18 published records
Business licenses and permits in Midland, Texas
Midland County. Midland Health Services prices food permits by employee count — $150 for one to five staff, $200 for six to ten and $250 above that — which makes it one of the cheapest cities in this dataset for a small kitchen, and it publishes those figures on the back of its permit application rather than as a fee schedule. Land development fees come from the Planning schedule. Building and fire fees are the gap: the city runs both programmes but publishes process and forms without amounts, so for the construction side of a fit-out this page is not yet a complete answer.
What are you opening in Midland?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Midland
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Midland Development Services, Permitting and Inspections | $100 up to $20,000 of valuation, then $100 plus $3.50 for each additional $1,000 or part thereof | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Zoning Board of Adjustment Applicationonly if it applies to you | City of Midland Planning Division | $600 per application | one-time, per application | 2026-08-24 |
| Commercial Plan Review | City of Midland Development Services, Permitting and Inspections | 25% of the building permit fee | one-time, per application | 2026-08-24 |
| Fire Protection System Permitonly if it applies to you | Midland Fire Marshal's Office | No fee | not stated in the published material | 2026-08-24 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Midland?
Commercial Building Permit
$100 covers everything up to $20,000 of valuation, then $3.50 for each further $1,000 or part of one — so a $250,000 fit-out computes to $905 and a $1m project to $3,530. That is among the cheapest commercial building permits in this dataset: the same $1m project costs roughly $2,410 in San Antonio, $3,365 in Frisco and far more in Odessa, which charges a $1,000 base before its per-square-foot rate. Payment is split rather than taken up front — 25% with the application at submission, and the remaining 75% once the plan reviewer notifies you of approval, before the permit issues. A bonded contractor must be listed on the permit for it to issue.
Zoning Board of Adjustment Application
$600 to go before the Board of Adjustment, with a special exception application at $500. That is more than the $500 standard zone change itself, so where a use could be reached either by rezoning or by variance, the rezoning is the cheaper route in Midland — the opposite of most cities, where the variance is the budget option.
Commercial Plan Review
25% of the building permit fee, which the fee schedule now lets you compute: on a $250,000 fit-out the permit is $905 and the review $226. Do not confuse this with the payment split — the city also takes 25% of the APPLICATION fee at submission and 75% after approval, which is a schedule of instalments rather than a separate charge. The 25% review rate matches Waco and Abilene, and sits below Arlington's 35%, Mesquite's 28% and Grand Prairie's 45%.
Fire Protection System Permit
The Fire Marshal's Office runs separate permitting for fire sprinkler installation, fire alarm installation and fire suppression systems, and reviews plans against the City of Midland Fire Code, which adopts the 2015 International Fire Code. No fee is shown because Midland publishes none: eight fire pages and every document they link were searched, and the only dollar figure in the department's material is a $2,000 fireworks fine. Get the amount from the office on 432-685-7333. One requirement worth designing around rather than discovering at inspection: since 1 September 2017 the department has enforced the audible and visual notification provisions of IFC 907.5 on all buildings provided with fire alarm systems, and it issued that notice precisely because owners and contractors were unaware of them.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Building Permits — fee schedule effective 1 February 2026 and payment splitCity of Midland Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Planning Fee ScheduleCity of Midland · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Commercial New Building and Additions — building permit submittal checklistCity of Midland · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Fire Marshal's Office — permit requirements and code guidanceMidland Fire Marshal's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
Who issues business permits in Midland?
Permitting in Midland is split across 4 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Midland issuing agencies
- Midland Health Services, Environmental HealthFood service establishment permits · Retail food store and warehouse distributor permits · Seasonal, temporary and farmers market food permits · Day care, foster care and after-school programme permits · Swimming pool and spa permits7 permits
- City of Midland Planning DivisionPreliminary and final plats · Replats and administrative plats · Zone changes and planned districts · Board of Adjustment applications6 permits
- City of Midland Development Services, Permitting and InspectionsCommercial building permits · Commercial plan review · Vendor permits · Inspections3 permits
- Midland Fire Marshal's OfficeFire alarm and detection system permits · Fire sprinkler and suppression system permits · Flammable and combustible liquids tank permits · Fire code plan review and inspection2 permits
Other Texas jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.