Spec notes
- Since October 1, 2025, Austin has cut change-of-use reviews from 11 disciplines to three, shortening the typical timeline from about two months to about two weeks.
- A building permit is required to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve or convert any building within Austin’s zoning jurisdiction.
- Outdoor signs, mobile retail and above-ground hazardous materials storage each need their own city permit.
The state handles your entity and your taxes; the city handles your space. Before you sign a lease for a shop, studio, lab or office in Austin, it pays to know which city approvals the space will need for your use. Austin Development Services, which leads the development process together with 12 partner departments, publishes a guide for small businesses. Here is what it covers.
Step 1: Is the space approved for your use?
Every commercial space has a certificate of occupancy that reflects how it may be used. The city explains that as a small business you may need to go through a change of use process to obtain an updated certificate of occupancy that reflects your planned use. That process may include a site plan exemption and a building plan review.
Good news for new businesses: as of October 1, 2025, the city reduced change-of-use reviews from 11 disciplines to three, shortening the typical timeline from about two months to about two weeks.
Tip: Before you sign a lease, ask the landlord for the space’s current certificate of occupancy and compare its use with yours. If your planned use differs from the one on the certificate, expect the change of use process.
Step 2: Construction and finish-out
The city requires a building permit to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, improve or convert any building or structure within its zoning jurisdiction, and in some municipal utility districts. Demolition permits are required for total demolitions and partial demolitions that remove more than half of the exterior walls. Some minor work is exempt; Development Services keeps a list of work that does not need a permit.
Step 3: Other permits your business may need
| Permit | When it is needed |
|---|---|
| Sign permit | Any outdoor sign: awning, freestanding, projecting, roof or wall |
| Site plan | To establish land use and site development on non-single-family property |
| Mobile retail (non-food) | Selling non-food items or services from a vehicle or trailer that changes locations |
| Hazardous materials storage | Storing or using hazardous materials above ground, or using regulated underground tanks |
| Wastewater discharge permit | Discharging industrial wastewater into the city system |
| Alcoholic beverage certification | City certification on a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission application |
| BYOB permit | An unlicensed business that lets patrons bring alcohol |
If you will handle food or serve alcohol, raise it with the city at the start: alcohol sales need the city certification above as part of a state license application, and food service brings its own health requirements.
Zoning basics
Zoning decides what uses are allowed where. If you are unsure whether your use fits a property, Development Services suggests scheduling an appointment with Land Use Assistance for commercial zoning questions. The city’s Development Process Team also answers high-level process questions for small business owners and renters.
Working from home instead
Many startups begin at home. In June 2025 the Texas Legislature passed HB 2464, and the city summarizes its effect: Austin cannot prohibit or require permits for home-based businesses that do not exceed occupancy limits, generate significant traffic or create visible or noise disturbances. See Running a Home-Based Business in Austin Under Texas’s New Rules.
A practical order of operations
- Form your entity and get your EIN; see Forming an LLC in Texas: Form 205 Step by Step and Getting an EIN for Your Austin Business: Free, Online and in the Right Order.
- Identify the space and check its certificate of occupancy and zoning.
- Talk to Development Services about change of use, finish-out and signs before you sign the lease, or make the lease contingent on approvals.
- Apply for permits through the city’s AB+C portal or the forms Development Services lists.
- Register for your sales tax permit if you will sell taxable items; see Texas Sales Tax Permits for New Businesses: Who Needs One and How It Works.
Where to ask
Development Services lists 512-978-4000 for development-related questions during business hours. The City of Austin’s Small Business Division also offers a free BizAid orientation that introduces the city, county and state requirements for a new business; see Free and Low-Cost Help for Austin Founders: City, County and Library Resources.
How the development process runs
Development Services describes three main phases: create your project, review and revise, and build and inspect. It leads that process with 12 partner departments, which is why a single storefront can involve zoning, building, fire, water and sign reviews. Many applications go through the city’s AB+C portal; others, such as alcohol certification and on-site sewage facilities, are submitted by email to the responsible office.
Water and wastewater work has its own requirements: Austin Water handles permanent water or wastewater service and meter installation, and its industrial waste office issues wastewater discharge permits based on what the business will discharge.
The bottom line
Check the space before you commit to it: its certificate of occupancy, zoning and any change of use. Budget time and money for building and sign permits, and for special permits if you handle food, alcohol or hazardous materials. Austin’s faster change-of-use review helps, but asking early helps more.