Land for Sale in Kaufman County, TX

Kaufman County is east of Dallas, with 145,310 residents in the 2020 census, up from 103,350 in 2010, over 808 square miles. Kaufman is the county seat, Forney and Terrell are the larger cities, and Interstate 20 and US 80 and 175 run through it. Texas counties cannot zone, so what governs a rural parcel here is mostly the county's subdivision and development regulations, which require a plat to divide most tracts and set minimum areas for septic and well lots. This page summarizes those rules from the county's regulations.

Kaufman County at a glance

  • County seat: Kaufman. Cities include Forney, Terrell, Kemp, Crandall, Cottonwood and Talty; towns include Mabank, Oak Grove, Oak Ridge, Post Oak Bend and Scurry.
  • Unincorporated communities include Ables Springs, College Mound, Colquitt, Gastonia, Lawrence, Prairieville and Tolosa.
  • 2020 population 145,310; 807.5 square miles, of which 26.8 is water.
  • Interstate 20; US 80 and 175; State Highways 34, 198, 205, 243 and 274 serve the county.
  • Part of Cedar Creek Reservoir and of Lake Ray Hubbard lie in the county, as does Kaufman Lake.

The Kaufman County land market

Kaufman County's growth comes from the Dallas area moving east along I-20 and US 80. Close to Forney and Mesquite that means subdivisions; further out, around Terrell, Kemp, Kaufman and the Cedar Creek area, it is still rural acreage and small ranches. Buyers include people building a home on a few acres and investors holding land at the edge of development. Where a parcel sits relative to city limits and each city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) decides which rules apply.

Dividing a tract: the county plat requirement

Kaufman County's Subdivision and Land Development Regulations (the December 2025 version is on the county website) say that, under Texas Local Government Code 232.001, the owner of a tract outside a municipality must have a plat prepared and filed if they divide it into two or more parts for the purposes the statute lists. The regulations add that a division counts whether it is made by a metes and bounds deed, a contract for deed, a contract of sale or any other method. So a handshake split or a deed of a described piece is not a way around platting. The regulations then list exemptions taken from Local Government Code 232.0015, among them a tract that will be used primarily for agricultural, farm, ranch, wildlife management or timber use, and a subdivision in which all of the lots are more than 10 acres, in each case only where the owner does not lay out streets or shared parts of the tract. The exemptions are narrow and have conditions, so ask Kaufman County Development Services whether yours applies and whether to record an exemption.

Septic, wells and minimum lot size

The regulations require lots served by septic tanks or on-site sewage facilities to have at least one acre of usable open space (not counting right-of-way, ponds, drainage easements or utility easements), and building an on-site sewage facility on a tract smaller than one acre is not allowed, with a narrow exception for lots on plats recorded before January 1, 1988 that an engineer or sanitarian shows can operate safely. Lots for single-family homes that rely on individual water systems, meaning their own well, must have at least two usable acres. A flag lot smaller than two acres cannot be platted without a variance from the Commissioners Court. Any single-family dwelling, on a tract of any size, needs a permit to construct, alter or repair its on-site sewage facility, and a registered engineer or sanitarian does the site evaluation, so confirm the soil evaluation before you pay for a small tract.

Floodplain permits

Kaufman County says a floodplain permit is required any time development occurs in an unincorporated area that FEMA's map designates as floodplain. Its plat checklist requires the 100-year floodplain to be shown, and the regulations ask for a flood study for development with 150 acres or more of contributing drainage area. Parcels near creeks and the lakes are the ones to check first.

Before you buy land in Kaufman County

  • Whether the parcel is inside a city or inside a city ETJ, and which rules (city or county) apply.
  • Whether it is a legal lot: a recorded plat or a recorded plat exemption, not just a deed description.
  • Soil evaluation for septic, and the usable-acre minimums above for septic and well lots.
  • FEMA flood zone and the county floodplain permit if any part is mapped.
  • Legal access: a county road, or a recorded easement, and who maintains the road.
  • Water: a public water supplier or a well, and the electric provider.
  • Deed restrictions, mineral rights and taxes, including any agricultural valuation that could be lost.

How to verify legal access to landLand due diligence checklist

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to plat to split land in Kaufman County?

Generally yes: the county's regulations require a plat to divide a tract into two or more parts outside a city, including divisions made by a deed description or a contract for deed, unless a listed exemption applies.

How much land do I need for a septic system in Kaufman County?

The county regulations require at least one acre of usable open space for lots on septic with public water, and at least two usable acres for a single-family lot that relies on its own well.

Does Kaufman County have zoning?

Texas counties generally cannot adopt zoning. Kaufman County regulates subdivisions, septic, floodplain and site development instead, and cities zone land inside their limits, so check whether the parcel is in a city or its ETJ.

How many people live in Kaufman County?

The 2020 census counted 145,310 residents, up from 103,350 in 2010.

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