Administrative overview · FIPS 48283
La Salle 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
La Salle County Judge/Floodplain Administrator and County OSSF Program
For a project in or near La Salle 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
La Salle County Judge/Floodplain Administrator: 830-483-5139
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
La Salle County Judge, 101 Courthouse Square, Suite 315, Cotulla, TX 78014
Operating hours
Operating hours not verified
Review expectation
The OSSF permitting authority must approve or deny a complete application and planning materials within 30 days. No county floodplain review timeline is published. For floodplain purposes, construction must actually start within 180 days of the permit date to satisfy the ordinance's definition of start of construction.
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 La Salle County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
La Salle County Judge/Floodplain Administrator and County OSSF Program 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 La Salle County Judge/Floodplain Administrator: 830-483-5139 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
How long might review take?
The OSSF permitting authority must approve or deny a complete application and planning materials within 30 days. No county floodplain review timeline is published. For floodplain purposes, construction must actually start within 180 days of the permit date to satisfy the ordinance's definition of start of construction.
How are inspections scheduled?
Contact the County Judge/Floodplain Administrator at 830-483-5139 for county-supplied floodplain permit forms and review. Applications may require duplicate scaled plans, proposed and existing elevations, lowest-floor or floodproofing elevations, engineer or architect certification, and drainage or watercourse-alteration information. Contact the same office for the current OSSF permitting contact, application, authorization to construct, and inspection instructions; do not cover or operate an OSSF before approval. No public online inspection scheduler was found.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
The La Salle County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requires a floodplain development permit for development in the county's special-flood-hazard jurisdiction and appoints the County Judge as administrator. It applies NFIP standards in 44 CFR, requires flood-resistant construction and utilities, and treats work costing at least 50% of market value as substantial improvement. County subdivision regulations require compliance with La Salle County OSSF and floodplain rules; minimum subdivision lots are generally two acres with a well and OSSF or 1.5 acres with public water and OSSF, subject to stated engineered-design provisions. OSSF regulation is under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366 and 30 TAC Chapter 285. No general county structural-building department, adopted county ICC code edition, or certificate-of-occupancy program was found. No cosmetic structural-work exemption list is published. The flood ordinance requires a development permit for all development within its covered flood-hazard jurisdiction. Its substantial-improvement threshold excludes minimum work needed to correct identified health, sanitary, or safety-code violations and qualifying work on historic structures, but those provisions are not blanket permit exemptions. Under state OSSF minimums, a permit exception may apply only when every condition of the 10-acre rule is met, to qualifying unaltered and non-failing grandfathered systems, or to defined emergency repairs reported within 72 hours; confirm with the county before relying on an exception.