What Dallas exempts
Dallas City Code §301.2 lists the work that needs no permit. Other building work needs one first (§301.1.1). The city’s code booklet is current through April 23, 2025.
These jobs need no permit on a single-family or duplex home in Dallas:
- Painting, papering, paneling, floor coverings, cabinets, moldings, countertops and similar finish work.
- Interior remodeling of nonload-bearing parts that adds no floor area.
- Fences up to 4 feet high in a front yard and 6 feet elsewhere. Pool fences are not exempt.
- Reroofing of two roofing squares or less.
- Replacing plumbing fixtures in kind, with no change in rough-in.
- Decks of 200 square feet or less, 30 inches or less above grade, detached, clear of overhead service lines, and not serving the required exit door. An ordinance effective May 23, 2025 set this wording.
The interior remodel exemption covers the building permit only. Wiring and plumbing follow their own rules.
What Plano requires
Plano’s handout “When Is a Permit Required?” (revised September 28, 2016) lists these permit jobs:
- Remodeling that adds or replaces walls or windows.
- Additions, foundation repairs and roof replacement.
- Electrical work, other than repairs such as replacing switches, plugs or ballasts.
- Plumbing work, including installing or replacing a water heater.
- Installing or replacing a furnace or air conditioning system.
- Building or replacing a fence. Repairs to 25% or less of the fence area in 12 months are exempt.
- Decks more than 30 inches above grade, and accessory buildings such as patio covers.
Plano exempts cosmetic work such as paint, wallpaper, carpet, cabinets and trim, and fixture swaps on existing wiring or plumbing. The handout says its list is not complete, and it dates from 2016. Confirm your scope with Plano Building Inspections.
Dallas and Plano side by side
| Work | Dallas | Plano |
|---|---|---|
| Paint, cabinets, trim | No permit | No permit |
| Flooring, countertops | No permit | Carpet is exempt. Countertops not listed. |
| Same-spot sink, toilet or faucet swap | No permit if in kind, with no rough-in change | No permit for fixtures on existing plumbing |
| Moving or adding plumbing | Permit. The code exempts repairs or repiping up to $1,000, excluding gas piping. | Permit |
| Water heater replacement | Permit | Permit |
| Light fixture swap | No permit if the work is $1,000 or less and the service is unchanged (2012 pamphlet) | No permit for fixtures on existing wiring |
| New circuits or wiring | Permit, except up to six new 120-volt outlets on an existing circuit or one new circuit, no service change (2012 pamphlet) | Permit |
| AC or furnace replacement | Not confirmed in the code text. Ask the city. | Permit |
| Nonload-bearing interior wall | No building permit if no floor area is added | Permit (remodel that adds or replaces walls) |
| Load-bearing or structural work | Permit | Permit |
| Room addition | Permit | Permit |
| Fence | No permit up to 4 ft in front, 6 ft elsewhere (not pool fences) | Permit to build or replace. Repairs to 25% or less of the area in 12 months exempt. |
| Deck | No permit if 200 sq ft or less, 30 in or lower, detached and meeting the other conditions above | Permit if over 30 in above grade |
Sources: Dallas code (2025), Dallas electrical pamphlet (2012), Plano handout (2016).
Water heaters need a permit
Expect a permit for a water heater swap. Texas Occupations Code §1301.551(c) tells cities that regulate plumbing to require a permit before plumbing work. It exempts only leak repairs and swaps of faucets, ballcocks, water control valves, disposals and toilets. Water heaters are not on that list.
Dallas City Code §301.2.2 says a permit is required to replace a water heater. Plano and Frisco list water heaters as permit work too. The appliance-dealer exemption in Occupations Code §1301.053(a)(4) also leaves out water heater work.
Licensed trades pull their own permits
The trade permit usually goes to the licensed trade. Dallas says most electrical permits must be obtained by a contractor registered with the city. When plumbing is part of a larger project, the registered responsible master plumber may validate the permit.
A handyman without those licenses cannot do the electrical, plumbing or AC work. See what a handyman can legally do in Texas.
What permits cost in Dallas and Plano
Dallas’s fee schedule took effect July 1, 2025.
- $181 per dwelling unit for single-family or duplex alterations, plus $100 for each additional trade.
- A $175 minimum in a separate value-based table for alterations and repairs, including standalone trade permits.
- Residential plan review of $0.046 per square foot or $577, whichever is greater.
- A $15 technology fee per document.
The schedule does not say whether that minimum or plan review applies to every home alteration, so ask Dallas Development Services.
Plano’s fee schedule, Ordinance No. 2025-11-4, shows no effective date. Residential fees:
- Addition or alteration building permit, where one applies: $0.48 per square foot, $40 minimum.
- Plan review: $45.
- Electrical, plumbing and mechanical: $0.01 per square foot each, $45 minimum each.
- Simple trade permits: $85 each. Re-roof: $75.
- Fence or retaining wall: $75. The line also lists a $65 residential permit fee and a $10 day laborer fee.
It is unclear which fees apply to an interior remodel that adds no floor area, so ask Plano Building Inspections.
State law limits these fees. Texas Local Government Code §214.907, added by H.B. 852 in 2019, covers residential permit and inspection fees. A city may not base them on the home’s value or the cost of the work. Nor may it make you disclose either to get a permit, except where FEMA requires it for flood insurance.
For full budgets, see what a kitchen remodel costs in DFW and what a bathroom remodel costs in DFW.
The risks of skipping a permit
Dallas puts the duty on you. Under §301.1.3, the owner, agent or lessee must make sure permits are obtained. The building official may stop work by written notice under §202.4.
Under §210.3, each offense carries a fine of up to $2,000, and each day is a separate offense. Under §210.4, the city may also seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 a day. The fee schedule adds a work-without-a-permit investigation fee of $100 per hour per trade.
Arlington warns about anyone who says skipping the permit will save you money. It says the contractor should post the permit at the front of the property. Before final payment, check that inspectors signed the permit placard.
Frisco, Arlington and other cities
Frisco offers self-service permits for replacing water heaters, heating and cooling systems, doors, windows and same-material roofs. Fences, additions and alterations go through electronic review. The page shows no date.
Arlington says general and construction contractors must register with the city to get a building permit (city article, June 3, 2025).
For Fort Worth, Irving, Garland, McKinney or any other city, call the building inspection office before work starts. Describe what moves, what gets added and which trades are involved. To check a contractor’s city registration, see how to check a DFW contractor.