Bolthole Index

Hunt County, Texas

Building permits, zoning and land rules in Commerce, Texas

Commerce, Texas has a city building permit office in Community Development and city zoning; start with the city for construction inside city limits in Hunt County.12 We could not confirm the exact residential building permit triggers; ask Community Development before starting work.3 Septic is a separate question: Hunt County’s order requires a city letter that sewer service cannot be provided, and the county health office should confirm jurisdiction for your address.45

At a glance

Building permits
City Community Development; confirm requirements for your project13
Zoning
City zoning district use schedule applies2
Septic
Confirm jurisdiction with county health; city sewer-unavailability letter required under county order54
RV living
Permanent or temporary dwelling use prohibited outside mobile home parks6
Manufactured homes
HUD-code homes permitted in mobile home parks7
Lot size
NS district: 7,000 square feet for single-family detached residences8

Who to call

Building permits

Commerce Community Development Department

City building permits, building inspections, and planning and development

(903) 886-1101

1119 Alamo Street Commerce, TX 75428

Online permits →

Zoning

Commerce City Planning Division

Zoning changes, specific use requests, variances, subdivision plats and building inspection services

(903) 886-1101

1119 Alamo Street Commerce, TX 75428

Online permits →

Septic permits

Hunt County Health Department Environmental Services

Septic services; ask Environmental Services to confirm the OSSF permitting authority for a Commerce address

(903) 408-4140

[email protected]

2701 Johnson St. Greenville, TX 75401

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Commerce means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Do you need a building permit in Commerce, TX?

Commerce Community Development includes Building Permits and Building Inspections, so the city is the starting point for a home project inside Commerce city limits.1 The City Planning Division also provides building inspection services, but we could not confirm the residential permit triggers, adopted building-code edition or inspection stages.3 Ask Community Development for the application requirements, current fees, inspection sequence and occupancy approval needed for your proposed home before committing to construction.1

Who handles building permits and zoning in Commerce?

Reach Commerce Community Development at (903) 886-1101; the city lists its address as 1119 Alamo Street Commerce, TX 75428.1 The City Planning Division processes zoning changes, specific use permit requests and Board of Adjustment variance requests, and reviews subdivision plats.9 Use the city’s linked application portal as the starting point and ask which application matches your project.9 Keep wastewater questions separate: Hunt County Health Department Environmental Services lists septic services and can be reached at (903) 408-4140.10

Does Commerce have zoning, minimum lot sizes or setbacks?

Commerce regulates land and building uses through its zoning district use schedule; a proposed use must fit the district where the property lies.11 In Commerce’s Neighborhood Service (NS) district, a single-family detached residence needs a minimum lot area of 7,000 square feet, and residential lot coverage is limited to 60 percent.812 Those are NS district standards, not citywide dimensions.8 Ask City Planning to identify the parcel’s district and confirm the applicable setbacks and dwelling-size standards; the division handles zoning information and variance requests.9

How do septic permits work inside Commerce?

Under Hunt County’s OSSF order, residents or businesses in city jurisdictions need a city letter stating that no public or private sewer service can be provided before septic is permitted.4 The county order has exceptions for areas regulated by incorporated cities and covers cities with an executed intergovernmental contract; we could not confirm which arrangement applies inside Commerce, so ask county Environmental Services to verify your address.510 Where Hunt County’s order applies, septic permits are required before installation regardless of lot size; do not assume the state’s 10-acre exemption applies.1314 Only 0.5% of Hunt County soils rate not limited for conventional drain fields, a countywide screening figure that supports site evaluation rather than a conclusion that septic is impossible.15

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Commerce?

Commerce prohibits travel trailers, camper buses, motor homes and camper trailers used as permanent or temporary dwellings outside a mobile home park.6 The temporary-dwelling prohibition means an RV on a private lot is not an established way to live on-site while building a house.6 Commerce permits HUD-code manufactured homes in mobile home parks.7 We could not confirm a separate tiny-home, accessory-dwelling or general temporary-camping rule; ask City Planning how the proposed structure and use fit the zoning district before buying a unit.29

Building a home in Commerce: what steps come first?

  1. Ask City Planning to confirm the parcel’s zoning district and whether the proposed home use is permitted.119
  2. Ask Commerce Community Development for the building permit application, plan requirements and inspection schedule for the project.1
  3. Resolve sewer availability with the city; if septic is proposed, obtain the sewer-unavailability letter required by Hunt County’s order and confirm the permitting authority with Environmental Services.410
  4. For a subdivision proposal, arrange city plat review and confirm floodplain development permit requirements, which apply to subdivision and manufactured-home-park proposals.1617

What should you check before buying land in Commerce?

Ask City Planning about street access as well as the home use: Commerce’s driveway rule outside R districts limits width to 40 feet, requires 5 feet from side property lines and requires 10 feet between multiple driveways.18 We could not confirm Commerce-specific private-well or owner-builder exemption requirements; ask Community Development which approvals your proposed home and water supply need.1 For land outside city limits, use the Hunt County guide: the county’s no-zoning statement applies only to unincorporated land more than 5,000 feet from Lake Tawakoni, not to Commerce’s city zoning.192

Watch-outs

  • Commerce’s RV dwelling prohibition covers temporary living outside mobile home parks, including a proposed stay while building.6
  • Confirm the OSSF authority for a Commerce address before paying for septic design; Hunt County’s order contains incorporated-city jurisdiction exceptions.5
  • Commerce’s NS minimum lot area is not a minimum dwelling floor area; ask City Planning for the standards in your parcel’s district.89

