Inside Plainview city limits, the City’s Building Permits & Inspections office at 202 W. 5th Street (806-296-1100) reviews plans, issues permits and inspects construction. A new house is charged $0.10 per square foot for the building permit, plus $0.05 per square foot for each trade system, and a one-story detached storage building of 200 square feet or less needs no permit.
What requires a permit in Plainview?
The City publishes two lists: projects that need a building permit, and repair or remodeling jobs that need one.
Building and site work
- New or remodeled homes and commercial buildings, and room additions
- Detached residential accessory structures over 200 sq ft
- Carports, porch enclosures, and garage or carport conversions
- Patio covers attached to the house or over 200 sq ft
- Decks more than 32 inches high
- Fences more than 8 feet tall and retaining walls over 48 inches
- Roof replacement and solar panels
- Signs and demolitions
- New or altered driveway approaches and any work in the right-of-way
Repairs and remodeling
- Adding or moving electrical circuits
- Gas lines and gas-fired equipment
- Sewer and water line installation, repair or replacement
- Adding or moving sinks, toilets, tubs or showers
- Water heaters and water softeners
- Air conditioners, evaporative coolers or furnaces added or relocated
- Connecting an irrigation system to the water supply
- Removing or moving walls
- Changing the size or location of windows or exterior doors
A one-story, detached residential accessory building of 200 sq ft or less needs neither a permit nor a foundation, but it still has to meet the setback and anchoring rules.
Plainview Building Permits & Inspections: who handles permitting
Building Permits & Inspections sits in the City’s Community Services group and works from City Hall. Its staff review plans and issue permits, and its inspectors check fire, building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and energy code compliance during construction.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | Building Permits & Inspections, City Hall, 202 W. 5th Street, Plainview, TX 79072 |
| Phone | 806-296-1100 (the City’s FAQ also lists 806-296-1120 for Building Inspections and Planning and Zoning); fax 806-296-1125 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
| Fire Marshal’s office | 806-291-1251 |
| Floodplain administrator | Director of Public Works, 806-291-1225 (state floodplain directory) |
The City permits work only inside its limits. Land outside Plainview in Hale County has no county building permit; there, the county’s Special Projects Coordinator (806-288-1541) handles the floodplain and septic applications required in unincorporated areas. Inside Plainview, TCEQ names no local septic agent, so a septic system in the city is permitted by TCEQ’s Region 2 office in Lubbock (806-796-7092).
Plainview applications, forms and contractor registration
The Residential Information and Commercial Information pages post a separate application for each permit, each paired with its fee:
- Residential: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing and sprinkler (irrigation) permit applications, plus a carport packet.
- Commercial: the same trade applications plus sign, commercial fire alarm, fire suppression, certificate of occupancy and site plan review applications.
- Checklists: new construction and remodel or addition checklists for homes and for commercial work, re-roofing requirements, a sample site plan, the storage and accessory building sheet and a certificate of occupancy checklist.
- Water protection: TCEQ Form 20699 (customer service inspection certificate) and Form 20700 (backflow assembly test report).
Contractor registration: the Annual Contractor Registration Form asks for copies of current state licences and state-required liability insurance. Its $45 fee does not apply to state-licensed electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors; roofers pay $45 a year and post a $20,000 surety bond. The Master Fee Schedule lists a $30 annual registration for mechanical and landscape irrigation contractors.
Plainview permit cost
Fees come from Appendix A, the Master Fee Schedule in the Code of Ordinances, last amended by Ordinance 25-3780 on September 23, 2025.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| New residential construction | $0.10 per sq ft |
| New commercial construction | $0.15 per sq ft |
| Additions to existing buildings | $0.08 per sq ft |
| Minimum building permit fee | $45 |
| Demolition permit or moving a building | $45 |
| Certificate of occupancy | $25 |
| Reinspection (red tag) | $25 |
| After-hours inspection | $45 per hour |
| Any inspection not listed | $45 |
| Roofing contractor’s permit | $45 |
| Fire sprinkler, fire alarm, fire pump or standpipe system | $45 each |
| Street curb cut permit | $45 plus a $300 deposit |
| Sign | $25 each |
For a new 2,000 sq ft house, the building permit is $200. The trade permits add $100 for electrical, $100 each for the drain and vent, water and gas piping systems, and $100 for mechanical, so the permit total is $700 before any extra inspections.
After-hours inspections are those between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends and City holidays. Electrical fees double when work starts before the permit, and repeat offenders pay $150.
