Dallas
City of Dallas Planning and Development Department
In short
City of Dallas Planning and Development Department issues 8 permits we publish for Dallas, last verified 2026-08-21. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $375 general permit fee | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Alterations or Repairs Permit | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | value of work x 0.009652 x 1.33, minimum $175; brackets above $100,000 add a fixed sum before the multiplier | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| New Commercial Construction Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | value of work x bracket multiplier plus a fixed sum; $75 flat below $2,000 | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Sign Permit (Premise Sign)only if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $281 per premise sign, plus $281 plan review | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Fire Alarm Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $75–$300 per fire alarm system per building, by device count | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Fire Sprinkler Plan Reviewonly if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $0.015 per square foot or $278, whichever is greater | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Backflow Prevention Device Filingonly if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $81 per filing | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Demolition Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Dallas Planning and Development Department | $205 plus $0.21 for each square foot of floor area | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Certificate of Occupancy
Dallas charges a flat $375 general permit fee for a certificate of occupancy, which is unusually straightforward — Austin publishes no flat CO fee at all and bills a $370 fire final inspection instead. A partial certificate is $104, a temporary certificate $500, and a 30-day extension of a temporary certificate a further $250. The validation inspection fee is $113. Two uses carry surcharges: a dance hall pays the application fee plus a $1,000 review fee, and a sexually oriented business pays the application fee plus $1,000. A re-inspection anywhere in the process is $75.
Alterations or Repairs Permit
This is the permit for fitting out an existing tenant space, and Table B-I of the schedule states it includes standalone trade permits — so unlike Austin, where a fit-out is five separately priced trade permits, Dallas rolls them into one valuation-based fee. The minimum permit fee is $175. Up to $100,000 of work the fee is the value multiplied by 0.009652 and then by 1.33. Above that the multiplier changes by bracket and a fixed sum is added first: $100,001 to $300,000 uses (0.009525 + $13), $300,001 to $500,000 uses (0.009410 + $47), $500,001 to $700,000 uses (0.009285 + $110), and so on up to $10,000,001 or more at (0.007940 + $8,426), each still multiplied by 1.33. An additional inspection service fee applies by trade count: $125 for one trade rising in $125 steps to $1,125 for nine or more. A re-inspection is $75, and an after-hours inspection is $125 an hour with a $300 minimum.
New Commercial Construction Permit
Table A-III prices ground-up commercial work on the value of the proposed work. Below $2,000 it is a flat $75. From $2,000 to $25,000 it is the value times 0.0095 plus $100; $25,001 to $60,000 times 0.0075 plus $100; $60,001 to $200,000 times 0.027665 plus $350; $200,001 to $900,000 times 0.006325 plus $400; $900,001 to $1,500,000 times 0.003895 plus $500; $1,500,001 to $2,500,000 times 0.003862 plus $700; $2,500,001 to $5,000,000 times 0.003630 plus $850; $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 times 0.005095 plus $1,100; and $10,000,000 or more times 0.002527 plus $1,300. Note the schedule's own bracket boundaries overlap at $2,000, $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 — confirm which side applies at those exact values. A minimum inspection fee is charged by trade count, $125 for one trade up to $1,125 for nine or more.
Sign Permit (Premise Sign)
A premise sign — one advertising the business on its own site — is $281, and the sign plan review fee is a further $281. A non-premise sign is $456 with annual registration or renewal at $116. Removal or demolition of a sign is $78, a special purpose sign is $40, and a copy change is $0.120 per square foot. Signs inside a Special Provision Sign District carry a master permit fee of 10 per cent of the total permit fee, and a certificate of appropriateness reviewed by the City Plan Commission is $397. Appeals cost $300 whether to the City Plan Commission or onward to the City Council. A detached non-premise digital display registers annually at $2,817, and a sign location permit is $6,879 — figures relevant to billboard operators rather than ordinary premises.
Fire Alarm Plan Review
Priced by device count per system per building: $75 for 10 or fewer devices, $100 for 11 to 25, $150 for 26 to 150, and $300 for 151 or more. Resubmitting an approved plan is charged on the same ladder based on the number of new or changed devices; resubmitting a denied plan costs half the original plan review fee. Note this is plan review handled through Planning and Development — the operational fire permits are separate and issued by Dallas Fire-Rescue.
Fire Sprinkler Plan Review
Charged at $0.015 per square foot or $278, whichever is greater, so anything under about 18,500 square feet pays the $278 floor. A fire sprinkler site plan review is $0.025 per square foot or $313 whichever is greater, and a fire protection site plan review is $0.25 per square foot or $313 whichever is greater. Resubmittals follow the device-count ladder at $75, $100, $150 and $300, with a denied plan resubmitted at half the original fee. An existing office building retrofit agreement is $375.
Backflow Prevention Device Filing
An $81 filing fee for a backflow prevention device. Austin charges $34.44 a year per high-hazard device instead, so the two cities bill the same public health control in opposite ways: Dallas takes a one-off filing fee, Austin an annual compliance charge per device.
Demolition Permit
A base of $205 plus $0.21 for every square foot of floor area, so a 3,000 square foot building costs $835. Relevant where a fit-out involves taking a structure down rather than altering it.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Dallas
- Phone
- (214) 948-4480
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 July 2025 — City of Dallas Planning and DevelopmentCity of Dallas Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
Other offices serving Dallas
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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Texas jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.