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Service areas · Local approval pathways
Harris County contains incorporated municipalities as well as unincorporated areas. Establish the property's actual jurisdiction before choosing the permit pathway. For a county-reviewed project, connect the development scope to applicable civil, floodplain, fire, platting and closeout requirements instead of treating one permit as the entire approval process.
For owners, tenants, developers and contractors working on county-reviewed properties and related routes. A City of Houston application follows a separate pathway; county location alone does not determine the reviewer.
Request a project reviewStart with the county's current permitting resources and the actual property records.
The County's FAQ identifies development permitting in unincorporated Harris County. Verify the parcel and applicable boundaries with the responsible offices. Separate municipal review, county responsibilities and any special authority rather than inferring jurisdiction from the mailing city.
For the County's described commercial express-review pathway, its FAQ requests a dimensioned floor plan, site plan, property account information, shell permit, application and details of the operation and storage. Use this as a preparation reference and confirm which process fits your project. A change of tenant can require new permit or compliance action; do not assume the prior business's approval transfers unchanged.
Bring the survey or plat, current site and building drawings, prior permits and certificates, operating equipment, proposed changes and owner authorization. Identify missing field information, open violations or unfinished related permits that could affect the new assignment.
The relevant offices and professional inputs depend on the site and work, not just the building's use label.
Use the County's Floodplain Management guidance to identify applicable review and required elevation evidence. Ask the responsible floodplain office and qualified survey or engineering team which site information and certificates apply. Preserve the source, datum and limitations of elevation records; a map screenshot alone cannot resolve project-specific design requirements.
The County's plat-recordation guidance distinguishes properties outside municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction from those requiring municipal approval steps. Confirm the property's actual status and signature sequence before treating a draft plat as recorded. Survey and property-rights decisions remain with the responsible qualified parties.
The County's permitting contacts distinguish civil site, minor development, traffic, fire code, platting, stormwater and wastewater responsibilities. Screen the actual project with the relevant offices and identify each required drawing, application and decision owner. Do not require every listed discipline by default or omit one because the floor plan is small.
Put inspection and related-permit closure on the project register before the intended opening date approaches.
County commercial compliance guidance connects the certificate to completed inspections, resolution of open violations and closure of related permits. Identify the applicable Fire Marshal and other inspection responsibilities and track the current evidence for each required item.
The County identifies related civil site, right-of-way, stormwater-quality and sign permits among possible closure dependencies. Confirm which apply to the actual project. A finished interior can still have an unresolved site or permit condition that prevents final compliance.
Use the County's current electronic certificate-request instructions and keep one request record for the project instead of creating duplicates. Retain the issued certificate, controlling drawings and remaining owner obligations in the handover package. A request submission is not confirmation that a certificate has been issued.
True North can organize the agreed drawings, applications, comment responses and closeout records. The proposal identifies professional design duties, owner decisions, authority reviews and partner construction separately. Existing records, specialist findings, scope changes and review dependencies determine effort and timing; no universal county permit date is promised.
Before you begin
No. Establish municipal, unincorporated and other applicable jurisdiction first. The described county pathways must be confirmed for the actual parcel and work; a separate City of Houston page covers useful City starting points.
Do not assume it transfers to a new operation. The County's FAQ describes permit and compliance requirements for tenant changes and possible qualifying exceptions. Share the proposed use and prior records with the responsible office to establish the correct path.
Applicable inspections, open violations and related site or other permit closures can remain unresolved. Keep these dependencies visible alongside the building work and confirm each required release before requesting final compliance.
Source check ·
Use the linked authority’s current instructions for your actual property, use and work. Agency procedures can change; a source check is not a project approval.
Unincorporated development, commercial preparation and tenant-change distinctions.
Floodplain review starting point; confirm the relevant project-specific evidence with the office.
Municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction and recordation distinctions.
Scope-specific permitting and civil-review offices.
Inspections, violations and related-permit completion dependencies.
Current electronic request pathway and duplicate-request guidance.
Your next step
Start with what you know. We’ll help define the path ahead.