Building a barndominium in Central Texas, start to finish

A barndominium here is a post-frame or steel-frame building finished inside as a house. Post-frame sets heavy wood posts on or in the ground and carries the roof and walls on them, so the frame takes the load and the interior has no bearing walls. A steel version bolts up a metal building frame and spans the same way. The open span is the point: you finish the inside as rooms, and the rooms can move later.

The other choice is how far the builder takes it. A shell is the frame, the roof and wall panels, usually the slab, and the doors and windows. Turnkey is the shell plus plumbing, wiring, HVAC, insulation, interior walls and finishes. That split matters for who you are hiring. The trades working inside the shell are the state-credentialed ones: plumbers are licensed through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, electricians through TDLR, and the septic installer through TCEQ. The person who erects the shell holds no state license, because Texas does not require one to work as a general contractor.

Counties mostly do not care what you call the building. Bastrop County's development permit covers a single-family home, a manufactured home, an RV and a tiny home in the same list. Travis County's new home application asks which year of the International Residential Code the build will follow. Williamson County issues no building permit and has adopted no residential building code for the unincorporated county, so the word barndominium never comes up there at all.

Start with the shape of the deal before the shape of the house. Compare post-frame homes against metal building homes, then decide shell or turnkey, because that decision sets how many contracts you sign and how many trades you manage yourself.

Source: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians program, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

The lot decides the budget, and every check below is a public lookup you can run yourself. Run them before you put money down, because each one can change what the site costs to build on, or stop the project outright.

None of these require a consultant. They require an address, an afternoon and a few phone calls to the offices that will eventually review your file. The lot pages go deeper: will my Highland Lakes lot work walks a lakefront parcel through the same list, and land and lot evaluation is the service that does it on the ground.

• Septic authority. Search your county in TCEQ's On-Site Activity Reporting System. It returns every authorized agent in the county and the area each one serves. Travis County has seven agents, Burnet has eight, Caldwell has five, Llano has three, Bastrop has two, and Williamson has exactly one, the county itself, covering the whole county.

• River authority zone. LCRA publishes an address-searchable OSSF and watershed jurisdiction map. LCRA appears as an authorized agent in Travis, Burnet and Llano counties, and does not appear in Williamson, Bastrop or Caldwell.

• Aquifer zone. Check the parcel in the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer and print the map, because the printed map goes in the application if one is required.

• Flood zone. The FEMA Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for flood hazard information produced for the National Flood Insurance Program, searchable by address, place name or coordinates.

• Wildfire exposure. The Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal from Texas A&M Forest Service supplies wildfire mitigation and prevention planning data, maps and reports statewide.

• Driveway control. Ask who owns the road. In Llano County it is the county commissioner for your precinct, in writing, plus a county road cut permit. In Burnet County it is the precinct commissioner on a county road access permit, and that approval has to be in hand before the 911 address is assigned. In Williamson County it is the Road and Bridge Division. In Travis County it is TNR for a county-maintained road and TxDOT for a state road. In Bastrop County the driveway rides along on the county development application. In Caldwell County it is the Unit Road Department.

• Loan eligibility. USDA Rural Development publishes a property eligibility map where an address can be checked against generally eligible rural areas.

Source: TCEQ On-Site Activity Reporting System, search by county, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Travis County (CNTY_CD 227), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Burnet County (CNTY_CD 27), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Caldwell County (CNTY_CD 28), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Llano County (CNTY_CD 150), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Bastrop County (CNTY_CD 11), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, Williamson County (CNTY_CD 246), read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA Water Quality Jurisdictions map, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ OARS county search, identical entry returned for Travis, Burnet and Llano counties, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: FEMA Flood Map Service Center, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas A&M Forest Service, read 2026-09-13.

Source: USDA Rural Development, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

There is no single Central Texas answer. The same house on the same plans gets six different files. Read your county's line below, then call that office before you draw anything.

Behind the county differences sits one state rule. Texas counties can adopt residential building code standards for the unincorporated area, but only by first passing a resolution or order opting in, and only if the county is within 50 miles of an international border or above the stated population threshold. It is opt-in, not automatic. Where a county has opted in, new residential construction must meet the International Residential Code as published May 1, 2008, or the IRC version in force in that county seat. Even then the county cannot require permission before construction starts and gains no zoning power. What it does get is inspections: at least three on a new house on a vacant lot, at the foundation before concrete, at framing and mechanical before drywall, and on completion. The builder contracts those inspections, not the county, and the inspector has to be one of six listed qualified persons. The builder may use one inspector throughout or a different one each time.

