How to Look Up an Austin Building Permit (Free, in Under a Minute)
2026-10-02
Two ways to find a permit, depending on what you know
If you've seen construction at a specific address, spotted a permit posted in a window, or just
want to know what's being built in your neighborhood, Austin's building permits are public
record. Here's the fast way to find one.
If you have an address
City of Austin permits are tied to a street address, ZIP code, and council district. Search our
live permit feed by address, or go straight to a ZIP-level view if you're watching a
whole neighborhood — for example, 78745 or 78744. Each
result shows the permit number, work class (new construction, remodel, addition, demolition…),
issue date, and — when the filer reported one — the project's total valuation.
If you have a permit number
Austin permit numbers follow a `YYYY-NNNNNN XX` format, where the two-letter suffix (BP, EP, PP,
MP…) indicates which trade the permit covers — building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical. A
single construction project often has several permit numbers, one per trade, all filed around
the same date. If you're trying to reconcile multiple permit numbers at one address, that's
normal, not a data error — see our note on reading the multifamily pipeline
for a worked example of the same pattern.
If you only know the neighborhood or ZIP
Start from the ZIP-level view and sort by issue date or valuation. Austin's permit-type pages
let you narrow further — new construction only, remodels only, pools, ADUs, multifamily, or
commercial.
What a permit *doesn't* tell you
A permit confirms work was approved, not that it's finished, or even started — some permits
sit open for months between issue date and the project's actual completion. For businesses
specifically, pair the permit feed with new business filings and
TABC licenses for a fuller "is this actually opening" picture.
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