Houston permits
By Mario Bailey Last checked 2026-06-18 · 1 official source
Verified against official sourcesHouston Permitting Center
- 1002 Washington Ave., Houston, TX 77002
- Phone: 832.394.8820
- Official permit page
- Permit portal
- Official fee schedule
Look up a permit in Houston
Houston lets you look up permit records and application status for a property online. Sold Permits Search is a public search of permits sold in a rolling three-year period.
Planning a project in Houston?
Hire it out
Before you sign, ask the contractor:
- Who pulls the permit, you or me, and is the permit fee included in the bid?
- Which inspections will this job need, and who meets the inspector on site?
- Is your contractor license active in this locality, and under which business name?
Want a pro to handle this permit? Request free help
Tell us where your project stands. Free to ask; no obligation.
Where we have a vetted local pro who handles permits in Houston, we connect you; otherwise we reply with the exact steps and office links for your situation. PermitNotebook is not a government agency and does not file permits. This is a free referral request; we may earn a fee if you hire a pro we introduce. Partners never influence our permit data. Privacy policy.
Planning several things at once? Check your whole project
Schedule an inspection in Houston
Permitted work is not finished until it passes inspection. The Structural Inspections page lists scheduling requirements and contacts, with parallel pages for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing.
Schedule or request a Houston inspection
Checked 2026-07-12. If the office has changed its process, report it.
Permitting activity in Houston
In 2024, Houston authorized permits for 11,898 new residential housing units (6,808 single-family, 5,090 in multi-family buildings), valued at $3.2B , down from16,430 the year before. That works out to about 5.2 permits per 1,000 residents. It is a useful gauge of how busy the local permit office is.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual data · population 2,268,194.
About Houston
Houston has about 1,023,112 housing units. The median home is valued at $253,400, against a median household income of $62,894. About 42% of homes are owner-occupied, and the typical home was built around 1981. Older housing stock usually means more renovation, electrical, and plumbing permits.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year.