Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Cameron, Texas

At a glance

Building permit

Required inside Cameron city limits for new construction and renovations¹

Permit fee

New residential: $0.075 per sq ft plus inspection fees, $50 minimum⁴

Inspections

$50 per inspection for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing⁵

Zoning

Yes, the city has a zoning map and zoning change forms²

Certificate of occupancy

Required after construction and inspections are complete⁶

Septic permits

Milam County Health Department (countywide)³

Private wells

Registered with Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District⁷

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Cameron, Texas have zoning?

Yes. The City of Cameron publishes a zoning map and takes applications for zoning changes, re-zoning and special use permits through its code enforcement office². Inside city limits, then, a lot's district decides what can be built or parked on it, unlike unincorporated Milam County.

We could not confirm the district rules themselves, so we cannot tell you minimum lot sizes, setbacks, or whether an RV, tiny home or manufactured home is allowed on a given lot. Download the city's zoning map from the code enforcement page and ask the code enforcement officer which district a specific address sits in before you buy⁸⁹.

Do you need a building permit in Cameron, and who issues it?

Yes. The City of Cameron asks that a building permit application be completed before any new construction or renovation begins inside city limits⁹. The city's code enforcement office issues the permit¹.

The city's posted fee for new residential construction is $0.075 per square foot plus inspection fees, with a minimum permit of $50⁴. Each building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing inspection is $50, multiplied by the number of inspections the codes require for a single-family structure⁵. The fee page is dated April 2021, so confirm current amounts with the office.

Building contractors working in the city pay a $50 annual license fee and supply a $1,000 bond or proof of liability insurance⁹.

How do you reach the Cameron building permit office?

Building permits are handled by Cameron's Code Enforcement / Building Permits office at City Hall, 100 S. Houston Ave, Cameron, TX 76520, phone 254-697-6646, email [email protected]⁹. The office lists its hours as Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 9:30 am and 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm⁹.

Submit the building permit application by email or deliver it to city hall¹⁰. When construction and inspections are finished, apply for the certificate of occupancy at city hall⁶.

How do septic permits work in Cameron, Texas?

Septic permits are a county matter. The Milam County Health Department is the permitting authority for on-site sewage facilities in Milam County¹¹, and a designated representative of that department permits and inspects every system built, altered, extended or repaired in the county³.

The county application lists $410 for a conventional or low-pressure dosing system, and an Authorization to Construct must be issued before work begins¹². A re-inspection costs $100 each time¹³.

We could not confirm whether the city of Cameron adds its own septic rules inside city limits, or which lots are on city sewer. Ask the City of Cameron water and wastewater department and the county health office at 254-697-7039¹¹.

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

We could not confirm Cameron's rules for living in an RV, camping on a lot, or placing a tiny home or manufactured home, because those depend on the city's zoning district and the district text was not available to us. Ask the code enforcement office at 254-697-6646 before you move anything onto a lot⁹.

Milam County's RV park and tiny house regulations apply only outside municipal city limits, so they do not govern a lot inside Cameron¹⁴.

Building a home in Cameron: the steps, in order

1. Ask the code enforcement office which zoning district the lot is in and what that district allows⁹.
2. Complete the city building permit application and email or deliver it to city hall¹⁰.
3. Pay the permit fee and schedule the required inspections⁴.
4. Get septic approval from the Milam County Health Department if the lot is not on city sewer¹¹.
5. Finish construction and inspections, then apply for the certificate of occupancy⁶.

What stays with Milam County, and what to check before you buy in Cameron

Septic permits stay with the Milam County Health Department³. Private wells anywhere in Milam County fall inside the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District; a household well must be registered and needs a Certificate to Drill and a $100 deposit before drilling⁷.

County soils matter for septic: about 14.5% of Milam County soils rate as not limited for a conventional drain field, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system on a lot without sewer¹⁵.

For land outside Cameron city limits the county's rules apply instead; see the Milam County page.

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm the text of Cameron's zoning ordinance, so setbacks, lot sizes and RV or tiny home rules for a specific lot must come from the code enforcement office⁸.
• The city's posted permit fee schedule is dated April 2021, so confirm current fees before budgeting⁴.
• Milam County's development permit and RV park rules apply to unincorporated land, not to lots inside Cameron city limits¹⁶.

Sources

1. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
2. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
3. Milam County Health Department OSSF Application, quoted and re-checked
4. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
5. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
6. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
7. Drilling & Wells FAQs, quoted and re-checked
8. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
9. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (camerontexas.net)
10. City of Cameron Code Enforcement / Building Permits (Cameron), quoted and re-checked
11. Milam County Health Department (milamcounty.net)
12. Milam County Health Department OSSF Application, quoted and re-checked
13. Milam County Health Department OSSF Application, quoted and re-checked
14. Milam County RV Park Regulations, 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. Development Permit Application - Approved 25-05-12, quoted and re-checked

Written October 14, 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.