Bexar, Medina, Wilson, Atascosa, Guadalupe, Karnes and Frio counties
Metal building contractors in San Antonio
A metal shop, a warehouse, a garage, an equipment building, a pole barn, a church building or a covered court. Only an independent local metal building contractor standing on your lot can price one. The permit path, the $50,000 TDLR line and the Edwards Aquifer plan are explained on this page, with the source and the date each one was read.
The estimate costs you nothing, now or later, whatever you decide.
- Sheet
- Home
- Jurisdiction
- Seven counties, TX
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-13
- Sources
- 7 primary sources
Free estimate
Get a free estimate for your building
The county, the building, when you want it, and how to reach you. The estimate costs you nothing, now or later, whatever you decide.
An independent local contractor who works your county can call you back, look at the site, and put the plan and the price in writing. The pad, the slab, the frame and the skin are that contractor's scope once you sign.
Step one
Send the county and the building.
The county decides which rules reach your lot. The building decides whether the accessibility standards and a city plan review are in the picture at all.
Step two
One independent local contractor who works that county can call.
One, not a national lead list and not five companies calling at once. A building like this is specified and permitted over months, so the first conversation is about the lot and the use.
Step three
The plan and the price go in writing.
The pad, the slab, the frame and the skin are the contractor's scope once you sign. The estimate costs you nothing, now or later, whatever you decide.
What gets built
Nine building types. The use sets the paperwork, so start from how the building gets used. Two to start from: commercial metal buildings and metal shops and workshops. What each one involves is on what gets built.
The process lane
The metal building permit stack, in one screen
Every sentence below was read at the agency's own page on the date shown. Where a county's site is silent, this site says so instead of guessing.
Do I need a permit for a metal building in San Antonio?
Inside the city of San Antonio, a commercial building goes through plan review at Development Services. The completeness review typically takes up to three business days, and a permit expires within 180 days if no proof of work or progress has been shown. The pages read cover commercial construction, so a residential building is confirmed with the city.
Outside city limits in unincorporated Bexar County, the Fire Marshal Office (210-335-0300) determines when a building permit is required for a structure that is not for single-family dwelling use, and that permit covers site clearing as well as construction. Applications go in by appointment, after an authorization from Public Works. Medina, Wilson, Atascosa, Guadalupe, Karnes and Frio are read county by county, and no county borrows Bexar's answer.
Both sides of the city line, county by county, are on metal building permits in San Antonio and Bexar County.
Source: City of San Antonio Development Services, business and commercial projects, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Bexar County, building permits and fire marshal code enforcement pages, read 2026-09-13.
What is the $50,000 TDLR line?
A building project with an estimated construction cost of $50,000 or more has to be registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and go through accessibility plan review and inspection under the Texas Accessibility Standards. A project under $50,000 still has to comply with the standards, and can be registered on the Special Project Registration form. The law and the standards do not apply to a private residence.
TDLR publishes a project filing fee of $175. The registered accessibility specialist who performs the review and the inspection sets a separate fee that TDLR does not publish.
What counts toward the number, and the order the steps run in, is on TDLR registration for projects over $50,000.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers frequently asked questions, read 2026-09-13.
Source: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Architectural Barriers fee schedule, read 2026-09-13.
What is the Edwards Aquifer plan?
An Edwards Aquifer protection plan, approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before construction begins on the recharge zone, the transition zone or the contributing zone. In the San Antonio region the program covers Bexar and Medina in this footprint, along with Comal, Uvalde and Kinney. The administrative review takes up to 30 days and the technical review up to 90 days, so the plan belongs at the front of the schedule, not the end.
The zones, the fees and the wells are on the Edwards Aquifer plan in Bexar and Medina.
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, read 2026-09-13.
Does stormwater coverage apply to my site?
