20 published records
Business licenses and permits in Richardson, Texas
Since 15 September 2025 Richardson has put every fee it charges into one codified Master Fee Schedule at Appendix B of its Code of Ordinances, which makes it one of the easier Texas cities to price a whole opening from — and unusual in codifying fees rather than adopting them by resolution. Food permits band on floor area from $250 to $450, with a multi-department food store at $750. Construction runs off area bands that have not changed since 2015, but the small end has: finishing a shell now starts at $500 rather than $250, and the minimum on a commercial alteration went from $75 to $225. Two things catch people out. The certificate of occupancy is $100 but waived when it comes with a building permit, so it is only charged to a tenant taking on premises as they stand. And a commercial water meter deposit runs from $300 on a three-quarter-inch meter to $6,000 on a ten-inch — usually the largest single cheque written at opening.
What are you opening in Richardson?
- 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 Richardson
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | New finished buildings, banded on building area: $1,200 minimum to 2,500 sq ft; $200 + $0.40/sq ft to 10,000; $400 + $0.37/sq ft to 50,000; $1,400 + $0.35/sq ft to 100,000; $2,400 + $0.34/sq ft to 300,000; $8,400 + $0.32/sq ft above. New shell buildings: $950 minimum to 2,500 sq ft, then $0.30, $0.27, $0.25, $0.24 and $0.22 per square foot on the same bands | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
| Commercial Electrical Installation Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | $150 minimum fee, commercial | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
| Fire Protection System Construction Permit | City of Richardson Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office | 1% of the total cost of the system, minimum $60 per system; flammable and combustible liquids including demolition or abandonment of an underground storage tank $100; hazardous materials $100; high-piled combustible storage $100; temporary membrane structures and tents $50 | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
| Interior Finish and Alteration Permit | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | Interior finish of a shell building: $500 to 2,500 sq ft, then $500 + $0.12 per square foot. Commercial additions, alterations, repairs, remodelling and fire damage: 1% of market value, minimum $225, not to exceed the permit fee for a new structure | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | $100 per certificate, waived with a building permit | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-27 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | $50–$100 per sign, by type | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
| Miscellaneous Commercial Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services Department | $50–$200 per permit, by work type | per permit | 2026-08-27 |
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 Richardson?
Commercial Building Permit
These bands have not moved since 2015 — the 2023 resolution and the 2025 codification both carried them across unchanged, which is worth knowing because almost everything else on the schedule did move. The $1,200 minimum on anything up to 2,500 square feet is the figure to plan around: it is the highest small-building floor in this dataset, so a 1,000 square foot coffee shop pays the same as a 2,500 square foot one. The permit is a COMBINATION permit covering building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and concrete work shown on the submitted plans. Work not on the plans, or started after final inspection, needs its own permit, and starting before the permit issues may double the fee.
Commercial Electrical Installation Permit
$150 minimum on a commercial electrical installation, against $100 residential. This appears in the codified schedule and not in the 2015 PDF at all, which is one reason the older document was an unsafe guide. It applies to electrical work taken on its own — electrical shown on the plans of a new building permit is already covered by that combination permit. A commercial rainwater harvesting system inspection is $150 on the same chapter, and a commercial irrigation permit $150 under section 23-292(b).
Fire Protection System Construction Permit
One per cent of the system cost with a $60 floor per system — a rate rather than a band, which makes it unusually easy to estimate from a contractor's quote: a $40,000 sprinkler installation is $400. The named flat permits sit alongside it at $100 each for flammable and combustible liquids, hazardous materials and high-piled combustible storage. The liquids line expressly covers demolishing or abandoning an underground storage tank and its piping, which is the one an auto repair or fuel site meets when closing rather than opening. Re-review is free once, then half the original fee up to $250 for each further round; re-inspection is free once, then $100 each.
Interior Finish and Alteration Permit
This is where Richardson's fees actually moved. Finishing a shell used to be $250 up to 2,500 square feet and a flat 10 cents a foot above; it is now $500 and $500 plus 12 cents a foot — so a 6,000 square foot fit-out went from $600 to $1,220, roughly double. The minimum on a commercial alteration went from $75 to $225 in the same period. The one per cent rate itself is unchanged, as is the cap at what a new structure would cost. The schedule warns that an undervalued estimate will be recalculated on nationally published building valuation data, so declaring low does not help.
Certificate of Occupancy
$100, and the codified wording is precise: the fee is WAIVED when the certificate is affiliated with a building permit. So a tenant fitting out under a permit pays nothing extra, while a tenant taking on finished premises and changing nothing pays $100. Unchanged in amount since 2015, though the 2015 wording put it the other way round — chargeable where no building permit had been issued — which comes to the same thing. A commercial utility release is a separate $100 and reinspection $50.
Sign Permit
$100 to erect, alter, replace or relocate a permanent sign, $50 for a temporary sign and $75 to repair one — none of them changed since 2015. The expensive lines are the exceptions and they are worth planning around: a sign variance application under section 18-27 is $250, filing an appeal to the Sign Control Board is another $250, and a Master Sign Plan through Development Services is $500. Richardson runs the Sign Control Board as a standing body and it hears real cases, so treat a departure from the sign ordinance as a budget item rather than an edge case.
Miscellaneous Commercial Permit
$150 for a miscellaneous commercial permit covering work not part of a building permit — doubled from $75 in 2015. A commercial fence permit also doubled, from $50 to $100, and a detached structure over 150 square feet from $100 to $200. Flat items that did not move: demolition $50, a moving permit $75, a temporary building $50, concrete $50 and a commercial antenna or dish antenna $50 each. Commercial roof recovering is one per cent of market value with a $150 minimum. An apartment inspection is $15 a unit annually under section 6-326(c).
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix B — Master Fee Schedule (adopted by Ord. No. 4559, § 2, 15 September 2025; amended by Ord. No. 4560, § 1, 13 October 2025)City of Richardson · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-27
- City of Richardson Community Services Department Building Permit Fee Schedule, effective 1 October 2015City of Richardson Community Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-26
- City of Richardson Resolution No. 23-21, providing an amended fee schedule for building inspection fees and permits, adopted 28 August 2023, effective for applications submitted on or after 1 October 2023 — SUPERSEDED by Appendix BCity of Richardson City Council · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-27
Who issues business permits in Richardson?
Permitting in Richardson is split across 5 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.
Richardson issuing agencies
- City of Richardson Building Inspection Division, Community Services DepartmentCommercial building permits, including electrical, plumbing, mechanical and concrete · Shell building and interior finish permits · Certificates of occupancy · Contractor registration · Sign permits · Building reinspections7 permits
- City of Richardson Health DepartmentFood service establishment permits · Food establishment plan review · Change of ownership applications · Public and semi-public swimming pool and spa inspections · Grease trap and waste interceptor inspections · Food establishment reinspections7 permits
- City of Richardson Public ServicesWaste hauler permits · Industrial pre-treatment permits · Irrigation permits · Water and sewer connections3 permits
- City of Richardson Fire Department, Fire Marshal's OfficeFire code operational permits · Fire protection system construction permits · Flammable and combustible liquid and storage tank permits · Commercial fire inspections and re-inspections2 permits
- City of Richardson Development ServicesZoning requests and special permits · Site plan and concept plan review · Zoning verification letters · Master sign plans · Variances from the zoning ordinance1 permit
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.