When a driveway culvert needs a permit
If your new drive ties into a county road and crosses the bar ditch, it needs a culvert and a permit from the county. Kaufman County's regulations read: "A permit is required for all driveway culverts." Henderson and Van Zandt both run culvert work in the right-of-way through the precinct commissioner.
If the drive ties into a state highway or a farm-to-market road, you apply to TxDOT. Its district office permits those connections on Form 1058.
Inside city limits, the city's rules apply instead. This page covers unincorporated county roads and state roads only.
County-by-county permit table
Every line below comes from the county's or TxDOT's own documents, linked in the last column. Where a document is silent, the table says so.
| Where the drive connects | Who issues it | Size and materials | Before and after install | Permit good for | Official documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaufman County road | Development Services takes the application and the $75.00 fee, then forwards it to the commissioner of your precinct. | Precinct sets the size so water flows "at its natural rate at its normal peak level." Accepted: corrugated steel, double-wall HDPE, HP dual-wall polypropylene, concrete. The application requires safety end caps. | Concrete culverts must be set by a professional. Precinct staff inspect every culvert for final approval. | 12 months | Culvert Permits page, Culvert application |
| Henderson County road | Precinct commissioner. | Minimum 15 inches, sized to carry 125% of design runoff. The drive over the culvert, from the property line to the road, must be a soft material like asphalt. | Notify the precinct commissioner 24 hours before starting. The commissioner inspects and approves all construction and materials. | 6 months (permit form in the county's subdivision regulations) | Subdivision Regulations, driveway culverts and Appendix L |
| Van Zandt County road | Precinct commissioner or designee. | Commissioner inspects the site and gives you the size. Minimum 24 ft long unless the commissioner approves another option. You buy the pipe. Cover with clay or sand, topped with 3 inches of limestone rock, recycled asphalt, cement or asphalt pavement. | Stake the ditch where it goes. Call 24 hours before installing, and call again when you finish so the county can inspect. Install on grade. | Not stated on the form | Permit for Installation of Culverts |
| State highway or FM road | TxDOT district office: Dallas District for Kaufman County, Tyler District for Henderson and Van Zandt. | TxDOT approves the size. Safety end treatments required, no headwalls, ends sloped 6:1 or flatter with concrete riprap. | No work until you hold a fully executed permit and have given TxDOT 24 hours' notice. A TxDOT inspector reviews the finished drive. | 1 year | Form 1058, Access Management Manual |
Driveway culvert permits by jurisdiction, checked 2026-09-28
- Where the drive connects
- Kaufman County road
- Who issues it
- Development Services takes the application and the $75.00 fee, then forwards it to the commissioner of your precinct.
- Size and materials
- Precinct sets the size so water flows "at its natural rate at its normal peak level." Accepted: corrugated steel, double-wall HDPE, HP dual-wall polypropylene, concrete. The application requires safety end caps.
- Before and after install
- Concrete culverts must be set by a professional. Precinct staff inspect every culvert for final approval.
- Permit good for
- 12 months
- Official documents
- Culvert Permits page, Culvert application
- Where the drive connects
- Henderson County road
- Who issues it
- Precinct commissioner.
- Size and materials
- Minimum 15 inches, sized to carry 125% of design runoff. The drive over the culvert, from the property line to the road, must be a soft material like asphalt.
- Before and after install
- Notify the precinct commissioner 24 hours before starting. The commissioner inspects and approves all construction and materials.
- Permit good for
- 6 months (permit form in the county's subdivision regulations)
- Official documents
- Subdivision Regulations, driveway culverts and Appendix L
- Where the drive connects
- Van Zandt County road
- Who issues it
- Precinct commissioner or designee.
- Size and materials
- Commissioner inspects the site and gives you the size. Minimum 24 ft long unless the commissioner approves another option. You buy the pipe. Cover with clay or sand, topped with 3 inches of limestone rock, recycled asphalt, cement or asphalt pavement.
- Before and after install
- Stake the ditch where it goes. Call 24 hours before installing, and call again when you finish so the county can inspect. Install on grade.
