When does a metal building project need TDLR registration?
Anywhere in the seven San Antonio-area counties, inside a city or out, a metal building job must be registered with TDLR once its total estimated construction cost hits $50,000. From that point a registered accessibility specialist reviews the construction documents against the Texas Accessibility Standards, the finished building gets inspected, and the local permit office may not take your permit application until the project is registered.
Below $50,000 there is no duty to register; the standards still bind a covered building, and the TDLR pages checked do not say whether a local building official may require registration anyway. TDLR says the law and the standards stay out of private residences, with one limit: the part of a home used to run a business is still covered. The rest of this sheet is the order of the steps, what TDLR charges, what it prints no number for, and where the line falls for a church or a shop behind a house.
Lot picked out? Each request goes to one independent contractor, whose call it is which jobs to accept.
Which jobs go on the TDLR register?
Any building job whose total estimated construction cost is at $50,000 or above. Such a job must be registered with TDLR, the state licensing and regulation department, and the full construction set goes to a registered accessibility specialist, who reviews it under Administrative Rule 68.50. Below $50,000, TDLR does not require registration: the job is still held to the Texas Accessibility Standards, and the owner may register it voluntarily on the Special Project Registration form for the project filing fee.
The statute says the same. Under Government Code 469.101, a job with $50,000 or more in estimated construction cost sends the plans and specifications for building or substantially renovating a covered building to TDLR to be reviewed and approved. Section 469.102 gives the design professional 20 days from issuing the plans to send them in, and under section 469.103, plans changed substantially after approval go back to TDLR.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers frequently asked questions, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
What goes into the $50,000 figure?
Less than the whole budget. TDLR tells owners to leave out the land, fees for architects, engineers or consultants, furnishings, and equipment that sits outside the building mechanical systems. It publishes that list of what to take out, not a formula for what to put in, so the figure is the budget minus those items, and it is the number that goes on the registration.
On a metal building that can swing the answer, since the land, the design fees and the equipment inside may be a big slice of what an owner thinks the job costs. Settle the figure with the design professional filing the plans before anyone decides which side of $50,000 you are on. What drives the price of the building itself is a separate sheet: what a metal building costs in San Antonio.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers special project registration application, 2026-09-13.
Buildings the Architectural Barriers Act covers
Government Code 469.003 names five kinds.
| Category | Building covered |
|---|---|
| Privately funded | Meets the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of a public accommodation, and was built, renovated or modified on or after January 1, 1992 |
| Privately funded | Meets the ADA definition of a commercial facility, on or after September 1, 1993 |
| Publicly funded | A publicly funded building |
| Temporary or emergency | A temporary or emergency building |
| State-leased | A building the state leases |
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
What the list leaves out, and how to read it
The chapter excludes a place used primarily for religious rituals inside a building of a religious organization. On its face that is a place inside a building, not every square foot a congregation puts up. A congregation planning a church or community hall should get that answer in writing before the plans are drawn, because it changes what the drawings must show.
Before deciding your building falls outside the list, note that both private categories lean on federal definitions. This sheet does not restate what federal law means by a public accommodation or a commercial facility, since no primary source for either is on record here. Which category fits your building is for TDLR or your design professional to say, not a website.
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
A shop on your own home lot: register or not?
Not if it really is part of a private residence. TDLR says the accessibility law and the Texas Accessibility Standards are meant for public and commercial buildings and facilities, and do not reach private residences. A garage, a hobby shop or storage for your own use on your own home lot is what that covers.
The limit is business use. Under the 2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, when a commercial facility or public accommodation sits inside a private residence, the part used only as a home is outside the standards and the part used to run the business is inside them. A shop that customers visit, or that a business operates out of, is not cleared just because a house stands in front of it.
Which side of that line your building falls on is for TDLR or the design professional to call; this sheet does not call it for your lot. Ask early, since it decides whether the $50,000 test applies at all.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, elimination of architectural barriers at a glance, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, 2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, scoping requirements, 2026-09-13.
Step order: register, review the plans, inspect
TDLR lays out Texas Accessibility Standards compliance in three steps: registration, plan review, inspection. Registration happens online in the TABS system, the filing fee is due then, and the owner names the registered accessibility specialist who will do both the plan review and the inspection. On a registered project the plan review has to happen sometime before the inspection.
The part owners miss: TDLR does not assign the specialist. The owner names one, so finding one is on the owner.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers program requirements help sheet, 2026-09-13.
What TDLR charges on a job over $50,000
TDLR posts a short fee schedule, and says outright that it leaves some amounts off. The ones it does post are below. Every one is non-refundable and due before the service.
| Item | Posted fee |
|---|---|
| Project filing | $175 |
| Late project filing | $300 |
| Special review or inspection | $215 per hour, minimum one hour |
| Variance application | $175 per application |
| Variance appeal | $200 per appeal |
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers fee schedule, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers special project registration application, 2026-09-13.
The two TDLR costs with no posted number
They are the two that grow with the job. First, the schedule says the plan review and inspection fees TDLR collects are set by the estimated cost of construction, and it posts no dollar tiers for them. This site will not turn that into a range, since TDLR does not publish one.
Second, the registered accessibility specialist. The specialist doing the plan review and inspection sets and collects a separate fee, and TDLR posts no figure for it; the department says the specialist, not TDLR, is where the construction documents go, along with any fees for plan review or inspection, and the specialist sets and collects those fees. Get the specialist's quote in writing when you get the building priced, so the whole cost sits on one page.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers fee schedule, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers special project registration application, 2026-09-13.
