commercial fishing, nurseries, and landscaping. You can find the definitions for each category under the category HELP button. If you cannot find the license in one category, try another category or search by words, browse by agency, or use the popular licenses list.
Browse by agency
First click on the "Browse by participating Agency or Category for license information" icon on the Welcome page. You will find a tree structured list of state agencies, federal summary pages, and participating cities, counties, and special districts in the "Browse By Participating Agency" box. Select the state agency, city, county, special district, or federal summary page that issues the license you seek. Some agencies have only one level in the tree structure while others can have up to three levels. [For example, the DCBS Building Codes Division issues licenses for electricians. To look up data on an electrician license you would first find "Consumer & Business Services Department (DCBS)", then the next level in you would find "Building Codes Division (BCD)" and under the third level in you would find "Electrical Licenses". Click on "Electrical Licenses" and you will be shown a list of all the Electrical program licenses.] The resultant agency list of licenses gives the title of each license followed by a row of action icons. If you cannot find the license you are interested in under one agency heading, try another agency, or search by words, browse by category, or use the popular licenses list.
Popular licenses
You can quickly find many licenses by using the popular licenses list on the Welcome page. This list includes licenses that get over 50 percent of web page hits by customers. When you select a popular license, you will see a search results page that includes one or more licenses (see Search results page" ). We have grouped licenses under the Popular Licenses that are most relevant to the popular license title. For example, the Hunting popular licenses include all of the various hunting licenses as well as the tags and stamps required for specific types of hunting. If you cannot find the license under the popular license heading, try to search by words, or browse by category or agency.
The Search Result Page
There are two types of search results pages. One is for the search by words, categories, or popular licenses. The other is for the browse by agencies.
Results for search by words, categories, or popular licenses When you search by words, categories, or popular licenses, you get back a search results page of licenses. From the search results page, you have the option to view any of the city, county, or state licenses that matched your search selection. The search results page shows the count of licenses that resulted from your search, the license/permit name, and the description for all licenses found. The search results page is sorted into groups first by city, county, and state then subgroups determined by where the searched words were found (exact phrase match title only, all words in the title, all words in the description). Within each group the licenses are sorted alphabetically. If the full list is overly long, the license list is grouped by city, county, and state licenses. Each group of licenses is accessed by clicking on the city, county, or the state tab. For the city and county tabs, if the number of license is too large, then the data display is vertically collapsed with only the city/county names and the number of licenses found in each jurisdiction. Click on the city or county heading of interest and the data for that jurisdiction will expand so that you can see the license titles and descriptions. If no license is found with all the words of your search, then you have the option to do an "OR" search for any of the searched words found in the title or description. To do an "OR" search just click on the "Click here to run your "OR" search" link near the bottom of the yellow box.
Two icons appear below each license/permit name on the results page. When you click on the upper icon, you get a page with detailed license information including description, applicable laws and regulations, duration, fees, agency contacts, and, in most cases, information such as requirements, forms, exams, prerequisites, how to renew, how to obtain a duplicate license, and counts of license holders. The lower icon is one of the following. Clicking on , takes you to an agency license holder search page. Follow instructions on the page. If a license holder search is not available you will see the icon. Clicking on this icon will provide agency contact information so that you can contact the agency to get the license holder information you need.
Results for browse by agencies When you browse by agencies, you get back a search results page of licenses with action icons. From the search results page, you have the option to view any of the licenses that matched your search selection. The search results page shows the count of licenses that resulted from your search, the license titles (sorted alphabetically), each followed by a row of action icons for that license. At the top of the search page is a legend showing what action is produced by clicking on each icon.
How to find license holders
To find a license holder through the License Directory you first have to find the correct license holder database. The State does not have a single database with ALL license holders in it, but each agency keeps track of it's own licenses and therefore has it's own license holder database. The License Directory is designed to help people find the information they need to get a license. A secondary function is to help people find the correct license holder database to lookup their license holder of interest.
To help you find a license holder there are three (3) search tools available. Two search tools are in the "Links to License Holder Search Pages" box which shows a directory tree structure and includes only license areas or types with online database searches or lists. These two search tools are the "Most Popular License Holder Search Links" and the "All License Holder Search Links". The third search tool is in the "Find State Licensing Information" box, which uses a word search to find the specific license that may link to a license holder search or agency contact information. You can also use the Agency or Category browse feature to find the specific license.
