Do I need a permit and site plan for a shed in Texas?

The size cutoffs we've checked.

These are the sizes below which a one-story detached shed with no plumbing needs no permit, taken from each city's own pages.

• Cedar Park: 80 sq ft or less
• Manor: 64 sq ft or less
• Houston and Allen: 120 sq ft or less
• McKinney: under 120 sq ft, with no electrical or plumbing work
• Austin: 200 sq ft or less and no more than 15 ft tall
• Dallas: 200 sq ft or less
• San Antonio: 300 sq ft or less
• No size exemption: Fort Worth, Frisco, Prosper, Round Rock, Georgetown and Plano (portable sheds included)

What the site plan has to show.

Cities word it differently, but the list barely changes: your property lines, the house and anything else already on the lot, where the shed goes, and the distance from the shed to every property line. Most also want easements and setbacks marked.

Frisco and McKinney accept the maker's brochure in place of construction drawings for a prebuilt shed, alongside the marked site plan. Fort Worth also asks for a certified copy of your recorded plat.

Where a shed can sit.

• Easements: Frisco and McKinney allow no structures in an easement. Cedar Park bars sheds over 80 sq ft from utility easements and lets smaller ones sit there at your own risk.
• Setbacks: San Antonio's application lists 5 ft from the side and rear lines. Cedar Park asks most small sheds for 5 ft. Fort Worth sets 5, 7 or 9 ft depending on height.
• Front yards: Cedar Park and Fort Worth don't allow sheds in front of the house.
• Size of all sheds together: Fort Worth caps it by lot size, Cedar Park at 20% of the back yard, and Georgetown at 30% of the rear yard.

City by city.

• Houston: Houston has no zoning, but a shed over 120 sq ft, a raised or attached deck, or a fence over 8 ft still needs a permit and a to-scale site plan showing property lines, easements and building lines.
• Dallas: Dallas lets a detached shed or small freestanding deck of 200 sq ft or less go without a permit. An attached deck always needs one.
• San Antonio: San Antonio lets a shed of 300 sq ft or less go without a permit, but every new fence needs one, and so does a deck or patio cover over 300 sq ft or attached to the house.
• Fort Worth: Fort Worth asks for a permit for every shed, whatever its size, and for any deck more than 6 inches above grade.
• Austin: Austin accepts drawings made by the owner, as long as they are legible, drawn to scale and show what the city asks for.
• Frisco: Frisco asks for a permit for every shed and patio cover, with no size exemption, and for every new fence. The survey must show the distance to every property line.
• McKinney: McKinney exempts a detached structure under 120 sq ft with no electrical or plumbing work. Anything bigger, any attached patio cover, and every new fence needs a permit.
• Cedar Park: Cedar Park asks for a deck permit once a deck is 30 inches up, over 200 sq ft, attached or serving an exit door, and a shed permit over 80 sq ft. Fences need no permit.
• Round Rock: Round Rock asks for a permit for every wood deck or covered patio, and publishes its deck fees.
• Georgetown: Georgetown permits decks on its residential miscellaneous application, and may ask for an engineer's stamp on decks over 6 ft high.
• Plano: Plano asks for a permit to build or replace a deck more than 30 inches above grade.
• Allen: Allen follows the standard code exemption: small, low, freestanding decks don't need a permit.
• Prosper: Prosper follows the standard code exemption for decks, and asks for a permit for every accessory building.
• Manor: Manor asks for a permit for any deck or patio that changes the original survey, with no size exemption.

Questions.

Does a prebuilt or portable shed need a permit?

In the cities that require shed permits, usually yes. Plano names portable sheds, and Frisco has its own fee for a modular shed. Frisco and McKinney let you submit the maker's brochure instead of framing drawings.

Can I put a shed in a utility easement?

Often not. Frisco and McKinney don't allow structures in easements, and Georgetown keeps accessory structures out of public utility easements. Cedar Park allows sheds of 80 sq ft or less there at your own risk.

Does my HOA's approval replace the city permit?

No, they're separate. McKinney says it doesn't enforce HOA or deed restrictions, and Houston's permit declaration asks you to check your deed restrictions yourself.