Local permit first? Not at or over $50,000
Once the job is at or over $50,000, no. Government Code 469.102 keeps the owner from applying for a local building permit, or starting work, until the plans have gone to TDLR, and keeps a local permitting official from taking a permit application without first confirming the building is registered at TDLR. The design professional's 20 days count from the day the plans are issued.
San Antonio says so from its side. The city commercial project application guide says the city asks for no accessibility sheets in its own review, and that a job valued over $50,000 has to go to TDLR for state review. So the city does not handle the state step for you, and it does not waive it either. Which local office reviews the rest of the building, and how the city path compares with the unincorporated county, is on metal building permits in San Antonio and Bexar County.
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
Checked at City of San Antonio Development Services, commercial project application guide, 2026-09-13.
Registering late, and what the late fee replaces
The TDLR pages set no deadline to register before work starts. The fee schedule does say that registering after the building is done means paying the $300 late project filing fee instead of the $175 one, on top of the plan review fee, with any other fees still due.
The fee is the cheap part. Registering after the building is done means anything the plan review asks for becomes a change to a finished building instead of a line on a drawing.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers fee schedule, 2026-09-13.
Inspection deadline on the finished building
Government Code 469.105 hangs the inspection on the owner, not the builder. A building under the $50,000 rule has to be inspected for compliance by the first anniversary of the day construction or substantial renovation is finished, by TDLR, a contracted entity, or someone holding a certificate of registration as an accessibility specialist.
The working deadline comes much sooner. TDLR procedures for registered accessibility specialists tell the owner to ask for the inspection within 30 days after construction is complete, and to tell the specialist in writing if the completion date given at registration moves. Put both dates in the job file the day you register.
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, 2018 procedures for registered accessibility specialists, 2026-09-13.
Jobs under $50,000
They carry the standards without the registration duty. A job under $50,000 need not be registered at TDLR, is still held to the Texas Accessibility Standards if it is a covered building, and may be registered voluntarily on the Special Project Registration form for the project filing fee. The TDLR pages checked do not say whether a city or county building official may ask for registration below the line, so ask the local office before counting on being under it.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers frequently asked questions, 2026-09-13.
Who does which TDLR step on your job
The statute puts the duties on the owner and the design professional. The design professional sends in the plans within 20 days of issuing them; the owner names the registered accessibility specialist and pays the filing fee at registration, and owns the inspection once the building is done. The specialist does the plan review and the inspection. TDLR registers the project and collects its posted fees.
The contractor builds what those drawings show. TDLR registers buildings in this process, not builders: its list of regulated industries has no builder, general contractor or metal building program, so the credential that matters here belongs to the registered accessibility specialist, not to the contractor. One independent metal building contractor puts up the building and prices the work.
Ask any contractor bidding a commercial steel building who files the TDLR registration and who pays the specialist, and have the answer written into the estimate. Lot, slab, frame and finish in order: the start-to-finish San Antonio guide.
Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, elimination of architectural barriers, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers program requirements help sheet, 2026-09-13.
Checked at Sunset Advisory Commission, Texas Residential Construction Commission; TDLR regulated industries list, 2026-09-13.
What owners ask
At what cost does a Texas metal building need TDLR registration?
At a total estimated construction cost of $50,000 or higher. Every building job at or over that figure must be registered with TDLR, short for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, with the full construction set going to a registered accessibility specialist for review under Administrative Rule 68.50. Government Code 469.101 puts the same $50,000 line in statute for building or substantially renovating a covered building. A job under $50,000 need not be registered but is still held to the Texas Accessibility Standards, and the TDLR pages checked do not say whether a local jurisdiction or building official may require registration below $50,000. Checked at the TDLR Architectural Barriers pages and Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, 2026-09-13.
What are the TDLR registration fees?
Posted fees: project filing $175, late project filing $300, special review or inspection at $215 per hour, minimum one hour, $175 per variance application, $200 per variance appeal. None are refundable, and each is due before the service. Two costs carry no posted number: the schedule says the plan review and inspection fees TDLR collects go by the estimated cost of construction, and no dollar tiers are posted, and the registered accessibility specialist who does the plan review and inspection sets and collects a separate fee that TDLR prints no amount for. Checked at the TDLR Architectural Barriers fee schedule and the special project registration application, 2026-09-13.
Is TDLR registration needed for a metal shop at a private home?
TDLR says the accessibility law and the Texas Accessibility Standards are meant for public and commercial buildings and facilities, and do not reach private residences. Business use is the limit: under the 2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, when a commercial facility or public accommodation sits inside a private residence, the part used only as a home is outside the standards and the part used to run the business is inside them. A shop a business runs out of is not cleared just because it sits on a home lot, so get the answer from TDLR or the design professional before the plans are drawn. Checked at the TDLR elimination of architectural barriers overview and the 2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, 2026-09-13.
Will a city issue the building permit before TDLR registration?
Not at or above $50,000. Texas Government Code 469.102 keeps the owner from applying for a local building permit, or starting work, until the plans have reached the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). It also keeps a local permitting official from taking a permit application without first confirming the building is registered. The design professional has 20 days from issuing the plans to send them in. The City of San Antonio says the same from its side: its review asks for no accessibility sheets, and a job valued over $50,000 has to go to TDLR for state review. Checked at Texas Legislature Online, Government Code Chapter 469, and the City of San Antonio commercial project application guide, 2026-09-13.