City of Humble Permits: Requirements, Fees, and Inspections

To build, renovate, or demolish inside the City of Humble, Texas, you need a permit from the Building and Inspection Department at 114 W. Higgins St. The department reviews applications against the 2018 International Building Code with local amendments, and City of Humble permits cover new construction, structural alterations, additions, demolitions, signs, fences, excavation and grading, and the separate electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work that goes into a project.¹ Fees scale with project type and size, and the department accepts some applications through an online portal but requires in-person submission for anything needing plan review.

What Work Requires a Permit

Humble requires a building permit before any new residential or commercial construction, structural alteration, or addition. Trade permits are separate and required on their own for electrical, plumbing, and HVAC or mechanical work, even inside an existing building. Demolition needs its own permit.¹

Signs and fences have separate permit tracks. New signs, relocated signs, or structural changes to an existing sign need a sign permit from the city manager’s office; illuminated signs also have to meet the electrical code.² Fence construction requires a permit from the Building and Inspections Department, with height limits of eight feet in rear and side yards and four feet in front yards.³ Excavation, grading, and fill work is permitted separately, and property in a Special Flood Hazard Area also requires a floodplain development permit.⁴

A few things do not need a permit. Repainting, routine maintenance, and cosmetic work that does not touch structure are generally exempt. On signs, changing the copy or repainting without structural alteration is exempt. Fence repairs, as opposed to new fence construction, are also exempt.²³ When you are unsure, call the Building Department at 281-446-3061 before starting work.

Register Before You Apply

No permit is issued until the contractor pulling it is registered with the city. That applies to contractors, homeowners doing their own work, and individual trades. The registration fee is $100, though responsible master plumbers, master electricians, and some other licensed trades are exempt from the fee.⁵

Registration requires proof of current workers’ compensation and comprehensive general liability insurance naming the City of Humble as the certificate holder, with minimums of $250,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $100,000 per occurrence for property damage. Where a state license applies, you provide a copy of the master’s license; mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire trades require the license holder to register in person. Paper contractor forms are no longer accepted. Registration goes through the online permit portal or a kiosk in the Building Department office.⁵

Homeowners with a homestead exemption on their property are exempt from the insurance requirement and the registration fee, but still need to register before starting permitted work.⁶

What to Include in the Application

For a new residential build, the Building Department’s plan submittal checklist expects a complete package before review begins:

Two complete sets of plans on ARCH D (24″ × 36″) sheets, including a site plan showing drainage, utilities, and materials; a foundation and structural framing plan; an electrical one-line diagram with load calculations; a plumbing riser diagram; and an HVAC diagram.
A plot plan showing required setbacks: 25 feet in front, 10 feet in back, and 7½ feet on each side.
Flood zone documentation, including the floodway location on the plat plan and a TSAR elevation certificate.
A property survey with legal description (lot, block, section). If the property spans two or more lots, a current survey must show the combined parcel as one lot.
Tax payment verification through the Harris County website confirming City of Humble and Humble ISD property taxes are current.
A sewer capacity fee paid separately to the water department before the building permit is issued.

⁷

Energy code compliance is part of the package. Your builder or contractor must submit a letter identifying a third-party energy code inspector holding a valid 2018 energy certification. A certificate of elevation and a 2018 energy code compliance letter are both required before the city will issue the certificate of occupancy.⁷

How to Submit Your Application

Simpler permits that do not require plan review can be filed through the online portal at humble2.portal.iworq.net. Not every permit type is available online, and most permits requiring plan submission are not.⁸ Anything needing plan review, including new construction and major renovations, goes to the Building Department in person or by courier at 114 W. Higgins St., Humble, TX 77338. Civil plan review for site development work is handled by Public Works at 102 Granberry St. The permit fee is due at submission.

Permit Fees

The fee schedule effective October 1, 2024 sets a $50 base residential building permit plus $0.32 per square foot of roof-covered floor space. A 2,000-square-foot home comes to roughly $690 in building permit fees before trade permits.

Residential Trade Permits

Electrical: $150 new construction, $100 remodels or additions, $75 exterior lighting or accessory buildings, $50 minimum other work.
Plumbing: $250 new construction with gas, $150 without gas, $200 remodels with gas, $100 without, $75 pools and spas, $50 irrigation or other work.
HVAC/Mechanical: $150 new construction, $100 additions or furnace replacement, $75 A/C replacement, $50 other work.

