Who permits a barndominium in Llano, TX, the city or the county?
Outside it, Llano County issues no building permit at all. The county issues a development permit, which is also how the tract gets its 911 address, a septic permit, and a floodplain development permit where any part of the lot sits in a mapped special flood hazard area. No county building code applies and no county inspector looks at the structure. That moves quality control onto you, your plans and the independent builder you hire. Under it all sits the granite core of the Llano Uplift, which reprices the septic field, the driveway and the pad.
Inside the city limits, the city. Llano's Code Enforcement Department issues building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and inspects all permitted work, under the 2021 International Residential Code the city adopted.
Outside the limits, the county. Llano County runs no building department, no building code and no building inspector, and the words building permit appear nowhere in its on-site sewage order, subdivision regulations or flood damage prevention order. Kingsland, Buchanan Dam, Tow, Castell, Valley Spring and Sunrise Beach Village are the other towns in the county. What the county does require is on the Llano County permit page and, county by county, in the six-county permit guide.
One question settles the rest: is the address inside the city limits, inside the City of Llano's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or in neither? Ask Llano Code Enforcement which of the three it is and what the city requires in each case. Ask Llano County Development Services the same question from the other side. That answer decides whose permits you are buying, and it costs nothing to get before you price a build.
City of Llano Code Enforcement Department, as read September 13, 2026.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
What does a City of Llano permit cost on a new house?
There is no flat fee. On the city's Fiscal Year 2026 master fee schedule, a single-family building permit is billed at what the outside plan reviewer and inspector charge the city, plus 20 percent. The trade permits stack on top by floor area: electrical and mechanical at $0.04 a square foot, plumbing at $0.10, each with a $25 minimum plus the inspector's fee. Plumbing inspections need a licensed plumber on the job.
Fire code review is a separate line on a house: $210 for the plan review and $480 for the inspection. A detached garage, carport or shop on the same lot runs $0.08 a square foot, never less than $25, plus inspection, and Code Enforcement lists any accessory structure over 120 square feet as work that needs a permit. A contractor registers with the city for $50, and a temporary construction meter loop is $100.
Two charges catch owners out. A floodplain review inside the city is billed the way the building permit is, at the reviewer's cost plus 20 percent. And work begun before the permit is issued costs $100 plus triple the fee. None of these are county charges: a tract outside the limits pays the county instead.
City of Llano Master Fee Schedule, Fiscal Year 2026, as read October 25, 2026.
City of Llano Code Enforcement Department, as read October 25, 2026.
What does Llano County require outside the city limits?
Paperwork on the lot, not on the house. None of what the county asks for is a building permit. The county asks seven to 10 business days on a review outside the floodplain, and longer for floodplain work, septic and commercial projects. The full sequence is walked through in building a barndominium in Central Texas.
Development permit, from Llano County Development Services. The same application gets the property its 911 address.
Septic permit, from Development Services, or from the Lower Colorado River Authority where the lot falls inside its water quality zone.
Floodplain development permit, from Development Services for the county Floodplain Administrator, for development in a special flood hazard area.
Road cut permit, plus the written permission of your precinct's county commissioner. Nothing may be installed in a county right of way, driveways and culverts included, without it.
Plat, where land outside the city limits is divided into two or more parts.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
Who permits the septic system on a Llano County tract?
Llano County Development Services, unless the Lower Colorado River Authority's zone reaches the lot. The county is the state's authorized agent and permits every system whatever the tract size, so the state exemption for one home on ten acres or more does not help here. The state's agent list for the county names those two and the City of Horseshoe Bay.
The river authority's zone runs 2,200 feet around the upper Highland Lakes. Three of those four lakes, Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake and Lake LBJ, are Llano County water. The zone is built in two layers: a Restricted Zone at the lake, plus a Water Quality Zone reaching 2,000 feet past the outer edge of it. Inside that jurisdiction a permit is required on any size lot, and up to 30 days runs from the day you apply. Check the address on the authority's jurisdiction map first, because the county's own subdivision rules point lots inside the zone at that agency's rules.
