Commercial Compliance Hub

9 permits · verified 2026-08-24

What permits do you need to open a auto repair shop in Midland?

In short

A auto repair shop in Midland, TX has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Midland Planning Division charges $600 per application for the zoning board of adjustment application. 2 of the 9 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-08-24 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

The permits at a glance

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Zoning Board of Adjustment Applicationonly if it applies to youCity of Midland Planning Division$600 per applicationone-time, per application2026-08-24
Standard Zone Changeonly if it applies to youCity of Midland Planning Division$500 per applicationone-time, per application2026-08-24
Commercial Plan ReviewCity of Midland Development Services, Permitting and Inspections25% of the building permit feeone-time, per application2026-08-24
Flammable and Combustible Liquids Tank Permitonly if it applies to youMidland Fire Marshal's OfficeNot publishednot stated in the published material2026-08-24
Fire Protection System Permitonly if it applies to youMidland Fire Marshal's OfficeNot publishednot stated in the published material2026-08-24
Commercial Building PermitCity 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 thereofnot stated in the published fee schedule2026-08-24
Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$300 one-time filingno expiry2026-08-20
Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$25 one-time filingup to ten years, renewable2026-08-21
Texas Sales and Use Tax PermitTexas Comptroller of Public AccountsNo fee — there is no fee for this permitno expiry while actively engaged in business2026-08-21

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a auto repair shop in Midland?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 9 records listed for a auto repair shop in Midland, TX, 3 apply to every business of this type and 6 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

Of the 3 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $0.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 9 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

Commercial Plan Review: 25% of the building permit fee

Commercial Building Permit: $100 up to $20,000 of valuation, then $100 plus $3.50 for each additional $1,000 or part thereof

Which offices issue these permits in Midland?

Permits for a auto repair shop in Midland, TX come from 5 separate offices: City of Midland Planning Division, City of Midland Development Services, Permitting and Inspections, Midland Fire Marshal's Office, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

Is anything about these requirements changing?

$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.

$500 flat, with no acreage banding at all — the simplest zoning fee in this dataset and, for anything above an acre, among the cheapest. San Antonio starts at $795 for half an acre and runs to $5,930; Arlington starts at $1,200. A general application fee of $500 also applies.

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%.

Required for above-ground fuel tanks serving fuel-fired equipment such as emergency generators — a category that catches data rooms, clinics and any premises with standby power, and which owners rarely expect to be permitted. The department publishes separate guidance for these tanks and points to Fire Code Chapters 23 and 57 for dispensing tanks and underground tanks, which are treated differently. No fee is published; confirm with the Fire Marshal's Office.

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.

$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.

Required to form an LLC or corporation, not to trade as a sole proprietor. Texas has no statewide general business licence, so for many businesses this filing plus a sales and use tax permit is the entire state-level obligation.

Only needed if you trade under a name different from the one on your formation filing. The certificate is effective for a term not exceeding ten years from the date of filing and does not roll over by itself — it must be actively renewed, and a new certificate can be filed within six months of the original expiring. The $25 is the Secretary of State fee; sole proprietors and general partnerships file with the county clerk instead, at county rates.

There is no fee for this permit — the Comptroller says so directly, which is worth stating because a blank fee reads as though nobody knows. It does not expire on a date, but it is not permanent either: it is valid only while you are actively engaged in business as a seller, and the Comptroller's office may cancel it on finding that you are not. Filing obligations keep it alive, so a return must be filed for every period even when there were no taxable sales or purchases to report. Apply through Comptroller eSystems and allow two to three weeks.

Sources

Every figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Planning Fee ScheduleCity of Midland · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
  2. Commercial New Building and Additions — building permit submittal checklistCity of Midland · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
  3. Fire Marshal's Office — permit requirements and code guidanceMidland Fire Marshal's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
  4. Building Permits — fee schedule effective 1 February 2026 and payment splitCity of Midland Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
  5. Formation of Texas Entities FAQs - Texas Secretary of StateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  6. Form 503 - Instructions for Assumed Name CertificateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  7. Sales and Use Tax Permit — Texas ComptrollerTexas Comptroller of Public Accounts · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-20

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.