The six-county permit guide sets these side by side in one table. Locations is the map into each county and town page, and the Central Texas barndominium permit directory lists the offices and what each one issues.

• Travis County. The strictest of the six. Any development in Travis County requires a permit, and the county defines development to include structures and buildings, driveways, work in the county right of way, on-site sewage facilities, dividing land, and mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation and clearing land to prepare a site. You file a basic development permit, or a special flood hazard area permit in the floodplain. Where a professional builder does the work, three third-party inspections are required at foundation, framing and mechanical, and completion. The county does not perform them. Manufactured homes need the permit but are exempt from those inspections. The standards apply to work begun after September 1, 2009.

• Bastrop County. A development permit is required for all development in the unincorporated county, including a single-family home, a manufactured home, an RV and a tiny home. The permit class is set by the parcel's relationship to the mapped 100-year floodplain, so floodplain review is built in rather than separate. The county issues no building permit and no certificate of occupancy and inspects nothing itself, but its Commissioners Court adopted residential building code standards by resolution on September 14, 2009, so three inspections at foundation, framing and mechanical, and completion are required, contracted by the builder with a private qualified inspector. A tract inside the covered area also needs a Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan decision.

• Williamson County. In the county's own words, Texas counties have not been given general zoning authority by the state legislature, so the county does not issue building permits except for health and safety issues, and has no authority to zone property or issue a certificate of occupancy. It has not adopted the optional county residential building code standards, so it sets no building code and inspects no houses. What it does require before a new home goes up is a Certificate of Compliance from the County Engineer's office, which is the floodplain check, and that has to be in hand before a septic application will be processed. A lot in a recorded subdivision may already carry one in its plat notes.

• Burnet County. The county does issue building permits outside city limits, and will not issue the septic permit without one. A Class A permit covers a site outside any flood hazard area and is application and payment only, with no county inspection of the structure. A Class B permit covers a site inside a designated flood hazard boundary and needs an elevation certificate from a surveyor or a letter from an engineer, a site plan showing the flood zone, and two inspections, pre-pour and finished construction. The order is fixed and an incomplete packet is not processed: 911 address first, then the building permit, then the septic permit.

• Llano County. The county issues no building permits and runs no building department, no building code and no building inspector. The words building permit appear nowhere in the county's own on-site sewage order, subdivision regulations or flood damage prevention order. What a new house does need is a county development permit, which is also how the property gets its 911 address, a septic permit, and a floodplain development permit where any of the lot is in a mapped special flood hazard area. The county asks for seven to 10 business days on a review outside the floodplain, and longer for floodplain work, septic and commercial projects.

• Caldwell County. A Residential Construction Permit is required for a new home outside city limits under the county Development Ordinance. It is not a building code permit and the county does not inspect framing or electrical work. The county reviews the paperwork around the lot: the recorded plat or a metes and bounds survey, the deed, tax certificates showing current taxes paid, a sketch of the proposed structure, the approved 911 address and the approved county septic permit. The parcel has to be an original tract, a legally platted lot, or a tract exempt from platting, or the permit does not issue.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.152, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(a), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(d), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Outside the city limits you are usually in a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, the ETJ, and what the city can do there varies by city. Get this answer in writing before you assume the county file is the only file.

Georgetown is the one that surprises people. Inside the city, Georgetown requires a permit to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change occupancy of a building, or to work on electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems, under the 2021 International Residential Code effective November 1, 2023. In its ETJ, Georgetown regulates subdivision of land, stormwater, utility evaluation, driveway permits and sign permits. Georgetown building permits also apply in the ETJ when the City is the water, wastewater or electric provider, and that condition reaches new construction, plumbing and electrical work, and utility connections. So the provider on your service map can pull you into a city file.

Leander requires a permit before any construction starts inside the city limits, under the 2021 IRC for One and Two-Family Dwellings plus the 2023 National Electrical Code with local amendments. In the Leander ETJ the only permits required are for signs and water or wastewater connections, and no City building permit is required. Liberty Hill requires a building permit for any construction that physically changes or adds structures, under the 2021 IRC, and that permit expires after 180 days unless construction continues or an extension is granted. The Liberty Hill ETJ is subject to subdivision and sign regulations, platting and stormwater permits may be required, and City building permits are not required there unless a development agreement is in place for the property.

