33 published records
Business licenses and permits in Fort Worth, Texas
Tarrant County. Fort Worth uses the Texas DSHS standard food sales bands, but the top fee is the default — you are charged $773 unless you supply proof of lower gross annual sales. Almost everything else the city charges for is set in one adopted fee ordinance, so each construction, fire and zoning fee below cites the code section it amends rather than a departmental price list. Fire inspections are billed by floor area on a standing schedule, which most Texas cities do not do.
What are you opening in Fort Worth?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Fort Worth
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan Review Depositonly if it applies to you | City of Fort Worth Development Services | $24.75–$276.75 by review route | one-time, per application | 2026-08-24 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Fort Worth Development Services | Application fee $37.12 plus display area fee (the greater of $26.88 or $0.24 per sq ft of each display surface) plus a height-above-grade fee of $26.88 to $188.32 plus an electrical amperage fee of $37.67 to $161.42 | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Fort Worth Development Services | $96.84 up to 30 sq ft; $96.84 plus $1.19 per additional sq ft to 400; $542.44 for the first 400 sq ft plus $0.89 per additional sq ft to 790, continuing on Table 1-C-1 | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Change of Occupancy Permit | City of Fort Worth Development Services | $90 per permit | does not expire; a new certificate is required when the occupancy classification changes | 2026-08-24 |
| Reinspection Feeonly if it applies to you | City of Fort Worth Development Services | $63 per reinspection | per inspection | 2026-08-24 |
| Fire Inspection | Fort Worth Fire Department | $55–$195 by floor area | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Fort Worth?
Plan Review Deposit
$276.75 where the plans require circulation between departments and $106.87 where they do not; on the third-party review route the same two figures drop to $49.50 and $24.75. Choosing third-party review therefore cuts the deposit by roughly four fifths. No deposit is required for additions and remodels to existing Group R-3 occupancies or their accessory structures.
Sign Permit
Fort Worth is alone in this dataset in building the sign fee from four separate components rather than banding by size. Height above grade is charged at $26.88 for 1-20 feet, $53.78 for 21-30, $80.71 for 31-40, $107.60 for 41-50, $134.52 for 51-60 and $188.32 above 60 feet. Electrical amperage runs $37.67 for 1-40 amps up to $161.42 above 100 amps. Banners and temporary signs use a shorter formula — application fee plus $26.88 display area plus $26.88 height — so roughly $90. Where a permit is required only for allowable repairs or for removing a sign, the non-refundable application fee covers the permit.
Commercial Building Permit
Fort Worth bands new commercial construction by square footage on Table 1-C-1, covering assembly, business, educational, high-hazard, institutional and mercantile use groups. Three fixed charges sit on every application regardless of size: a $31.50 permit application fee, a $16.87 technology fee, and $31.50 more if you file on paper rather than online. There is a real discount worth engineering for — where plan review is done by City staff but field inspections are carried out by an approved third party, the permit fee is multiplied by 0.55, a 45% reduction calculated to the penny.
Change of Occupancy Permit
$90. The Administrative Building Code states that no building or structure may be used or occupied, and no change made in an existing occupancy classification, until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy — so this is the permit that gates opening, not a formality afterwards. Where the incoming business is a different type from the one currently operating in the space, a new certificate is required and can be applied for with or without associated construction work. One- and two-family dwellings and townhouses are regulated under the residential code instead, and community homes as defined by the zoning ordinance are exempt and receive no certificate.
Reinspection Fee
$63 a reinspection, and $63 an hour for any inspection with no fee otherwise specified, at a half-hour minimum. Inspections outside normal business hours are $112.50 and outside the city limits $94.50 an hour at a four-hour minimum. Plan revisions escalate steeply: the first is $63, the second $112.50, the third and fourth $225 each and the fifth and beyond $337.50 — against a flat $39.37 on the third-party route, which is the cheapest way through a project that is going to change more than twice.
Fire Inspection
Banded on the floor area of the building or business: $55 under 5,000 sq ft, $60 for 5,001-10,000, $70 for 10,001-25,000, $95 for 25,001-50,000, $145 for 50,001-75,000 and $195 for 75,001-100,000. Above 100,000 sq ft it is $195 plus $30 for each additional 50,000 sq ft or part of one. Buildings with four or more occupied floors above street level add $10 per floor under Sec. H104.2.1. Most Texas cities inspect without a standing fee — Fort Worth charges for it, so a mid-sized retail unit carries this as a recurring cost.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Development fees schedule — Ordinance No. 27191-09-2024 amending the Code of the City of Fort WorthCity of Fort Worth Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Certificate of Occupancy (CO)City of Fort Worth Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
Who issues business permits in Fort Worth?
Permitting in Fort Worth is split across 3 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Fort Worth issuing agencies
- City of Fort Worth Development ServicesBuilding permits · Certificates of occupancy · Plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits · Sign permits · Contractor registration · Zoning and platting15 permits
- Fort Worth Environmental Services Department, Consumer Health DivisionFixed food establishment permits · Swimming pool, spa and sprayground permits · Hotel and motel permits · Child care facility permits · Farmers market permits · Food handler and food manager certification13 permits
- Fort Worth Fire DepartmentFire inspections · Fire operational permits · Places of assembly · Hazardous materials and high-piled storage permits5 permits
Other Texas jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.