Building permits, zoning and land rules in Erath County, Texas

No county building permit is required for business or residential construction in unincorporated Erath County¹. Erath County also does not inspect residential construction or remodeling and does not require a county certificate of occupancy^2,3. That does not mean every approval disappears: a septic system needs a septic permit from Environmental Health, and construction in a FEMA-recognized flood zone needs a county floodplain permit before work starts³. For property inside a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, ask the city about building-permit requirements, but septic permitting remains with the Erath County Environmental Health Department countywide^1,2. Texas sets statewide energy-code requirements for residential, commercial and industrial buildings, while local jurisdictions handle implementation and enforcement; we could not confirm whether Erath County has separately adopted a broader county building code⁹.

Erath County does not issue county building permits for business or residential construction in unincorporated areas, so there is no county building department for that work¹. For property inside a city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, ask the city about building permits and zoning approval; the county still handles septic permits through the Erath County Environmental Health Department^1,2. Environmental Health is at the Erath County Courthouse, 100 W Washington, Stephenville, TX 76401, phone 254-965-1414¹⁰. The Erath County Land Development Department handles floodplain development permits, subdivision regulations, driveway and setback standards, and manufactured-home rental-community regulations at 100 W Washington, Stephenville, TX 76401, phone 254-434-5019³. Ask Land Development about a mapped flood zone before construction, because a county floodplain permit must be issued before work starts there³.

Erath County does not publish county zoning districts or require county zoning approval for business or residential construction in unincorporated areas¹. Stephenville and Dublin set their own zoning inside city limits; Erath County Environmental Health still handles septic permits countywide^2,11,12. For ETJ property, ask the applicable city about its requirements¹. Subdivision lots have setback lines of 50 feet from major-road rights-of-way, 25 feet from other public-road rights-of-way, or 15 feet for MURRD lots on those other roads; municipal requirements prevail when they conflict inside an ETJ⁶. Dividing unincorporated land may require a plat recorded with the County Clerk, and noncompliant divided tracts cannot obtain septic permits⁶.

Erath County requires permitting and inspection for every septic system in the county, a stricter local standard layered on top of Texas's statewide OSSF rules¹. The process starts with an application from the Environmental Health Department, followed by a complete site evaluation from a licensed site evaluator documenting soil and site conditions before any design work⁴. Fees are published: a standard system runs $250, one requiring maintenance runs $450, and commercial systems run $550 standard or $750 with maintenance, with a re-inspection fee of half the permit fee for each re-inspection⁴. Soils make this more than paperwork here: only 17.9% of Erath County's land is free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so expect many properties to need an engineered or alternative system¹³. Once approved, an Authorization to Construct is valid for one year, the installer must notify the county inspector at least five working days before the construction inspection, and excavations must stay open until that inspection is complete⁴. Texas has a narrow statewide exemption for some qualifying tracts of 10 acres or more, but Erath County states that it permits and inspects every septic system; ask Environmental Health before assuming the state exemption applies locally^1,14.

Unincorporated Erath County does not use county zoning to restrict RV living, tiny-home occupancy or temporary camping, and sets no zoning-based minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size or building-height limit⁵. For property in a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, ask the city about zoning requirements; septic permits remain with Erath County Environmental Health countywide^1,2. Floodplain, septic, subdivision and setback rules can still affect placement^3,6. Outside municipal limits, land offered as 2 or more residential manufactured-home spaces for rent or lease for less than 60 months without a purchase option qualifies as a manufactured-home rental community⁷. The owner must obtain Commissioners Court approval of an infrastructure development plan before construction; utilities cannot supply water, sewer, gas or electricity until the owner provides a certificate of compliance⁷.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is unincorporated or inside a municipality or its ETJ; ask the city about building-permit and zoning requirements¹.

1. Confirm that any land division was properly platted and recorded before relying on the tract for a septic permit⁶.

1. Ask Land Development about the floodplain and obtain a floodplain permit before construction if required³.

1. Order the septic site evaluation and apply through Environmental Health before work begins^2,4.

1. Register any well with the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and determine whether an operating permit is required^8,15.

1. Obtain a TxDOT driveway permit for access from a state highway¹⁶.

1. Build without a county residential building permit or ordinary county home inspection while following energy-code, setback, subdivision and floodplain requirements that apply^1,6,9.

Confirm whether the parcel is inside a municipality or its ETJ, because city requirements may differ from the county answers while county septic permitting continues^1,2. Water and soils go together here: annual precipitation is about 33.9 inches, severe drought occurs in 30.4% of years, and only 17.9% of county soils lack severe limitations for a conventional drain field¹³. Register every existing, new or replacement well with the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and determine whether it also needs an operating permit⁸. Check the floodplain and recorded plat before buying; construction in a FEMA-recognized flood zone needs a county permit, and an unlawfully divided tract cannot receive a septic permit^3,6. Shared subdivision driveways require county inspection and approval before final plat approval⁶. The effective property-tax rate is about 1.1%, and the median annual bill is about $2,836¹³.