Universal City
City of Universal City Development Services
In short
City of Universal City Development Services issues 8 permits we publish for Universal City, last verified 2026-08-25. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade and Miscellaneous Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Universal City Development Services | $85–$425 per permit, by fee class | per permit | 2026-08-25 |
| Temporary Food and Beverage Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Universal City Development Services | $50 per permit | 14 days | 2026-08-25 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Universal City Development Services | $425 commercial certificate only | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Subsequent Commercial Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | City of Universal City Development Services | $225 per review after the first | per review | 2026-08-25 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Universal City Development Services | $1,000–$5,000 per permit, by class of work | per permit | 2026-08-25 |
| Conditional Use and Zoning Applicationonly if it applies to you | City of Universal City Development Services | $150–$200 per application | per application | 2026-08-25 |
| Annual Food and Beverage License | City of Universal City Development Services | $125–$750 per year, by employee count | 1 year | 2026-08-25 |
| Contractor License and Registration | City of Universal City Development Services | $0–$150 per year, by trade | 1 year | 2026-08-25 |
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
Trade and Miscellaneous Permit
Five flat classes rather than a rate. Class A at $85 covers a mechanical permit, a fence, a roof, window replacement and a street sign banner. Class B at $110 covers plumbing, electrical, flatwork, siding, demolition, a floodplain development permit and a temporary use permit. Class C at $175 covers a utility permit, boring, a patio enclosure, a foundation permit and a fire alarm permit. Class D at $225 covers a spa, a sign, an accessory structure, a deck or cover, a moving permit, a patio cover, a retaining wall and irrigation. Class E at $425 covers a fire suppression permit, an in-ground pool and a telecom or cable permit. Reinspection is $85 per trade per inspection.
Temporary Food and Beverage Permit
$50 for fourteen days. The city's 2019 schedule gave the window as fifteen days; the code says fourteen, which is the state ceiling for a temporary food establishment and the figure to plan an event around. A foster care inspection is $50 annually, and a reinspection after the first follow-up $70.
Certificate of Occupancy
$425 under Fee Class E for a Building Safety Inspection or commercial certificate of occupancy on its own — the charge a tenant meets when taking on premises without construction. Where a building permit is being pulled, the certificate comes through that instead. The requirement is stricter than the fee suggests: the Development Services pack states that no building may be occupied, no change made in occupancy, and no inventory brought in beyond standard fixtures until the building official AND the fire marshal have both issued an approved certificate, with a health officer inspection required as well for a food or beverage establishment. Three departments must agree. Occupying without a certificate is $225 per day under Fee Class D.
Subsequent Commercial Plan Review
$225 for each commercial plan review after the first, which is included in the permit price. The penalties around it are steeper and are charged by the DAY: proceeding with no permit is $225 per trade per day, failing to call an inspection $225 per trade per day, and occupying with no certificate of occupancy $225 per day. Those accrue rather than settling at a fixed sum, so a fortnight of trading without a certificate is $3,150.
Commercial Building Permit
Universal City prices construction in flat classes rather than by area or valuation, which is rare and makes the bill unusually easy to predict. New commercial construction with finish-out is $5,000. A new commercial shell only, a commercial addition or alteration, a commercial parking garage, and an apartment, condo, rec centre, clubhouse or office are each $1,000 — the last of those per building. The initial plan review and initial inspection are included in the price; subsequent reviews and reinspections are charged again. The fee does NOT include the required fire suppression or fire alarm permits, which the schedule says in terms.
Conditional Use and Zoning Application
$200 for a commercial conditional use or zoning application and $150 for a residence or a non-profit — among the cheapest zoning applications in this dataset, against $1,500 in Richardson and New Braunfels. Postponing at the applicant's request costs the application fee over again, so ask for a date you can keep.
Annual Food and Beverage License
Four employee bands: $220 for 1 to 6, $320 for 7 to 10, $450 for 11 to 20 and $750 for 21 or more. Both the bands and the amounts are corrected — the city's 2019 schedule ran five bands from 1-3 employees at $120 up to 21+ at $520, so a 25-employee restaurant has gone from $520 to $750. Two cheaper categories sit outside the scale: a retail-only facility where all food and drink is pre-packaged off site is $125, and a non-profit sports concession $50. Because the fee is banded on headcount rather than turnover, hiring moves the bill: crossing from ten to eleven staff costs $130 more a year.
Contractor License and Registration
$150 to license and $100 to renew for a general contractor, a home improvement contractor and a sign maintenance contractor. A utility contractor is $50 a year. EVERYTHING ELSE IS FREE: master and journeyman electricians, residential wiremen, apprentices, electrical sign masters, and plumbing, irrigation, mechanical, fire alarm and fire sprinkler contractors all register at zero. That is a correction — the city's 2019 fee schedule charged $100 for a master electrician, $25 for a journeyman, $100 for an electrical sign master and $50 each for irrigation and mechanical. Texas licenses those trades at state level and limits what a city may charge, and the code has caught up. The registration is still required; it just costs nothing. Failing to obtain the license or bond remains $200 for every day it is outstanding.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Universal City
- Phone
- (210) 619-0720
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 of Universal City Code of Ordinances, Chapter 1-4 Finance, Article IV, Sec. 1-4-40 Schedules (Municode, version in force 30 October 2025)City of Universal City · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
- City of Universal City Development Services Package, updated 21 October 2022 (citing Ordinance No. 361-2006)City of Universal City Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
Other offices serving Universal City
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
- Restaurants in Universal City
- Coffee shops in Universal City
- Retail stores in Universal City
- Salons and barbers in Universal City
- Food trucks in Universal City
- Fitness studios in Universal City
- Childcare centres in Universal City
- Contractors and trades in Universal City
- Auto repair shops in Universal City
- Veterinary clinics in Universal City
Texas jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.