Texas Land Development Application Process

What does Texas law require when you file a plat?

The approving body has 30 days to act, and silence counts as approval. Under Local Government Code chapter 212, a city must act on a plat within 30 days after it is filed. The plat is approved unless it is disapproved in that window, in writing and with reasons (§212.009(a)).

Here "plat" means a preliminary plat, a final plat or a replat (§212.001(2)). The approving body is the planning commission, or the city council if there is no commission (§212.006). A city may delegate approval to staff, and you can appeal a staff disapproval (§212.0065).

Three more rules from the same chapter matter in practice:

• If an ordinance also requires council approval, the council gets its own 30 days after the commission acts (§212.009(b)).
• If the city misses the deadline, it must certify on request the filing date and that it failed to act. That certificate stands in for the approval endorsement (§212.009(d)).
• The procedure applies even under a city and county interlocal agreement (§212.0085).

Counties follow a parallel rule. Under Local Government Code chapter 232, the commissioners court or its designee must act within 30 days after a completed application is received (§232.0025(d)).

If the county misses that date, the application is granted by operation of law. The county refunds at least half of any application fee or deposit, and you can ask a district court for a writ of mandamus (§232.0025(i)).

When does the 30-day clock start?

It starts with a complete application, and the local checklist defines complete. Since HB 3699 took effect on September 1, 2023, each city must publish a written list of everything it requires with a plat application. Each item must relate to a requirement the statute authorizes. An application with everything on the list is complete (§212.0081).

A city's 30 days run from the date the plat is filed. A plat counts as filed on the date you submit it with a completed application, the fees and the other items the subchapter requires (§212.004(f)). The statute gives a city no authority over completeness beyond what it states (§212.005(b)).

Counties must post their list online. If something is missing, the county must tell you within 10 business days and let you supply it (§232.0025(a) and (b)).

For a city, the clock can move in two ways:

• If a groundwater availability certification is required, the 30 days start when you submit it (§212.009(b-1)).
• The period is extended, in steps of up to 30 days, if you request it in writing and the city approves, or if the Government Code requires a takings impact assessment (§212.009(b-2)).

A county can extend its 30 days on similar terms (§232.0025(f)).

What happens after a conditional approval or disapproval?

The city must say exactly what is wrong, and you get to fix it. Each condition or reason must be in writing, relate directly to the statute's requirements, cite the law it rests on where applicable, and not be arbitrary (§212.0091).

You may then submit a written response, and the city may not set a deadline for it (§212.0093). The city has 15 days from your response to decide.

It must approve if the response addresses each item. It may disapprove only for a reason it gave the first time, and the plat is approved if it does not act in time (§212.0095).

HB 3167 added more protections:

• A city may not ask or require you to waive a deadline or procedure (§212.0097).
• In court, the city must prove by clear and convincing evidence that a disapproval was proper (§212.0099).
• You may choose a shorter alternative process if the city has adopted one (§212.0096).

Since 2023, a city may also set a submittal calendar (§212.0015). Counties have matching rules in §§232.0026 to 232.0029.

Does the 30-day clock cover site plans and construction plans?

For cities, not since September 1, 2023. HB 3167 applied the clock to "plans" as well as plats, including site plans and subdivision construction plans. HB 3699 deleted that definition, so chapter 212's procedure now covers preliminary plats, final plats and replats.

Check your city's own code for site plan and construction plan review times. For counties, a development plan may not be required during plat approval unless another state law explicitly allows it, and then the same procedures apply (§232.00285).

Is Austin's project assessment a state requirement?

No. It is a City of Austin process. The state statutes do not mention it. Austin's subdivision application page describes it as a high-level look at how a future subdivision application would comply with code, with a 180-day binding staff recommendation on discretionary approvals.

Austin lists discretionary items a project assessment may address, including:

• Regional Stormwater Management Program participation and alternative equivalent compliance for water quality
• Save Our Springs limited adjustments and redevelopment exceptions
• Floodplain variances and delineations, and FEMA map revisions
• Code variances, waivers and administrative variances
• Easement and right-of-way vacations, encroachment and license agreements
• Parkland dedication, and small lots that need a fire code alternative method of compliance

Austin runs the assessment with its own completeness check, certification letter and formal review. Other cities may have nothing like it, so read the code where your site is.

What should be settled before you file a plat?

Settle who reviews the plat. In a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, Local Government Code §242.001 requires, in the counties it covers, a written city and county agreement naming who regulates plats there. It can be the city, the county, a split of the area, or one joint office.

Our post on how an ETJ works in Texas covers the background.

Settle where water and sewer come from. A city must approve a plat that meets its rules and conforms to its general plan, which takes into account the extension of water and sewer mains (§212.010(a)).

If the subdivision will rely on groundwater under the land, the application needs a Texas-licensed engineer's or geoscientist's statement that groundwater is adequate, unless the city grants a waiver the statute allows (§212.0101).

Local prerequisites vary. Austin lists time-sensitive approvals an application may need, such as final council approval of a zoning case or an approved Austin Water service extension request.

State law also bars a city from requiring a study, document or agreement in a plat application that state law does not explicitly allow (§212.004(g)). Sorting these out is the core of site feasibility and due diligence.

Is your plat application ready to start the clock?

Answer yes or no. If any answer is no, fix it before you file.

1. Do you have the current published checklist for this plat type?
2. Does the package contain every item on that list?
3. Do you know whether the city, the county or a joint office approves plats at this site?
4. Is the water and sewer source identified and consistent with the city's plan for extending mains?
5. If groundwater is the source, is the certification attached?
6. Are local prerequisites, such as zoning, already approved?

Then ask city staff which list items take longest and whether a faster alternative process exists. We help developers and builders work through that list before a submittal date is set.

A note on limits: this is general education from the statutes and public city pages as of October 2026, not legal advice. Your city's or county's code and staff govern your application.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 30-day plat rule apply to every Texas city?

It applies to plat approval by cities under chapter 212 and by counties under chapter 232, even under a city and county interlocal agreement (§§212.0085 and 232.0023).

What happens if the city misses the 30-day deadline?

The plat is approved unless it was disapproved in time with written reasons. On request, the city must certify the filing date and its failure to act (§212.009(a) and (d)).

I'm developing a subdivision in a Texas city's ETJ and the county also reviews plats nearby. Whose checklist do I follow?

Follow the entity the city and county agreement names for your site under §242.001. A joint office means one filing and one response. In counties that section does not cover, both may have to approve, so ask both offices first.

I'm a civil engineer preparing a preliminary plat in Austin. Does Austin's project assessment start the state 30-day clock?

The chapter 212 clock applies to the plat application. Austin runs the project assessment as a separate process with its own completeness check and review, so plan it as time before the plat filing.

Related resources

• What a Utility Feasibility Study Actually Tells You, and When to Get One
• McKinney Utility Availability Study: What Developers Need Before Submitting a Plat in Collin County's Fastest Growing City
• Austin Water Service Extension Requests: Who Pays for Off Site Water, Wastewater, and Reclaimed Water Improvements?
• Types of Zoning Classifications

Getting a Texas plat ready for a complete first filing?

We check the jurisdiction, the local checklist and the water and sewer path before the plat is drawn, so the 30 days start when you file.

We specialize in:

• Site feasibility and due diligence
• Site civil and land development
• Drainage studies and detention design
• Water and sewer utility design
• Construction administration

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas. Contact: (214) 833-6748 or mod-eng.com