If your land sits just outside a city’s limits in North or East Texas, it is probably inside that city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. That changes what you can build, whether you need a plat to sell off a piece, and how long a development takes to approve. It does not change your property taxes, and it does not let the city zone your land.
Here is what the law says, and what it means for acreage in Kaufman, Van Zandt, Hunt, Henderson, Ellis, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties.
What is an ETJ in Texas?
An ETJ is the unincorporated buffer immediately outside a city’s corporate limits. It was created under Chapter 42 of the Texas Local Government Code so cities can plan for growth before annexation.
Your land is not in the city. You pay no city property taxes and you cannot vote in city elections. But the city still has a say in how the land gets divided and developed.
How far does an ETJ reach? It depends entirely on the city’s population (§42.021):
| City population | ETJ extends |
|---|---|
| Under 5,000 | 1/2 mile |
| 5,000 to 24,999 | 1 mile |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 2 miles |
| 50,000 to 99,999 | 3 1/2 miles |
| 100,000 or more | 5 miles |
A small county seat reaches a mile or less past its limits. Fort Worth’s ETJ extends five miles, far enough to cover land in eastern Parker County and southern Wise County that looks and feels rural.
Can a city zone land in its ETJ?
No. Zoning authority under Chapter 211 belongs to municipalities inside their own city limits only, and Texas counties have no zoning power at all. Section 212.003 says a city may not regulate, in its ETJ:
- the use of any building or property for business, industrial, residential or other purposes
- the bulk, height or number of buildings on a tract
- the size of a building, including floor-area ratio
- the number of residential units per acre
There is no “single-family residential” or “light industrial” designation on ETJ land. You can put a shop, a barn, a commercial building or a manufactured home on a tract where a city would forbid it inside its limits.
That is not the same as no rules.
What a city can regulate in its ETJ
Subdivision platting
This is the real constraint. If you divide a tract, the plat has to be approved. Under §242.001 the city and county must have a written agreement naming one of them as the reviewing authority, not both. Before you assume you are dealing with the city, call and ask which entity holds plat authority for your parcel. In several North Texas counties it is the county, not the nearby city.
Plat review can require survey work, drainage calculations, street and right-of-way layout, minimum lot dimensions and sometimes a traffic study. That is time and engineering money, and it is the step that most often stalls a rural land deal. It belongs on the list of hidden costs of selling vacant land.
Drainage and stormwater
Cities enforce drainage, detention and flood-control standards in the ETJ, because upstream development inside the buffer causes downstream flooding inside the city. If your project changes how water leaves the property, expect review.
Utility connections
This is the leverage the statute does not spell out. If your tract needs city water or wastewater service, the city can condition that connection on meeting its standards. Land that runs on a well and a septic system is far less exposed to city authority than land that needs a tap. Check it before you buy and before you price.
What the county regulates, ETJ or not
Counties have no zoning, but they are not powerless:
- Subdivision platting under Chapter 232
- On-site sewage facility (septic) permitting. A failed percolation test can make a lot unbuildable, and it is the most common surprise on rural tracts. Permits run through a local authorized agent, usually the county. TCEQ keeps the statewide OSSF information and contacts.
- Floodplain administration. You can check any parcel yourself at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- County road and access standards
None of those assign a use. All of them shape what can physically be built.
The plat exemptions most landowners never hear about
Section 232.0015 exempts several divisions of land from the county plat requirement. The ones that matter in these counties:
- Agricultural use. Land outside a municipality used primarily for agricultural, farm, ranch, wildlife-management or timber purposes. If that describes your tract, also read how to sell agricultural land in Texas.
- Every lot over 10 acres. If all resulting tracts are more than 10 acres, no county plat is required.
- Four or fewer parts to family. Divisions into four or fewer lots transferred to relatives within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity.
- Veterans’ Land Board sales. All lots sold to veterans through the VLB program.
Each exemption carries conditions, and none applies if a part is laid out as described in §232.001(a)(3). Confirm with the county before you rely on one. But the 10-acre line explains a lot about how rural Texas tracts get split, and it is why a 22-acre piece can often be cut in two more easily than a 12-acre piece.
ETJ vs. city limits, side by side
| Inside city limits | Inside the ETJ | |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning | Full (residential, commercial, industrial) | None |
| Plat review | City | City or county, per their §242 agreement |
| Building code | City permits and inspections | Generally none. Septic, floodplain and road standards apply |
| City utilities | Available | Usually not. Well and septic, unless you can get a tap |
| City property taxes | Yes | No |
| Vote in city elections | Yes | No |
Being outside city limits does not exempt you from county and school district taxes, which are usually the larger share of the bill anyway. If yours looks high, here is how to protest your Texas property taxes.
