Building Permits in Allen, Plano, Frisco & McKinney: A Homeowner's Guide

If you're planning a renovation, addition, pool, or new build anywhere in Collin County, the permit is where the project quietly gets made or broken — long before the first wall comes down. Homeowners in Allen, Plano, Frisco, and McKinney tend to picture a building permit as a form and a fee. In practice it's the city's promise that your project meets code, that it was inspected at the right stages, and that it will hold up when you sell. Skip it, or get it wrong, and the consequences aren't abstract: stop-work orders, failed inspections, re-opened walls, and disclosure problems years down the road.

Here's the part that trips people up. There is no single "Collin County building permit." Each city runs its own department, its own online portal, its own code cycle, and its own timeline. Below is how the major cities actually work — and where a general contractor earns its keep by handling all of it for you.

What actually needs a permit (and what usually doesn't)

Texas permitting is governed at the city level, not by the state — but nearly every Collin County city builds on the same International Residential Code (IRC) foundation. So the dividing line stays fairly consistent from one city to the next.

You'll generally need a permit for:

• Additions and any change to square footage
• Removing or altering load-bearing or structural walls
• New or relocated plumbing, electrical, or HVAC
• Water heater and HVAC system replacements
• Decks above a set height, patio covers, pergolas, and most fences over 6 feet
• Pools — and often the decking and drainage around them

You usually won't need one for purely cosmetic work:

• Paint, trim, and wallpaper
• Flooring installed over an existing subfloor
• Swapping countertops, cabinet hardware, or light fixtures
• Like-for-like finish replacements that don't touch structure or systems

The trap is the "small" kitchen or bath remodel. The moment you move a sink, open a wall, or add a circuit, a cosmetic job becomes a permitted one — and in Texas that often means a licensed plumber or electrician has to pull a separate trade permit under the project.

How the cities differ

Allen

Allen runs everything through its Citizen Self-Service (CSS) portal — applications, document uploads, permit printing, and inspection scheduling. Homeowners doing their own work must file a Homeowner's Affidavit first. The city was moving to adopt the 2024 ICC building codes in mid-2026, so confirm the current code cycle and any local amendments before you finalize a design. Building Services: 214.509.4130.

Plano

Plano reviews plans for structural integrity, fire safety, energy code, and accessibility, and publishes a refreshingly concrete window: plan review takes roughly 1 to 10 days depending on project type. Anything that adds square footage, changes exits, touches load-bearing walls, or modifies major systems needs a permit and plan review. Building Inspections: 972-941-7140.

Frisco

Frisco is the strictest on the front end: contractors must be registered with the city before most permits can even be submitted. Initial plan review runs about 15 days, with resubmittals another 10 to 15, and there's no expedited option. The upside — a set of "self-service" permits issue immediately for like-for-like swaps: a roof in the same material, a water heater, an HVAC system, doors and windows, and minor electrical or plumbing. Permit desk: 972-292-5301.

McKinney (and ADUs)

McKinney is the county's ADU story. It does not allow accessory dwelling units by-right in most single-family zoning. A guest house or accessory living quarters may be permitted as incidental to the main home, but generally can't be rented as a separate household. Any ADU needs a building permit with a full site plan and construction drawings, and must meet Unified Development Code size, setback, and design-compatibility rules. In the Historic District you'll also need a Certificate of Appropriateness. McKinney's DNA and CSS portals walk you through the steps.

Prosper, Wylie, Fairview & Richardson

Prosper publishes clear residential numbers: a $300 nonrefundable application fee for new homes, a building-permit fee of about $1.00 per square foot, and a $100 minimum — with decks under 30 inches, cosmetic bathrooms, and fences 6 feet and under exempt. Wylie, Fairview, and Richardson each run their own departments and fee schedules — and Richardson notably straddles the Dallas/Collin county line — so confirm specifics with each city before you budget.

Unincorporated Collin County

If your lot sits outside city limits, the county, not a city, is your authority — and septic changes everything. You'll apply through the county's CSS portal for an OSSF (septic) permit, and no permanent power is released until the septic system passes both its initial and final inspections.

Timelines: plan for weeks, not days

Realistically, budget a few weeks between application and approval on anything beyond a simple swap, plus inspection lead time at each phase. Frisco's ~15-day first review is a good planning anchor; Plano's 1-to-10-day window is faster but project-dependent; Allen and McKinney publish less about timing, so build in a buffer. Two things blow up schedules more than the review itself: incomplete submittals that trigger a resubmission cycle, and a missed inspection that forces work to stop — and sometimes be re-opened.

The part specialty contractors can't see: permits are a sequencing problem

This is where the whole picture matters. A permit isn't a single event — it's a sequence of inspections tied to the order the work happens: footings before framing, rough-in plumbing/electrical/mechanical before insulation, insulation before drywall, and a final inspection before you can legally use the space. Get the order wrong and an inspector can make you open finished walls.

A pool builder, a roofer, or a kitchen-only remodeler each pulls the permit for their slice — and none of them owns how those slices fit together, or how they tie into your existing slab, plumbing, and drainage. On North Texas's expansive Blackland Prairie clay — soil that can swell up to roughly 30% when it takes on water — that coordination is not cosmetic. The IRC expects the ground to fall about 6 inches within the first 10 feet away from the foundation, and a new addition, pool deck, or patio that ignores grading and drainage can push water toward your slab and crack it. A general contractor is the only party sequencing all of it against one permit set and one plan.

Unpermitted work comes due at resale

The bill for skipped permits usually arrives years later. Under Texas Property Code Section 5.008, sellers must complete a Seller's Disclosure Notice and disclose known unpermitted work. An appraiser can exclude unpermitted square footage from your home's value; some lenders will condition financing on permits being pulled first; and non-disclosure can expose you to Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims — potentially up to three times the actual loss. A finished-out garage or a "we didn't bother" addition can quietly cost you the sale.

How a general contractor handles permitting for you

When The Remo Guys run a project, permitting isn't your problem to chase. We identify which city — or the county — has jurisdiction, register where required, prepare the site plan and construction drawings, pull the building permit and coordinate the licensed trade permits under it, and schedule inspections in the right order. Then we stand behind the whole thing with one warranty. You get one accountable team from design and permits to final build — not five specialty contractors each optimizing their own slice and pointing fingers when an inspection fails.

That's the whole-picture difference: a specialty contractor sees their slice; a general contractor sees your whole house, your whole lot, and the whole permit path — and stands behind all of it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really need a permit to remodel my kitchen or bathroom? Cosmetic-only work generally doesn't need one, but moving a sink, opening a wall, or adding a circuit does — and that often triggers a separate licensed-trade permit.

How long does a building permit take in Collin County? It varies: roughly 1-10 days in Plano, about 15 days for Frisco's first review, and longer if a submittal is incomplete. Plan for weeks, not days.

What happens if I skip the permit? Short term: stop-work orders and re-opened walls. Long term: mandatory disclosure at resale under Property Code §5.008, plus appraisal and financing problems.

Can I build an ADU in McKinney? Not by-right in most single-family zoning — it needs a permit, a site plan, UDC compliance, and generally can't be rented as a separate household.

Ready to build without the permit headaches?

Planning a renovation, addition, ADU, pool, or custom build in Allen, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, or anywhere in Collin County? Let's map the permit path — jurisdiction, code cycle, timeline, and inspection sequence — before you break ground. The Remo Guys are a licensed, insured, and bonded design-build general contractor serving all of Collin County. Request a consultation and we'll handle the paperwork, the inspections, and the whole picture.