Houston
Houston Public Works
In short
Houston Public Works issues 5 permits we publish for Houston, last verified 2026-08-22. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Waste Permitonly if it applies to you | Houston Public Works | $100.71 per permit | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | Houston Public Works | $94–$537.12 one-time, by building and floor area | one-time | 2026-08-22 |
| Structural Building Permitonly if it applies to you | Houston Public Works | $47.00 up to $7,000 valuation, then a base charge per band plus a per-$1,000 increment: $5.36 to $150,000; $5.03 to $200,000; $4.70 to $300,000; $4.36 to $500,000; $4.02 to $1,000,000; $3.68 to $5,000,000 | one-time | 2026-08-22 |
| Food Vendor's Permit — Streets and Sidewalksonly if it applies to you | Houston Public Works | $40.27–$134.28 30 days, or full term | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Temporary Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you | Houston Public Works | $94 one-time | maximum of 30 calendar days | 2026-08-22 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Industrial Waste Permit
$100.71 for the permit itself. The running cost is larger: an industrial waste permittee receiving city water pays a $1,230.98 annual industrial waste program charge per account, and industrial-waste volume is charged at $11.33 per 1,000 gallons with additional formula charges for BOD, suspended solids and ammonia (Sec. 47-122, Sec. 47-143). Those rates take effect 1 April 2026.
Certificate of Occupancy
An individual business lease space is $94.00 (Sec. 118.1.4). A certificate for an existing building starts at $537.12 for the first story, plus $134.28 for each additional story and $0.01 for each square foot above 10,000 (capped at 200,000 sq ft). Retail or office space under 3,000 sq ft is $94.00 when inspected at the same time as the core, but $268.56 as a separate inspection — worth sequencing. A re-validation inspection, a name-change revision, an address-change revision and a duplicate copy are each $94.00.
Structural Building Permit
Worked example: a $250,000 fit-out falls in the $200,001-$300,000 band, so $1,066.86 for the first $200,000 plus $4.70 for each additional $1,000 — $1,301.86 before add-ons. A $33.56 administrative fee applies to the issuance or amendment of a building permit (Sec. 10-2 with Sec. 1-14), and the minimum occupancy permit fee is $91.06 (Sec. 118.1.3).
Food Vendor's Permit — Streets and Sidewalks
$134.28 for the permit, or $40.27 for 30 days. The fee schedule cross-references the Health Department, so this sits on top of the food permit rather than replacing it.
Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
$94.00, valid for a maximum of 30 calendar days. Useful to open while a punch list is closed out, not a substitute for the full certificate.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Houston
- Phone
- (832) 395-2500
- Website
- www.houstonpublicworks.org/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City-Wide Fee ScheduleCity of Houston, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
Other offices serving Houston
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Texas jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.