‘Red-tape cuts’: Morrisey announces ‘One Stop Shop’ online portal to speed up permitting process

Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s push to cut red-tape in an effort to boost business growth took a step forward Wednesday with the official launch of a new online permitting tool.

The One Stop Shop Permitting Portal allows businesses to apply for permits, pay fees and track applications through a single account. It handles 330 different types of permit types used by 13 state agencies. 

The portal can reduce the processing deadline for oversized hauling permits from five to two days and timber license renewals from 14 calendar days to seven business days.

“We have to cut red tape faster than any state around us,” said Gov. Patrick Morrisey at the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on Wednesday.

“I know when I talk to companies trying to convince them to come to West Virginia, I could say, ‘What if we could get you up and running three months earlier, six months earlier? How valuable is that?’ And they all say, ‘Sign me up.’ That’s a selling point that’s very, very significant,” he said. 

A 2025 piece of legislation, requested by Morrisey, required the state Department of Administration to establish a public permitting dashboard for multiple state agencies. 

The portal had a soft opening on Oct. 1, three months ahead of the Jan. 1, 2027, deadline in the legislation. 

“As of yesterday, we’re at 8,001 permits with 15 that have gone through this new system with 1,536 new users,” said Eric Householder, cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Administration.

Chad Shamblin, general manager of All Crane and Equipment Rental in Hurricane, said using the new portal reduced his permit application time from a couple of days to three minutes.

“This portal will make our permit application more speedy, efficient and allow us to spend more time dealing with our customers,” Shamblin said.

Jason Pizatella, chief executive officer of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, called it a “game changer for the industry.”

“The quicker we get a permit approved, it means we can get shovels in the ground and we can work faster,” he said. 

The governor said that the expedited process will follow state law and extra resources will go to compliance since they’re accelerating approval times. 

If a state agency misses its processing deadline on a completed application submitted through the portal, the agency is required to refund the applicant’s permit fees. 

“There’s going to be accountability too,” Morrisey said. 

Lawmakers budgeted $5 million for the portal, and the state worked with IT consulting company Delasoft in creating the online portal.

“Their total contract is $655,000,” Householder said.

Use of the portal remains optional until July 1, 2027, allowing businesses to continue using paper applications or existing agency systems without penalty.

Businesses and individuals can access the portal at SpeedToBuild.wv.gov. Questions about individual permits should be directed to the issuing agency through the portal’s resource guide.

According to Morrisey, his administration has announced $96 billion in private-sector investment since last fall, with more than 19,000 projected jobs.