Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in Anna, TX?

Key takeaways

• In Anna, the short answer is yes. The City of Anna Building Department answers "Is a permit required for a Remodel?" with "Yes, a permit is required."
• Anna's residential remodel checklist asks for 2 sets of plans, a full scope of work, and the names of your electrical, plumbing and mechanical subcontractors.
• The answer is different one city over. According to the City of McKinney, cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring and paint need no permit there, while new wiring and moved plumbing do.

Almost everyone planning a kitchen in Anna gets to the same question sooner or later: does this need a permit? Alanis Remodeling & Construction is a family-owned remodeling company based in Anna, Texas, working across Collin County since 1999. Here is what the city actually asks for, how it compares to McKinney, and who should be handling the paperwork on your project.

Does Anna require a permit for a kitchen remodel?

Yes. The City of Anna's Building Department states that a permit is required for a remodel, and its FAQ and remodel checklist do not carve out finish work the way McKinney's permit page does. If your kitchen project is only paint or new hardware, call the Building Department at 972-924-2616 and describe the scope before you assume you can skip it.

That answer surprises people who have remodeled in other cities. Many homeowners have heard that cabinets and counters never need a permit. That is true in some Collin County cities, but it is a city rule, not a universal one. Anna's written answer is a plain yes.

Anna also expects the finished work to meet current code. Its remodel checklist says all remodels must comply with the current adopted code cycles, including the energy code. That matters if your kitchen gets new windows, since the checklist asks for each window's energy rating.

What does Anna ask for in a remodel permit application?

Anna wants a complete, legible application, 2 detailed sets of plans, a written scope of work, and the names of the subcontractors doing electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. If walls or windows change, the drawings have to show that too. A contractor who has done this before should put the whole package together for you.

Here is what the City of Anna remodel checklist lists for a residential remodel:

1. A fully complete application. Owner of the building, contractor, phone numbers, square footage, value of the job, and a short description of the work.
2. Two clear, detailed sets of plans. Drawn by a design professional or of similar quality.
3. A list of subcontractors. The electrician, plumber and mechanical contractor on the job.
4. A scope of work. A list of everything being done, including plumbing, electrical and mechanical work.
5. A drawing of the space. The existing plans or layout, marked with the scope of work.
6. Window details. Sizes, locations and energy ratings for any windows.
7. Wall changes. Any walls being added or removed.

Most homeowners do not have kitchen plans sitting in a drawer, and that is fine. The drawings and scope come out of the design work you would do anyway before ordering cabinets.

Not sure what your kitchen needs? Request a free in-home estimate and the Alanis family will walk you through what your city requires before anything gets ordered.

How is McKinney different from Anna?

McKinney publishes a list of work that needs no permit, and most kitchen finish work is on it: cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring and paint. Work that changes plumbing, wiring, windows or doors still needs one. Anna's permit pages do not list those exemptions, so the same cabinet swap can be permit-free in McKinney and still worth a call in Anna.

Here is how the City of McKinney's permit page sorts common kitchen work:

The pattern is simple. Surfaces and like-for-like swaps are usually free of paperwork in McKinney. Anything that moves where the water or power goes brings in the city. In Anna, start from yes and confirm the details with the Building Department.

Who should pull the permit, you or the contractor?

If you are hiring a contractor, the contractor should handle it. According to the Federal Trade Commission, one of the warning signs of a home improvement scam is a contractor who asks you to get the required building permits yourself. A contractor who knows the work should also know the paperwork.

Anna does let homeowners do their own work, but only in a narrow case. According to the City of Anna, the homeowner can do the work without a contractor if the person applying is the legal property owner, the property is their homestead, and no one will be hired to do the work. The homeowner also signs an affidavit agreeing to hire a licensed contractor registered with the City of Anna if the inspector finds substandard work.

That last condition is the one that matters most. Once you hire a crew, the homeowner route no longer fits, and the application should list the contractor and subcontractors doing the job.

When the Alanis family takes on your kitchen, we tell you during the estimate which permits your city requires and build the inspection days into your written schedule. BuildZoom lists our verified permit history across North Texas, so you can check that record yourself.

How do inspections fit into the schedule?

Inspections happen at set points in the job, and the crew cannot move past some of them until the city signs off. In Anna, inspections are requested by email by 4 p.m. the business day before, and none happen on weekends or holidays. A good schedule plans around those days instead of discovering them.

According to the City of Anna's permit process page, inspection requests go to the city's inspections inbox by 4 p.m. the business day prior. That means a Friday afternoon request does not get an inspector out on Saturday.

In a kitchen, the inspection that matters most for the schedule is the one after plumbing and electrical rough-in. The walls have to stay open until that work is checked. Once it passes, drywall can close up and the kitchen starts coming back together. We walk through the full order of work in our post on how long a kitchen remodel takes in Collin County.

What if my home is in another Collin County city?

Then that city's rules apply, not Anna's. Each city sets its own permit rules, which is why Anna and McKinney answer the permit question differently. The address on your home decides which office reviews your plans, which list of exempt work applies, and who comes out to inspect.

Our crew works out of Anna and covers the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and about 50 miles beyond, including McKinney, Allen, Plano, Frisco, Celina, Sherman and Denison. Each of those cities handles permits its own way. We look up the rules for your address as part of the estimate, so you are not the one digging through city websites.

Get the paperwork handled

Book a free in-home estimate. We look at your kitchen, talk through what you want to change, and tell you what your city will require before anything is ordered. The permits, the inspections and the schedule all go into your written proposal. As one of our Google reviewers put it, the family does "what they say they're going to do precisely when they say they're going to do it."

Start on the kitchen remodeling page, see finished kitchens in the project gallery, or request your free estimate and the Alanis family will schedule your walkthrough. Prefer to talk now? Call (214) 451-7499.

About the author

Angel Alanis is the project manager at Alanis Remodeling & Construction, a family-owned remodeling company in Anna, Texas since 1999. He runs the schedule and the day to day communication on kitchen, bathroom and whole-home projects across Collin County and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Meet the family.