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Tarrant County

Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office

In short

Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office issues 7 permits we publish for Tarrant County, last verified 2026-10-09. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Fire and Life Safety Inspection (annual inspection fee)only if it applies to youTarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$58–$316 per inspection, banded by floor arealisted under Annual Inspections on the fee schedule2026-10-09
Fire Protection System Permit (sprinkler, fire alarm, commercial cooking suppression)only if it applies to youTarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$200–$300 per systemper installation2026-10-09
Fire Code Operational Permit (repair garage, place of assembly, hot work)only if it applies to youTarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$83 per year1 year2026-10-09
Mobile Food Unit Fire Permit and Inspection (unincorporated county)only if it applies to youTarrant County Fire Marshal's OfficePriced on the Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026, which lists both an annual operational permit for mobile food preparation units and a separate annual mobile vendor inspection; the schedule does not say whether one or both apply to a given unit1 year2026-10-09
Fire Code Building/Construction Permit (unincorporated county)Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$133 per 1,000 sq ft for a single-use commercial project, building tenant finish-out or change of occupancy/use; $266 per 1,000 sq ft for a mixed-use commercial project; plus a plan review fee of $33 per 1,000 sq ft and $100 for a site planconstruction must start within 180 days of issue or the permit is void2026-10-09
Fire Code Certificate of Compliance (final fire inspection)Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$50 per final fire inspectionone-time, on completion of the permitted work2026-10-09
Licensed Day Care Center Fire Inspectiononly if it applies to youTarrant County Fire Marshal's Office$83 per inspectionlisted under Annual Inspections on the fee schedule2026-10-09

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

Commercial Fire and Life Safety Inspection (annual inspection fee)

Tarrant County Fire Code §3.004(f) states that buildings built before or after the Code took effect may be inspected by the Fire Code Official for fire and life safety hazards, and that the inspection is subject to a fee on the Code's fee schedule. The Fire Marshal's Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026 lists these under Annual Inspections for commercial and public buildings: $58 up to 6,000 square feet, $100 for 6,001 to 25,000, $150 for 25,001 to 50,000, $216 for 50,001 to 100,000 and $316 for 100,001 to 250,000. The schedule adds $100 for a third re-inspection of an existing building and $66 for each later one. Applies in the unincorporated county only.

Fire Protection System Permit (sprinkler, fire alarm, commercial cooking suppression)

The Fire Marshal's Fire Code page states that construction permits also apply to fire protection systems. On the Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026, an automatic fire-extinguishing (sprinkler) system is $200 for 200 or fewer heads and $300 for 201 or more; fire alarm and detection equipment is $200 for 200 or fewer devices and $300 for 201 or more; and a fixed commercial cooking fire-extinguishing system, the hood system over a restaurant line, is $200 per system. Applies in the unincorporated county, and the system permit sits alongside the building's construction permit.

Fire Code Operational Permit (repair garage, place of assembly, hot work)

Tarrant County Fire Code §1.002(b) authorises the Fire Marshal to issue permits for operations regulated by the Code, and the Fire Code page links an Operational Permit application. The Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026 lists annual operational permits at $83 each for a repair garage (the line headed repair garages and motor fuel-dispensing facilities), a place of assembly, and hot work operations, with cutting and welding as a separate $83 line. The same schedule lists spraying or dipping, such as a paint booth, at $100 a year. Which of these a business needs depends on what it does on site. Applies in the unincorporated county.

Mobile Food Unit Fire Permit and Inspection (unincorporated county)

Since 1 July 2026 the state (DSHS) issues mobile food vendor health permits, and Tarrant County Public Health's mobile food page says TCPH permits must be reissued through DSHS. That change does not remove fire rules: Health and Safety Code §437B.101, added by House Bill 2844, says a mobile food vendor shall comply with all state and local laws where it operates, including all fire codes. The Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026 lists an annual operational permit for mobile food preparation units and, separately, an annual mobile vendor inspection; it does not state how the two lines relate, so no single figure is shown here. Applies to units operating in the unincorporated county.

Fire Code Building/Construction Permit (unincorporated county)

Under Tarrant County Fire Code §3.001, no person may begin construction of, or make a substantial improvement to, a commercial building, public building or multifamily building of four or more units in the unincorporated county until the Fire Marshal issues a Building/Construction permit; a substantial improvement includes work costing more than half the building's appraised value and a change in occupancy classification (§1.003). Figures are from the Fire Marshal's Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026, linked from the Fire Marshal's Fire Code page: $133 per 1,000 square feet for single-use commercial projects, tenant finish-outs and changes of occupancy, $266 per 1,000 for mixed-use projects, plus plan review at $33 per 1,000 and $100 for a site plan. The Fire Code page states the county requires third-party plan reviews for all new construction. The permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days (§3.003). Inside a city, the city permits instead.

Fire Code Certificate of Compliance (final fire inspection)

Tarrant County Fire Code §3.004(i) states that a building may not be occupied until the Fire Code Official issues a Certificate of Compliance or a Conditional Certificate of Compliance, and §3.004(b) puts the onus on the owner to request the inspection on or before completion. The Fire Marshal's Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026 prices the Certificate of Compliance final fire inspection at $50, and a final for completion of a shell building only at $33. A conditional certificate lets the building be occupied while listed violations are fixed within a set time. This applies to buildings covered by the county Fire Code in the unincorporated county.

Licensed Day Care Center Fire Inspection

The Fire Marshal's Fire Code page offers a Fire and Life Safety Inspection request for daycare centres, adoption and foster homes and other state-licensed facilities, and the county's Guidelines for Development in the Unincorporated Areas (April 2025) state that projects requiring inspections for state licensing also fall under the Tarrant County Fire Code. The Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule effective 1 October 2026 lists a licensed day care centre at $83 under Annual Inspections. This is the fire side of a state child care license for a centre in the unincorporated county; a centre inside a city is inspected by that city's fire department.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Tarrant County
Phone
817-838-4660

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.

  1. Fire Code Information — Tarrant County Fire Marshal (construction permits, operational permits, fee schedule link)Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
  2. Guidelines for Development in the Unincorporated Areas of Tarrant County (updated April 2025)Tarrant County Transportation Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
  3. H.B. 2844, 89th Legislature, enrolled text (statewide mobile food vendor licensing, effective July 1, 2026)Texas Legislature Online · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
  4. Mobile Food Unit Inspections — Tarrant County Public Health (DSHS permitting from 1 July 2026)Tarrant County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
  5. Tarrant County Fire Code (Court Order 127763, 2018; amended by Court Order 146355, effective 1 January 2026)Tarrant County Commissioners Court · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
  6. Tarrant County Fire Code Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 October 2026 (FY27)Tarrant County Fire Marshal's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09

Other offices serving Tarrant County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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