Austin building permit search: how to look up permits on an address

Where Austin permits live

AB+C covers permits and case history; the City's AB+C Manual explains how to navigate public search. The open data file is the better tool for a bulk question, such as every permit on a street, because it downloads as a table.

The City's pages do not describe a search by contractor name in AB+C. In the open data file each permit carries the contractor's company name, and our compare pages group the whole file by firm.

How to look up the permits on an Austin address

1. Open abc.austintexas.gov and choose Public Search. No account is needed.
2. Search by the address or by the permit or case number on your paperwork.
3. Open each permit on the property. A remodel usually has a building permit plus separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits.
4. Check the status of each one, and the inspection history if the job is recent.
5. For a list you can sort, filter Issued Construction Permits by the street address.

How to read Austin permit statuses

In the City's Issued Construction Permits file, the current status is one field. These are the values that matter for a homeowner:

We count a permit as finished when its status is Final, and we use the City's completion date to time it. Completion rates use permits a year or more old, so a job still under way does not count against a firm (Austin about page, methodology).

When the permit you want is not online

Older Austin files are kept off site. The City's Records and Research page says "Physical records are not stored on-site": you search AB+C and open data first, then file a public information request through the City's Public Records Center or by email to public.information@austintexas.gov. You then get an emailed invoice for the cost of retrieving the archived records, and the records are sent after payment. In-person viewing is by appointment at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive (read 23 October 2026).

What our Austin file adds

AB+C answers "what was permitted at this address". We answer "what does this firm's Austin record look like".

7,594 firms pulled the 87,588 permits. "Finished" is the share of permits a year or more old that reached Final.

The Austin permit statistics page has the same file by trade, year and month; the firm lists are on the electrical, plumbing and remodel compare pages. To check the licence behind a name on a permit, use the Austin contractor license lookup; to check whether your job needs a permit at all, see Do I need a permit?.

See every Austin remodeler by finished permits →

What this does not tell you

Our Austin pages cover residential permits issued from October 2023 to September 2026. A Final status says the City passed the work, not what it cost or whether you were happy with it.