- Permit good for
- Not stated on the form
- Official documents
- Permit for Installation of Culverts
- Where the drive connects
- State highway or FM road
- Who issues it
- TxDOT district office: Dallas District for Kaufman County, Tyler District for Henderson and Van Zandt.
- Size and materials
- TxDOT approves the size. Safety end treatments required, no headwalls, ends sloped 6:1 or flatter with concrete riprap.
- Before and after install
- No work until you hold a fully executed permit and have given TxDOT 24 hours' notice. A TxDOT inspector reviews the finished drive.
- Permit good for
- 1 year
- Official documents
- Form 1058, Access Management Manual
What the documents leave out
Henderson County's subdivision regulations adopt a Culvert and Driveway Order the Commissioners Court approved on July 10, 2019, but the order itself is not in the posted document. The permit form in Appendix L is written for subdivision developers. If you are putting one drive onto one lot, call the precinct commissioner for your road before you buy pipe.
Henderson also warns that concrete driveways built to the county road without the precinct commissioner's written permission "are subject to being torn out at the owner or developer's expense."
Van Zandt's form lists no fee and no expiration. Its phone number for the commissioner is (903) 567-2166.
In Kaufman County, a culvert is required on every property unless the precinct commissioner decides none is needed, and a 911 address is not issued until the culvert permit is approved. On a new homesite, you pull this permit before anything else.
Why the county cares about pipe size
A culvert has to carry the water its ditch carries in a storm. Undersize it and the first heavy rain backs water over your drive and onto the road. That is the county's road, and it is why the commissioner sets or approves the size in all three counties.
An undersized or crushed culvert is also a common reason an existing driveway floods or cuts out. If water runs over your drive in heavy rain, check the pipe first. See our drainage work and gravel and caliche driveways.
Bottom Line
Pull the permit first, let the commissioner or TxDOT set the size, then build the drive. Tell us the address and whether the road is county or state, and we will set the culvert to the spec on the permit.
Common questions
- Do I need a permit to put a culvert under my driveway in Kaufman County?
- Yes. Kaufman County requires a permit for all driveway culverts in the county right-of-way. Development Services takes the application and the $75.00 fee, the precinct commissioner sets the size, and the permit expires 12 months from issue.
- How big does a driveway culvert need to be in Henderson County?
- At least 15 inches, and sized to carry 125% of the design storm runoff, per the county's subdivision regulations. The precinct commissioner inspects and approves it.
- How long does a driveway culvert have to be in Van Zandt County?
- The county permit sets a minimum length of 24 feet unless the commissioner approves another option. The commissioner inspects the site and tells you the diameter.
- Who permits a driveway onto a state highway or FM road?
- TxDOT, not the county. You apply to the local TxDOT district on Form 1058. Kaufman County falls under the Dallas District; Henderson and Van Zandt fall under the Tyler District.
- Can I pour a concrete driveway over the culvert?
- In Henderson County, the drive over the culvert in the right-of-way must be a soft material like asphalt, and concrete driveways built to the county road without the precinct commissioner's written permission can be torn out at the owner's expense. Ask your commissioner first.
Sources
- Kaufman County, Culvert Permits, checked 2026-09-28
- Kaufman County, Payments (culvert fee), checked 2026-09-28
- Kaufman County, Culvert Application (rev 02-2026), checked 2026-09-28
- Kaufman County, Subdivision and Land Development Regulations (12-2025), Sections 11.03 and 11.04, checked 2026-09-28
- Henderson County, Subdivision Rules and Regulations, checked 2026-09-28
- Van Zandt County, Permit for Installation of Culverts in the County's Right-of-Way, checked 2026-09-28
- TxDOT, Access Management Manual: driveway permits, checked 2026-09-28
- TxDOT, Access Management Manual: driveway design and drainage, checked 2026-09-28
- TxDOT, Dallas District, checked 2026-09-28
- TxDOT, Tyler District, checked 2026-09-28
Free On-Site Estimate
Need a culvert set to the county's spec?
Tell us the address and which road the drive ties into. We will look at the ditch and the drive, and set the culvert to the size on your permit.