Commercial Permits

Commercial building and site development permits, including multifamily of three or more units, use a tiered structure by project valuation:

Up to $1,000: $50
$1,001 to $50,000: $50 plus $5 per $1,000 of value
$50,001 to $100,000: $250 plus $4 per $1,000
$100,001 to $500,000: $400 plus $3 per $1,000
Over $500,000: $1,500 plus $2 per $1,000

Commercial electrical, plumbing, and HVAC trade permits are each $50 plus $1 per $100 of project value.¹

Re-Inspection Fees

If work fails inspection, the first re-inspection is $50, the second $75, and each additional one $100. These stack quickly on a multi-trade job.¹

Plan Review and Inspections

City staff check submitted plans against the 2018 IBC as adopted and amended locally, along with zoning ordinances. Local amendments include a 65-foot height limit on Type I buildings, with a narrow exception for hospitals on tracts larger than eight acres that abut a federal highway, plus wind-borne debris region definitions for hurricane-prone construction.⁹ Sign permits require calculations showing the sign meets IBC wind pressure and dead load requirements.² If the reviewer finds problems, expect a written request for corrections before the permit is finalized.

Once the permit issues, inspections are scheduled at construction milestones: foundation before concrete is poured, rough-in electrical and plumbing before walls close up, framing, and a final inspection. Work must match the approved plans at every stage. A failed item stops that phase until it passes re-inspection.

Residential projects need a certificate of elevation and a 2018 energy code compliance letter before final approval.⁷ The elevation certificate is completed by a licensed surveyor, engineer, or architect and documents that the finished structure meets the required flood elevation.¹⁰

Certificate of Occupancy

Every business inside Humble city limits must maintain a current Certificate of Occupancy identifying the business name and address. This applies to a new business, taking over an existing space, or changing a building’s use. A CO must issue before anyone moves into a nonresidential structure.¹¹

Occupying a commercial space without a CO triggers a $250 penalty on the fee schedule, payable by the permit holder, and the city will disconnect utilities until the issue is resolved.¹ Beyond that, failure to obtain a CO can bring fines up to $2,000.¹¹

Flood, Asbestos, and Accessibility Rules That Overlap With City Permits

If your property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a floodplain development permit is required before new construction or substantial improvement. A structure without the required elevation certificate or other flood compliance documentation is presumed to be in violation until those documents are provided.⁴ Buildings in flood zones must be elevated above base flood elevation using pilings, columns, shear walls, or other approved methods, and anchored to withstand flooding. If your project fills, grades, or alters drainage near wetlands or waterways, a federal Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may also apply, separately from anything the city issues.¹²

Texas law requires an asbestos survey before any renovation or demolition of a public building, commercial building, or facility. The building owner is responsible for the survey. If regulated asbestos-containing material is found above federal thresholds (260 linear feet, 160 square feet, or 35 cubic feet), the owner must notify the Texas Department of State Health Services at least 10 working days before disturbing the material or starting demolition.¹³ Single-family homes with four or fewer units are generally exempt from federal asbestos NESHAP rules unless part of a larger demolition or grouped with other buildings under the same owner.¹⁴ For pre-1978 homes, child care facilities, and preschools, the EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule requires work disturbing lead-based paint to be done by lead-safe certified contractors. Homeowners working on their own primary residence are generally exempt, but the rule applies if you rent part of your home, operate a child care center in it, or flip properties.¹⁵

New commercial buildings and public accommodations must meet the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which cover entrance routes, door widths, restroom layouts, and parking spaces, in new construction and in alterations that affect usability.¹⁶ Multifamily projects of four or more units also fall under the Fair Housing Act if designed for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, adding requirements for accessible entrances, usable doors, accessible routes, reinforced bathroom walls for grab bars, and usable kitchens and bathrooms.¹⁷ City plan review will flag obvious noncompliance, but the designer and builder are responsible for meeting these federal standards, and correcting accessibility violations after construction is dramatically more expensive than building to code from the start.

1
City of Humble. Fee Schedule
2
City of Humble, TX. City of Humble Code of Ordinances – Division 2 Permit and Standards
3
City of Humble, TX. City of Humble Code of Ordinances – Article 9.07 Fencing, Walls and Screening
4
City of Humble, TX. City of Humble Code of Ordinances – Division 1 Generally
5
City of Humble. Contractor Registration
6
City of Humble. Contractor Registration Application
7
City of Humble. Residential Plan Submittal Check List
8
City of Humble. Building and Inspection
9
City of Humble, TX. City of Humble Code of Ordinances – Division 2 Building Code
10
Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Flood Insurance Program Elevation Certificate and Instructions
11
City of Humble. Certificate of Occupancy
12
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
13
Texas Department of State Health Services. Asbestos Survey and Notification Requirements for Demolition of Buildings Decision Tree Flowchart
14
Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 25-296.191 – Asbestos Management in a Public Building, Commercial Building, or Facility
15
US EPA. Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program
16
ADA.gov. ADA Standards for Accessible Design
17
HUD User. Fair Housing Act Design Manual