County Permit SearchU.S. compliance directory
TexasKerr County

Administrative overview · FIPS 48265

Kerr 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

Kerr County Engineering Department and Environmental Health Department

For a project in or near Kerr 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

Engineering/Floodplain: 830-896-9046; Environmental Health/OSSF: 830-896-9020

Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.

Permit counter

Kerr County Engineering, 3766 TX-27, Kerrville, TX 78028; Kerr County Environmental Health, 550 Earl Garrett Street, Suite 100, Kerrville, TX 78028

Operating hours

Engineering: Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-noon and 1:00-4:00 p.m., closed noon-1:00 p.m.; Environmental Health: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-noon and 1:00-5:00 p.m., closed noon-1:00 p.m.

Review expectation

Kerr County publishes no typical floodplain or OSSF review time. Its OSSF fee schedule offers a $200 expedite fee when fewer than five working days remain before the requested due date, but this is not a guaranteed standard turnaround. State rules require action on a complete OSSF application within 30 days.

Compliance workbench

Choose the next project decision.

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 Kerr County

Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?

Kerr County Engineering Department and Environmental Health 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 Engineering/Floodplain: 830-896-9046; Environmental Health/OSSF: 830-896-9020 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.

How long might review take?

Kerr County publishes no typical floodplain or OSSF review time. Its OSSF fee schedule offers a $200 expedite fee when fewer than five working days remain before the requested due date, but this is not a guaranteed standard turnaround. State rules require action on a complete OSSF application within 30 days.

How are inspections scheduled?

Make an appointment with Engineering at 830-896-9046 for floodplain procedures and bring the appraisal-district property ID. Submit the completed floodplain application to floodplain@kerrcountytx.gov or in person at 3766 TX-27. No work may start until the development permit is issued; the administrator may inspect, an elevation certificate may be required within 10 business days after foundation completion, and occupancy must await a Certificate of Compliance. For OSSF plan review and inspections, contact Environmental Health at 830-896-9020; installation must remain uncovered until county inspection and approval to operate. No public online scheduling portal was found.

Which codes and exemptions should I review?

Kerr County Engineering administers Flood Damage Prevention Order Nos. 37967 and 38000, as amended, for floodplain development and also regulates county-road driveways, utilities in county rights-of-way, subdivision construction, and manufactured-home rental communities outside Kerrville and Ingram. A floodplain determination or permit is required for any work in the floodplain. Environmental Health is the county's TCEQ-authorized OSSF authority under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366 and 30 TAC Chapter 285. No general county structural building-permit program or adopted residential/commercial ICC code edition was found for ordinary construction outside a regulated floodplain; municipalities retain their own jurisdiction. The county's 2026 floodplain form provides a Development Permit Exemption Certificate when proposed development is outside the FEMA-identified 100-year floodplain, but that certificate does not waive deed restrictions, subdivision rules, OSSF rules, or other approvals. Under the presently published OSSF rules, the state exception may apply to a single-family dwelling on at least 10 acres only when all sewage stays on the tract and the system creates neither a nuisance nor groundwater pollution. Kerr County was considering a 2026 order requiring permits for every new or upgraded system regardless of tract size; existing qualifying systems are not retroactively affected. Confirm the adopted rule with Environmental Health before relying on an exception. No general cosmetic-building-work exemption list is published.

Before contacting the permit counter

Have the project facts ready.

A productive call starts with a clear description of the property and proposed work. Keep the site address, parcel or assessor number, project valuation, existing occupancy, approximate square footage, structural scope, contractor information, and desired start date in front of you. Those facts help the Authority Having Jurisdiction route the question to building, planning, fire, environmental health, or another reviewing discipline.

Questions worth asking

  • • Is the parcel inside an incorporated city or county service area?
  • • Does this scope require building, trade, zoning, fire, or site permits?
  • • What plans and supporting documents make the submittal complete?
  • • How much lead time is needed for each inspection?