Burnet and Llano counties have their own cities to check. Marble Falls requires a building permit for all construction inside the city limits and lists new construction as work requiring one, under the 2024 International Residential Code with the 2023 National Electric Code. Marble Falls has a one mile ETJ where it regulates signs, subdivision of land, non-point source pollution and water quality, and does not issue building, electrical or mechanical permits. The City of Burnet requires a building permit for any construction that physically changes or adds a structure, with dwellings first on the list, under the 2021 International Codes including the 2021 IRC, the 2021 Fire Code and the 2023 National Electrical Code, effective for new permits received on or after April 1, 2025. Llano's Code Enforcement Department issues building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and inspects all permitted work, under the 2021 IRC and the 2021 National Electric Code.

To the southeast, the City of Bastrop requires residential permits under the International Residential Code and publishes a checklist for infill new residential construction, on the 2018 IRC with the 2023 National Electric Code. Bastrop has subdivision authority inside the city limits and throughout its ETJ, and an interlocal agreement gives Bastrop County review of part of it. Lockhart requires a permit for most construction that physically changes or adds a structure, with a new dwelling first on its list, under the 2018 IRC adopted by Ordinance 2021-39. Lockhart's ETJ is subject to city subdivision and signage regulations, not the full city code. One more reach to check: Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction touches Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties, and any property with water frontage on Lake Austin or its tributaries is inside Austin Water's septic jurisdiction no matter how the lot, house or drainfield sits.

Source: City of Georgetown Development Services, When do I need a Permit?, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Georgetown Development Services, Adopted Building Code, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Georgetown Development Services, Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) and City Limits, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Leander, Permits and Building Inspection, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Leander, Building Codes, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Liberty Hill, Building Permits and Inspections, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Liberty Hill, Frequently Asked Questions (Planning and Development), read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Marble Falls FAQ, Do I need a permit within the city limit?, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Marble Falls Building Division, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Marble Falls FAQ, Do I need a permit outside the city limit?, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Burnet Building Department, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Burnet, Burnet Code Adoption 2021 (PDF, city-hosted), read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Llano Code Enforcement Department, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Bastrop Building and Permitting, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Bastrop Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Bastrop Development Process, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Lockhart, Do I need a permit? FAQ, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Lockhart Council Packet, Ordinance 2021-39 (PDF, city-hosted), read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Lockhart Construction Standards and Contractor License Information, read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Austin Planning, Jurisdictional Matters, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Austin Water, On-Site Sewage Facilities, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Start with the base rule: a septic permit is required to construct, install, alter, extend or repair a system, and local programs may be stricter than the state minimum. The state exemption exists, and then the county takes it away. Under 30 TAC 285.3, an on-site sewage facility is exempt from planning materials, permit and inspections when it serves a single family dwelling on a tract of ten acres or larger, meets all Subchapter D construction standards, causes no nuisance or groundwater pollution, keeps all parts at least 100 feet from the property line, disposes of effluent on the property, and is the only dwelling on the tract. Read every condition, because all of them have to hold.

Now read what the counties say. Travis County states no lot-size exemption at all: every system in its jurisdiction is covered whatever the size of the lot, with a one acre minimum lot size for a home on septic. Burnet County permits and inspects every on-site system whatever the size of the tract, which sets aside the state acreage exception. Caldwell County requires an application, permit and inspection whatever the size of the tract, with a one acre minimum, and only a licensed installer may build the system. Bastrop County requires a permit for every septic installation or modification regardless of acreage, with a half acre minimum where there is a public water supply and one acre without one. Llano County permits every system whatever the tract size. That is the state exemption overridden across most of this footprint. Williamson County's own record states no position on tract size, so ask the Williamson County Engineer's Office whether the state exemption reaches your address before you rely on it.

The counties can do that. A local authorized agent may adopt on-site sewage disposal standards stricter than state law or TCEQ rules, and those stricter local standards control where they give greater public health and safety protection. Under 30 TAC 285.10 each stricter requirement has to be justified in writing on public health and safety grounds and reviewed by the TCEQ executive director before public notice. The authorized agent is responsible for implementing chapter 285 in its jurisdiction, must run its program under the order, ordinance or resolution approved by the executive director, and must enforce chapter 285 and Health and Safety Code chapter 366.

Near the lakes, the river authority is the agent instead of the county. TCEQ designated LCRA as an authorized agent to administer TCEQ's on-site sewage facility rules within LCRA's jurisdiction. LCRA regulates on-site sewage facilities within a 2,200-foot zone around the upper Highland Lakes and within a 2,000-foot zone around Lake Travis. That area is built from two layers: a Restricted Zone at each lake, plus a Water Quality Zone extending 2,000 feet horizontally beyond the outer boundary of the Restricted Zone. Five lakes are named in LCRA's rules: Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, Lake Marble Falls and Lake Travis. Inside that jurisdiction a permit is required before constructing or installing any on-site sewage facility, no matter the lot size. Allow up to 30 days from the date the application is submitted for a new system permit, not counting design or site complications. One conflict is worth knowing before you rely on a number: LCRA's own pages say the Lake Travis zone is 2,000 feet, Travis County is reported to say 1,000 feet, and nothing on lcra.org checked in this session says 1,000 feet. Ask LCRA which figure applies to your address and get the answer in writing.

