Guide · Greater Houston
City of Houston or Harris County: who reviews your plans?
A Houston mailing address does not mean the City of Houston permits your project. Inside city limits the Houston Permitting Center does; in unincorporated Harris County the County Engineer's office does, under different rules; and cities like Katy, Sugar Land and Pearland run their own departments.
Updated September 29, 2026 · Sources at the end
Start with who has jurisdiction
Before any drawing, confirm whether the address is inside a city's limits. Inside Houston, the City issues building permits. In unincorporated areas, the county handles permits. The City of Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), about five miles past the city limits, is subject to platting rules but not to the City's building permits and inspections.
Inside Houston city limits
The Houston Permitting Center reviews building plans, and a floodplain development permit is added in the 500-year floodplain. Our Houston permit guide covers what is exempt, what the City asks for and review times.
Unincorporated Harris County
Harris County requires a permit for all development in its unincorporated areas, in or out of the floodplain. It does not have a full building code there, so it usually does not need an entire set of structural and MEP drawings. What it does review:
- New homes, garages, carports, pools, driveways, fill and accessory buildings, under its residential construction permit
- A site plan that shows how the property drains
- Floodplain development permits for all work in the floodplain, with elevation certificates
- New homes in the 100-year floodplain: the lowest floor at least 24 inches above the 500-year flood elevation (regulations effective July 2019)
- Commercial buildings: fire code review under the 2021 International Fire Code, adopted January 1, 2025, with about 15 business days of plan review
- Driveways and culverts on existing sites, under a minor site development permit
How County permits work
Applications go through the County's E-Permits system. Outside the floodplain, the County does not inspect new homes, but builders file notices of the foundation, framing and final inspections. In the floodplain, a home needs an elevation certificate, an as-built certificate and a final inspection. Work in Harris County Flood Control District rights of way is reviewed by the District first.
Cities with their own permit offices
These cities review plans and issue building permits themselves, with their own amendments and schedules:
- Katy: building permits, online through its Civic Access portal
- Sugar Land: Permits and Inspections
- Pearland: Permits and Inspections Division
- League City: Building Department
- Pasadena: Permit Department
- Baytown: Planning and Development Services
- Tomball: Building Division
- Humble: Building and Inspection
- Conroe: Building Inspections and Permits
- Missouri City: Permits and Inspections Division
- Friendswood: Community Development, Inspections and Permits
On the coast: windstorm certification
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) requires windstorm inspections in its designated catastrophe area: 14 coastal counties, including Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers, Jefferson and Matagorda, and the part of Harris County east of State Highway 146 in Seabrook, La Porte, Shoreacres, Pasadena and Morgan's Point. During construction, a TDI-appointed engineer or a TDI inspector does the inspection, so the drawings must meet the windstorm requirements from the start.
HOAs and MUDs
Many subdivisions add their own review. Texas law recognizes an HOA's architectural review authority as the body that approves improvements in a subdivision, and some municipal utility districts review specific work such as pools and irrigation. Read your deed restrictions before the design is final.
Sources
- Harris County Floodplain Management Regulations (effective July 9, 2019)
- Harris County Engineering: commercial building permits
- Harris County Engineering: residential construction permits
- Harris County Engineering: tract home builders
- Harris County Engineering: floodplain management
- Harris County Fire Code amendments
- City of Houston Planning: development regulations FAQ (ETJ)
- Texas Department of Insurance: do you need a windstorm inspection?
- Texas Department of Insurance: Harris County windstorm map
- City of Sugar Land: Permits and Inspections
- City of Pearland: Permits
- City of Tomball: Building Division
Summarized from these official pages on September 29, 2026. Rules and review times change, so confirm with the office that reviews your project. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
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- ConsultA free first meeting and a site visit. We listen for what you need, your budget and your timeline.
- We design itConcept plans, elevations and renderings you can react to early, while changes are still easy.
- We engineer itStructure, MEP, site and irrigation, engineered and checked against code. When a job needs it, such as industrial or complex commercial work, we engineer it with our partners.
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Questions
My address says Houston, Cypress or Spring. Who issues my permit?
It depends on city limits, not the mailing address. Cypress and Spring are unincorporated, so Harris County handles permits there, and some Houston mailing addresses are outside the city limits too.
Does Harris County inspect new homes?
In the floodplain, yes: it requires elevation and as-built certificates and a final inspection. Outside the floodplain it does not inspect, but builders file notices of the foundation, framing and final inspections.
Who needs a windstorm certificate?
New construction in TDI's designated catastrophe area: 14 coastal counties, including Galveston and Brazoria, and parts of Harris County east of Highway 146.
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