Dallas, TX
Dallas building permit cost
Dallas prices construction permits three ways
and what you are building decides which one applies. A new single-family house or duplex is charged per square foot from Table A-I. A new multi-family building is charged per dwelling unit from Table A-II, at $652 each. New commercial work — and accessory structures such as a parking garage or leasing office — is charged from the value of the proposed work from Table A-III, which runs to ten brackets. On every one of those paths the permit also carries an inspection fee set by the number of trades on the job, and a $15 technology fee.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| New single-family and duplex construction permit feePermit fee | $1.07 per sq ft | project class is one and two family and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project area over 0 and Project area up to 700 | — |
| New single-family and duplex construction permit feePermit fee | $0.0272 per sq ft + $1,000.00 | project class is one and two family and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project area over 10500 | — |
| New single-family and duplex construction permit feePermit fee | $0.077 per sq ft + $800.00 | project class is one and two family and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project area over 2350 and Project area up to 10500 | — |
| New single-family and duplex construction permit feePermit fee | $0.34569 per sq ft + $300.00 | project class is one and two family and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project area over 700 and Project area up to 2350 | — |
| New multi-family construction permit feePermit fee | $652.00 per dwelling unit | project class is multifamily and Work type is one of new construction, addition | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | $75.00 flat fee | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.2527% of project valuation + $1,300.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $10,000,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.3862% of project valuation + $700.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $1,500,000 and Project valuation up to $2,500,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.6325% of project valuation + $400.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $200,000 and Project valuation up to $900,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.95% of project valuation + $100.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $2,000 and Project valuation up to $25,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.363% of project valuation + $850.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $2,500,000 and Project valuation up to $5,000,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.75% of project valuation + $100.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $25,000 and Project valuation up to $60,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.5095% of project valuation + $1,100.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $5,000,000 and Project valuation up to $10,000,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 2.7665% of project valuation + $350.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $60,000 and Project valuation up to $200,000 | — |
| New commercial construction permit feePermit fee | 0.3895% of project valuation + $500.00 | project class is commercial and Work type is one of new construction, addition and Project valuation over $900,000 and Project valuation up to $1,500,000 | — |
| Minimum inspection feeInspection fee | $125.00 per trade | Each trade on the permit | max $1,125.00 |
| Technology permit feeTechnology fee | $15.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A new single-family house of 2,500 sq ft with four trades on the permit. This is the City's own worked example, taken from its permit fee estimate worksheet, with the plan review line held back.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project area | 2,500 sq ft |
| Occupancy class | Residential |
| Type of work | New construction |
| Number of trades | 4 |
| Project class | one_and_two_family |
Example total
$1,507.50
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 3Rules considered 18
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
New single-family and duplex construction permit feePermit feeS1 Table A-I — $0.077 per sq ft plus $800 for buildings of 2,351 to 10,500 sq ft. The rate applies to the whole area.Show the working
| $0.077 per sq ft + $800.00 | $992.50 |
Technology permit feeTechnology feeS1 line item, restated unchanged by S3 Sec. 303.5.29 — $15 for each application, permit, plan or other construction document submitted through the land management system.Show the working
| $15.00 flat fee | $15.00 |
Minimum inspection feeInspection feeS1 Minimum Inspection Fee Schedule — $125 per trade for one to eight trades, $1,125 for nine or more. Charged on the permit alongside the table fee, as S2's worksheets show it.Show the working
| $125.00 per trade | $500.00 |
| Total | $1,507.50 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- New single-family and duplex construction permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided. (3 rules with the same outcome)
- New multi-family construction permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- New commercial construction permit fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided. (10 rules with the same outcome)
- Plan review fee — Rule status is "draft".
Assumptions
- Calculated from 3 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The City's worksheet for this same house totals $2,084.50, because it includes a $577 plan review fee. That line is not in this total: the published schedule and the worksheet disagree about the plan review rate by a factor of ten, so neither figure is charged, and the difference between this total and the City's own is exactly that $577. Everything else here is the City's arithmetic — 2,500 sq ft at $0.077 plus $800 gives the $992.50 table fee, and four trades give the $500 inspection fee.
What is different in Dallas
The residential table is written in whole square feet, and its rate is charged on the whole area rather than on the part above a bracket floor. That produces a step at 700 sq ft that surprises people: 700 sq ft pays $749.00, while 701 sq ft pays $542.33 — the fee falls by $206.67 because the building got one square foot bigger. It is in the published schedule and the City's own worked example computes it the same way, so it is reproduced here rather than smoothed over.
Above 700 sq ft the arithmetic is a rate plus the bracket's own add factor: $0.34569 per sq ft plus $300 up to 2,350 sq ft, $0.077 plus $800 up to 10,500, and $0.0272 plus $1,000 beyond that.