Two LCRA rules follow you past the build. A maintenance contract is required for the first two years on an aerobic treatment unit, and after two years the owner may do the maintenance only after taking the class and passing the test. An inspection is required on every transfer of ownership before LCRA will approve the new owner for continued use, which matters when you sell. Statewide, the permitting authority must approve or deny the planning materials and permit application within 30 days of receipt, with a written explanation on denial and an appeal to its supervisory body. Emergency repairs need no permit but must be reported to the permitting authority in writing within 72 hours after repairs begin. Anyone operating as an OSSF installer, apprentice, maintenance provider or maintenance technician must be licensed or registered by TCEQ, with Installer I covering standard systems and Installer II covering all system types, and you can check them on TCEQ's public license lookup. The full walkthrough is in the septic permit guide.

Source: TCEQ, Getting a Permit for an On-Site Sewage Facility, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ adopted rule text, 30 TAC Chapter 285, Rule Project No. 2021-030-285-CE, section 285.3, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 366.032(b), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ publication RG-472, On-Site Sewage Facility Rules Compilation, 30 TAC 285.10(b)(4), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ publication RG-472, 30 TAC 285.10(a), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, On-site Sewage Facilities: Information for Regulators, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Program, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 6, Area of Jurisdiction, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 10.05(b), read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-site Sewage Rules Frequently Asked Questions, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

The Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer is a major aquifer in the southcentral part of Texas, and the program that protects it covers eight Texas counties: Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Comal, Hays, Travis and Williamson. In the Austin region it covers Williamson, Travis and Hays, handled by the TCEQ Austin Regional Office at (512) 339-2929, while the other five go to San Antonio. Of the six counties on this site, only Travis and Williamson are in it. Burnet, Llano, Bastrop and Caldwell are not.

Which zone you sit in decides the whole filing. The recharge zone is where the Edwards Aquifer rock units crop out, plus nearby outcrops with caves, sinkholes, faults or fractures that could let surface water into the aquifer. The contributing zone is the watershed upgradient of the recharge zone, generally north and northwest of it, where rainfall runoff flows down to the recharge zone. In Travis County that is all areas except the watersheds draining to the Colorado River above a point 1.3 miles upstream from Tom Miller Dam. In Williamson County it is all areas except the watersheds draining to the Lampasas River above Stillhouse Hollow dam. The transition zone is the area south and southeast of the recharge zone where other formations crop out and faults or fractures give surface water a possible path into the aquifer. The geology behind those lines is the Balcones Fault Zone: faulting followed uplift of the Edwards Plateau, and streams crossing the zone recharge the aquifer where permeability is enhanced by dissolution of limestone.

The plan you file differs by zone, and so does the trigger. In the contributing zone, a Contributing Zone Plan is the plan of best management practices required for a regulated activity, and it must be approved before construction starts. It is triggered when activities disturb at least five acres, or are part of a larger plan of development or sale, under 30 TAC 213.21(b). Below that, no Edwards Aquifer protection plan is needed in the contributing zone. On the recharge zone there is no acreage floor at all: a Water Pollution Abatement Plan is required for any regulated activity, approved before construction starts. If a site sits partly on the contributing zone and partly on the recharge zone, the whole site is treated as recharge zone and a WPAP is required, and the same escalation applies to a transition zone site that drains back to the recharge zone.

A single-family residence may not need its own plan if it is in a master community with an approved plan, or sits on a lot larger than five acres with only that one residence, or keeps impervious cover to 20 percent or less of the legal property. Check that against your own site plan early, because the timeline is long: administrative review takes up to 30 days under 30 TAC 213.4(e), technical review of an administratively complete application takes 90 days, and construction cannot begin until approval issues. In Williamson County a septic system over the recharge zone also has to be designed by a registered sanitarian or a professional engineer. Check the parcel in the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer first and print the map. The zone-by-zone detail is in the Edwards Aquifer guide.

Source: TCEQ GIS metadata, Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone - Chapter 213 Rules (TSMS), quoting 30 TAC 213.3(8), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program home page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ GIS metadata, quoting 30 TAC 213.3(25), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ GIS metadata, quoting 30 TAC 213.22(2), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ GIS metadata, quoting 30 TAC 213.3(34), read 2026-09-13.

