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

No general building permit is required to build a home on unincorporated land in Freestone County; Texas law gives counties no authority to require one outside a few narrow exceptions¹. The one county permit that reaches house construction is the floodplain development permit: the county's application covers residential construction, mobile homes, fill and substantial improvements, costs $25, and requires plans if the building is in a flood plain³. Inside cities the rules differ; Fairfield, for example, asks for a residential building permit application with a code checklist⁵. We could not confirm whether Freestone County requires a certificate of occupancy for a new home, so ask the County Judge's office¹². Those exceptions reach only counties with more than 250,000 people, or a county next to one, which may adopt a fire code covering commercial, public and larger multifamily buildings, or an optional residential construction standard; no official Freestone County resolution or order adopting either was found¹. If you're installing an industrialized or modular home yourself, Texas requires all program inspections to finish with no outstanding violations before the state issues a final on-site inspection report¹⁰. A homeowner can register to do that installation work personally, or through independent contractors, for a $75 non-refundable state registration fee, as long as the industrialized builder itself doesn't complete the covered work¹⁰.

Freestone County enforces no countywide zoning; Texas law grants zoning power only to specific counties and areas, and Freestone County is not among them^2,6. The county therefore sets no minimum lot size, setback, lot-coverage limit or building-height limit for unincorporated land⁶. Wortham's current municipal code has no codified zoning provisions because its zoning chapter is reserved for future use, but that does not rule out a separate uncodified map, ordinance or pending measure; ask the City of Wortham before building there⁷. Dividing land outside city limits is different: a subdivision plat must be prepared by a licensed engineer or surveyor, filed with the County Clerk, and submitted through the County Judge to the Commissioners' Court at least 14 days before a vote; the Court must act within 60 days of a complete application¹¹. No construction in an affected subdivision can begin until the plat and plans are authorized and filed¹¹. Driveways crossing drainage courses in a covered subdivision need permanent drainage structures set by the Commissioners' Court¹¹.

Freestone County runs its own on-site sewage facility (OSSF) program as a TCEQ-authorized agent, so the county itself, not the state directly, reviews and issues your septic permit⁴. A single-family residential application costs $310, and the county has up to five working days to approve or deny it once submitted with a site evaluation and soil analysis; the Authorization to Construct is only good for one year, after which you'd need to reapply and pay again⁸. After installation, the installer must schedule a final inspection with the county, and the county only issues a permit to operate once the system passes¹³. Soil quality is the practical hurdle: only about 25.9% of Freestone County's land carries no severe limitation for a conventional drain field under USDA data, so plenty of sites will need a more involved design and the site evaluation this program requires⁹. The state's separate 10-acre exception, for a single-family home on 10 acres or more meeting every TCEQ condition, can still apply even under the county's local program⁸.

Because Freestone County has no zoning authority, county rules do not restrict RV, tiny-home or manufactured-home occupancy on private land in unincorporated Freestone County, and the county sets no minimum dwelling size⁶. Temporary camping on private land is likewise unrestricted by county rule⁶. Freestone County's septic requirements still apply when a unit uses an on-site sewage facility⁸. Incorporated towns may have their own rules. Wortham's current code leaves its zoning chapter reserved for future use, but ask the city about any separate uncodified measure before relying on that code alone⁷.

1. Confirm the parcel is outside any city's limits; unincorporated land needs no general building permit, while city requirements may differ^1,5.
2. Before you buy, ask Freestone County Services about septic feasibility; only about 25.9% of the county's soils carry no severe limitation for a conventional system^9,14.
3. Apply for the county OSSF permit and pass the final inspection before using the system; the reviewed program materials list a $310 single-family application, but the county announced OSSF price changes effective April 1, 2026, so confirm the current fee with County Services^3,8,13,14. The Authorization to Construct is valid for one year⁸.
4. Ask the Floodplain Administrator whether the project needs the county's $25 development permit; the review covers houses, mobile homes, substantial improvements, fill and changes to waterways or drainage courses, and the permit is valid for one year³.
5. For access to a state highway, submit TxDOT Form 1058 and wait for the executed permit before work begins¹⁵. A driveway crossing a drainage course in a regulated subdivision also needs the permanent drainage structure set by the Commissioners' Court for that subdivision¹¹.
6. If you're creating a new lot, budget for the county's plat application fee of $105 per plat plus $10 for each additional page, then get the plat authorized by the Commissioners' Court and filed with the County Clerk before construction begins in the affected subdivision; the application also calls for a flood damage prevention permit and a sewage disposal plan certificate^11,16.

Soils and septic: only about 25.9% of the county's soils carry no severe limitation for a conventional drain field, so get the required site evaluation and soil analysis before committing to a system design^8,9. Flooding: ask the Floodplain Administrator whether the property is in an identified flood hazard area and what plans or other permits the project requires³. Access: a driveway onto a state highway needs a TxDOT permit, while the county's published driveway drainage rule is limited to drainage-course crossings in subdivisions covered by its regulations^11,15. Land and climate: Freestone County farmland averages about $4,299 an acre, annual rain is roughly 43 inches, severe drought occurred in about 18% of recent years, and about 37% of the land is wooded⁹. The effective property tax rate is about 1%, the median property tax bill is roughly $1,705 a year, and the nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 62 miles from the county's center⁹.