Digital permit application gateway
Start with the issuing authority’s own submission lane. A complete application package, accurate valuation, and accessible inspection path are the fastest route through statutory plan review.
Recommended first click
Use the official digital gateway to submit plans, monitor review comments, pay required charges, and request inspections when the permit is issued. If the link is unavailable, use the agency website or phone number on the administrative profile to confirm the current lane.
Typical review lane
The county publishes no standard floodplain, OSSF, or electric-service review time. An electric-service application may be closed if development guidelines are not met within six months after fee receipt; an issued electric permit is valid one year. A floodplain permit expires if work does not commence within six months, and a driveway permit becomes void if the approved work is not constructed within six months.
Treat this as a planning signal, not a guaranteed approval date. Completeness, corrections, resubmittals, and agency workload control the actual clock.
Verify the parcel is inside this agency’s service area and note whether a city, state, fire marshal, septic authority, or utility district also has approval authority.
Prepare legible plans, site information, project valuation, ownership authorization, contractor information, and any energy, floodplain, zoning, or utility documentation the issuing office requires.
Keep the permit number, approved plan set, correction comments, fee receipts, and inspection results together. Those records establish the compliance trail for the next trade.
Application documents
Before submission, call Rural Development/Floodplain: 936-348-3810; Wastewater Office: 936-348-2152; courthouse: 936-241-6200 if the project involves a change of occupancy, structural alteration, accessory structure, demolition, or work near a regulated environmental feature.
Source trail
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
Madison County Rural Development, Wastewater Office, and Floodplain Management is the identified county-level authority for this profile. Confirm that the property is in its service area before filing.
No verified online portal was located in the reviewed public materials. Contact Rural Development/Floodplain: 936-348-3810; Wastewater Office: 936-348-2152; courthouse: 936-241-6200 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
The county publishes no standard floodplain, OSSF, or electric-service review time. An electric-service application may be closed if development guidelines are not met within six months after fee receipt; an issued electric permit is valid one year. A floodplain permit expires if work does not commence within six months, and a driveway permit becomes void if the approved work is not constructed within six months.
For OSSF work, obtain a site and soil evaluation and design, submit them for approval before installation, use a TCEQ-licensed installer, and have the installer contact the Designated Representative at 936-348-2152 for final inspection; a permit to operate follows successful inspection. The electric-service application authorizes county lot/development inspections and requires county septic verification before filing. Floodplain applicants must submit scaled site and development plans plus applicable elevation, floodproofing, engineering, and no-rise certifications; county staff perform compliance inspections, and development cannot be occupied until a Certificate of Compliance is issued. Driveways receive preliminary approval and a final inspection by the precinct commissioner.
Madison County requires electrical-service, OSSF, floodplain-development, driveway-access, subdivision, and certain road, pipeline, and water-line approvals in unincorporated areas. Floodplain work is governed by the county's Flood Damage Prevention local law approved June 13, 2011; OSSF work is regulated under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366 and 30 TAC Chapter 285. The electric-service permit requires compliance with current state and county development regulations and county floodplain/911/septic review. No countywide ICC structural building-code edition or general building-permit program was found. No county cosmetic-building-work exemption list is published. A floodplain permit is unnecessary when the administrator determines the proposed development is outside the special flood hazard area, although other permits can still apply. A driveway permit is not required merely to add gravel to an existing gravel driveway, seal-coat an existing asphalt driveway, or perform general maintenance that does not resurface the driveway; new, widened, resurfaced, or culvert-involving access work does require a permit.
What makes an application complete
Before you click submit, make sure the drawings agree with the site plan, project description, valuation, ownership authorization, and contractor information. If the work changes structure, occupancy, drainage, fire protection, energy performance, or utility demand, describe that scope plainly. Ambiguous narratives create correction cycles and delay the field schedule.
Save the confirmation number, payment receipt, uploaded plan set, and every correction comment. Those records are the backbone of a defensible compliance file when multiple trades or agencies share responsibility.
Submission quality check
Site: address, parcel, access, setbacks, and existing conditions are consistent.
Scope: structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire, and energy work is identified.
Closeout: inspection contacts and the final approval path are understood before work begins.