Only a TCEQ-licensed or registered installer may build the system. The septic permit guide covers what the designer needs from the site.
TCEQ OARS county search, Llano County (CNTY_CD 150), as read September 13, 2026.
TCEQ OARS county search, identical entry returned for Travis, Burnet and Llano counties, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Program, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 6, Area of Jurisdiction, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA On-Site Sewage Facilities Rules, Section 10.05(b), as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA On-site Sewage Rules Frequently Asked Questions, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA Water Quality Jurisdictions map, as read September 13, 2026.
TCEQ adopted rule text, 30 TAC Chapter 285, Rule Project No. 2021-030-285-CE, section 285.3, as read September 13, 2026.
TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), as read September 13, 2026.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
What is under a Llano tract?
Granite. Llano sits on the Llano Uplift, a large granite batholith and the major structural feature of central Texas, where Precambrian granites and metamorphic rocks form the central dome. Llano is one of seven core counties of the uplift, with Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie, Mason, McCulloch and San Saba. That rock is the reason the borings, not the floor plan, set what the septic field and the pad cost on a Llano tract.
Two minor aquifers sit under the uplift area. The Ellenburger-San Saba runs through parts of 16 counties here. The Hickory Aquifer is the water-bearing part of the Hickory Sandstone Member, and it carries radionuclides derived from the Precambrian granite of the uplift. If the house will run on a well rather than a public supply, put the water test in the plan before you design around that well.
Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, Paleozoic Aquifers of the Llano Uplift, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Water Development Board, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Water Development Board, as read September 13, 2026.
Does the Llano River floodplain change what you can build?
Yes, if any part of the lot is in a mapped special flood hazard area. The county's water is Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ and the Llano River, and it is the flood map, not the view from the lot, that decides. Where the lot is in, Development Services issues a floodplain development permit for the county Floodplain Administrator, and no construction may begin inside that area before the permit.
Check the parcel at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, the official public source for National Flood Insurance Program flood hazard information. An Elevation Certificate is the NFIP form that documents a building's elevation for community floodplain rules and sets the flood insurance rate, and land surveyors, architects and engineers authorized by law are the ones who certify it. Ask Development Services whether its flood damage prevention order calls for one here, and how far above base flood elevation it makes you build.
Part of Llano County also sits under the Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, above the Regulated Pool Elevation as drawn on its official Ordinance Map. A permit is required where impervious cover tops 10,000 square feet or land disturbance tops one acre. Under both, a single-family residence files a written notification instead. Eleven local governments administer part or all of that ordinance, so the permit that applies may not be the river authority's.
FEMA glossary, Permit for Floodplain Development, as read September 13, 2026.
FEMA Flood Map Service Center, as read September 13, 2026.
FEMA 467-1, Floodplain Management Bulletin: Elevation Certificate, as read September 13, 2026.
FEMA, Elevation Certificate FAQ, October 2023, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 1, Title and Scope, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Required notifications and permits, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance, Section 4.1(b), Written Notification, as read September 13, 2026.
LCRA Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance program page, Interlocal agreements, as read September 13, 2026.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
What does a barndominium lot near Llano, TX run into first?
Rock, on three line items. Llano sits on the granite dome of the uplift, so the first question on any tract is what the borings show. The septic designer sizes the system off that answer; the excavator prices the pad and the trenching off it.
The driveway is second. Nothing may be installed in a county right of way, driveways and culverts included, without the precinct commissioner's written permission and a county road cut permit. Ask the commissioner what the crossing has to be before anyone prices the approach.
Third is how the money splits. Septic, driveway, power, water, rock and the pad are site costs, set by the tract and not by the square footage. The barndominium cost page covers what that looks like here, and turnkey barndominium construction covers how the shell, the slab and the finish-out divide between contracts. In neighboring Burnet County, Marble Falls requires a building permit for all construction inside its limits, under the 2024 International Residential Code.
Texas Water Development Board, Report 360 Chapter 9, Paleozoic Aquifers of the Llano Uplift, as read September 13, 2026.
City of Marble Falls FAQ, Do I need a permit within the city limit?, as read September 13, 2026.
