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Texas building permits

Adopted codes, fees, and permit requirements for every covered Texas city — browse by county, sourced from official records.

CountyCities

Bexar County1 city covered
Dallas County1 city covered
El Paso County1 city covered
Harris County1 city covered
Tarrant County1 city covered
Travis County1 city covered

Texas building permits issuedNew privately-owned residential construction activity by city — U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, data through 2026-08 Growth & permit costs for TexasHow residential permit fees vary across growing cities Download the 2026 Texas Permit Requirements GuideFree PDF covering Texas’s most active building jurisdictions — share it with your association or crew.

Do I need a permit? — Texas guides

Window ReplacementUsually no — but yes if you change the size of the opening.
FenceSometimes — many fences need only zoning/setback approval; a building permit kicks in mainly for fences over 7 feet or with structural elements.
DeckYes — unless it's a small ground-level platform under 200 sq ft.
Water HeaterYes — even for a like-for-like replacement.
Basement FinishYes — any framing, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work requires a permit.
Solar PanelsYes — both a building and electrical permit are required.
Roof ReplacementYes — all roof replacements and re-roofing projects require a permit.
Hot TubYes — at minimum an electrical permit for the 240V circuit.
ShedUnder 200 sq ft and under 10 feet tall? Usually no. Bigger? Yes.
Furnace ReplacementYes — even a like-for-like furnace swap requires a mechanical permit.
EV ChargerLevel 2 (240V) chargers yes. Level 1 (120V plug-in) no.
Patio Cover / PergolaSolid roof covers yes. Open-lattice pergolas may be exempt.
Home BusinessYes — most cities require a home occupation permit.
ADU / In-Law SuiteOften yes — many states now require cities to allow at least internal ADUs.
Concrete / DrivewayOnly if it connects to the street, modifies drainage, or is a structural element.
Commercial Tenant ImprovementAlmost always yes — a commercial tenant improvement needs a building permit, usually with electrical, mechanical, and fire permits alongside it.
Texas PermitsInside a city, almost certainly — and Texas is not a no-statewide-code state: the International Residential Code as it stood on 1 May 2012 is adopted as a municipal residential building code statewide. Outside city limits the answer is usually no, because the county rule only reaches unincorporated land in counties that have adopted it by resolution or order.

Permit types across Texas

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Compare a permit type’s fees across every Texas city we cover.