Bounce house rules in Oregon: permits, inspection, and insurance
State-regulated. The code adopts the ASTM inflatables standard by name.
Informational only. Informational only, not legal advice. Amusement-device rules change between legislative sessions, and several of the entries here record changes made in the last three years. The binding authority is the agency named on this page. Confirm the current rule with them before you set up.
Reviewed August 2026
Binding authority: the Building Codes Division
Who regulates inflatables in Oregon
Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Building Codes Division
Permit or registration
Yes. An annual operating permit, renewed yearly. The permit application must be accompanied by an inspection report and proof of insurance, and the inspection must have been performed within 90 days of the application.
Inspection
All amusement rides and devices must be inspected before the operating permit is issued or renewed, and defects dangerous to health or safety must be corrected before the inspector issues a report. Inspections are performed by qualified inspectors acting on behalf of the insurance companies that cover the rides. Each ride must also be given a daily operating inspection by the ride operator before any passenger is permitted to ride.
Insurance required by the state
Yes. Coverage in an amount not less than $1 million per occurrence and an aggregate total of not less than $2 million, protecting the public and all persons riding or otherwise in contact with the ride or device, from an Oregon-authorized insurer or an eligible surplus lines insurer.
Operator requirements
The ride operator performs the daily operating inspection.
We could not confirm whether a separate attendant standard applies. Ask the Building Codes Division.
What an operator should know
Oregon does not use the word "inflatable" in its definitions section, but the specialty code adopts the ASTM standard practice for the design, manufacture, operation and maintenance of inflatable amusement devices, which is only meaningful if inflatables are in scope. The scope exclusions cover games, concessions, pony rides and small coin-operated devices, and not inflatables. The distinctive feature is the insurer-driven inspection model: in Oregon your insurance company effectively supplies the inspector, which means the underwriting conversation and the compliance conversation are the same conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Does Oregon require a permit for inflatables?
Yes. An annual operating permit, renewed yearly, with an inspection report and proof of insurance attached, and the inspection must be within 90 days of the application.
Who inspects inflatables in Oregon?
Qualified inspectors acting on behalf of the insurance companies that cover the rides. Your insurer effectively supplies the inspector, which is unusual.
How much insurance does Oregon require?
Not less than $1 million per occurrence and an aggregate total of not less than $2 million, from an Oregon-authorized insurer or an eligible surplus lines insurer.
Does Oregon require a daily check?
Yes. Each ride must be given a daily operating inspection by the ride operator before any passenger is permitted to ride.
Sources
Every claim above traces to one of these. Where a source is marked as one we could not open, nothing on this page rests on it: it is listed so you can try it yourself.
What to do with this
Knowing the rule is the first half. These four pages are the second half: registering the business, buying the coverage the rule assumes you carry, running a setup that would survive an inspection, and putting the terms in writing before a unit leaves the truck.
Keep the paperwork with the unit
Permits, inspection dates and certificates belong next to the unit they cover, not in a folder. BounceDay keeps each unit’s record with its bookings, so the certificate a venue asks for is one tap away on the delivery. Your checklists are your own templates; the safety standards in them are yours, not ours.
Rules change between sessions. Confirm the current position with the Building Codes Division before you set up.