Commercial plan review is required if you are in the corporate city limits of Houston and are planning to erect a commercial building or structure, or are adding to existing commercial building or structures.
1002 Washington Ave., 3rd floor
Houston, TX 77002
A license is not required to obtain building permits for commercial projects.
However, a license is required for other trade permits such as for fire alarms, fire sprinklers, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work. Additionally, a bond is required for sidewalk/culvert/driveway permits.
Before submitting your building plans for review visit the Planning and Development Department, Subdivisions Section for a development plat review. Additionally, it is advised that you visit the Taps & Meters Section to ensure there is available water and wastewater for your project.
You may contact Planning at 832.394.8849 and Taps & Meters at 832.394.8888 for more information.
To obtain a permit the following documentation is required (but not limited to):
Download the Commercial Plan Review Prerequisites checklist.
See our flowchart of a standard Commercial Plan Review process.
Effective Tuesday, October 1, 2019, all new commercial projects must be submitted online. Minor projects which qualify for the One-Stop program will remain paper-based. After October 1, paper plans will be accepted for existing phased projects, such as:
These types of projects may continue to be paper-based until the remaining phases have been submitted and approved.
Effective November 1, 2019, plan revisions and deferred submittals must be submitted online. Reference drawings for the revision should be scanned and submitted electronically along with the revision.