Plan Review Across Texas: How AHJ Requirements Differ in Six Cities

A set of MEP drawings that sails through review in one Texas city can come back with a page of comments in the next. The engineering is the same. What changes is the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ): its adopted codes, its amendments, its submittal requirements, and the utilities and third parties involved.

For owners and architects working across Texas, knowing those differences up front is often the difference between one review cycle and three. Here is what we watch for in six Texas cities V3 serves.

What Is the Same Everywhere

A few rules apply statewide:

• Permit timing. Texas Local Government Code §214.904 requires a city to grant or deny a building permit within 45 days of application, provide written notice of why it cannot, or agree on a deadline with the applicant.
• Third-party review. Since September 1, 2023, House Bill 14 lets an applicant hire a qualified third party, including a Texas-licensed professional engineer, to perform plan review or inspections when the city misses the statutory deadline by 15 days.
• Electrical code. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation adopted the 2026 National Electrical Code as the state electrical code, effective September 1, 2026.

Everything else varies by city.

City by City

Dallas

Dallas enforces the 2021 International codes with Dallas amendments, effective May 12, 2023. Permitting runs through DallasNow, the city's online system launched in 2025, where plan review comments and revised sheets are exchanged.

Two Dallas-specific items affect MEP. First, a commercial energy compliance path form is submitted with the permit application, and registered third-party energy providers are part of the process. Second, Dallas enforces Chapter 61, its green construction code based on the 2015 IgCC with Dallas amendments. Chapter 61 applies to new construction, including multifamily, and brings a City-registered third-party green building provider into plan review and inspections. Multifamily and mixed-use projects are reviewed by commercial providers. Learn more about our work in Dallas.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth enforces the 2021 International Building, Mechanical, Plumbing, and Fuel Gas codes, but kept the 2015 IECC for energy. Projects comply with either the 2015 IECC or ASHRAE 90.1-2013, used in its entirety. Energy documentation is split into envelope, interior lighting, exterior lighting, and mechanical reports, each required when that scope is part of the work.

Applications are submitted through Accela Citizen Access. For schedule-driven projects, the city's X Team offers expedited review for an added fee: full comments in five business days, followed by a meeting where the design team can clear corrections on the spot.

Plano

Plano adopted the 2024 International codes, including the 2024 IECC, 2024 International Mechanical Code, and 2024 International Plumbing Code, effective August 1, 2025. Like Fort Worth, Plano bases its local amendments on the North Central Texas Council of Governments regional recommendations, and it has its own energy amendments, including a revised energy recovery requirement for apartment units in commercial-code buildings.

A project designed under Dallas's 2021 codes cannot simply be resubmitted in Plano under the 2024 editions. Commercial submittals go through the city's electronic plan submittal process and eTRAKiT.

Austin

Austin moved to the 2024 codes effective July 10, 2025, with one difference that catches teams from North Texas: Austin uses the Uniform Mechanical Code and Uniform Plumbing Code rather than the IMC and IPC. Mechanical and plumbing drawings, schedules, and code references need to reflect that.

Process matters as much as code in Austin. A site plan, site plan correction, or exemption is required before a building permit, unless the site plan is reviewed concurrently. Applications are submitted through the city's web form and the Austin Build + Connect (AB+C) portal. Comments come back in a Master Comment Report, and each update must include written responses and the complete updated plan set, with fees charged starting with the second update. Austin Energy Green Building ratings apply when they are tied to zoning or program conditions, such as PUDs, density bonuses, or S.M.A.R.T. Housing. Austin offers fee-based Preliminary Plan Review meetings, which are worth considering for complex projects. See our Austin page.

Houston

Houston also uses the UMC and UPC: its 2021 Houston Construction Code, effective January 1, 2024, adopts the 2021 UMC and UPC along with the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019, each with Houston amendments. Energy compliance reports under the total building performance path must carry the seal of a Texas-licensed professional engineer.

Commercial applications start in iPermits, where fees are paid and prerequisite documents uploaded. Drawings are then uploaded and comments resolved in ProjectDox, through prescreen and formal review. Learn more about our work in Houston.

San Antonio

San Antonio adopted the 2024 International building, mechanical, plumbing, and fire codes effective May 1, 2025, but kept the 2021 IECC. That means a San Antonio project can be on 2024 codes for everything except energy.

The city's Information Bulletin 221 spells out commercial energy submittals: the chosen compliance path, an energy summary, and supporting documentation for the 2021 IECC or ASHRAE 90.1-2019. It also requires commissioning checklists, with part of the checklist submitted during plan review and the remainder before a certificate of occupancy. The bulletin also covers how to submit mixed-use buildings with both commercial and residential occupancies.

How We Keep Multi-City Projects Moving

• Build a code matrix for each project. List the adopted edition of each code, the city's amendments, and the energy compliance path on the cover sheet.
• Confirm the mechanical and plumbing code family. IMC/IPC in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, and San Antonio; UMC/UPC in Austin and Houston.
• Bring utilities in early. Oncor, CenterPoint Energy, CPS Energy, and Austin Energy each have their own service requirements, separate from the city's review.
• Use pre-submittal meetings where the city offers them, especially for complex or phased projects.
• Track every comment. A clean comment-response log shortens the next cycle in any city.
• Stay involved after permit. Our construction administration team carries the reviewed design through submittals, RFIs, and inspections.

The takeaway: Texas cities share a state framework, but each AHJ reviews against its own codes, amendments, and process. Knowing those differences before the first submittal saves review cycles and protects the schedule.

Talk with V3 about permitting your next project in any of these cities.

Process and code information reflects city sources as of publication and changes often. Confirm current requirements with the AHJ for each project.