Can you get out of a city’s ETJ? SB 2038, and what changed in 2025
Senate Bill 2038, effective September 1, 2023, rewrote Chapter 42 and removed city discretion over valid release petitions. There are two routes. A direct petition under Subchapter D releases the land on signatures alone, representing either a majority of registered voters in the area or a majority of land value per the appraisal district. An election under Subchapter E is triggered by 5% of registered voters.
Cities face a hard deadline. Under §42.105 a city must release the area by the 45th day after receiving the petition, or the first governing-body meeting after day 30, whichever is later. Miss it and the release happens by operation of law, with no city signature or map update required.
The Texas Supreme Court weighed in on May 9, 2025 in Elliott v. City of College Station. Two landowners argued it was unconstitutional for a city to regulate people who cannot vote in its elections. The Court did not decide that question. Instead it vacated the lower court rulings and sent the case back with instructions to pause while the landowners use the opt-out the Legislature had just given them, noting that if they do not file a compliant petition in a reasonable time the suit can be dismissed. The practical message was that release is a matter of paperwork rather than permission. Grand Prairie’s separate constitutional challenge was dismissed without prejudice on April 14, 2025 and could be refiled.
The part that matters most for ordinary tracts. HB 2512, from the 89th Legislature and effective September 1, 2025, narrowed who can petition. Land is now excluded if it is a platted or unplatted lot under 12 acres filed independently, or a single lot within a subdivision of 25 or more lots. Longstanding exclusions still apply: land within five miles of an active military training base, designated industrial districts, and areas under strategic partnership agreements.
So if you own 40 acres in a city’s ETJ, opting out is a live option worth asking a real estate attorney about. If you own six acres, the 2025 amendment probably closed that door unless neighbors file together.
Common ETJ questions
Can the city stop me from building what I want on ETJ land?
Not on the basis of use. A city has no zoning authority in its ETJ and cannot prohibit a commercial building, a workshop or a manufactured home there. It can slow or block a project through plat review or drainage requirements if you are dividing the tract or altering regional runoff.
Do I need a building permit in the ETJ?
Usually not a city one, and Texas counties generally cannot adopt a residential building code. What you will need is a septic (OSSF) permit, floodplain approval if applicable, and a driveway or access permit from the county. If you want to connect to city water or sewer, the city can require its permits as a condition of service.
Why is my mailing address a city if I’m in the ETJ?
Mailing addresses follow USPS carrier routes, not municipal boundaries. A city name on your mail or your driver’s license says nothing about jurisdiction. You are still outside the city, with no city property taxes and no vote in city elections.
Can I keep livestock, horses or chickens in an ETJ?
City animal and nuisance codes do not reach into the ETJ. The real constraint is private. Check your deed for restrictive covenants and any HOA. A recorded deed restriction binds you whether or not a city has authority, and it will not show up on a zoning map. Our post on what landowners need to know about easements covers the related problem of recorded rights you did not know about.
Does being in an ETJ lower my land’s value?
It works both ways. ETJ land near a growing city often carries a development premium, because a builder can see a path to utilities and annexation. That is much of why local development raises Texas property values. But platting timelines, engineering costs and potential PID or MUD exposure get priced in by any serious buyer.
How do I find out whether my land is in an ETJ, and whose?
Start with the city’s GIS or planning department and the county’s development office. One caution from the post-SB 2038 era: ETJ boundaries are now determined by filing records, not just by the map on a city website, because parcels move in and out by petition. Ask both the city and the county in writing. If your tract has no street address, here is how to identify and sell it anyway.
Can I sell ETJ land without dealing with any of this?
Yes. Selling the tract as it sits triggers no plat, no city review and no engineering. Platting only comes into play if you divide it. That is why owners who would rather not navigate a city planning department often sell whole. See the options for selling land.
What this means if you are selling
If you own acreage in the ETJ of Forney, Terrell, Waxahachie, Midlothian, Ennis, Greenville, Canton, Athens, Cleburne, Burleson, Weatherford, Azle, Decatur or Bridgeport, or inside Fort Worth’s five-mile reach into Parker and Wise counties, ETJ status is not a defect. Developers and builders look for ETJ tracts, because the path to utilities and annexation is visible.
What it does add is time and cost to any sale that depends on subdividing first. Owners who do not want to fund a survey, a drainage study and a plat review cycle before seeing any money usually do better selling the tract whole.
We buy land across all eight counties, from roughly half an acre to 50 acres, typically $15,000 to $400,000. Written cash offer in 48 hours, closing in 7 to 21 days, no commissions and no closing costs, and no platting for you to fund.
Get a cash offer on your land · How selling to us works · About PREAM Lands · How to sell land in Texas · Questions about selling land
County pages: Kaufman · Van Zandt · Hunt · Henderson · Ellis · Johnson · Parker · Wise
This is general information about Texas land use law, not legal advice. ETJ boundaries, plat authority and county rules vary and change. Confirm your specific parcel with the city, the county and a Texas real estate attorney.