HFD Form 42 is the Houston Fire Department’s Permanent Personnel Form, an internal HR document that active HFD employees use to record their personal details and emergency contact information. It is not a public permit application. Access runs through a dedicated department portal that requires an HFD payroll number, so only current personnel can log in and complete it.
Logging In to the Form 42 Portal
The portal lives at hfdapp.houstontx.gov/HFD_Form42. You sign in with your HFD payroll number. If your number is fewer than six digits, pad it with leading zeros until it reaches six. A payroll number of 12345, for example, is entered as 012345.
There is no public-access version. If you can’t log in, or you’ve forgotten your payroll number, your station’s administrative staff or the HFD Human Resources division can help you recover it or troubleshoot the login.
What the Form Captures
Department records describe Form 42 as the Permanent Personnel Form, and HFD has referenced it in after-action reports alongside other internal personnel paperwork. Emergency contact information is a core component, which fits a profession where next-of-kin notification can become urgent on short notice. Because the form sits behind an employee login, its full contents are not publicly posted.
Keep your entries current. If a phone number, address, or emergency contact changes, log back in and update the record so the department is working from accurate information if it ever needs to reach your family.
If You Came Looking for a Hazmat Permit
Several websites incorrectly describe HFD Form 42 as a hazardous materials storage permit application. It isn’t. If you need a hazmat permit from the Houston Fire Department, start with the Fire Prevention Permit Application on the HFD Forms and Permits page at houstontx.gov. A hazmat application also calls for a notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration, and inspection personnel may request a Hazardous Materials Inventory Statement during review, though it is no longer required at the application stage.
Hazmat applications go to the Houston Fire Department Permit Office at 1002 Washington, Houston, Texas 77002. The office can be reached at 832-394-8811, and additional information is available through houstonpermittingcenter.org.1Houston Fire Department. Houston Fire Department – Forms and Permits
Separately, facilities storing hazardous chemicals above federal thresholds must file annual Tier II reports under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act by March 1 each year, submitted through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at tceq.texas.gov/permitting/tier2. HFD has direct access to that database, so a TCEQ submission satisfies the local reporting requirement.1Houston Fire Department. Houston Fire Department – Forms and Permits None of this touches Form 42, which remains an internal personnel record for HFD employees only.