Which addresses this covers
City of Brownsville Building Inspections permits work inside city limits. Unincorporated Cameron County and other cities, such as Olmito, Los Fresnos and San Benito, are permitted by other offices.
| Search field in Accela | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Street No., Street Name | Every record at a house |
| Record Number | A permit number from your paperwork |
| Parcel No. | A lot with no street number yet |
| License Type, State License Number, Name of Business | Records a contractor filed |
| Start Date, End Date | Narrowing a long list |
How to look up the permits on a Brownsville address
- Open Accela Citizen Access and choose the Building tab.
- Enter the Street No. and Street Name only. Leave the street type blank in case the City spells it differently.
- Click Search and open each record. A re-roof, an addition and a pool are separate permits.
- On each record, read the status and the inspections list to see whether the final passed.
- If a record is missing or unclear, call Building Permits and Inspections at 956-546-4357. The office is at 1001 E Elizabeth Street.
The City's online-permitting page says that with an online account you can "Check the status of a permit request"; the account is for your own applications. Its Residential Construction page says to "Apply for all projects online with Accela."
What statuses mean in the City's report
The permit report the City publishes on its GIS site lists issued permits only. It has an issue date and a record-open date but no status, no final inspection date, no job value and no contractor. So on our pages every Brownsville permit counts as issued, and none as finished. For the status of one permit, Accela is the place to look.
When the record is not online
Ask for it under the Texas Public Information Act. The City's Public Information page links an online request portal at brownsvilletx.justfoia.com, and also takes requests by mail to the Office of the City Attorney - Open Records, P.O. Box 911, Brownsville, Texas 78520, or in person at 1001 E. Elizabeth (read 24 October 2026). Police and Fire records are requested separately.
What our Brownsville pages add
Accela answers "what was permitted at this address". Our Brownsville page counts the City's report by kind of work, April 2024 to March 2026:
| Kind of work | Permits (Apr 2024–Mar 2026) | Last 12 months (Apr 2025–Mar 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | 1,608 | 824 |
| Roofing | 585 | 273 |
| Remodels & repairs | 127 | 73 |
| Other (commercial, signs, multi-family) | 625 | 352 |
79% of the 3,268 permits were for homes. Permits by ZIP code shows where the work is: 78526 had 1,111 permits, 78520 had 1,016 and 78521 had 992 in the same window. The permit statistics page has the counts by year and month, and browse permits lists the rows without owner names or street addresses. To check a contractor's state license, use How to check a contractor's license in Texas.
What this does not tell you
The report is a one-off export dated 31 March 2026, so our pages stop at March 2026. It has no contractor, value, status or final date, and no separate electrical, plumbing or mechanical permits. We show what was built and where, not who built it or how fast the City signed it off.
How we know this
Accela search fields were read on the City's Accela Citizen Access Building search page, and the portal and records details on the City's Online Permitting Services, Residential Construction and Public Information pages, all on 24 October 2026. Our counts are the City's Accela Permits Report 03312026, read 23 October 2026: permits issued April 2024 to March 2026, City of Brownsville only.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 23, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in Brownsville?
Open the City's Accela Citizen Access site, go to the Building search and enter the street number and street name. The search form also takes a record number, a parcel number, or a contractor's business name or state license number. We opened the search form without logging in on 24 October 2026.
- Can I search Brownsville permits by contractor?
Yes. The Accela search form has License Type, State License Number, first and last name and Name of Business fields. The City's published permit report names no contractor, so our pages cannot list firms.
- How do I get an old Brownsville permit file?
File a public information request through the City's online portal at brownsvilletx.justfoia.com, by mail to the Office of the City Attorney - Open Records, P.O. Box 911, Brownsville, TX 78520, or in person at 1001 E. Elizabeth.
- Does Brownsville's permit list include electrical and plumbing permits?
Not the report we use. It holds building permits only: new homes, re-roofs, repairs, additions, pools, solar and similar. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are not in it, though they can still be searched in Accela.
- How many building permits does Brownsville issue?
In the City's report, 3,268 permits were issued from April 2024 to March 2026, about 1,634 a year. 1,608 of them were for new homes and 585 for re-roofs.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Adams County, CO building permit search: the e-Permit Center, statuses and CORA
- Alachua County building permit search: Citizenserve, statuses and old records
- Anaheim building permit search: Anaheim NEXT and the Building Permit Report
- Arlington, VA building permit search: Permit Arlington lookups and FOIA requests
- Cook County building permit search: suburbs, unincorporated areas and the Assessor's file
- Corona building permit search: eTRAKiT, statuses and older records
- Online Permitting Services — City of Brownsville (2026-10-24)
- City of Brownsville Accela Citizen Access (2026-10-24)
- Residential Construction — City of Brownsville (2026-10-24)
- Public Information — City of Brownsville (2026-10-24)
- Accela Permits Report 03312026 — City of Brownsville GIS (ArcGIS) (2026-10-23)