DrawPermit

Travis County · Texas

Austin site plans and permits.

Austin accepts drawings made by the owner, as long as they are legible, drawn to scale and show what the city asks for.

Start a site planSee a sample set
Building code
2024 International Residential Code with Austin amendments, in effect since July 10, 2025.
Deck permit
You need a permit unless the deck is 200 sq ft or smaller, no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, freestanding, not serving a door and not in a flood hazard area. Attached decks, decks over 200 sq ft or 30 inches, and decks serving a door need structural drawings.
Sheds
A one-story detached shed of 200 sq ft or less and 15 ft tall or less, with no plumbing and no one living in it, doesn't need a permit.
Owner-drawn plans
Hand or owner-made drawings are accepted if legible, to scale and complete. Drawings without a seal get a limited technical review.
Engineer
Not required for a typical deck. The city can ask for one case by case.
Setbacks
Setbacks depend on the lot's zoning district, and recent small-lot rule changes affect many single-family lots. Check your lot's zoning before you place the deck.
Fees
Austin charges a plan review fee per submittal plus the permit fee on its residential fee schedule. The deck pages don't list a dollar amount.
Where to apply
Pool and uncovered deck application, through an AB+C portal account

What Austin asks the site plan to show.

  • Standard scale, with the scale written on the sheet
  • Property address and legal description
  • North arrow
  • Property lines and existing and proposed buildings
  • Easements and the zoning setbacks
  • Impervious cover, existing and proposed, in square feet and as a share of the lot
  • Trees 19 inches or wider on or next to the lot, and trees in the right-of-way
  • Water meter, wastewater cleanout and utility lines
  • Floodplain information when the lot is within 150 ft of a mapped floodplain

Your DrawPermit site plan draws the lot lines, north arrow, scale, structures, setbacks, distances to each line and impervious cover. Add utility lines, meters and trees by hand if your city asks for them.

Worth knowing.

  • An uncovered wood deck with gaps between boards over soil counts at 50% toward impervious cover. The site data box on your plan does this math.
  • Replacing only the deck boards doesn't need a permit. Any work on guards or handrails does.

Checked against the city's own pages on October 30, 2026. Rules change, so confirm with Austin before you submit.