Do You Need a Septic System Permit in Texas?

Yes. Texas law requires a permit and an approved plan to construct, alter, repair, extend or operate a septic system. In the paperwork, a septic system is an on-site sewage facility, or OSSF.

Who issues the permit depends on the address. Around Leander, that can be Williamson County, Travis County, the LCRA or the City of Austin.

This guide covers the permit itself. For the install work, see our septic system installation page.

Who issues a septic permit for your address?

Where a local authorized agent covers the address, that agent issues the permit. Otherwise the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issues it.

Four offices cover the area around Leander:

• Williamson County Engineer’s Office: all of Williamson County outside Austin city limits.
• Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources (TNR): unincorporated Travis County, Manor and the Travis County part of Leander.
• Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA): Jonestown, Lago Vista, Volente and a 2,000-foot zone around Lake Travis.
• Austin Water: the City of Austin’s full jurisdiction.

TCEQ’s lookup lists no city-level agent in Williamson County. Cedar Park, Georgetown and Round Rock addresses there go to the county. A Leander address can go to either county.

Not sure which office covers you? TCEQ’s lookup checks in order: lake zones first, then city limits, then the county.

What septic work needs a permit in Texas?

A new system needs one. So does work that alters, repairs or extends an existing system. TCEQ’s homeowner page names two jobs: replacing a tank, and repairing or replacing a drain field. Both need a permit, whatever the system’s age.

State rule treats a new tank or drain field as a repair, with a permit for the entire system. TCEQ adds that any drain field work requires the system to meet current standards.

Emergency repairs are the exception. TCEQ counts a tank fixed without removing it as an emergency repair, with no permit required. State rule lists examples: replacing tank lids and inlet and outlet devices, and repairing risers, riser caps and solid lines.

Whoever makes the repair still sends the permitting authority written notice within 72 hours of starting. The office may inspect the work.

Our septic repair page covers fixes made with the tank in place. Permitted field work is on our drain field repair page.

What are the steps to get a septic permit?

State rule sets the order, so each office runs much the same steps. The details below are Williamson County’s unless noted.

1. Site evaluation. A licensed site evaluator or a professional engineer evaluates the soil and the site. The owner has at least two profile holes dug, 24 inches wide and five feet deep, or to solid rock. The holes sit at opposite ends of the planned drain field and stay open for the county inspector.
2. Design. The owner or the installer may prepare the planning materials for a standard system. In Williamson County, that means standard gravity-flow or evapotranspiration systems outside the 100-year floodplain and the recharge zone. A professional engineer or registered sanitarian designs the rest.
3. Application. Williamson County takes applications online only, through My Government Online. You upload a warranty deed, a property survey, and the design and soil report. The application stays valid for one year from purchase.
4. Review. State rule gives the office 30 days to approve or deny an application. Williamson County says its first review may take up to 30 days. Approval brings an authorization to construct, which expires if no construction inspection is requested within a year.
5. Construction and inspections. The installer gives at least five working days’ notice before the system is ready for inspection. County staff inspect at key stages. Travis County’s possible inspections include open trench, rock and pipe, tank, pump and alarm, and a final.
6. Approval. A system that fails inspection cannot be used until it passes, and a reinspection fee may apply. Within seven calendar days of passing, the owner gets a written notice of approval. Williamson County issues a License to Operate once the final inspection passes.

How much does a septic permit cost in Texas?

Each permitting authority sets its own fees, so the number follows the address. Here are two published schedules from around Leander. These are the agencies’ fees, not our prices.

Williamson County’s fee sheet is dated 9/12/25. Of each county permit fee, $10 goes to a TCEQ fund. LCRA’s schedule says $10 is added to its permit fees for a required TCEQ payment.

Travis County and Austin Water set their own fees. Travis County says repairs or replacements in the Gilleland and Walnut Creek watershed areas may qualify for a fee refund.

For the whole bill on a new system, see what a new septic system costs in Texas.

What is the 10-acre rule in Texas?

It is a state exception for large rural tracts. A single-family home on 10 acres or more needs no planning materials, permit or inspection when four conditions hold:

• The system causes no nuisance and does not pollute groundwater.
• Every part of the system sits at least 100 feet from the property line.
• The effluent is disposed of on the property.
• The home is the only dwelling on the tract.

That is the state rule. Local offices can adopt stricter standards, and a stricter local order prevails. Ask your permitting authority before you count on the 10-acre rule.

Smaller lots have minimums of their own. New subdivisions of single-family homes on septic need lots of at least half an acre with a public water supply. Without public water, the minimum is one acre. On the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, each lot needs at least one acre per single-family home.

What happens to the permit when a house sells?

State rule transfers an OSSF permit to the new owner automatically upon sale.

TCEQ tells buyers to let the local permitting authority know they are the new owner. TCEQ does not require an inspection at sale, though your mortgage company may.

On a sale, Williamson County’s fee sheet lists $60 to transfer an aerobic system’s license. LCRA’s $150 single-family reinspection covers transfers of ownership, sales, repairs and refinancings.

A system installed before September 1, 1989 is excepted from current permitting rules. That holds while it causes no nuisance, has not been altered and needs no repair.

In an option period, the permit record shows what is actually permitted on the property. Our real estate septic inspection includes pulling the OSSF permit record on file.

Who handles the permit paperwork on a septic install?

On installs and permitted repairs, we coordinate the site evaluation and design steps and handle the county permit paperwork. State law bars building, altering, repairing or extending someone else’s system without proof of a permit and approved plan.

Bravo Septic is a TCEQ-licensed OSSF installer, and we install conventional systems. The site evaluation decides whether one fits. In Williamson County, TCEQ’s 2025 report shows 490 authorizations to construct, led by spray irrigation (241) and drip (139).

Some evaluations call for an aerobic or other non-standard system. That install takes an installer licensed for non-standard systems (a TCEQ Installer II). We tell you what your site evaluation means before you spend money.

When a standard design fits the lot, we install it, with a quote before any work begins. Call (512) 887-4458, or read more on our septic installation page.