City of Marble Falls Building Division, as read September 13, 2026.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
Can a Llano build run on city power, water and sewer?
Inside the city, yes, and on one bill. The City of Llano sells electricity, water, sewer and garbage service itself. It owns the wires: one substation feeding three circuits and 1,924 meters, with LCRA as the wholesale supplier, which is why a city power bill carries a monthly power cost adjustment. Its water is Llano River surface water, treated in a 3 million gallon a day plant.
Power first. A new electric tap up to 200 amps is $1,138.50 for single phase and $2,277 for three phase, and $3,415 above 200 amps. A service line longer than 660 feet is billed by the foot, $9.66 single-phase overhead and $14.70 single-phase underground. Ask the Utility Office whether the tract is on the city's electric system before anyone prices the run.
Water and sewer cost more across the city line. Inside the limits, a 3/4-inch water meter and tap up to 50 feet is $3,668 and a 4-inch gravity sewer tap is $3,765. Outside, each is $4,165.88, plus $19 a foot of water service and $35 a foot of sewer line. Where the city's 6-inch main does not run along the property, the city adds a $1,000 engineering evaluation per tap.
The monthly floor doubles outside too: $105.12 for a 3/4-inch residential water meter against $52.56 inside, and $123.26 for sewer against $61.53. New service also takes a $75 customer service inspection, and opening all three services runs $175 to $275 in deposits and the connect fee, depending on whether you bring a payment history letter from a prior utility.
City of Llano Utility Office, as read October 25, 2026.
City of Llano Electric Department, as read October 25, 2026.
City of Llano Water / Wastewater Department, as read October 25, 2026.
City of Llano Master Fee Schedule, Fiscal Year 2026, as read October 25, 2026.
Do barndominium builders in Llano, TX hold a state license?
No. Texas issues no state license for general contracting, so the right word is independent builder and the checking is yours. That matters more outside the city limits than inside them: inside, Code Enforcement inspects all permitted work, and outside, no county inspector looks at the structure at all. The Texas Residential Construction Commission no longer exists: it was abolished, and its enabling Act lapsed on September 1, 2009.
The trades run the other way. Plumbers hold state licenses from the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, electricians through TDLR, with non-exempt electrical work going through a licensed electrical contractor, and the septic installer licensed or registered by TCEQ. Each of those three has a public state license search, so check the license before the work starts.
Office of the Texas Governor, Business Permit Office, Texas Business Licenses and Permits Guide, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, as read September 13, 2026.
City of Llano Code Enforcement Department, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Electricians program, as read September 13, 2026.
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, as read September 13, 2026.
TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems), as read September 13, 2026.
TCEQ, On-site Sewage Facilities: Information for Regulators, as read September 13, 2026.
Llano County Development Services, as read September 13, 2026.
Close by: Kingsland, Buchanan Dam, Tow, Castell, Valley Spring, Sunrise Beach Village. The whole county: Llano County. The next town along: Marble Falls.
Lot and permit questions near Llano
Does the City of Llano inspect a barndominium?
Inside the city limits, yes. Code Enforcement issues the building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and inspects all permitted work under the 2021 International Residential Code. Outside the limits the county inspects nothing: no building code, no building inspector.
Does Llano County issue a building permit?
No. A house outside the city limits needs a county development permit, which doubles as the 911 address application, a septic permit, and a floodplain development permit if any of the lot is in a mapped special flood hazard area. Allow seven to 10 business days outside the floodplain, longer inside.
Who approves a driveway onto a county road in Llano County?
The county commissioner for your precinct, in writing, plus a county road cut permit. Nothing may be installed in a county right of way, driveways and culverts included, without that written permission.
Does a large tract skip the septic permit here?
No. Llano County permits every on-site sewage system whatever the tract size, so the state exemption for one home on ten acres or more does not apply. Inside the Lower Colorado River Authority's water quality zone, that agency permits it instead, on any size lot.
Which office do I call first about a lot near Llano?
Ask Llano Code Enforcement and Llano County Development Services. The city permits and inspects inside the limits, and the county permits the lot outside them, so the address decides which office you deal with before any plan is priced.
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