Colleyville, Texas Building Permit Guide

Inside Colleyville, building permits come from the City’s Building Inspections department, and every registration, application, payment and inspection request goes through the online CSS portal. A new house costs $1.00 per square foot under roof plus a $350 plan review fee, with all electrical, plumbing and mechanical work included, and the City aims to finish plan review within 7 working days.

What requires a permit in Colleyville?

No site work may start before a building or grading permit is issued, and that includes setting forms, grading, removing or dumping soil, clearing brush, removing trees and demolition. Each structure needs its own permit. The City’s 2025 guidelines and fee schedule cover:

Colleyville building department: who handles permitting

Building Inspections, part of Community Development, registers contractors and homeowners, reviews plans, issues permits and inspects construction inside the city. Greg Goodrich is the Building Official. The Fire Marshal, Planning and Engineering also review development, and lot grading is checked by the City Engineer. Colleyville is in Tarrant County.

Email is the preferred way to reach the plans examiner, and inspectors take phone calls between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.

CSS portal, registration and the 2025 guidelines

Registration and permits are handled only through the CSS (Citizen Self Service) portal; the City does not accept registration by email or mail, and over-the-counter submittals are not taken. The City recommends Chrome rather than Safari, and a shared company email for the account so colleagues can reach it. A company must be registered before it can start an application.

Homeowners can register too, but the registration is for homesteaded homeowners. On a new home, the electrical contractor and the plumbing contractor for gas work must also be registered before the permit is issued, and every trade subcontractor must be listed on the application.

For projects submitted from April 1, 2025, the City publishes a guideline and application for each permit type, including new dwellings, additions and accessory buildings, pools with a pool barrier certification, irrigation, solar and energy storage, fireplaces and fire pits, flatwork and driveway approaches, demolition, LP gas, water heater and HVAC replacement, commercial plans and the Certificate of Occupancy packet.

Colleyville permit fees

The fee schedule dated April 1, 2025 sets flat and square-foot fees. Residential permit fees include all electrical, plumbing and mechanical fees for the project.

For example, a house with 4,000 sq ft under roof pays $4,000 for the permit, $350 for plan review and $125 for lot drainage; impact fees and water tap and meter charges are billed separately. Commercial permits use a valuation table, from $50 up to $500 of value to $7,500 for the first $1,000,000 plus $5 per extra $1,000, and commercial plan review adds 65% of the permit fee.

Fees are paid online in CSS: cards other than American Express cost 3.75% with a $2.50 minimum, and e-checks cost $1.95. The office does not take cards.

Colleyville trade permits and registration

On new homes, additions and remodels the trade work is covered by the building permit, so the electrical, plumbing and mechanical contractors are listed and registered rather than paying separately. Stand-alone trade permits, at $100 each, cover repairs and replacements not part of a building permit, such as a water heater or an HVAC unit; the City publishes a guideline for each. Pools and spas include their electrical and plumbing work.

New-home plumbing plans must include full calculation sheets: gas material, length, size and appliances, and water pressure, elevation change, size and fixture count. A new gas line installed as part of an HVAC upgrade always needs an on-site inspection by the plumbing inspector.

New-home submittal list and plan review

Everything is uploaded as PDF in CSS; an application with blank fields is classed as incomplete and denied. A new dwelling needs:

• Plot plan on the existing survey, with setbacks, all flatwork, existing accessory buildings and underground utilities
• Floor plan, elevations of all sides, MEP plans and door and window schedules
• Framing plan with spans, roof plan and, for two-story homes, a floor truss layout
• Engineered foundation plan showing finished floor and finished pad, and the engineer’s foundation design letter
• Engineered wall bracing plan, or solid structural sheathing
• The subdivision grading plan with the lot highlighted, plus an engineered grading and drainage plan for the lot
• Impervious coverage calculation, within the Land Development Code limits
• Energy compliance by REScheck, ICC E-CALC, Energy Star or the prescriptive table
• Tree protection plan showing protected trees to keep and remove

The City’s goal is to finish plan review within 7 working days, counted from the day after a complete submittal. Review covers the house and zoning only; fences, pools and accessory buildings drawn on the site plan still need their own permits. Residential fire sprinklers have not been required in any case since June 6, 2023.

Colleyville permit application: how to apply step by step

Inspections in Colleyville

All inspection requests are made online in CSS; there is no phone (IVR) scheduling, and morning or afternoon slots cannot be requested. Requests made before 7:00 a.m. are normally inspected the same day, though some move to the next day. The general contractor books the inspections, the work must be ready when requested, and cancellations go by email to Building Inspections. Inspectors view the approved plans on tablets, so rolled plans are not needed on site, and results are posted in CSS rather than tagged on site.

A re-inspection fee of $75 can be charged when work is not ready, the address is not posted, the building is locked, the same item is tagged twice or erosion, trash or tree protection rules are broken, and $125 for repeat violations. It must be paid before other inspections go ahead. A new home is inspected for plumbing rough, underground electrical, gas line, foundation (including the grounding electrode), sheathing and a combined seconds inspection of framing and all trades, among others.

Virtual inspections: since October 1, 2023, HVAC and water heater replacements, re-roofs, under-slab repairs and irrigation installations can be inspected from photos uploaded in CSS with a signed Photo Inspection Certification. Every re-roof needs a permit and a final inspection, including the attic, but a homeowner may waive the City’s final roof inspection with a notarized certificate that the roofer carried it out.

Local Colleyville rules that matter

Construction hours: work is allowed from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, including holidays, and is prohibited on Sundays unless City Council grants a variance.

Job sites: keep a litter container on site at all times, and a dumpster must come from Community Waste Disposal, the City’s franchise hauler (972-392-9300). A neighboring lot can be used for access or storage only with the owner’s permission and erosion control in place.

Codes: Ordinance O-25-2317 adopted the 2024 International Codes, the 2024 International Fire Code and the 2023 National Electrical Code, with local amendments, from April 1, 2025.

Public improvements: engineering plan review costs 2%, inspection 3% and materials testing 1% of the cost of public improvements.

Texas building code

Texas has no single statewide building code: state law makes the International Residential Code the base code for homes in cities and the International Building Code the base for commercial buildings, with each city choosing the edition and its own amendments, while the National Electrical Code and the energy code apply statewide. Outside city limits most counties issue no building permits for homes. Texas building code rules

Colleyville permit search and official resources

• Colleyville Building Inspections
• CSS permit portal
• Permit fees (April 1, 2025)
• Submittal guidelines 2025
• New Dwelling Guidelines 2025
• Contractor and homeowner registration
• Virtual inspection protocols
• Roof final inspection waiver
• Adopted codes and amendments
• Building Inspections contacts

Frequently asked questions

How much is a building permit for a new house in Colleyville?

$1.00 per square foot of total area under roof, plus a $350 plan review fee and a $125 lot drainage fee. The electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is included.

How long does plan review take?

The City’s goal is 7 working days from a complete submittal, not counting the day it is submitted.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof or fence in Colleyville?

Yes. Every re-roof and every new or replacement fence needs a permit, at $100 each.

Can a homeowner pull a permit in Colleyville?

A homesteaded homeowner can register and apply in the CSS portal, the same way contractors do.

When must inspections be requested?

Online in CSS before 7:00 a.m. for a same-day inspection. Phone scheduling and morning or afternoon requests are not available.

Does Colleyville do virtual inspections?

Yes, from photos, for HVAC and water heater replacements, re-roofs, under-slab repairs and irrigation installations.

Simplify Colleyville permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Texas. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Colleyville permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.