Administrative overview · FIPS 48391
Refugio 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
Refugio County Judge's Office; Nueces River Authority Floodplain Administration
For a project in or near Refugio 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
Refugio County Judge/OSSF: 361-526-4434; Nueces River Authority county floodplain contact: 361-653-2110; County Clerk: 361-526-2233 or 361-526-2727
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Refugio County Judge's Office, 808 Commerce Street, Room 104, Refugio, TX 78377
Operating hours
Operating hours not verified
Review expectation
No county development or OSSF review timeline was published. Under state OSSF rules, the permitting authority must approve or deny a complete application and planning materials within 30 days of receipt.
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 Refugio County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
Refugio County Judge's Office; Nueces River Authority Floodplain Administration 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 Refugio County Judge/OSSF: 361-526-4434; Nueces River Authority county floodplain contact: 361-653-2110; County Clerk: 361-526-2233 or 361-526-2727 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
How long might review take?
No county development or OSSF review timeline was published. Under state OSSF rules, the permitting authority must approve or deny a complete application and planning materials within 30 days of receipt.
How are inspections scheduled?
Submit the development application, vicinity map, $20 fee, and—when the site is in a floodplain—one copy of construction plans and specifications to the County Judge. For OSSF work, return the application, site/soil evaluation, scaled design and specifications, appraisal or deed and plat, site map, fee, and any required recorded affidavit and maintenance contract to Room 104. Coordinate the installation inspection at 361-526-4434; a permit to operate is granted only after a successful inspection confirms compliance. Contact the Nueces River Authority floodplain representative for project-specific floodplain review.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
Refugio County requires a $20 county development-permit application for residential and nonresidential new construction, substantial improvements, houses, mobile homes, commercial projects, placement of fill, and alteration of waterways or drainage courses. The County Judge evaluates the site using county flood-hazard boundary maps and best available flood data and may require plans and specifications for floodplain work or issue an exemption certificate outside the identified hazard area. Subdivision and manufactured-home rental community regulations apply separately. OSSFs are governed by 30 TAC Chapter 285 and current OSSF rules adopted by the Refugio County Commissioners Court. No general county structural building-code edition was published for 2026. No general minor-structure or cosmetic-work exemption list was published. A county exemption certificate may be issued when a proposed development is outside the identified special flood-hazard area, but the county form warns that the certificate does not guarantee freedom from flooding and does not waive other county, state, or federal requirements. The OSSF packet does not publish an acreage exemption; obtain a county determination before relying on the state 10-acre, grandfathered-system, or emergency-repair exceptions.