Corpus Christi, TX Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2021 International Plumbing Code, locally amended
- Issuing agency
- Development Services (code official)
- License required
- State-licensed plumber, Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 1301
- Contractor step
- City contractor registration before permit
- Max fine
- $500 per violation, per day
- Appeals body
- Construction Trade Advisory & Appeals Board
Summary
Corpus Christi enforces plumbing work under the 2021 International Plumbing Code, adopted by Sec. 14-281 with local amendments. Development Services administers permits as the code official, charges a fee for each permit under the city's fee schedule, and only a state-licensed plumber can pull a permit for licensed plumbing work.
Sec. 14-281. - Plumbing code. The International Plumbing Code, 2021 Edition, as published by the International Code Council, is incorporated by reference and adopted as the Plumbing Code for the City of Corpus Christi with the following local amendments... 103.1 Creation of agency. The City of Corpus Christi Development Services is hereby created named and the official in charge thereof shall be known as the code official. The function of the agency shall be the implementation, administration and enforcement of the provisions of this code. 109.2 Schedule of permit fees. Where work requires a permit, a fee for each permit shall be paid as required, in accordance with the schedule as established by the applicable governing authority. Reference the City of Corpus Christi fee schedule. Sec. 14-207. - Violations and penalties. 1.1 Any person...who violates a provision of this article or the technical construction codes...is guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to a fine not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). 1.2 Each day or portion of a day during which any violation...is committed or continued is a separate violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 14-281 adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code by reference as the city's Plumbing Code, with underlined additions and struck deletions spelled out in the ordinance text. Sec. 1 creates Development Services as the enforcing agency and names its head the code official, responsible for implementing, administering and enforcing the code. Sec. 2 requires a fee for each permit, set by the city's own fee schedule rather than the model code's default table. 1, requiring backflow prevention assemblies to be tested by a state-licensed Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester, with results filed to the city's third-party database within ten days.
Under Sec. A. Occupations Code Ch. 1301); a licensed master plumber can file an affidavit authorizing an agent to pull permits on the license holder's behalf. Contractors performing the work must also carry a city contractor registration under Sec. 14-205(4) before a permit issues. Disputes over a code official's ruling go to the nine-member Construction Trade Advisory & Appeals Board created by Sec. 14-206, which can vary the code's application or overturn a technical ruling after a hearing.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 14-207 makes working without a required plumbing permit, or deviating from approved plans, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense, and the offense is strict liability: the culpable mental state normally required under Tex. Penal Code § 6.02 is expressly negated. The city attorney may also seek an injunction to stop unpermitted work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Corpus Christi?
Can I pull my own plumbing permit as a homeowner?
What happens if I do plumbing work without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Corpus Christi
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