It depends on how much soil the work disturbs. Construction that disturbs one acre or more and discharges stormwater to surface water in the state needs coverage under the TCEQ construction general permit. At five acres or more, the site files a Notice of Intent through STEERS with a fee. From one acre to under five, the site keeps a stormwater pollution prevention plan and posts a Small Construction Site Notice, with no notice of intent and no fee. Under one acre, and not part of a larger common plan, needs no coverage.
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, construction stormwater general permit TXR150000, read 2026-09-13.
Who prices a metal building in San Antonio?
Only the contractor who walks the site. A metal building is priced on the footprint and the clear span, the eave height, the doors, the slab and the pad the ground needs, the distance to power and water, and the permits that apply at your address. None of that is known until an independent local contractor who works your county stands on the lot, so no figure on this site is a price. What you get instead is the plan and the price in writing, from the person who will build it.
Texas licenses no home builder and no general contractor at the state level, so this site never calls a contractor licensed. Electricians, air conditioning contractors and plumbers hold their own separate state licenses.
What moves the number, and the fees the agencies publish for themselves, are on what a metal building costs in San Antonio. The whole path, from the lot to the certificate, is on building a metal building in San Antonio.
Source: Sunset Advisory Commission, Texas Residential Construction Commission; TDLR regulated industries list, read 2026-09-13.
The seven counties
Each county's own permit answer, read at that county's site, goes on its own page. This table is the index: the seat, the cities inside the county, and whether the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer program names the county.
- County seat
- San Antonio
- Cities
- San Antonio, Helotes, Converse, Live Oak, Universal City, Selma, Leon Valley
- Aquifer
- Named in the TCEQ program
- County seat
- Hondo
- Cities
- Hondo, Castroville, Devine, Lytle, Natalia
- Aquifer
- Named in the TCEQ program
- County seat
- Floresville
- Cities
- Floresville, La Vernia, Stockdale, Poth
- Aquifer
- Not named
- County seat
- Jourdanton
- Cities
- Pleasanton, Jourdanton, Poteet, Lytle
- Aquifer
- Not named
- County seat
- Seguin
- Cities
- Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Marion
- Aquifer
- Not named
- County seat
- Karnes City
- Cities
- Karnes City, Kenedy, Runge, Falls City
- Aquifer
- Not named
- County seat
- Pearsall
- Cities
- Pearsall, Dilley
- Aquifer
- Not named
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, read 2026-09-13.
The lists name cities in each county, not every incorporated place in it. A city may run its own building department, so confirm with the city before you rely on a county answer. Each city's own rule is read at that city's page and stated on the county sheet it belongs to.
Questions people ask
Do I need a permit for a metal building in San Antonio?
Inside the city, a commercial building goes through plan review at San Antonio Development Services, where the completeness review typically takes up to three business days and a permit expires within 180 days if no proof of work or progress has been shown. The pages read cover commercial construction, so confirm a residential building with the city. In unincorporated Bexar County, the Fire Marshal Office determines when a building permit is required for a structure that is not for single-family dwelling use, and that permit covers site clearing as well as construction. Inside any other city, that city applies. Read at the city and county sites, 2026-09-13.
What is the $50,000 TDLR line?
A building project with an estimated construction cost of $50,000 or more has to be registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and go through accessibility plan review and inspection under the Texas Accessibility Standards. A project under $50,000 still has to comply with the standards. The law and the standards do not apply to a private residence. Read at the TDLR Architectural Barriers pages, 2026-09-13.
Who builds the building?
An independent local metal building contractor who works your county. Texas licenses no home builder and no general contractor at the state level, so this site never calls a contractor licensed; electricians, air conditioning contractors and plumbers hold their own separate state licenses. Only the contractor who walks your site can price it.
What happens after I send the form?
Your request goes to an independent local metal building contractor serving the San Antonio area, not a national lead list. An independent local contractor who works your county can call you back, look at the site, and put the plan and the price in writing. The estimate costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
Ready to price a building on your land?
Your request goes to an independent local metal building contractor serving the San Antonio area, not a national lead list. The estimate costs you nothing, now or later, whatever you decide.
Last reviewed 2026-09-13.