Source: USGS, Karst Aquifers: Edwards Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Water Development Board, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Contributing Zone Plan page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Protection Program: What Plans You Might Need, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Water Pollution Abatement Plan page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, What Plans You Might Need, recharge zone branch, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, What Plans You Might Need, contributing zone branch, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Private Residences page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Edwards Aquifer Map Viewer page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center first, by address, place name or coordinates. It is the official public source for flood hazard information produced for the National Flood Insurance Program. If any part of the lot lands in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a permit is required before construction or development begins, and the community's floodplain administrator is responsible for ensuring development complies with floodplain management regulations and other applicable codes, and for ensuring permits are applied for.

The Colorado River runs through Travis and Bastrop counties, and the creeks feeding it matter as much as the river. Travis County requires full architectural and site plans, lowest floor elevations and a flood venting plan, an elevation certificate before framing starts and a finished-construction certificate within 30 days, with no effect on the base flood elevation. Bastrop County requires two feet of freeboard above base flood elevation, extended to some Zone X areas where base level engineering has set flood depths, with a surveyor certifying the elevation. Burnet County requires one foot of freeboard above base flood elevation and recommends two in an A zone, and its Class B building permit inside a flood hazard boundary needs an elevation certificate from a surveyor or a letter from an engineer, a site plan showing the flood zone, and two inspections at pre-pour and finished construction.

North and southeast the rules are their own. Williamson County requires a floodplain development permit in or next to the 100-year floodplain, a structure sits at least a foot above base flood elevation, and a surveyor files a FEMA elevation certificate twice, after the slab and at completion. Williamson also requires a Certificate of Compliance from the County Engineer before construction and before the septic application, and that certificate is the floodplain check. Caldwell County requires a floodplain development permit for all construction and other development in the mapped flood zones, manufactured homes included, and a home inside or within 300 feet of a floodplain must have its first finished floor at least two feet above the adjoining base flood elevation, with an elevation certificate. In Caldwell County the county Floodplain Administrator is the Director of Sanitation. Llano County requires a floodplain development permit for any development in a special flood hazard area and warns that floodplain reviews take longer than its seven to 10 business day target.

The Elevation Certificate itself is an NFIP administrative tool used to set the flood insurance premium rate, to document elevation for compliance with community floodplain management regulations, and to support a LOMA or LOMR-F request. Land surveyors, architects and engineers authorized by law certify the elevation information on it, and the community official who may complete Section G is someone authorized by law or ordinance to administer the community's floodplain management ordinance. Budget for a surveyor more than once on a floodplain lot. If the driveway has to cross a creek to reach the pad, price that separately: ranch roads, culverts and low water crossings covers what the crossing adds.

Source: FEMA Flood Map Service Center, read 2026-09-13.

Source: FEMA glossary, Permit for Floodplain Development, read 2026-09-13.

Source: FEMA, NFIP Floodplain Management Requirements study guide, Unit 7, read 2026-09-13.

Source: FEMA 467-1, Floodplain Management Bulletin: Elevation Certificate, read 2026-09-13.

Source: FEMA, Elevation Certificate FAQ, October 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Land disturbance is its own permit track, separate from the house. The Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance regulates construction of buildings, roads, paved storage areas and parking lots, plus any land-disturbing and construction activity including clearing, excavating, grading, contouring, mining and depositing refuse, waste or fill. It covers the Lake Travis watershed in Travis County, the Colorado River watershed in Burnet County, and a portion of Llano County, above the Regulated Pool Elevation of the Highland Lakes, as drawn on the official Ordinance Map.

The threshold is the number to know. An LCRA development permit is required if impervious cover will exceed 10,000 square feet and/or land disturbance will exceed one acre. A single-family residence may be built without that permit by filing a written notification with LCRA, if it creates under 10,000 square feet of impervious cover and disturbs under one acre. If it creates more than 10,000 square feet of impervious cover but still disturbs under one acre, the written notification route stays open only if the site meets the downstream buffer guidelines in the LCRA Technical Manual. Ask early who administers it at your address: eleven local governments administer part or all of the ordinance under interlocal agreements, so an LCRA permit may not be the one that applies to you. Separately, the TPDES Construction General Permit TXR150000 covers construction disturbing one acre or more, or part of a larger common plan of development that will disturb one acre or more. Below one acre no coverage is required.

