Administrative overview · FIPS 48461
Upton 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
Upton County Commissioners Court and Upton County Emergency Management
For a project in or near Upton 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
County Judge, Commissioners Court, OSSF, and floodplain inquiries: 432-693-2321; County Judge/Floodplain Administrator Dusty Kilgore: 432-693-2321
Call before mobilizing if the project has a boundary, occupancy, fire, septic, or utility question.
Permit counter
Upton County Courthouse, 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778
Operating hours
Courthouse, Rankin Annex, and McCamey Annex: Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.; Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Review expectation
Complete OSSF planning materials and the application must be approved or denied within 30 days under 30 TAC Chapter 285. No county floodplain or ordinary OSSF inspection-scheduling target is published. A county-right-of-way pipeline/utility-crossing permit allows a maximum two-week construction period unless Commissioners Court expressly extends it; this is a work-duration limit, not a published application-review promise.
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 Upton County
Who handles permitting for this jurisdiction?
Upton County Commissioners Court and Upton County Emergency Management 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 County Judge, Commissioners Court, OSSF, and floodplain inquiries: 432-693-2321; County Judge/Floodplain Administrator Dusty Kilgore: 432-693-2321 and request the current application route before preparing a final submittal.
How long might review take?
Complete OSSF planning materials and the application must be approved or denied within 30 days under 30 TAC Chapter 285. No county floodplain or ordinary OSSF inspection-scheduling target is published. A county-right-of-way pipeline/utility-crossing permit allows a maximum two-week construction period unless Commissioners Court expressly extends it; this is a work-duration limit, not a published application-review promise.
How are inspections scheduled?
Submit the county's OSSF instructions/application packet and required site evaluation and planning materials through the County Judge/Commissioners Court office at 432-693-2321. Do not begin OSSF construction before written Authorization to Construct, and coordinate the required installation inspection before covering or operating the system. Contact County Judge and floodplain administrator Dusty Kilgore at the same number before unincorporated development in or near a mapped flood hazard area. For approved county-right-of-way work, notify the County Judge at least 48 hours before starting; the county may inspect during construction and afterward and require repairs or maintenance.
Which codes and exemptions should I review?
Upton County publishes a county OSSF instructions/application packet and administers on-site sewage under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366 and 30 TAC Chapters 30 and 285. Its Emergency Management Coordinator serves as the county floodplain administrator, administering the county's NFIP floodplain requirements for unincorporated development. Commissioners Court separately permits pipeline and utility crossings in county rights-of-way and requires the current Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices plus its boring, casing, cover, backfill, compaction, restoration, and safety specifications. The county publishes no adopted general countywide IRC, IBC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or fire-code edition for ordinary construction. Rankin and McCamey impose their own municipal rules. Under the state OSSF rules applied by the county, a qualifying system serving the only single-family dwelling on a tract of at least 10 acres may be permit-exempt after a licensed site evaluation if every component is at least 100 feet from property lines, effluent stays on the tract, and the system causes no nuisance or groundwater pollution. Listed emergency OSSF repairs do not require advance permitting but must be reported in writing within 72 hours. No pipeline may be installed, rebuilt, relocated, enlarged, or modified in a county-road right-of-way without a county permit; no general cosmetic-work or small-structure exemption is published.