The steps, from the City's pages
- Check the lot first. Search the property's permit history in AB+C Public Search and file an Acknowledgment of Expired Permits if old ones are open (Residential Plan Review, read 23 October 2026). A Preliminary Plan Review meeting is available before you submit.
- Submit through the City's New Construction or Addition web form. Plans follow the Building Criteria Manual; a lot under Subchapter F may need a setback-plane compliance plan or exhibits sealed by a Texas-registered professional.
- Pay the review invoice. Review starts when it is paid.
- Answer the Master Comment Report with a formal update; updates have a 7-business-day target.
- Activate the permits and schedule inspections. The trade permits are issued with the building permit after approval.
Review targets from 1 July 2026: 10 business days for new construction and additions, 5 for a volume-builder participant with an approved master set (back to 10 when a tree or fire review is required). Austin Energy said it would stop requiring the Building Service Planning Application for residential permits from October 2026.
Who can pull it
"In Texas, anyone can be a General Contractor, including homeowners, and a state license is not required" (Contractor Registration). Whoever is the general contractor registers with Building and Trade Contractor Services first; the $82.56 registration fee is not charged to an owner building their own homestead. The trades are licensed separately: a TDLR electrician and A/C contractor and a state-licensed plumber, unless the owner qualifies for the homestead trade permit and does that work personally.
What it costs
Plan review, from the City's residential fee schedule effective 1 October 2026:
| Plan review | Fee |
|---|---|
| Application processing | $112.76 |
| New construction, base | $986.15 |
| 1,001–2,000 sq ft | $1,183.38 + $0.1972 per sq ft over 1,000 |
| 2,001–3,000 sq ft | $1,380.61 + $0.1972 per sq ft over 2,000 |
| 3,001–4,000 sq ft | $1,577.84 + $0.1972 per sq ft over 3,000 |
| Resubmittal / major revision | $585.77 |
Permit fees by floor area, same schedule, for a 2,001–3,000 sq ft house:
| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Building | $318.48 + $6.33 per sq ft over 2,000 |
| Electrical | $204.53 + $2.58 per sq ft over 2,000 |
| Plumbing | $223.49 + $3.16 per sq ft over 2,000 |
| Mechanical | $127.68 + $0.86 per sq ft over 2,000 |
| Energy | $72.38 |
On top of these come tree plan review ($566.93) where trees are affected, any floodplain, fire or wildland-urban-interface review, utility fees and reinspections ($83.85 each). The schedule's brackets are not easy to read for a given house, so ask the reviewer for the invoice estimate; the City's invoice is the figure that counts. Construction prices are in new home construction cost.
The inspections
The City's checklists (Building Inspections):
| Permit | Inspections |
|---|---|
| Building | Layout, Foundation, Framing, Insulation, Wallboard, Temporary CO, Final |
| Electrical | Temporary, Slab, Rough, Ground, Final |
| Plumbing | Sewer Yard Line, Rough, Top-Out, Final |
| Mechanical | Rough, Final |
The contractor schedules them; the City says an inspection usually happens about 24 hours after it is booked, longer when inspectors are busy, and recommends finishing every prerequisite inspection before asking for a Temporary CO or the final building inspection.
What 4,352 Austin new-home permits show
| Measure | Austin new homes |
|---|---|
| Permits, October 2023 to September 2026 | 4,352 |
| Builders | 645 |
| Builders that filed exactly one | 291 (45.1%) |
| Reached Final (permits a year or more old) | 82.6% |
| Usual days from issue to Final | 356 |
| 10th / 90th-percentile builder (10+ permits) | 27.7% / 97.3% |
| Builders with 10+ permits finishing under 70% | 18 of 56 |
| Builders with 5+ permits and none in the last 12 months | 34 |
| Busiest / quietest month | March (141) / August (82) |
The spread between builders is the widest of any Austin trade: the 10th-percentile builder finished 27.7% of its permits against 97.3% at the 90th. With a build open for 356 days, a builder's finished share on houses started two or three years ago is the most useful number you can get about it. Austin new-home permits carry no job value.
See every Austin home builder by permits finished →
Next steps
Read the builder's record on the Austin new-home list, check its subcontractors with the Austin contractor license lookup, and use hiring a home builder for the contract. Building it yourself: how to get an owner-builder permit. Monthly counts are on Austin permit statistics, and past permits on a lot in Austin building permit search.
What this does not tell you
Days to Final count from issue, so plan review time is not in them. Fees change every 1 October, and several reviews (tree, floodplain, fire) apply only to some lots.
How we know this
Steps, review targets, registration and inspection checklists are quoted from City of Austin Development Services pages read 23 October 2026; fees from the residential fee schedule effective 1 October 2026. Counts are City of Austin issued construction permits classified as new single-family homes, October 2023 to September 2026; finished share uses permits a year or more old, and days to Final is the median from issue to completion.
Numbers come from City of Austin issued construction permits, data through October 10, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How long does it take to get a new home permit in Austin?
The City's target for New Construction & Additions review is 10 business days from 1 July 2026, starting once the review invoice is paid; volume-builder master sets revert to that timeline when tree or fire review is needed. Each round of comments adds an update review of 7 business days.
- How much is a new home building permit in Austin?
Plan review for a 2,001 to 3,000 square foot house is $1,380.61 plus $0.1972 per square foot over 2,000, on top of a $112.76 application fee (fee schedule effective 1 October 2026). Building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and energy permit fees are charged separately by floor area.
- Can I build my own house in Austin?
The City says that in Texas 'anyone can be a General Contractor, including homeowners', with no state license, but you must register with Building and Trade Contractor Services. The electrical, plumbing and HVAC work needs licensed trades or the homestead trade permit, and a homestead permit requires the house to be your homestead.
- How long does a new home permit stay open in Austin?
The usual Austin new-home permit in our file reached Final 356 days after issue, and 82.6% of those a year or more old had reached it.
- What inspections does a new house get in Austin?
The City's building checklists are Layout, Foundation, Framing, Insulation, Wallboard, Temporary CO and Final, with electrical (Temporary, Slab, Rough, Ground, Final), plumbing (Sewer Yard Line, Rough, Top-Out, Final) and mechanical (Rough, Final) alongside.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Do I need a permit to build a house? Yes. What 12 departments ask for, and how long it takes
- Albuquerque building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Building a casita in Albuquerque: the 750 sq ft limit, rear-yard rule, parking, free plans, and who builds them
- Do I need a permit to build a house in Albuquerque? GB-2 or homeowner, the plan set and the fee
- Do I need a permit to build a house in Bend, OR? The new-home permits, FY 2026-27 fees, and who can build
- Do I need a permit to build a new home in Cary, NC? Review time, the three fee parts, the owner rule and the CO
For one city
- Residential Plan Review — City of Austin Development Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Types of Permits — City of Austin Development Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Contractor Registration — City of Austin Development Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Residential Building Plan Review & Inspection Permit Fees (effective 1 October 2026) — City of Austin (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Building Inspections — City of Austin Development Services (accessed 2026-10-23)