What lives on the lot can also limit clearing. The Houston toad is federally endangered, listed on October 13, 1970 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. Range-wide audio surveys from 2006 to 2011 detected it in only nine counties, including Bastrop, and critical habitat was designated in portions of Bastrop and Burleson counties on January 31, 1978. The Lost Pines is over 75,000 acres of loblolly pines across parts of five counties, the westernmost stand of loblolly pine in the United States, and its seasonally moist sandy soils provide critical habitat for the toad. That is why a Bastrop County development permit can carry a Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan decision where the tract is in the covered area, and Bastrop County Development Services is the office to ask. Elsewhere in Central Texas, the golden-cheeked warbler nests and breeds only in mixed Ashe juniper and deciduous woodlands, arriving at its Central Texas breeding grounds from January to March and leaving in late summer. If your lot carries that woodland, settle the clearing-timing question before a dozer starts.

Clearing near the house pulls the other way, toward wildfire. The 2011 Bastrop County Complex fire covered 32,400 acres with 75 percent of it burning at extreme fire intensity, destroyed 1,660 homes and 36 commercial buildings, and burned for 37 days. Texas A&M Forest Service defines three home ignition zones by distance: Immediate at 0 to 5 feet, Intermediate at 5 to 30 feet, and Extended at 30 to 100 feet, out to 200 feet if available. In the intermediate zone tree crowns should be at least 18 feet apart with the mature canopy no closer than 10 feet to the home; in the extended zone spacing is at least 12 feet at 30 to 60 feet out and at least 6 feet at 60 to 100 feet out. Plan the defensible space and the habitat question together, before the site plan is final. While the dozer is out, price the rest of the site work in the same pass: stock tanks and ponds and ranch entrance gates and pipe fence are cheaper mobilized once.

Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 1, Title and Scope, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Required notifications and permits, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 4.1(b), Written Notification, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Interlocal agreements, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities: Am I Regulated?, read 2026-09-13.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Bastrop State Park, read 2026-09-13.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas A&M Forest Service, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas A&M Forest Service, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Texas does not require a state license to work as a general contractor, and local city or county requirements may still apply. The Texas Residential Construction Commission was abolished and its enabling Act expired on September 1, 2009. So a barndominium builder in Central Texas is an independent builder. Anyone who tells you they hold a state builder license is describing something that does not exist.

What you can verify are the trades inside the shell, and those verifications are public.

Beyond licenses, verify the paper: current general liability and workers compensation certificates sent to you directly by the insurer or agent, a physical business address, references on barndominiums specifically rather than on conventional homes, and lien releases from suppliers and subs at every draw. Ask which inspector the builder uses where county code standards apply, and ask whether it is one inspector throughout or a different one each stage, because both are allowed. The barndominium construction page covers what to ask on the first call, and the permit directory tells you which office confirms what the builder claims about your county.

• Plumbers are licensed by the state through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which runs a public license and registration lookup.

• Electricians are licensed by the state through TDLR, non-exempt electrical work must be done through a licensed electrical contractor, and TDLR runs a public license search.

• The septic installer must be licensed or registered by TCEQ, with Installer I covering standard systems and Installer II covering all system types. TCEQ runs a public license lookup for OSSF professionals, with individual search, group search, company registrations and exam results.

Source: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians program, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, On-site Sewage Facilities: Information for Regulators, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.

In Williamson, Llano and Caldwell counties, and for the structure itself in Bastrop and Travis counties, no county employee will look at your framing or your wiring. Williamson County issues no building permit, no certificate of occupancy and has adopted no residential building code. Llano County runs no building department, no building code and no building inspector. Caldwell County reviews the paperwork around the lot and does not inspect framing or electrical work. Bastrop County issues no building permit and no certificate of occupancy and performs no building inspections itself. In Travis County the builder contracts the three required inspections and the county does not perform them. That absence is not a loophole. It just means the contract is the only inspection regime you have.

Write the standard into the contract rather than assuming it. Where county residential building code standards apply, new construction must meet the International Residential Code as published May 1, 2008, or the IRC version in force in that county seat, and at least three inspections are required on a new house on a vacant lot: foundation before concrete, framing and mechanical before drywall, and on completion. The builder contracts those inspections and the inspector must be one of six listed qualified persons, using one inspector throughout or a different one each time. Name the code year in the contract. Travis County's own application asks for it, so there is no excuse for leaving it blank.

Tie money to inspection, not to calendar. The three inspection points are natural draw gates, so put the draw after the passing report rather than after the stage is called done. Require the inspection reports be sent to you, not only to the builder. Where the county issues no certificate of occupancy, define in writing what substantial completion means and what punch items hold retainage. Where the county does inspect, as with Burnet County's two Class B inspections at pre-pour and finished construction inside a flood hazard boundary, put those dates in the schedule too.

