What do these permits involve in Travis County?

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General Business License — Travis County Position

No fee applies at the county level. The Travis County Code index page (by Title, Subtitle and Chapter) lists no general business or occupational licensing chapter: in Title 2 (Ordinances & Regulations), the industry licensing and permit chapters it lists are Chapter 247 (Food Establishments Permits) and Chapter 249 (Junkyards, Automotive Wrecking, and Salvage Yard Ordinance), alongside Chapter 250 (Sexually Oriented Businesses Regulations), Chapter 251 (Regulations of Massage Parlors) and Chapter 260 (Public Swimming Pools), none of which is a general business license. Third-party aggregator sites asserting a generic 'Travis County business license' requirement are not government sources and are disregarded here. A business physically located inside Austin or another incorporated city should also check that city's own licensing requirements, out of scope here.

Building Permit

TCFMO functions as the county's de facto building department for unincorporated commercial construction, exactly as in Harris and Bexar Counties: a Building Permit is required before constructing, substantially altering, enlarging, repairing, moving, demolishing or converting the use of a commercial, public or multi-family structure in unincorporated Travis County. IMPORTANT CORRECTION: an earlier figure of roughly $120 per structure described a different, narrower credential — TCFMO's 'Express Permit,' for adding a small structure to a site that already holds an active permit — not this Building Permit, whose actual minimum is $790.00, scaling through the valuation tiers above. Fire alarm, sprinkler and suppression-system construction permits are separate, smaller flat fees recorded in the next requirement. Inside Austin or any other incorporated city, that city's own building department applies instead, out of scope here.

Development Permit (floodplain / stormwater)

New construction, a substantial improvement, or land-disturbing development within the county's floodplain or subject to stormwater requirements in unincorporated Travis County needs a Development Permit from TNR Development Services. TNR's own fee table is not published in machine-readable form; the office states fees are project-specific and provided on application rather than posted as a flat schedule. Commissioners Court has an active, time-limited fee waiver for Development and Septic permits tied to property affected by the July 2025 flood event — confirm whether that waiver still applies to a given project before budgeting a fee.

Fire Alarm / Sprinkler / Suppression System Construction Permits

Installing or altering a fire alarm system, automatic sprinkler system, or a kitchen or special-hazard fire suppression system in a commercial building in unincorporated Travis County needs its own construction-system permit from TCFMO, priced separately from the general Building Permit: $360.00 for a fire alarm system, $360.00 for a sprinkler system, and $325.00 for a suppression system (the line item most relevant to a commercial kitchen hood). These fees are flat regardless of project valuation, unlike the tiered Building Permit fee. A restaurant, coffee shop, or other food business installing a hood suppression system for new construction or a remodel in the unincorporated area should budget for this fee in addition to the Building Permit itself.

Fire Code Operational Permit (hazard-specific)

Beyond the general Building Permit, TCFMO issues hazard-specific Operational Permits for particular activities or equipment at a business site in unincorporated Travis County — LP-gas storage or use, tents and temporary membrane structures, fireworks displays, and other Fire Code hazard categories among them. Not every business in the industries listed needs every category; the trigger is the specific hazard or activity, not general operation. A restaurant using LP-gas patio heaters, a retail store setting up a temporary tent for a sale, or a food truck storing LP-gas would each check with TCFMO about which category applies to their specific equipment or event before assuming none is required.

On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF/Septic) Permit

A business on a septic system in unincorporated Travis County — installing a new on-site sewage facility, or changing the use of a building already served by one — needs an OSSF permit from TNR Development Services, which administers this program under state delegation from TCEQ. As with the Development Permit above, TNR provides its OSSF fee per project rather than on a published flat schedule, and the same temporary flood-event fee waiver applies where a property qualifies. A business inside Austin or another incorporated city on a public sewer connection has no county OSSF trigger.

Driveway, Fence, Site-Development, Demolition/Clearing and Subdivision Permits

TNR Development Services' Permitting Center also issues a cluster of narrower site-related permits for unincorporated Travis County projects: a driveway permit for a new or altered commercial driveway connection, a fence or retaining-wall permit, a commercial site-development permit, a demolition/clearing permit, and subdivision-platting applications where the county's extraterritorial-jurisdiction overlap functions apply. None of these carries a published flat fee; TNR prices each per project and provides the figure on application, the same confirmed mechanism as the Development and OSSF permits above. A contractor or business planning unincorporated-county sitework should contact TNR before budgeting for any of these categories.

Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) Filing

A sole proprietorship or general partnership doing business in Travis County under a name other than the owner's own legal name files an Assumed Name Certificate with the Travis County Clerk, countywide, including inside the City of Austin. IMPORTANT: as of September 1, 2019, the Travis County Clerk's Recording Division no longer records assumed names for incorporated entities — an LLC or corporation now files its assumed name exclusively with the Texas Secretary of State, not the county. Only unincorporated businesses (sole proprietorships and general partnerships) still file at the county level. The filing fee is $23.00 for the first owner named plus $0.50 for each additional owner, with a $2.00 in-office acknowledgment fee and an optional $10.00 name-availability search. This filing is a public-notice recording function, not a business license; the Travis County Code index page lists no general business-licensing chapter (see the General Business License record below).

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
General Business License — Travis County Positiononly if it applies to you	Travis County Clerk, Recording Division	No fee	not applicable — Travis County issues no general business license	2026-09-28
Building Permit	Travis County Fire Marshal's Office	Valued under $200,000: flat $790.00. $200,000 to under $1,000,000: $790.00 for the first $200,000 plus $1.75 per $1,000 over $200,000. $1,000,000 to under $5,000,000: $2,800.00 for the first $1,000,000 plus $1.00 per $1,000 over $1,000,000. $5,000,000 and up: $10,900.00 for the first $5,000,000 plus $0.50 per $1,000 over $5,000,000. Valuation feeding these tiers is computed from TCFMO's Building Valuation Table (2018 IBC occupancy groups by construction type, dollars per square foot) — for example, a Group A-2 restaurant/bar ranges from $143.33/sq ft (Type VB construction) to $190.96/sq ft (Type IA construction).	one-time per project/permit	2026-09-28
Development Permit (floodplain / stormwater)only if it applies to you	Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources (TNR), Development Services, Permitting Center	Fees are set per project, based on project type, size and scope, and provided directly by TNR Development Services upon application. A temporary fee waiver currently applies to Development and Septic permits for property affected by the July 2025 flood event, a time-limited local relief measure rather than a standing rule. Contact TNR Development Services, (512) 854-4215, for the current fee for a specific project.	one-time per project	2026-09-28
Fire Alarm / Sprinkler / Suppression System Construction Permitsonly if it applies to you	Travis County Fire Marshal's Office	$325–$360 flat per system type, unincorporated Travis County: fire alarm system permit $360.00, sprinkler system permit $360.00, fire suppression system permit $325.00	one-time per project, issued alongside or separately from the Building Permit above	2026-09-28
Fire Code Operational Permit (hazard-specific)only if it applies to you	Travis County Fire Marshal's Office	Fees are set per hazard category on TCFMO's Operational Permits fee schedule (for example LP-gas storage/use, tents and temporary membrane structures, fireworks displays, and other Fire Code §105.5-style hazard categories) and billed per permit type; contact the Travis County Fire Marshal's Office to confirm the current amount for a specific hazard category.	annual; the published Operational Permits fee schedule does not itemize a distinct renewal cadence beyond 'annual' for each hazard category	2026-09-28
On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF/Septic) Permitonly if it applies to you	Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources (TNR), Development Services, Permitting Center	Fees are set per project by TNR Development Services and provided directly upon application; the same temporary fee waiver for property affected by the July 2025 flood event applies to Septic permits as to Development permits. Contact TNR Development Services, (512) 854-4215, for the current fee.	one-time per installation or change of use	2026-09-28
Driveway, Fence, Site-Development, Demolition/Clearing and Subdivision Permitsonly if it applies to you	Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources (TNR), Development Services, Permitting Center	Fees for each permit type — driveway, fence/retaining-wall, commercial site-development, demolition/clearing, and subdivision applications — are set per project by TNR Development Services and provided directly upon application. Contact TNR Development Services, (512) 854-4215, for the current fee for a specific project.	one-time per permit/project	2026-09-28
Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) Filing	Travis County Clerk, Recording Division	$23.00 for one business name/one owner, plus $0.50 for each additional owner on the same statement, plus $2.00 per acknowledgment if completed in-office; an optional name-availability search is $10.00.	Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 71 sets a 10-year term for an assumed name certificate statewide; the Travis County Clerk's own DBA page does not separately restate this term	2026-09-28

Business licenses and permits in Travis County, Texas

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Permits that apply to every type of business in Travis County