Plainview trade permits
| Permit | Fee |
|---|---|
| Electrical, new construction or additions | $0.05 per sq ft, $45 minimum |
| Electrical alterations, meter loop work or sign connection | $45 |
| Plumbing, new construction or additions | $0.05 per sq ft for each of the drain and vent, water and gas systems |
| Plumbing alterations; sewer, gas or water service repair; water heater; backflow device | $45 each |
| Lawn irrigation system, including the backflow device | $45 |
| Mechanical, new construction or additions | $0.05 per sq ft |
| Mechanical equipment change-out | $45 per unit |
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →A homeowner who owns and lives in the house as a homestead may do their own electrical, plumbing, landscape irrigation and heating or air-conditioning work after taking out the permits. If the owner hires someone, that person or company must hold the proper licence.
What to submit for a new home or commercial building
The City’s plan review checklists ask for two full sets of drawings at 1/4-inch or 1/8-inch scale on sheets at least 18 by 24 inches, plus one set of specifications. Where state law requires an engineer or architect, every set must carry an original signed and dated seal.
One- and two-family homes
- Permit application and property survey; a plat if the land is unplatted or easements change
- REScheck energy compliance report
- Site, foundation, floor, elevation and wall section sheets, and a roof plan
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical plans
- A flood elevation certificate if any part of the lot is in a mapped floodplain
Commercial buildings
- Copy of the recorded plat
- Site plan with parking and landscaping that meet the zoning code
- Sealed construction drawings and specifications
- Site Plan Review Application
- Certificate of Occupancy Application before opening
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →How to get a Plainview building permit: 6 steps
Every project needs the right zoning for its use and a properly platted lot with its easements and rights-of-way.
The City cannot issue a building permit for a structure in a wet weather (playa) lake area.
Roofers, mechanical and irrigation contractors file the City registration; licensed trades send copies of their licences and insurance.
Use the residential or commercial checklist, two plan sets, the REScheck report and a survey or plat.
Submit the building application and a separate electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing or sprinkler application for each trade to 202 W. 5th Street.
Final inspections are required before the City issues a certificate of occupancy.
Inspections in Plainview
City inspectors visit during construction to check the work against the adopted fire, building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and energy codes, and every development must pass its final inspections before a certificate of occupancy is issued. A failed inspection costs $25 to re-inspect.
Before a business opens, the certificate of occupancy checklist looks for the address posted front and rear, a customer service inspection (CSI) on file for the water connection, capped abandoned drain lines, mounted and inspected fire extinguishers, safe electrical panels and working exits and emergency lights.
Local Plainview rules
Playa lakes: the City’s Wet Weather Lake Areas ordinance makes it unlawful to dump fill in, excavate or build in a wet weather lake area, which the code treats as the same thing as a playa lake. The building official may not issue a permit for any structure there, and no plat is approved until the City Engineer and Planning and Zoning Commission certify the land is outside one.
Accessory buildings: none in the front yard; in a side yard they sit 10 feet from the house and 3 feet from the side line, and elsewhere 3 feet from property lines. Every building must be anchored, may not sit over utility lines, and needs 8 feet of clearance between its roof peak and overhead electric lines.
Adopted codes: the 2015 International Building and Residential Codes (Ordinances 17-3646 and 17-3647, January 2017), with local amendments to the 2015 energy, existing building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, property maintenance and pool and spa codes. The residential checklist lists the 2014 National Electrical Code.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Manufactured homes: they may only be placed on lots zoned for them, and size and age also matter.
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
Plainview official permit resources
- Plainview Building Permits & Inspections
- Residential permit applications and checklists
- Commercial permit applications and checklists
- Master Fee Schedule (Code of Ordinances, Appendix A)
- Code of Ordinances, Chapter 3: Building Regulations
- Residential new construction plan review checklist (PDF)
- Storage and accessory buildings rules (PDF)
- Annual Contractor Registration Form (PDF)
- Building Permits & Inspections FAQs
- Hale County Special Projects (land outside the city)
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Plainview building permit FAQ
Who issues building permits in Plainview?
The City of Plainview Building Permits & Inspections office at City Hall, 202 W. 5th Street (806-296-1100).
How much is a building permit for a new house in Plainview?
$0.10 per square foot, with a $45 minimum. Electrical, each plumbing system and mechanical work add $0.05 per square foot apiece, so a 2,000 sq ft house pays $700 in total.
Do I need a permit for a storage shed?
Not if it is one story, detached and 200 sq ft or less. Larger ones need a permit and a foundation, and every shed must be anchored and set back from the house and property lines.
Do I need a permit for a fence or a deck?
Only for fences taller than 8 feet and decks more than 32 inches high. Retaining walls over 48 inches also need a permit.
Can I do my own plumbing or electrical work?
Yes, on the home you own and live in as your homestead, as long as you take out the trade permits. Hired workers must be licensed.
Can I build near a playa lake?
Not inside a wet weather lake area: the City is barred from issuing building permits for structures there.
What does a water heater permit cost?
$45 under the current Master Fee Schedule. An older City FAQ still quotes $5.
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More Texas permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Plainview permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.