Houston building department

Houston Public Works’ Building Code Enforcement branch issues building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits, reviews plans, and inspects construction inside the City of Houston. Fire permits, commercial licenses, and food dealer permits are also issued at the Houston Permitting Center on Washington Avenue. Many addresses with a Houston mailing address are actually in unincorporated Harris County or one of the separate cities in the region, and those places issue their own permits. Confirm that a property is inside Houston city limits before you apply.

Houston has no zoning

The City’s Planning & Development Department says plainly that “the City of Houston does not have zoning.” Development is governed instead by ordinances on how land is subdivided, and those ordinances do not regulate land use. In practice, these rules shape what you can build:

• Chapter 42 (subdivisions and platting): Plats are reviewed for adequate streets, rights-of-way, and building lines (setbacks). Development site plans must also meet parking, tree and shrub, setback, and access requirements. The Planning Department publishes guidance on minimum lot size and minimum building lines, and plats are submitted through its Plat Tracker site.
• Deed restrictions: Applicants can document compliance with recorded deed restrictions on the City’s Deed Restriction Compliance Affidavit form.
• Historic districts: Chapter 33 governs work in historic districts, which goes through the Houston historic commission (HAHC) and the Houston Office of Preservation.

Planning & Development is at 611 Walker, Sixth Floor, (832) 393-6600, [email protected].

Applying through the Houston Permit Portal

The Houston Permit Portal at permits.houstontx.gov is available 24/7. You can apply for and print permits, pay fees, request inspection dates, track a permit from submission to issuance, and search permits issued in the past three years. Only certain trade permits can be applied for entirely online.

Portal accounts are not self-service. You request registration through the City department that issues your permit, using that department’s Contact Us page.

The City’s business permitting guide advises applicants to:

• learn the document requirements before submitting
• get approvals in the right order when several agencies are involved (for example fire, public works, utilities, or planning)
• apply well before the planned start date

Fees (City-wide fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026)

Houston publishes all City fees in its online City-Wide Fee Schedule. Most 2026 amounts reflect Consumer Price Index adjustments. Building Code Enforcement entries include:

Fee	Amount
Minimum permit fee, all permits except plumbing (Building Code Sec. 118.1.3)	$91.06
Permit or license administrative fee	$33.56
Re-inspection fee, per inspection (Building Code Sec. 118.1.5)	$94.00
Emergency inspection, up to 4 hours	$201.41
Fire sprinkler system, 1–25 heads	$97.56
Hazardous occupancy review and inspection	$455.28
City Engineer plan review, administrative fee at submittal	$134.28
City Engineer plan review, per sheet for each review or revision	$96.67

Residential pools and spas also need a separate $94.00 plan review from the Houston Health Department. Administrative charges under City Code Section 1-14 apply to most fees unless a fee is exempt. For how valuation-based fees generally work, see building permit cost.

Inspections and certificates of occupancy

Under the Houston building code, all work that needs a permit is subject to inspection by the building official. Request inspection dates and view inspection history in the Houston Permit Portal. The fee schedule’s re-inspection charge applies each time an inspection has to be repeated.

A commercial building or lease space needs a Certificate of Occupancy before it is occupied. If a business does not get a CO within 10 days of being notified, the City’s guidance warns it can be cited daily. A change in occupancy classification can trigger additional review. See certificate of occupancy for how COs work in general.

Contact

• Houston Permitting Center: 1002 Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77002. Customer line (832) 394-9000.
• City Hall: 901 Bagby, Houston, TX 77002
• Planning & Development: 611 Walker, 6th Floor, (832) 393-6600