Sources

  1. Commerce Community Development Department (commercetx.org)
  2. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Sec. 10 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  3. Planning & Permits | Commerce TX (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  4. TCEQ Approved Order: Hunt County On-Site Sewage Facilities, quoted and re-checked
  5. TCEQ Approved Order: Hunt County On-Site Sewage Facilities, quoted and re-checked
  6. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Sec. 58-26 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  7. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Sec. 58-31 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  8. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Sec. 11NS (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  9. Commerce City Planning Division (commercetx.org)
  10. Hunt County Health Department Environmental Services (huntcounty.net)
  11. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Sec. 10 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  12. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Sec. 11NS (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  13. TCEQ Approved Order 620107 — Hunt County On-Site Sewage Facility Order, quoted and re-checked
  14. Getting a Permit for an OSSF - Such as a Septic System (Texas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  15. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
  16. Planning & Permits | Commerce TX (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  17. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Sec. 46-92 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  18. Commerce Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Sec. 12 (Commerce), quoted and re-checked
  19. Hunt County Permitting & Zoning, quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Commerce

Commerce’s own rules

  • InspectionsLimited

    Building activity inside Commerce city limits.

    • The page establishes that the City Planning Division provides building inspection services; it does not state inspection triggers or stages.
    “The City Planning Division provides planning, community development and building inspection services”
  • Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

    Land inside Commerce city limits.

    • Uses and structures must comply with the zoning district use schedule.
    “Land and buildings in each of the zoning districts may be used for any of the listed uses”
  • Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

    Commerce city zoning districts.

    • Land and building use is governed by the district use schedule.
    “Land and buildings in each of the zoning districts may be used for any of the listed uses but no land shall hereafter be used, and no building or structure shall hereafter be erected, altered or converted which is arranged or designed or used for other than those uses specified as permitted uses in the district in which it is located according to the following use schedule and in accordance with the provisions of the following sections of this ordinance.”
  • Living in an RVProhibited

    Use of travel trailers, camper buses, motor homes, and camper trailers as permanent or temporary dwellings outside mobile home parks inside Commerce city limits.

    • The prohibition is limited to occupancy outside a mobile home park.
    “travel trailers [...] for use as a permanent or temporary dwelling outside of a mobile home park shall be prohibited.”
  • Manufactured homesLimited

    HUD-code manufactured homes inside Commerce city limits.

    • The supplied rule permits HUD-code manufactured homes in mobile home parks.
    “HUD-code manufactured homes shall be permitted in mobile home parks.”
  • Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

    Subdivision plats inside Commerce city limits.

    • The City Planning Division reviews and processes subdivision plats.
    “Reviewing and processing subdivision plats”
  • Driveway accessLimited

    Vehicular access from public streets in Commerce zoning districts other than R districts.

    • The quoted rule excludes R districts; it limits driveways to 40 feet wide, five feet from side property lines, and ten feet apart where two or more are provided.

    maximum driveway width: <= 40 feet (Applies in all districts except R districts) · minimum side-property-line distance: >= 5 feet (Applies in all districts except R districts) · minimum separation of two or more driveways: >= 10 feet (Applies in all districts except R districts)

    “In all districts except the R districts [...] maximum width of 40 feet. [...] five feet from side property lines [...] two or more driveways [...] ten feet apart.”
  • Building in a floodplainRequired

    Subdivision and manufactured-home-park development proposals inside Commerce city limits.

    • Applies to development of subdivisions, including placement of manufactured home parks and subdivisions; referenced permit requirements are in Secs. 46-49 and 46-72 and this division.
    “All proposals for the development of subdivisions including the placement of manufactured home parks and subdivisions shall meet floodplain development permit requirements”
  • Permit processPartial

    Planning requests and subdivision plats inside Commerce city limits.

    • The page identifies processing activities but does not provide a complete permit procedure.
    “Processing zoning changes, specific use permit requests, and abandonment requests”

Rules another office applies inside Commerce

Commerce does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

  • Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

    Residential uses in Commerce's Neighborhood Service (NS) district.

    • Lots of record before adoption may be used for a one-family dwelling and may not be reduced below the minimum requirements.

    single-family detached minimum lot area: 7000 square feet · duplex minimum lot area per unit: 3000 square feet · single-family attached minimum lot area per unit: 2500 square feet · apartment minimum lot area per unit: 1500 square feet

    “7,000 [...] for a single-family detached residence. [...] 3,000 [...] duplex unit. [...] 2,500 [...] single-family attached unit. [...] 1,500 [...] apartment unit.”
  • Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

    Residential uses in Commerce's Neighborhood Service (NS) district.

    maximum lot coverage: 60 percent

    “Maximum lot coverage: 60 percent of lot area.”
  • Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

    Buildings in Commerce's Neighborhood Service (NS) district.

    height limitation: 2½ standard stories

    “Height limitations. 2½ standard stories.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Commerce or Hunt County directly.

  • Building permit — Residential construction inside Commerce city limits.
  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built homes inside Commerce city limits.
  • Building code adopted — Construction inside Commerce city limits.
  • Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of buildings inside Commerce city limits.
  • Minimum dwelling size — Dwellings inside Commerce city limits.
12 more unanswered
  • Camping on your land
  • Tiny homes
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Who permits septic
  • Septic permit
  • Septic inspection
  • Off-grid sanitation
  • Well permit
  • Mandatory utility hookup
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Commerce publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Hunt County’s page lists the county offices to call.

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