Most Popular License Holder Search Links This is the easiest tool to use. Just look through the alphabetic list of license areas (each links you to a search database for that area) and click on the license area you want to find a license holder in. Now follow the directions of the search database you have linked to and find the license holder information you need.
All License Holder Search Links First find the specific license by expanding the "All License Holder Search Links" and search for the license type in the displayed alphabetic list. Next click on the license type, which takes you to the license holder database or the list that has the license holder information for that license type. Now follow the directions of the search database you have linked to and find the license holder information you need.
Word Search/Category or Agency Browse First find the specific license by searching using words, categories, agencies, or popular licenses. When you find the license type, you can then click on the icon which takes you to the online license holder search. Please follow instructions on the agency license search page. If an online license holder search is not avaliable you will see the icon. Clicking on this icon will show you agency contact information. Please contact the agency to learn the license holder information you need.
If you want to find a copy of a license related form, such as the application or renewal form, there are two ways to find them. One method is for the search by words, categories, or popular licenses. The other method is for the browse by agencies.
Method when using search by words, categories, or popular licenses You must first find the license by searching using the words, categories, or popular licenses searches. Once you find the license that you seek on the search results page, click on (under the license/permit name), to go to the detailed information page. The license related forms are included in the detailed information under the Service Links section. Some forms are online (fill out and submit online), some are downloadable (fill out and print or print and then fill out), and some are not available either online or as a download. For those not available, please contact the agency to obtain the desired form(s).
Method when using browse by agencies Find the agency that has the license you are interested in the tree structure and click on it. This brings up the list of all that agencies licenses showing the license title and a row of icons. The icons will show you which forms are available over the computer and whether they are an online or a downloadable form. Click on the icon for the form you want in the row with the license title you are interested in. For those forms not available over the internet you will have to contact the agency. You will find agency contact information by clicking the 'Phone' icon.
Can't find the license you seek?
If you cannot find the license you are seeking, please
For additional information on starting a business, please try the Business Wizard and the Starting a Business Steps at the Business Referral Center Contact us about the site: Department of Consumer and Business Services PO Box 14480 Salem, OR 97309-0405 E-mail: Regulatory Streamlining
Printing problems?
Some customers experience a printing problem where the far right text on a page is not printed (cut-off). If you do run into this problem, there are two things that you can do to resolve it. Both solutions involve 'Page Setup' in the file menu of your browser.
Set your left and right margins out as far as they can go (depending on the printer this should be between 0.2" to 0.5").
Change the paper orientation to Landscape.
One or both of these solutions should resolve the printing issue.
Other resources
These are other useful links related to licenses and permits.
Business (starting or expanding) - help for starting or growing a business, business name search, business guide, business registry, forms, business wizard, and other business information.
Drivers and motor vehicles (DMV) - driver licensing, vehicle registration, parking permits, accident reporting, and office locations.
Employment information - jobs, employer services, job market information, unemployment, and other labor information.
Environmental quality - air, land, and water quality and vehicle inspections.
Economic development - help for businesses such as financial assistance, site location, job expansion or relocation.
Labor and wage information - help for workers and employers such as wage and hour regulations, civil rights, discrimination, and apprenticeship programs.
Occupational safety and health - job safety enforcement, consulting, and training.
Regulatory streamlining - learn about Governor Kulongoski's efforts to make business regulations simpler, compliance less expensive, and the whole system more efficient without decreasing protection to Oregonians.
Small business development centers - business consulting, tools, workshops and resources.
Tax information - personal and business tax assistance.
Workers' compensation - help for workers injured on the job and for employers who are required to have insurance.
Applications/renewals online
On the Welcome page, you can find a list of the most popular licenses that can be applied for and/or renewed online.
Comments
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icon, you get a page with detailed license information including description, applicable laws and regulations, duration, fees, agency contacts, and, in most cases, information such as requirements, forms, exams, prerequisites, how to renew, how to obtain a duplicate license, and counts of license holders. The lower icon is one of the following. Clicking on 
, takes you to an agency license holder search page. Follow instructions on the page. If a license holder search is not available you will see the 
icon. Clicking on this icon will provide agency contact information so that you can contact the agency to get the license holder information you need.
