Administrative overview · FIPS 48249
Jim Wells County permit authority
The first compliance decision is jurisdictional: identify the office with statutory authority over your parcel, then use its filing and inspection sequence to keep the project moving.
Jurisdictional status
County
This county profile is the primary starting point for unincorporated-area permitting.
Responsible agency
Jim Wells County Safety & Inspection Department
For a project in or near Jim Wells County, this office is the identified point of contact for permit intake, statutory code enforcement, plan review coordination, and inspection release conditions. Confirm the parcel’s boundary and project type before relying on the county lane.
Direct contact
361-668-1018; fax 361-668-1653
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
601 E. Main Street, Suite 275, Alice, TX 78332
Operating hours
Office: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.; inspections: Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Review expectation
Ask the agency for its current review estimate
Compliance workbench
Choose the next project decision.
Apply online
Open the verified digital gateway, application form, and review timeline.
Open guide →Fees & penalties
Understand fee schedules, enforcement exposure, and stop-work liabilities.
Open guide →Codes & exemptions
Read the code framework, minor-work exemptions, and inspection lane.
Open guide →Agency website
Visit the primary public source for current notices and contact changes.
Open guide →Source trail
Official sources for this profile
Use these direct agency or licensing links to confirm current instructions before you file, pay, or schedule work. External pages control if their information differs from this directory.
Project questions
Frequently asked questions for Jim Wells County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
Jim Wells County Safety & Inspection Department is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
How should I begin an application?
No verified online portal was located in the reviewed public materials. Contact 361-668-1018; fax 361-668-1653 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
How long might review take?
A typical review timeline was not verified. Ask the agency for its current completeness and review estimate.
How are inspections scheduled?
Submit the county OSSF application, site and owner information, licensed site evaluation, system design/planning materials, legal description, and required maintenance documents to the Safety & Inspection Department, and pay the $260 fee by check or money order payable to Jim Wells County OSSF. Do not begin or cover the system before authorization and the required county installation inspection. Inspection hours are Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; call 361-668-1018 to coordinate. Flood-hazard development applications must include the plans, elevations, certifications, and watercourse information required by the flood order.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
The Safety & Inspection Department administers Jim Wells County's OSSF program under its county resolution, Texas Health and Safety Code Chapters 341 and 366, Texas Water Code Chapters 7, 26, and 37, and 30 TAC Chapters 30 and 285, including future state amendments adopted by the resolution. The county's more-stringent OSSF rules require a permit for every OSSF regardless of acreage and require installation by a licensed installer. The Flood Damage Prevention Court Order governs development in mapped flood-hazard areas and requires the Safety Officer/Floodplain Administrator to review proposed construction, grading, fill, manufactured homes, utilities, and other development. The county also publishes subdivision rules governing plats, roads, drainage, utilities, and related infrastructure. No verified countywide ICC structural-code edition was found. Jim Wells County expressly removes the state acreage-based OSSF permit exception: all OSSFs require a county permit regardless of tract size, and only a licensed installer may perform installation. The flood order excludes from its substantial-improvement calculation projects required solely to correct identified health, sanitary, or safety code violations and qualifying alterations to historic structures; those exclusions do not waive an otherwise required floodplain, OSSF, subdivision, or other development approval. No general cosmetic-work exemption list is published.