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Codes, exemptions & field inspections

Build to the adopted code. Verify every exception.

This guide translates the available agency record into a preconstruction checklist for structural scope, minor work, and inspection release. The adopted code and the issuing official control when a field condition is disputed.

Regulatory framework

The code baseline for Upton County.

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.

Inspection lane

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.

Minor-work playbook

Understand what may be exempt—and what is not.

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.

Field rule

A permit exemption generally addresses one narrow construction trigger. It does not automatically waive zoning, land-use, floodplain, shoreline, fire, energy, electrical, utility, septic, or right-of-way requirements. Obtain written confirmation when the project involves a new structure, structural alteration, change in occupancy, or concealed work.

Inspection pipeline

Keep the work visible at every release point.

  1. 1

    Request with lead time

    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.

  2. 2

    Preserve access

    Do not cover framing, reinforcement, wiring, piping, damp-proofing, or life-safety work until the required inspection has been completed and documented.

  3. 3

    Close the record

    Retain the approved plans, inspection approvals, correction responses, and final certificate or occupancy release with the property file.

Contractor verification

Verify the builder before the contract is signed.

Use the state licensing system to verify active registration, trade credentials, bond status, and liability coverage where available. Match the legal business name to the proposal and permit application.

Verify contractor ↗

Planning reference

Keep the parcel rules beside the building plans.

A building permit is only one part of statutory compliance. Check the local zoning, ordinance, map, or land-use reference before finalizing setbacks, height, lot coverage, access, drainage, or accessory structure placement.

No verified planning reference link is listed; ask the agency for the parcel-specific source.

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.

Agency websiteOpen official source ↗Application instructionsOpen official source ↗Fee scheduleOpen official source ↗Contractor license lookupOpen official source ↗

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.

Field sequencing matters

The inspector needs to see the work at the right moment.

Code compliance is not only a plan-review exercise. Footings, reinforcement, framing, fireblocking, wiring, piping, insulation, weather protection, and life-safety systems each have points where the work must remain accessible. Build the inspection calendar into the trade schedule instead of treating it as a final administrative step.

When a project qualifies for a narrow minor-work exemption, keep a written explanation of why it qualifies and confirm that related zoning, utility, fire, energy, or environmental rules do not create a separate approval requirement.

Closeout file

Keep the approved plan set, inspection approvals, correction responses, contractor license verification, final certificate, and any occupancy release together. A clean record protects the owner, builder, lender, insurer, and future buyer.