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Hiring a contractor in Allen, TX

Every contractor working in Allen must register with the City. It costs $50 a year and is done online through the City's Citizen Self-Service portal1. If your job needs a permit, the City asks you to make sure the contractor has applied for it and received it before work begins, and inspections are required2. Below are the City's rules on permit fees, watering days, people selling door to door, trees, fences and rentals.

How do you check a contractor before work starts in Allen?

  • The City of Allen requires every contractor to register, at $50 a year, through its online Citizen Self-Service (CSS) portal.1 How to use the City's CSS permit portal →
  • The City tells homeowners to make sure their contractor has applied for a permit and received it before work starts. Inspections are required.2
  • Door-to-door and promotional solicitors must register with Allen Police, which runs a background check on each applicant, and must wear their solicitor ID badge on the chest or upper body. A door-to-door permit lasts 90 days. A problem with a solicitor can be reported at 214.509.4321.3
  • Electricians and air-conditioning contractors are licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, whose free search shows active licenses by name, license number, city, county or ZIP code.4 Search active licenses on TDLR's free lookup →
  • The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners publishes free lists of licensed plumbers and updates them every day.5 Look up a plumber on the state board's free lists →

What do Allen's home permits cost, and when is one not needed?

  • For a house, duplex or townhome, Allen's fee schedule lists a re-roofing permit at $150, a water heater at $75, a complete HVAC system at $175 and a fence at $75.6
  • You don't need a permit to replace windows and doors if all of these are true: the new ones meet the energy code and the home building code, the hole in the wall isn't changed, and any window or door meant as an emergency way out still meets the home building code's escape rules. The work must still follow the code.2
  • The City Council adopted the International Code Council's 2024 building codes on July 28, 2026, and they took effect September 26, 2026. Building permit applications received on or after that day are checked against them.7
  • Doing the work yourself? Before you start, the City asks you to fill out a form called a Homeowner's Affidavit.2 Homeowner's Affidavit (PDF) →

When may sprinklers run in Allen?

  • Sprinklers may run up to twice a week, and only on your assigned watering days. From Nov. 1 to March 31 the limit is once a week, on your main watering day. From April 1 to Oct. 31, they may not run between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.8 Find your watering day →
  • Qualifying homes can get a $50 Sprinkler Tune-Up Rebate from the City's water conservation program when a licensed landscape irrigator checks and adjusts a working, permanently installed system. Rebates depend on program funding and may stop when the funds run out.9 Water conservation rebates →

What do Allen's rules say about trees, fences and job debris?

  • Trees, shrubs and plants must leave 7 feet of clear space above public sidewalks and paths and 14 feet above public streets and alleys, and may not stick out more than 18 inches into an alley.10
  • A contractor hired to trim or remove trees must take care of all the debris. The City is not responsible for removing debris left by commercial contractors.11
  • Fences must be kept up. A fence may not lean 12 inches out of line, measured at the top, and broken, loose, damaged or missing parts adding up to 20 square feet must be repaired or replaced. A fence likely to fall must be repaired, replaced or removed, and it can't be braced from the outside.10
  • The monthly bulky item pickup won't take construction or demolition waste, remodeling materials or fence materials. It does take an old water heater, as long as the item weighs less than 150 pounds.12

Are most Allen homes owned or rented?

  • Owners live in about 69% of Allen's 37,243 occupied homes (25,834); the other 11,409 are rented.13
  • About half of the homes in Allen were built in 2003 or earlier.14
  • Any home its owner doesn't live in, single-family houses, duplexes and townhomes included, must be registered with the City. The fee is $150 the first time, and the registration is renewed every January. Single-family rentals get a yearly inspection from the outside only, and inspectors do not go inside for it. The City may also inspect any part of the property after a resident or tenant complains.15

Ask an Allen contractor these three things first

  1. “Are you registered with the City of Allen this year?” Every contractor must register with the City each year. For electrical, air-conditioning or plumbing work, also ask for their state license: electricians and air-conditioning contractors can be looked up on TDLR's free search, and plumbers on the state plumbing board's lists.1,4,5
  2. “Who is pulling the permit, and will it be issued before you start?” Allen wants the permit applied for and received before work begins, and inspections are required. On a house, re-roofing, a water heater, a complete HVAC system and a fence all appear on the City's permit fee schedule.2,6
  3. “Who hauls off the debris?” Allen's monthly bulky pickup won't take remodeling, demolition or fence materials. On a tree job, the contractor must take care of all the tree debris.12,11

Published by CrewButton (Econ Labs, LLC, Addison, Texas). Drafted with AI (Claude) from the sources below. Facts were checked against their sources by AI, and the page was approved by CrewButton's founder on . First published . Updated . Last reviewed .

Sources

  1. Contractor Registration | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Development – Building & Permitting. Read 2026-10-30.
  2. Residential Development Services | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Development – Building & Permitting. Read 2026-10-30.
  3. Solicitor's Permits | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Allen Police Department. Read 2026-10-30.
  4. TDLR Active License Search. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Read 2026-11-02.
  5. Free Licensee Lists. Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Read 2026-11-02.
  6. City of Allen Fee Schedule (Last Updated: June 10, 2026). City of Allen (2026-06-10). Read 2026-10-30.
  7. Adopted Building Codes | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Development – Building & Permitting. Read 2026-10-30.
  8. Find My Watering Day | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Engineering & Traffic – Water Conservation. Read 2026-10-30.
  9. Apply for a Water Rebate | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Engineering & Traffic – Water Conservation. Read 2026-10-30.
  10. Code Compliance | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Enhancement – Code Compliance. Read 2026-10-30.
  11. Yard Waste | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Services – Trash & Recycling. Read 2026-10-30.
  12. Bulky Item Collection | Allen, TX. City of Allen, Community Services – Trash & Recycling. Read 2026-10-30.
  13. American Community Survey 2020–2024 (5-year), table B25003: Tenure, Allen city, Texas. U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-10-30.
  14. American Community Survey 2020–2024 (5-year), table B25035: Median Year Structure Built, Allen city, Texas. U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-10-30.
  15. Single-Family Rental Inspection Program. City of Allen, Community Enhancement – Code Compliance. Read 2026-11-02.

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