Drafting & permit plans · Texas
Permit sets for Houston, DFW, Austin, San Antonio — fast turnaround.
Texas runs on speed. We prepare sets for Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and the major suburbs in their preferred submittal formats, to the code edition each city has adopted.
TEXAS CODE ADOPTION
Building
IBC 2021 or 2024 by city — Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth on 2021; Austin and San Antonio on 2024
Residential
IRC 2021 or 2024 by city, on the same cycle
Energy
State minimum IECC 2015 (State Energy Conservation Office); cities adopt newer editions — Houston and San Antonio 2021, Austin 2024, while Fort Worth enforces 2015
Texas sets a statewide minimum energy code; building-code editions are adopted city by city, and many North Texas cities adopt the regional amendments NCTCOG recommends. We confirm each city’s adopted edition for every project.
CLIMATE ZONE · 1A (lower Rio Grande Valley) to 4B (Panhandle). Houston, Austin and San Antonio are 2A; Dallas and Tarrant counties are 2A on the 2021/2024 IECC map (3A on older editions); El Paso is 3B. Mostly cooling-dominated.
Editions checked October 2026 · Sources: Houston construction codes · Dallas construction codes · Fort Worth building and energy codes · San Antonio codes and ordinances · Texas SECO: state energy code
WHAT TO KNOW IN TEXAS
Houston reviews to its amended 2021 codes
Houston Permitting Center reviews to the Houston-amended 2021 codes and posts current plan-review status on a daily dashboard. We put occupancy classification and code analysis on the cover sheet.
Austin and San Antonio add site-level reviews
Austin’s Land Development Code and San Antonio’s Unified Development Code (Chapter 35) can add site-level reviews; we check the parcel against them before drafting.
The energy-code edition varies by city
Texas cities enforce anything from the 2015 to the 2024 IECC. Most TIs comply prescriptively; envelope-heavy custom homes may need a trade-off or performance calculation.
Statewide licensing for engineers and architects
Texas licenses engineers and architects statewide (Occupations Code chapters 1001 and 1051), with exemptions for homes and some smaller buildings. Outside them, a licensed engineer prepares or directly supervises the engineering and seals it, and we coordinate our drawings with theirs; a building that needs a licensed architect we refer to one.
HOW WE WORK IN TEXAS
Texas is city-by-city specific. Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth each have their own permitting center with its own submittal requirements. We file in each city’s preferred format — Houston Permitting Center’s requirements, Dallas’s DallasNow portal, Austin’s online portal, San Antonio’s UDC — so plan-check intake is clean.
For Austin and San Antonio specifically, we check the local site rules before drafting: Austin asks for an approved site plan or a site-plan exemption on a commercial building application, and San Antonio’s Unified Development Code governs zoning and overlay districts. We run the parcel report on day 1.
For DFW suburbs (Plano, Frisco, Arlington, McKinney) and the El Paso / RGV corridors, code editions vary by city, and many North Texas cities adopt NCTCOG’s recommended regional amendments. We confirm each city’s adopted edition and submittal package.
MAJOR BUILDING DEPARTMENTS
- · City of Houston
- · City of Dallas
- · City of Austin
- · City of San Antonio
- · City of Fort Worth
- · City of Plano
- · City of Frisco
- · City of El Paso
- · City of Arlington
PLAN-REVIEW TIMES
Each Texas city sets its own review times — Houston posts current plan-review status on a daily dashboard. Check current figures before you set a schedule.
Published by the departments: Houston Permitting Center dashboard
WHAT WE QUOTE IN TX
Retail and office TIs
Houston, Dallas, Austin retail and office build-outs, up to 3,000 sf with no structural change; restaurants, gyms, churches, event spaces and larger or structural spaces we refer to a registered architect. IBC chapter 3 occupancy up front.
Custom homes + ranches
Hill Country, North Dallas, Houston suburbs. Climate-zone 2A/3A envelope.
Apartment & condo units
Renovation inside one apartment or condo unit, with no wall changed. Apartment buildings and mixed-use projects we refer to a registered architect.
Send the address and the city. We will pre-clear the overlay. We reply within one business day.