Eastland County, Texas Building Permit Guide

Eastland County’s website lists no building permit, building code or contractor registration for unincorporated land. What the County does regulate is development in FEMA flood hazard areas, which needs a Floodplain Development Permit from its Floodplain Administrator (512-663-8364), pipelines across or along county roads, which need a road crossing agreement with Commissioners Court, and building heights near Wilks Ranch Airport. Inside Cisco, Eastland and Ranger the cities handle permits; Carbon, Gorman and Rising Star publish no permit process.

What needs a county permit in Eastland County?

The flood order covers only the unincorporated county; Eastland and Cisco have their own flood ordinances for land inside their limits. Eastland County was voted a closed-range (stock law) county in 1929.

Who issues permits in Eastland County?

Cities and towns in Eastland County

• Eastland (county seat): the City’s Planning / Zoning department authorizes building permits, and its Building Official reviews and inspects all residential and commercial work (254-629-8321 ext. 14). The City’s permit list includes fences, sheds, carports, roof replacements, decks, concrete work, irrigation and mobile homes. Its platting rules also reach the ETJ, a band half a mile outside the city limits.
• Cisco: the City adopted the 2024 International Building, Residential and Mechanical Codes in April 2026 and enforces them through its Building Department under a City Building Official; City Hall is at 500 Conrad Hilton Blvd. (254-442-2111).
• Ranger: City Hall is at 400 W. Main (254-647-3522). The City’s permits page lists a Mobile Home Placement Permit, which must be filed before a mobile home is placed inside the city, and a solicitors permit; it publishes no building permit process.
• Carbon, Gorman and Rising Star: the published sources do not say who issues building permits; Gorman’s city website covers water, taxes, agendas and ordinances but no permits. The County lists their city offices at 254-334-1600 (Carbon), 254-734-2317 (Gorman) and 254-643-4261 (Rising Star).

Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work

The County has no electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit for rural property. In Eastland, City ordinance requires a building permit before anyone builds or changes a water or sewer system or a structure, with fines of up to $200. Cisco’s code adopts the 2024 International Mechanical Code and has its own plumbing and gas article. For Ranger, Carbon, Gorman and Rising Star no trade permit rules are published online.

Fees, penalties and who pays for road work

The County’s website lists no fee for a floodplain development permit, a road crossing agreement or an airport zoning permit. What the orders do set are penalties:

• Floodplain: breaking the flood order is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $100 per violation plus the costs of the case, and each day it continues counts as a new offense.
• Airport zoning: violations near Wilks Ranch Airport carry a fine of up to $500, with each day counted as a separate offense.
• Pipelines: the company crossing the road pays for barricades, warning signs, lights, flaggers and any repairs to the road surface, roadbed and structures the work causes.

Inspections and flood elevation certificates

The County publishes no building inspection program for land outside city limits. In a flood hazard area the checks are on paper and elevation: a new or substantially improved home must have its lowest floor, including any basement, at or above the base flood elevation, certified by a registered engineer, architect or land surveyor. Non-residential buildings either sit at that height or are made watertight below it, with an engineer’s or architect’s certificate. Enclosed areas below the lowest floor need at least two flood openings on different walls, with 1 square inch of opening for every square foot of enclosed area and the bottom of each opening no more than 1 ft above grade.

For pipelines, the precinct commissioner must be told when work starts and must be able to inspect the open ditch before it is backfilled.

Local Eastland County rules

Floodplain permit application: applications go to the Floodplain Administrator on the County’s forms, with two scaled sets of plans showing the location, size and elevation of landscape changes and of existing and proposed structures, including manufactured homes, in relation to the flood hazard area. Add the lowest floor elevation, the floodproofing elevation for non-residential buildings and a description of any change to a watercourse or natural drainage. The order adopts the FEMA flood maps for community number 480793. Subdivisions and manufactured home parks above 50 lots or 5 acres, whichever is less, must generate base flood elevation data, and manufactured homes in Zones A1–30, AH and AE are raised to the base flood elevation; in an existing park the chassis may instead rest on reinforced piers at least 36 inches above grade.

New county rules under review: Commissioners Court will take public comment on proposed Eastland County Floodplain and Subdivision Regulations on October 26, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom, 100 W. Main St., Suite 203.

Pipelines and county roads: a signed road crossing agreement has been required for every crossing since May 12, 1981. Where practicable, crossings run at about right angles to the road; each one is encased in a conduit, at least 36 inches below the ditch line with the top 2 ft backfilled with crushed lime rock, and never within 50 ft of either end of a bridge or 20 ft of a culvert. A line running alongside a county road needs a project description and maps, a minimum 3 ft depth, placement in the back slope and above-ground markers, with a copper tracer wire on non-metallic pipe.

Fences on county roads: under a December 14, 2009 order, new fences stand at least 8 ft from the bottom of the parallel ditch, a replacement goes on the old line or 8 ft from the ditch bottom, whichever is farther, and no fence may enter the county right-of-way.

Wilks Ranch Airport: the 2011 hazard zoning order limits heights in the primary, approach and transitional zones around runway 18–36; outside the primary surface anything up to 24 ft is allowed. Applications go to Commissioners Court through the County Clerk, and a variance request needs an FAA Part 77 determination.

Septic systems: Eastland County is not a TCEQ septic agent. TCEQ lists one local agent in the county, the Eastland County Water Supply District, for land within 1,000 feet of the 1,375-foot elevation line around Lake Leon; everywhere else, septic permits come from TCEQ’s Region 3 office in Abilene.

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

Eastland County permit resources

• Eastland County Flood Damage Prevention Court Order (2019)
• Eastland County Commissioners Court and Floodplain Administrator
• Public input on proposed floodplain and subdivision regulations
• Eastland County road crossing agreement for pipelines
• Eastland County fence regulations
• Wilks Ranch Airport Hazard Zoning Ordinance (2011)
• Eastland County city contacts
• City of Eastland forms and building permits
• City of Eastland Planning / Zoning, city limits and ETJ
• City of Cisco Code of Ordinances
• City of Ranger permits
• TCEQ on-site sewage facility permits

Eastland County permit FAQ

Do I need a building permit for a house in unincorporated Eastland County?

The County publishes no building permit for rural land. A Floodplain Development Permit is still needed if the site is in a mapped flood hazard area.

Who handles floodplain permits in Eastland County?

The County’s Floodplain Administrator, reached on 512-663-8364. The 2019 flood order applies only outside city limits.

Who issues building permits in the city of Eastland?

The City of Eastland. Its Building Official reviews and inspects residential and commercial work and can be reached at 254-629-8321 ext. 14.

Can I run a pipeline across a county road?

Only under a road crossing agreement signed with Commissioners Court, using the County’s Pipeline Crossing Permit form, with the line encased, at least 36 inches deep and away from bridges and culverts.

How close to a county road can I build a fence?

At least 8 ft from the bottom of the roadside drainage ditch, and never inside the county right-of-way.

How do I get a 911 address in Eastland County?

Through the West Central Texas Council of Governments, 325-672-8544.

Simplify Eastland County 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 Eastland County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.