One more piece of state law affects who signs. An owner-builder building their own primary residence, or acting as their own contractor on it, is not penalized for failing to give the notices, and a county cannot require permission before construction starts under the residential code standards subchapter, which also creates no zoning power. Decide deliberately whether you are hiring a builder or acting as your own contractor, because it changes the contract and the insurance. Deciding shell or turnkey settles most of it, and design and plans is where the code year, the span and the loads get fixed on paper before anyone prices the job.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(a), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.153(d), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.157(c), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

The building has a price range. The site does not, until somebody digs. The one cost figure this site publishes, and the caveat attached to it, sits on the cost guide. What follows here is what moves the site half of the number, which is the half nobody quotes you up front.

Rock is the first site variable, and the ground changes hard across these six counties. The Llano Uplift is a large granite batholith and the major structural feature of central Texas, with Precambrian granites and metamorphic rocks forming the central dome, and its core counties include Burnet and Llano. Inks Lake State Park in Burnet County sits on the east edge of it, where pink Valley Spring gneiss, a Precambrian metamorphic rock, juts up through the limestone, and Enchanted Rock is a massive pink granite dome rising above Central Texas. The Edwards Plateau has shallow soils underlain by limestone, many springs, stony hills and steep canyons. Trenching a septic line or a water line through that is a different bid than trenching through sand.

Clay is the second one, and it moves the slab instead of the trencher. The Blackland Prairies region is named for its deep, fertile black soils, gently rolling to nearly level at 300 to 800 feet, and most of the original prairie has been plowed. Houston Black soil formed in clayey residuum weathered from calcareous mudstone of Upper Cretaceous age, mainly on 1 to 3 percent slopes, and it cracks 0.5 to 4 inches wide from the surface down 12 inches or more when dry. That shrink-swell behavior is what a foundation design has to answer. The Post Oak Savannah is a transitional region of oak woodland patches interspersed with grassland at 300 to 800 feet, where uplands are sands and sandy loams with clay or clay loams in bottomlands, and a dense clay pan almost impervious to water underlies all soil types at only a few feet deep. That pan is a drainage and a drainfield problem before it is a foundation problem.

So the cost questions to ask, in order, are site questions. What does the soil report say the foundation has to do. How far does power have to come. Is there a well, or a meter, and how far is the run. How long is the driveway, does it cross a creek, and what culvert did the precinct commissioner or the county road department specify. Does the septic design need an aerobic unit, and if it is inside LCRA jurisdiction, does it carry the first two years of maintenance contract. Which building type answers the span you want at the price you want, metal building homes or post-frame. Get all of that priced as line items, not as an allowance.

Source: Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, Paleozoic Aquifers of the Llano Uplift, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Ecoregions, read 2026-09-13.

Source: USDA NRCS, Official Series Description, Houston Black Series, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-site Sewage Rules Frequently Asked Questions, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Yes, and the lenders who say so out loud are the place to start. Texas Farm Credit states plainly that it finances barndominiums along with traditional and manufactured homes, and offers Construction and Homesite Loans covering homes under construction, including barndominiums, and the homesite itself. Capital Farm Credit states it finances barndominiums and metal homes under its construction lending, and offers Homesite Loans for buying the lot itself with building deferred to later. If you are a Veteran, the Veterans Land Board publishes exactly two loan programs on its Loans for Veterans page: Land Loans and Home Loans.

In rural areas, USDA Rural Development runs two programs worth checking: the Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans program, also called Section 502 Direct, which helps lower-income applicants get housing in eligible rural areas, and the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, also called Section 502 Guaranteed, which backs approved lenders making loans on homes in eligible rural areas. USDA publishes a property eligibility map where you can check an address or browse generally eligible areas. Check the address before you fall in love with the lot.

For the build itself, Fannie Mae's Selling Guide recognizes single-closing construction-to-permanent financing, where the construction loan and the permanent mortgage close together and the construction loan converts automatically when building is finished. That is one closing instead of two.

Then there is the appraisal gap, and it is structural rather than anyone's fault. An appraiser selects comparable sales that match the subject property's physical and legal characteristics, because sales in the same area are the best indicator of value. When few truly comparable sales exist, whether because the property improvements are unusual or because the neighborhood has few sales, the appraiser may use properties that are not truly comparable, provided the analysis is documented and explained. A barndominium on acreage is exactly that situation: unusual improvements in a thin sales area. And the shortcut that would fix it is not allowed, because an appraiser may not manufacture a comparable sale by adding a vacant land sale to the contract price of a home, a situation that comes up on construction-to-permanent deals. Plan for the possibility that the appraisal lands under cost and decide in advance how you would cover it. The financing and appraisal gap guide works through the options.

