What Waco asks for
The City's Building Residential checklist (read 23 October 2026) wants a "Complete plan set (combined PDF)" for a new single-family dwelling, uploaded "as one combined, legible PDF file":
| Group | Items on the checklist |
|---|---|
| Site | Site plan ("if in the floodplain, finished floor elevation (FFE) required"); erosion control plan; City-approved standard details for the drive approach and, if applicable, the sidewalk |
| Structure | Floor plan; engineered foundation plan and details; elevations; roof plan; wall section; narrow wall framing / portal frame detail at garage openings; braced wall plan or shear wall design |
| Trades | Electrical floor plan; plumbing fixture layout |
| Energy and air | Energy forms and compliance path; building thermal envelope notes; HVAC Manual J load calculations and Manual S equipment selection; mechanical ventilation calculations and outside air control |
| Other | City of Waco right of way fee form; site photos for infill lots in existing neighborhoods |
The City says the lists "are not exhaustive". Two items need a professional before you apply: the foundation plan must be engineered, and the Manual J and S calculations mean the HVAC sizing is reviewed before the house is framed.
What it costs
From the City's fee schedules (read 23 October 2026):
| Fee line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Residential structures: living area, non-living area and accessory structures | $0.45 per sq ft |
| Non-refundable residential plan submittal fee | $60 |
| Technology fee, building | $15 |
| Accessory dwelling unit | $0.50 per sq ft (waived on a City pre-approved ADU plan; trade fees still apply) |
| Failed reinspection: 1st / 2nd / 3rd or later | $55 / $100 / $150 |
| House | Building permit + plan submittal + technology fee (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|
| 1,600 sq ft living + 400 sq ft garage | $975 |
| 2,000 sq ft living + 450 sq ft garage | $1,177.50 |
| 2,800 sq ft living + 600 sq ft garage | $1,605 |
Trade permits are added on top: for example the electrical, plumbing and mechanical administration fees are $60 each, plus per-circuit, per-fixture and per-unit lines (our Waco plumbing permit and Waco HVAC permit guides list them). The right of way form on the checklist points to a separate fee the page does not price.
Who builds it
Texas does not license home builders. Waco's licensing control sits with the trades: contractors "must show proof of their state licensing for mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and irrigation work", and subcontractors "must be licensed and are required to permit their own work" (Construction Permits). The homestead-owner exception the City publishes is for trade permits on a home you already live in; it does not describe an owner-builder route for a new house, so ask Inspection Services on (254) 750-5612 before planning one. Checks on the trades: Waco contractor license lookup.
How to apply and get inspected
- Apply in Citizen Self Service with the combined plan set.
- Request each inspection online by 4 p.m. the day before. Waco lists "All required inspections, including any document review" on the permit "in the required sequence" (Inspection Procedures), so the order for your house is on your permit, not on a public page.
- Pay reinspection fees before booking. A fee applies from the third visit.
What 1,646 Waco new-home permits show
| Measure | Waco new homes |
|---|---|
| Permits, October 2023 to September 2026 | 1,646 |
| Builders | 132 |
| Builders with a permit in the last 12 months of the window | 69 |
| Finaled (permits a year or more old) | 96.2% |
| Usual days from issue to final | 167 |
| Share held by the busiest builder / five busiest | 31.7% / 73.5% |
| Builders with a single permit | 65 (49.2%) |
| Busiest / quietest month for filing | April / October |
Waco new homes are a production-builder market: the busiest builder filed 31.7% of all new-home permits, and five filed 73.5%. Nearly every house reaches final (96.2%), so finished share will not separate builders here; the builder's past Waco houses will. At the other end, 65 builders filed one house in three years. Waco new-home permits carry no job value, so we cannot show build prices; national figures are in new home construction cost. Counts by year: Waco permit statistics.
See every Waco home builder by permits filed →
Check it in five minutes
- Search the builder's past addresses in Citizen Self Service and read the inspection results (how).
- Open the builder on the Waco new-home builder list.
- Rules elsewhere: do I need a permit to build a house.
What this does not tell you
Our builder is the contractor named on the building permit; owner-filed houses list no builder. Days to final count open permits as unfinished. The fee page carries no effective date, and impact, right of way and utility fees are not in our fee table.
How we know this
Plan-set requirements are quoted from the City of Waco's Building Residential submission checklist; fees from its Fee Schedules page and inspection rules from its Procedures page, all read 23 October 2026; trade licensing from its Construction Permits page, read 21 October 2026. Fee examples are our arithmetic. Permit counts are City of Waco new single-family permits, October 2023 to September 2026; finaled share uses permits a year or more old.
Numbers come from City of Waco EnerGov building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits on homes (the city's June 9, 2026 permit extract, updated to October 22, 2026 from the city's Citizen Self Service permit search), with the contractor taken from each permit's public contact list on that site, data through October 22, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to build a house in Waco?
Yes. A new single-family dwelling needs a City of Waco residential building permit, applied for in Citizen Self Service with a complete plan set uploaded as one combined PDF, and the electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is permitted separately by licensed trade contractors.
- How much is a building permit for a new house in Waco?
The City's fee schedule sets residential building permits at $0.45 per square foot of living and non-living area, plus a $60 non-refundable residential plan submittal fee and a $15 technology fee. By our arithmetic a 2,000 sq ft house with a 450 sq ft garage is about $1,177.50 before trade permits.
- What plans does Waco need for a new house?
Seventeen items on the City's checklist, including a site plan (with finished floor elevation in a floodplain), an erosion control plan, an engineered foundation plan, a braced wall or shear wall design, energy forms, and HVAC Manual J and Manual S calculations.
- How long does it take to build a permitted house in Waco?
In our file the usual Waco new-home permit finaled 167 days after issue, and 96.2% of new-home permits a year or more old finaled.
- Do home builders need a license in Waco?
Texas has no state license for home builders. Waco requires the trade contractors on the house to show their state licenses when they register, and they permit their own work.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- 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
- Arlington's 2,500-square-foot rule: when an addition or new house needs a Land Disturbing Activity and stormwater permit
For one city
- Submission Checklists: Building Residential — City of Waco (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Fee Schedules — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Inspection Procedures — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Do I Need a Permit? — City of Waco Inspection Services (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Construction Permits — City of Waco Inspection Services (2026-10-21)
- Citizen Self Service — City of Waco (2026-10-23)