McAllen
City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department
In short
City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department issues 11 permits we publish for McAllen, last verified 2026-10-09. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Electrical Permit | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $15.60 base fee, plus $2.40 per circuit or feeder | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Permit Renewal Feeonly if it applies to you | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $48 per permit, all types | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Demolition Permitonly if it applies to you | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $79.80 per permit | one year; lapses if work is not commenced within six months of issue or is suspended or abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
| Backflow Prevention Device Permitonly if it applies to you | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $4 each, for one to five devices | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Plan Review Fee | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | 18% of the building permit fee | one-time, per application | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Plumbing Permit | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $39.60 base fee, plus $4.80 per fixture, floor drain or trap | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $48 minimum for 0-300 sq ft; $0.16 per square foot at 301 sq ft or more | one year; lapses if work is not commenced within six months of issue or is suspended or abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Remodel and Alteration Permit | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $0.0060 multiplied by the construction value, minimum $48 | one year; lapses if work is not commenced within six months of issue or is suspended or abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Mechanical Permit | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $39.60 base fee, plus $15.60 for the first $1,000 of unit value and $3.20 for each additional $1,000 | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $79.80 per sign | one year; lapses if work is not commenced within six months of issue or is suspended or abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
| Swimming Pool Permitonly if it applies to you | City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department | $55.86 per permit | one year; lapses if work is not commenced within six months of issue or is suspended or abandoned for six months | 2026-10-09 |
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
Commercial Electrical Permit
$15.60 base, $15.60 for a service, service re-do or temporary pole, and $2.40 for each circuit or feeder. A rewire is $39.60 and working clearance $39.60 per meter; the schedule notes that working clearance may require a deposit of a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $5,000.
Permit Renewal Fee
$48 to renew any permit type, and the same $48 to take over a permit from another contractor, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule. Re-inspections are $48 on the schedule, and City Code § 22-30 sets $48.00 as the minimum reinspection fee.
Commercial Demolition Permit
$79.80 commercial against $39.60 residential, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule. Moving a structure is $159.60.
Backflow Prevention Device Permit
$4.00 each for one to five vacuum breakers or backflow protective devices installed after the piping or equipment they serve, and $2.40 each above five, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule.
Commercial Plan Review Fee
18% of the building permit fee, commercial only, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule. The Commercial Submittals Checklist (rev. 2-26) states the same 18% rate, a minimum review fee of $8.64 (18% of the $48 minimum permit fee), and that the plan review fee is paid when the application is submitted.
Commercial Plumbing Permit
$39.60 base plus $4.80 a fixture, floor drain or trap. A new sewer is $15.60, a replaced or repaired sewer $15.60, a water heater $24.00, a new or repaired gas line $15.60, and repair or alteration of drainage or vent piping $39.60. Eliminating a septic system or a grease trap — a sewer plug — is $39.60 each. A lawn or landscape sprinkler system is $24.00 plus $4.00 for the backflow device.
Commercial Building Permit
$0.16 a square foot above 300 sq ft, with a $48 minimum, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule (effective 1 October 2016); the same rate applies across occupancy groups A, B, E, F, H, I, M, S and U as well as the residential groups, and the department's Commercial Submittals Checklist (rev. 2-26) states the same $0.16 rate and $48 minimum. The schedule also lists a park development fee of $700 per unit. The application form states that a permit is good for one year only.
Commercial Remodel and Alteration Permit
Six tenths of a cent per dollar of construction value, with a $48 floor — so a $150,000 fit-out computes to $900. The schedule applies this to all occupancy groups, and the Commercial Submittals Checklist (rev. 2-26) states the same 0.006 x construction cost rate.
Commercial Mechanical Permit
$39.60 base plus $15.60 on the first $1,000 of unit value and $3.20 for each further $1,000 — the schedule prices mechanical work on equipment value.
Sign Permit
$79.80 per sign permit, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule, which lists a single sign permit fee with no size or value bands. The department publishes a separate sign permit application (rev. 3-26), which states that the permit is good for one year only.
Swimming Pool Permit
$55.86, as published on the City's Permit Fee Schedule — a construction permit for the pool itself. The schedule lists no separate annual operating permit for a public or semi-public pool.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- McAllen
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
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.
- Building Permits & Inspections department page (links the Permit Fee Schedule and current application forms)City of McAllen · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- City of McAllen Code of Ordinances Chapter 22, Article II Building Code (sections 22-27 fee schedule authority and 22-30 reinspections; amended through Ordinance 2022-16, adopted 14 February 2022; model codes updated by Ordinance 2025-117, adopted 27 October 2025)City of McAllen · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Commercial building permit application, rev. 7-26 (permit validity terms)City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- Commercial Submittals Checklist, rev. 2-26 (building permit fee rates, minimum permit and review fees, 18% plan review)City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- Demolition / moving permit application, rev. 7-26 (permit validity terms)City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- Permit fee schedule — effective 1 October 2016, page footer updated November 2019City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspection Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Sign permit application, rev. 3-26 (permit validity terms)City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- Swimming pool permit application, rev. 3-26 (permit validity terms)City of McAllen Building Permits & Inspections Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
Other offices serving McAllen
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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