Source: Texas Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Capital Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Capital Farm Credit, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Veterans Land Board, Texas General Land Office, read 2026-09-13.

Source: USDA Rural Development, read 2026-09-13.

Source: USDA Rural Development, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Counties enforce an order, and filing out of order costs weeks. Burnet County states it flatly and will not process an incomplete packet: 911 address first, then the building permit, then the septic permit, and driveway approval has to be in hand before the 911 address is assigned. Williamson County requires the Certificate of Compliance from the County Engineer before construction and before the septic application, and a 911 address from county GIS and Addressing before a county permit application. Caldwell County will not issue the Residential Construction Permit without the approved 911 address and the approved county septic permit already in the file, and the septic permit itself requires the 911 address. Llano County's development permit is also the 911 address application. Bastrop County takes the development permit, the septic permit, the driveway and the 911 address on the same application.

Timelines stack rather than overlap, so start the long ones first. Edwards Aquifer review in Travis or Williamson County takes up to 30 days administrative plus 90 days technical, and construction cannot begin until approval issues. LCRA asks for up to 30 days on a new septic system permit, not counting design or site complications. A county OSSF authority has 30 days to approve or deny. Llano County asks seven to 10 business days outside the floodplain and longer inside it. If your lot is on the recharge zone, the aquifer plan is the critical path and everything else waits on it.

• Check the lot: septic agent, LCRA jurisdiction, aquifer zone, flood zone, wildfire exposure and who owns the road.

• Get the 911 address, in the counties that put it first.

• Get driveway or road access approval from the precinct commissioner, the road department or TxDOT, whichever owns the road.

• Survey and soils, so the foundation design and any elevation certificate have something to sit on.

• File the aquifer plan if the lot is in a regulated Travis or Williamson County zone, because it is the longest clock.

• File the county development, building or construction permit, in the form your county issues.

• File the septic permit, at the same time as the development permit in Bastrop County, after the building permit in Burnet County, after the Certificate of Compliance in Williamson County.

• File the floodplain development permit where any part of the lot is in a mapped hazard area, and schedule the elevation certificates your county requires.

• File TPDES construction general permit coverage if the disturbance reaches one acre, or is part of a larger common plan of development that will.

• Build, with the required inspections at foundation before concrete, framing and mechanical before drywall, and completion, contracted by the builder where county code standards apply.

Source: TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program home page, read 2026-09-13.

Source: LCRA On-site Sewage Rules Frequently Asked Questions, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Getting a Permit for an On-Site Sewage Facility, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities: Am I Regulated?, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Burnet County On-Site Sewage Facilities and Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Williamson County frequently asked questions, County Engineer, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Llano County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Bastrop County Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources, Development Services, read 2026-09-13.

The owner owns the land file. You buy the lot, you order the survey and the soils, you apply for the 911 address, and you sign the driveway application with the precinct commissioner or the road department. The septic permit and the floodplain permit are filed against your lot. You also own the loan, the appraisal and the draw schedule. All of it is tied to your name on the deed.

The builder owns the building file, so write that into the contract. The builder contracts the inspections where county residential building code standards apply and states the IRC year the build will follow. The builder coordinates the licensed trades: the plumber, the electrician and the septic installer, each of whom holds a state credential you can verify yourself. Settle in writing who pulls the city permit where the lot is inside city limits, or inside Georgetown's ETJ where the City is the water, wastewater or electric provider.

The shared ground is the schedule and the design. Fix the code year, the span, the loads and the foundation answer to the soil before anyone prices the job, because changing them later changes everything downstream. Then start the longest permit clock first. Barndominium builders in Central Texas are independent, not state-licensed, so what you verify is the trade credentials, the insurance, the references on barndominiums specifically, and the inspection reports coming to you at every draw.

From here, pick the path that matches where you are. If you are still shopping for land, start with land and lot evaluation. If you have the lot, go to your county page from locations, then open the Central Texas barndominium permit directory for the office and the phone number. If you are ready to price the build, read barndominium construction and post-frame homes side by side.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(1), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 233.154(a)(3), read 2026-09-13.

Source: Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, read 2026-09-13.

Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians program, read 2026-09-13.

Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), read 2026-09-13.

Source: City of Georgetown Development Services, When do I need a Permit?, read 2026-09-13.