Midland City or Midland County: Which Plan Review Applies to Your Project?

The city process is documented and sequential. The permit application goes in through the Permit Midland portal with the construction drawings, site plan, and supporting documents; plan reviewers examine the submittal against the adopted codes; and the reviewer notifies the applicant of approval or corrections by email. Fees are split, with a portion due at submittal and the balance at verification, and no applications or payments are accepted after 4 pm. Once issued, the permit must be posted visibly on the job site, and construction must start within 180 days and cannot stop for more than 180 days without the permit expiring. For the design team, the city path means engineered drawings stamped by licensed professionals, code-compliant structural, civil, and MEP design, and responsiveness to plan-check corrections. Typical correction cycles cover exiting, accessibility, structural detailing, and energy compliance. The team should also confirm which code editions the city has adopted, because the design must meet the editions in effect on the submittal date, not the editions the engineer last used on a different project.

In unincorporated Midland County, the absence of a city building department shifts review to the agencies with authority over each system. On-site sewage facilities are approved through the TCEQ authorized agent, which reviews the system design and inspects the installation. Floodplain development goes through the floodplain administrator with jurisdiction over the parcel, who enforces elevation and floodproofing requirements. Access to county roads needs county approval, and access to state highways runs through the Texas Department of Transportation, which sets driveway spacing, sight distance, and drainage requirements. Oilfield and energy facilities add the Railroad Commission of Texas to the list, since the commission regulates drilling, production, and related operations regardless of city or county lines. None of this removes the need for engineered design. Foundations are still sized from a geotechnical investigation, structures are still designed for the wind and seismic loads the code assigns, and electrical and plumbing systems still follow their codes. The AHJ in each lane decides what is approved, so the project starts with a jurisdiction map and ends with a complete record set.