A standard residential septic permit in unincorporated Travis County costs $712 plus a $10 state fee, or $1,262 for an engineer-designed system, which shallow or sloped Hill Country sites frequently require. A maintenance contract adds $249. Everything files online through the MyGovernmentOnline portal, with no paper path, but first you must answer the question that trips up more Travis County owners than any fee: who has jurisdiction over your property.
Travis County TNR permits on-site sewage facilities (OSSFs) outside city limits, but Austin Water regulates them inside the City of Austin’s jurisdiction, and the two have different rules and different fees.
Check the City of Austin Jurisdiction Web Map first. One rule catches people out: by Austin City Code, any property with water frontage on Lake Austin or its tributaries falls under city jurisdiction, however the lot or drainfield is arranged. Several small cities, West Lake Hills and Bee Cave among them, run their own programs, and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) covers designated lake zones.
Travis County TNR — Development Services (permit desk) 700 Lavaca St., Suite 540, Austin, TX 78701 · Mailing: P.O. Box 1748, Attn: Permits, Austin, TX 78701 Phone: (512) 854-4215 · Inspections: (512) 854-4438 Permit desk hours: Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. (closed Fridays, so plan around it)
A conventional residential system runs $712 plus the $10 TCEQ state fee; an engineered system is $1,262 plus $10; both add $125 for every 500 gallons per day (GPD) above the first 500.
From the county’s FY2026 Development Related Fees Schedule, effective January 1, 2026:
| Application type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Private Sewage Permit (up to 500 GPD) | $712 |
| Private Sewage Permit (over 500 GPD) | $712 + $125 per additional 500 GPD |
| Engineered Construction Permit (up to 500 GPD) | $1,262 |
| Engineered Construction Permit (over 500 GPD) | $1,262 + $125 per additional 500 GPD |
| Engineered Adjustment Permit | $500 |
| Maintenance Contract Fee | $249 |
| TCEQ State Fee | $10 per application |
| Septic Verification | $92 per submission |
| Non-permit-related OSSF inspection | $107 per inspection |
| Re-inspection (after the first free inspection) | $200 per inspection |
| 30-day extension (one time only) | $137 |
| Septic subdivision review | $524 per plat + $63 per lot over 4 lots |
Budget two more line items: the MyGovernmentOnline portal charges a non-refundable $7–$10 transaction fee, and a floodplain permit ($149 and up outside Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ) applies if any part of your lot sits in the regulated floodplain.
A warning about numbers you’ll find elsewhere. Search results commonly quote Travis County septic permits at “$285–$475.” Those are not permit fees but refund amounts from an expired watershed rebate program. The current fees are in the table above, from the county’s own FY2026 schedule.
Nine stages, all inside the county’s online portal: confirm jurisdiction, assemble a detailed site plan, create an account, apply, answer review comments, post the permit, then schedule inspections in sequence.
Ask about turnaround when you file, and never let a contractor break ground on the promise that the permit is coming.
Travis County refunds septic permit fees for qualifying repairs and replacements in the Gilleland Creek and Walnut Creek watershed areas. If your failing system sits in either watershed, ask about the waiver before you pay. It is real, and it is not advertised loudly.
$712 plus a $10 state fee for a standard residential system, or $1,262 plus $10 if the design is engineered; add $249 when a maintenance contract is required and $125 for every 500 GPD above the first 500. Budget the portal fee ($7–$10) and, where applicable, a floodplain permit.
Outside city limits, Travis County TNR; inside the City of Austin’s jurisdiction, Austin Water. Lake Austin water frontage puts you under the city however the lot is laid out, and filing with the wrong office costs you weeks.
Travis County does not publish a review turnaround. What we can tell you is where the clock stops: review pauses until you answer every reviewer comment, so incomplete site plans drive most delay.
Texas rules require licensed professionals for the site evaluation and installation, and the county requires a designer certification letter after inspection. Which credential Travis accepts for the designer of record is not published; we have asked, and will publish the answer once we have it in writing.
Every fee here was read in Travis County’s own FY2026 schedule; anything we could not read cleanly was left out rather than estimated.
Two variance-related figures sat in a multi-column PDF block where row alignment could not be confirmed, so they stay out until the county confirms them. City of Austin fees are absent because the city’s fee PDF would not render.
Ground conditions and licensed providers: the Travis County septic hub. See also routine pumping costs and what an aerobic maintenance contract must contain.
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