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

Upshur County requires a Floodplain Development Permit when covered development is in a mapped special flood hazard area¹. Covered work includes new construction, substantial improvements, manufactured-home placement and other development within the ordinance's flood-hazard coverage¹. Where base-flood-elevation data is available, residential construction must place the lowest floor two feet above base flood elevation and provide certification from a registered engineer, architect or land surveyor¹. We could not confirm a general Upshur County building-permit, building-code or inspection program for an ordinary project elsewhere in the unincorporated county. Texas law gives counties limited building-regulation powers in specified circumstances, but the available Upshur County materials do not establish that the county adopted such a program⁹. Inside city limits the answer differs: Big Sandy requires a building permit before new construction, subject to the International Building Codes as the city adopted them, with inspection required before occupancy and a fee of $0.15 per square foot with a $50 minimum for new construction¹⁰. Statewide, Texas sets a minimum energy code for single-family homes, and local jurisdictions are responsible for enforcing it¹¹. Ask the County Judge's office whether a particular parcel or project needs county review before starting work.

The Upshur County Judge or a designee serves as Floodplain Administrator and handles the county's Floodplain Development Permit process^1,12. A floodplain application may require plans showing the site's dimensions, elevations, and proposed and existing structures, plus elevation or professional certifications¹. For septic systems, contact the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District, TCEQ's designated representative for OSSF permits in Upshur County; the fees are $360 for a single-family system and $610 for a multi-family or commercial system^2,13. For driveway culverts covered by the county's subdivision-road specifications, Road & Bridge must approve the size and material before installation, and the minimum inside diameter is 15 inches unless otherwise approved^14,15. For general building-code, inspection or occupancy questions outside the floodplain process, start with the County Judge's office because we could not confirm a separate county building department. For a culvert permit on a county road, call Road & Bridge at 903-843-7623 to schedule a culvert size evaluation, then return the signed permit and schedule pipe delivery and installation¹⁴.

Upshur County does not set zoning rules for unincorporated land^3,4. Texas gives county zoning power only in limited geographic or subject-specific situations, rather than granting every county general zoning authority⁴. Municipal land is different: Gilmer has a zoning ordinance that sets a minimum dwelling size of 1,200 square feet, Gladewater administers its own zoning, and Big Sandy publishes residential, business, industrial, general-provisions, site-plan and enforcement zoning materials^5,6,16. The Big Sandy source does not establish whether its zoning extends beyond the city limits, so ask the city about a parcel near the boundary⁶. On unincorporated land, Upshur County sets no zoning-based minimum home size, minimum lot size, setback or building-height limit⁴. County subdivision rules still matter: dividing land into two or more parts while laying out streets or other shared-use areas generally requires a plat, subject to exceptions that include qualifying agricultural use and subdivisions in which every lot exceeds 10 acres^7,17.

Every new or replaced septic system (an OSSF, or on-site sewage facility) in Upshur County needs a permit from the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District, TCEQ's designated representative for Upshur, Morris, Marion and Cass counties¹³. NETMWD requires the completed application and fee before you build a structure with water-using devices, or before you repair or replace an existing system, and charges $360 for a single-family residence or $610 for a multi-family or commercial system¹³. NETMWD or its designated representative also inspects the system installation before it's covered¹⁸. Soils matter here: only 5.3% of Upshur County's land is free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so plan on a site evaluation early and expect many properties to need an aerobic or alternative system rather than a standard gravity drain field⁸. Texas does offer a narrow exemption from OSSF permitting on tracts of 10 acres or more, but only if a licensed site evaluator or engineer signs off, the dwelling is the only one on the tract, every part of the system stays at least 100 feet from the property line, and effluent stays on the property¹⁹. On anything smaller than that 10-acre threshold, or if any condition isn't met, permitting through NETMWD is required before you build¹³.

Unincorporated Upshur County has no zoning-based restriction on RV or tiny-home occupancy, temporary camping, minimum dwelling size or minimum lot size⁴. That county answer does not override municipal zoning: Big Sandy publishes its own zoning materials, and Gilmer has a zoning ordinance, so confirm city rules when a parcel is inside or near municipal limits^5,6. We could not confirm whether Upshur County requires a certificate of occupancy or general residential inspections, so ask the County Judge's office before relying on their absence. A mapped flood hazard area changes the permit answer because the county ordinance covers new construction, manufactured-home placement and other development there¹. Septic rules also apply independently of zoning, and a structure with water-using devices generally requires an application and fee through NETMWD before work begins¹³.

1. Confirm whether the parcel lies in a mapped special flood hazard area; if it does, contact the County Judge's office for a Floodplain Development Permit before covered construction or placement begins^1,12.

1. Ask the County Judge's office whether any general county building-code, inspection or occupancy requirement applies to the project, because we could not confirm one.

1. Order a septic site and soil evaluation early because only 5.3% of county soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field⁸.

1. Apply to NETMWD before covered septic work and budget $360 for a single-family permit or $610 for a multi-family or commercial permit, unless every condition of the state's 10-acre exemption is met^2,19.

1. Obtain Road & Bridge approval before installing a driveway culvert covered by the subdivision-road specifications¹⁵. A state-highway driveway instead requires Form 1058 and 24-hour advance notice to TxDOT before construction²⁰.

Water and soils go together here: annual precipitation runs about 48 inches a year, but 16.6% of years bring severe drought, and only 5.3% of soils are free of severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field⁸. Land is mostly gentle and wooded: 81.2% of the county is at a 15% slope or less, while 58.8% is forested⁸. Check the adopted flood maps before buying because covered development in a special flood hazard area requires a county permit and may need elevation plans and certifications¹. If a tract was recently split outside a city, confirm that it was platted or qualified for an exception under the county subdivision rules⁷. Ask the relevant groundwater authority whether a private well permit applies to the specific parcel because we could not confirm a countywide answer. The effective property-tax rate is about 1.2%, the median annual bill is about $2,099, and the typical county home value is about $241,675⁸.