Sherman and Grayson County Construction Permit Guide
The question "do I need a permit" has a different answer at every address in this corridor, because it spans a dozen city jurisdictions, four Texas counties, two Oklahoma counties, and two state highway systems. The table below maps the authorities as of fall 2026: who reviews what, where a city's power ends and a county's begins, and which rules follow the work everywhere.
Two patterns explain most of it. Inside city limits, the city's building department reviews and inspects construction under its adopted codes, and Sherman, Denison, and McKinney each run an online portal. Outside city limits, Grayson County issues no building permit for a single-family home, but its Development Services office at 100 W. Houston Street in Sherman still controls the 911 address, the driveway culvert, the septic permit, and floodplain review. Neighboring counties and the Oklahoma side follow their own versions of that split.
| Jurisdiction / topic | Authority | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Grayson County: homes | Grayson County Development Services | The county states it does not require building permits or issue certificates of occupancy for single-family residences. The same office handles addresses, culverts, septic, and floodplain for those homes. |
| Grayson County: 911 address and driveway | Development Certificate (online), precinct foreman | Stake the driveway; the precinct foreman decides whether a culvert is needed and inspects the drive before the address is assigned. County right-of-way rules set culvert pipe at 12 to 36 inches, supplied and installed by the owner. |
| Grayson County: septic (OSSF) | County OSSF Division, a TCEQ authorized agent | Required on every tract regardless of size. No application without a current 911 address and property ID. A licensed site evaluator or engineer designs the system. Aerobic treatment below 2.5 acres; minimum tract 1 acre on public water or 1.5 acres on a well unless every system on the tract is drip. |
| Grayson County: floodplain | County Engineer as floodplain administrator | Floodplain development permit wherever work touches mapped floodplain on the September 1, 2022 flood maps. A home's lowest floor sits at least 2 feet above base flood elevation. |
| Grayson County: commercial buildings | Grayson County Fire Marshal | Permits new commercial and public buildings and apartment buildings of four or more units on unincorporated land. |
| Sherman (city limits) | Sherman Development Services, Self Service Portal | Portal launched March 31, 2025 for building, engineering, and zoning applications. 2021 ICC codes with local amendments: an engineered shear wall plan and a form board survey for every new house and residential addition. Every contractor registers with the city; trade firms also show state licenses. |
| Sherman: what needs a permit | City permit list | Every new fence (repairs only when new posts go in), every re-roof, water heaters, permanent generators, irrigation, pools with pumps, accessory buildings over 100 square feet or on a permanent foundation, and a demolition permit for interior demolition during a remodel. Painting and floor coverings need none. |
| Sherman: driveways, ROW, grading | Sherman Engineering | Driveway approaches need an approved permit and drawing before inspection: widths, flares, nearby inlets, and meter location. Meters may not sit in an approach, and approaches stay 10.5 feet from a drainage inlet unless a variance is granted. |
| Sherman: fences (zoning) | Zoning Ordinance Sec. 14.04.004 | Residential front-yard fences max 4 feet and at least half open; side and rear screening fences up to 8 feet and solid; no fences in the 25-foot sight triangle at street corners; metal panel fences prohibited in every district. |
| Denison (city limits) | Denison Building Department, MGO Connect portal | 2024 ICC codes and the 2026 NEC. Homeowners pull permits only on homesteaded property; otherwise the applicant registers as a general contractor, $50 a year. Additions and foundation repair need engineered foundations. |
| McKinney (city limits) | McKinney Building Inspections, Citizen Self-Service | 2024 ICC codes effective October 1, 2025. General contractors do not register; licensed trades do. Residential permits need a structural engineer's letter certifying the foundation plan, a form board survey before plumbing rough, and a final drainage survey no older than 30 days. |
| Anna, Melissa, Celina, Gainesville, Bonham | Each city's building department | Each city adopts its own code editions and runs its own review; confirm the edition and the submittal list with the city before design. |
| Unincorporated Collin County | Collin County Development Services | Development permit for any ground disturbance or new footprint, with the septic permit attached; third-party inspections for new homes and substantial additions; no new homes in the special flood hazard area. |
| Unincorporated Cooke, Fannin, Denton counties | County (limited) | No residential building permit. County road departments govern culverts and approaches on county roads, and septic and floodplain rules apply where they reach. |
| A city's ETJ | City platting rules only | Cities may extend subdivision and platting rules into the ETJ but may not regulate land use, building size, or density there. Since 2023, landowners may petition for release under Local Government Code 42.101 through 42.105. |
| Durant, OK (city limits) | Durant Community Development, MyGov portal | Building permits, plan review, inspections, 911 addressing, and floodplain. Oklahoma's statewide minimum codes moved to the 2024 IRC and IBC on September 14, 2026, and cities may be stricter. |
| Unincorporated Bryan and Marshall counties, OK | County floodplain office; Oklahoma DEQ for septic | Confirm any county permit with the county office. DEQ issues an Authorization to Construct before any new septic system, and only DEQ or a DEQ-certified soil profiler may run the soil test. |
| State highway approaches (TX) | TxDOT district office | Any driveway or approach onto US 75, US 82, US 69, US 377, SH 289, or an FM road needs a TxDOT access permit; the manual sets width, angle, radii, surface, and drainage. |
| Construction stormwater (TX) | TCEQ general permit TXR150000 | Disturbing 1 acre or more needs coverage: a site notice and stormwater pollution prevention plan from 1 to 5 acres, a notice of intent at 5 acres or more. |
| Lake Texoma shoreline | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Texoma Project Office | Docks, mowing, erosion control, and stairs on Corps land need Corps permits or licenses under the 2021 Shoreline Management Plan; new private docks only in Limited Development Areas. |
| Engineered plans (TX) | TBPELS-licensed engineers | Foundation plans for habitable structures and engineered retaining walls are sealed by Texas-licensed professional engineers, and McKinney and Denison require engineered foundations for the work they permit. |
| Trade licensing (both states) | TDLR, Texas plumbing board, Oklahoma CIB | TDLR licenses Texas electricians and air conditioning contractors, the State Board of Plumbing Examiners licenses plumbers, and Oklahoma's CIB licenses electrical, plumbing, and mechanical trades and registers roofers. The license applies even where no building permit exists. |
| Utility locates | 811 (both states) | Free, legally required locates before any digging, trenching, or auger work, on every parcel, city or county. |
The practical use of this table: identify which row your project sits in before anyone bids it, because the permit path belongs in the written scope, not in the surprises column. Scopes here name the jurisdiction, the submittals, and who carries each one.
One caution that repeats across the corridor: no permit does not mean no standards. A retaining wall on unincorporated land carries the same soil pressure as one in town, and a slab on county clay needs the same engineering judgment as one the city inspects. The permit line moves; the physics do not. For the common questions, see do I need a permit, the Sherman driveway permit FAQ, the fence permit FAQ, and the retaining wall permit FAQ.
Data sources
- Grayson County Development Services
- Grayson County OSSF permitting requirements
- Grayson County right-of-way regulations
- City of Sherman Development Services
- City of Sherman building code adoption and amendments
- City of Denison Adopted Codes and Ordinances
- City of McKinney Residential Builders Packet
- Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission: IRC adoptions
- TxDOT Access Management Manual
- Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
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