The inspection fee is the part most estimates miss. It is charged from the number of trades on the permit — $125 for one, $250 for two, and so on to $1,125 at nine or more — and it is added to the table fee. A small commercial finish-out with five trades carries $625 of inspection fee before any valuation-based fee at all.
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This estimate covers the construction tables plus the trade-count inspection fee and one $15 technology fee. It excludes:
- Plan review, which is disputed and therefore not charged. See the note on the result.
- The 10% zoning surcharge for planned development, specific-use permit and deed-restricted areas.
- Alterations, repairs and remodels, which Dallas prices from Table B-I (replaced by Ordinance 25-0638 on 15 April 2025) and Table B-II, not from the tables used here.
- Permit extension ($200), reinspection ($75), additional inspection service ($125 per trade inspection), after-hours inspection ($125 an hour, $300 minimum), same-day inspection ($250) and unauthorized concealment ($200 per trade).
- Certificate of occupancy: $375 general, $104 partial, $250 for a residential temporary certificate.
- Fees charged by any department other than the one issuing the permit, and anything for property outside the Dallas city limits.
What you need before applying
- What is being builtRequired
Dallas has three construction tables and picks between them by building type, not by cost: Table A-I for a new single-family house or duplex, Table A-II for a new multi-family building, Table A-III for commercial work and for accessory structures such as a parking garage, gym or leasing office. Two projects of the same value can pay very different fees.
- Project area, or valuation, depending on the tableRequired
Table A-I is applied to building area in square feet, and its rate is charged on the whole area rather than on the part above a bracket floor. Table A-III is applied to the value of the proposed work. The schedule does not itself define 'value of proposed work' in the pages read here, and the City's estimate worksheet simply says 'Enter Valuation', so the figure is the applicant's declared value of the work.
- Number of tradesRequired
Every construction permit carries an inspection fee that is a function of how many trades the job involves — $125 for one, up to $1,125 at nine or more — added to the table fee. The schedule states the fee per trade count; it does not list which work counts as a trade.
Common questions
Does the permit fee really go down when a house gets bigger?
At 700 square feet, yes. Table A-I charges $1.07 per sq ft for buildings up to 700 sq ft, which is $749.00 at the top of that bracket, and then $0.34569 per sq ft plus $300 from 701 sq ft — $542.33 at 701. The step is in the City's published schedule, and the City's own worksheet reproduces it, so it is what a permit issued at that size would cost.
Is the Dallas building permit fee a percentage of construction cost?
Only for commercial work. A house or duplex is charged per square foot of area, and a multi-family building per dwelling unit. Commercial work, and accessory structures, are charged as a rate applied to the value of the proposed work plus the table's add factor. Residential cost does not enter the calculation at all.
What counts as a trade for the inspection fee?
The schedule charges $125 per trade up to eight trades, and $1,125 for nine or more, but it does not list which work counts as a trade — so the count is the number of trades inspected on the job. What is published is the price of each count, and that is what this page charges.
Why is plan review missing from the total?
Because the City's two documents disagree about it. The schedule prints "$0.46 per sq. ft. or $577 (whichever is greater)". The department's permit fee estimate worksheet computes $0.046 per sq ft, and all five of its worked examples balance to the cent at that rate — including one that would differ by $74,520 from the printed figure. Rather than pick one, the plan review line is stated with both readings and left out of the estimate.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- OrdinanceCityPrimary source
Ordinance 25-0638, amending Chapter 52 Section 303
Effective 15 April 2025. Amends Table B-I (alterations or repairs), the technology permit fee (restated unchanged at $15), the Q-Team review caps, the mover's licence and non-premise sign fees, and REMOVES the postage and handling fee and the inspection scheduling fee that the May 2024 schedule still prints. Read from the scanned document's text layer; the table itself is legible enough to confirm that the row the schedule misprints as "$500,000,001 - 10,000,000" is "$5,000,001 - 10,000,000".
- Official calculatorCityPrimary source
PDV Fee Estimate Worksheet Examples
The department's own estimator, with five worked examples (new single-family dwelling, residential remodel, new commercial office building, commercial tenant finish-out, multi-family complex). Its arithmetic is what resolves the commercial table's upper brackets, which the printed schedule omits, and it is the source of the plan-review discrepancy: it computes $0.046 per sq ft where the schedule prints $0.46. Earliest capture 2025-10-16. Used arithmetically, never copied: the estimate on every page is computed by this site's engine from the published rates.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Ten pages, effective 1 May 2024, adopted by Ordinance 32676. Carries the City's own disclaimer: "the fees listed in this schedule are for informational purposes only and are subject to change. Final permit fees will be calculated at the time of submittal". Retrieved from the Internet Archive raw snapshot of 2025-11-29 (sha256 90cb9d4a7087803fd5034146611a968caa28dd8ce71d9e4fa7bcda99a492b117) because dallascityhall.com did not respond from this environment; text extracted with pdftotext -layout and -raw. A later capture can be compared against that hash.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.