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Hiring a contractor in Dallas, TX

Dallas requires many kinds of contractors to register with the City, including roofing, fence, foundation, pool, landscape, driveway paving and residential general contractors. Any of these contractors who is not registered cannot get a City permit for that work1. A contractor who remodels or adds on to a house or duplex must also hold a current City home repair license before it can register, with some exceptions in the City Code1. The City says registering does not give a contractor a license and tells you nothing about the contractor's skill1. The property owner, someone acting for the owner, or a renter must make sure properly qualified people get the permits before work starts1. Painting, flooring, cabinets and countertops need no building permit, but plumbing, electrical and mechanical work follow separate rules1.

Which contractors have to register with the City of Dallas?

  • Dallas makes many kinds of contractors register with the City, including roofing, fence, foundation, pool, landscape, driveway paving and residential general contractors. Any of these contractors who is not registered cannot get a City permit for that work. The City says registering does not give a contractor a license and tells you nothing about the contractor's skill.1
  • A contractor who remodels or adds on to a house or duplex in Dallas needs a current City of Dallas home repair license to register or renew with the City. The City Code lists some exceptions.1
  • The City's Consumer Protection Unit, part of Code Compliance, looks into claims that a service business committed fraud, and it also handles the City's home repair licenses. For more information, call 214-948-5353, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.2
  • 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.3 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.4 Look up a plumber on the state board's free lists →

Which Dallas home jobs need a permit, and who pulls it?

  • Some small jobs need no Dallas building permit. These include painting, wallpaper, flooring, cabinets and countertops; adding storm windows, screens, shutters, rain gutters or insulation; and a one-story detached shed or playhouse of 200 square feet or less on a house or duplex lot. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work have their own separate rules. For example, no permit is needed to swap a plumbing fixture, like a sink or toilet, for the same kind when the pipes it hooks up to (the "rough-in") stay the same, but replacing a water heater needs one. No permit is needed to replace or repair an existing light fixture, outlet, switch or ceiling fan when the work is worth $1,000 or less and the home's electrical service (the main line that brings in power) is not changed or disconnected. No permit is needed to replace electric heating or air-conditioning equipment when the ducts, wires and pipes it hooks up to do not have to change. All work must still meet City codes.1
  • Roofing work worth more than $500, materials and labor together, needs a residential roofing permit.5
  • Putting in, changing or repairing plumbing pipes, fixtures or water heaters can need a plumbing permit. That permit is pulled by a Master Plumber registered with the City in DallasNow.5
  • The City's permit guide says putting in or replacing a heating, ventilation or air-conditioning system takes a mechanical permit, pulled by an Air Conditioning Contractor registered with the City.5
  • An electrical permit is needed for electrical work such as a panel upgrade or a service change. The work has to be under a licensed Master Electrician; a journeyman electrician cannot pull the permit alone.5

Can you pull the permit yourself, and what rules apply during the job?

  • In Dallas, you can get a Homeowner's Permit to do some work yourself on the home you live in (your homestead). You don't have to register as a contractor or hold certain trade licenses, such as electrical, plumbing or mechanical (heating and air-conditioning) ones. The permit covers fences, patio covers, inside remodeling, plumbing, irrigation (lawn sprinkler) work, mechanical work and roofing. For electrical repairs, you must first pass a City of Dallas exam. No one may be paid to help with any part of the work.6
  • In Dallas, the property owner, someone acting for the owner, or a renter must make sure properly qualified people get the permits before work starts. If the proper permit is missing, any of them can face the City's penalties.1
  • A Dallas permit expires if the project makes no progress toward being finished (as the City Code defines progress) within two years after the permit was issued, unless the City grants more time. No one may keep working under an expired permit.1
  • Dallas handles permits through its online DallasNow portal. The City warns about fake emails asking for license records. Real City of Dallas emails come from @dallas.gov. Pay City permit fees and send permit or license information only through the DallasNow portal.7 DallasNow help and portal link →
  • No one may unload or store building materials, supplies or debris on a Dallas street, sidewalk or other public property during construction or demolition without a City barricade permit. Blocking a street or sidewalk, even for part of a day, needs one too.1
  • Dallas curbside brush and bulky trash pickup does not take construction or demolition debris, such as building materials, bricks or concrete. It does not take roofing materials or shingles either. If a job needs a contractor, the City says the contractor should get rid of the waste.8

How often can you water a Dallas lawn, and what about sprinkler systems?

  • In Dallas, you may water your lawn with hose-end sprinklers or a sprinkler system no more than two days a week, and only on the days the City's watering schedule assigns to your address. This is not allowed on Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays. No watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any day of the year. Drip lines, soaker hoses and hand watering are allowed any day, at any time.9
  • Dallas sets your two watering days by the last digit of your address. Addresses ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8, and homes with no address number, water on Sundays and Thursdays. Addresses ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 water on Saturdays and Wednesdays.10
  • Putting in a new lawn or landscape? You can apply to the City of Dallas for a variance that allows extra watering days for up to five weeks after it goes in. Cool-season grasses are not included, and not every request is approved.11 Apply for a watering variance →
  • If you are a Dallas Water Utilities customer, you can get a free check of your automatic sprinkler system from a licensed landscape irrigation specialist. It looks for programming errors, leaks, broken or misaligned parts, water pressure that is too high or too low, and coverage problems.12 Ask for a free sprinkler check →
  • City ordinance requires an automatic sprinkler system in Dallas to have a rain and freeze sensor, which stops the system from running when it drops below freezing.13

Are most Dallas homes rented, and how old are they?

  • More Dallas homes are rented than lived in by their owners: 307,300 of the city's 533,915 occupied homes are rented, against 226,615 (about 42%) that their owners live in.14
  • About half of the homes in Dallas were built in 1981 or earlier.15
  • Dallas requires apartment (multi-tenant) properties to be inspected at least once every three years. Code Compliance can make owners fix problems such as A/C that does not work, water leaks, and hot water below 110°F. You can report these problems by calling 3-1-1 or online.16

Ask these three questions before a Dallas contractor starts

  1. “Is your business registered with the City of Dallas for this kind of work?” Many kinds of contractors must be, including roofing, fence, foundation, pool, landscape, driveway paving and residential general contractors. Any of them that is not registered cannot get the City permit, and a remodeler also needs a current City home repair license. Registration says nothing about skill. If the job is electrical, air-conditioning or plumbing work, also look up the worker's state license; those can be checked free.1,1,3,4
  2. “Who is pulling the permit?” In Dallas, the property owner, someone acting for the owner, or a renter must make sure properly qualified people get the permits before work starts, and a plumbing permit is pulled by a Master Plumber registered with the City. A Homeowner's Permit is not a way to bring in a hired crew: under it, no one may be paid to help with any part of the work.1,5,6
  3. “Where will the materials and the debris go?” Unloading or storing them on a Dallas street or sidewalk takes a City barricade permit, and curbside brush and bulky trash pickup won't take construction debris, roofing materials or shingles. The City says the contractor should get rid of the waste.1,8

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. Chapter 52: Administrative Procedures for the Construction Codes (Sections 1101–1102). City of Dallas, Building Inspection (Dallas City Code Chapter 52) (2025-04-23). Read 2026-11-02.
  2. Consumer Protection. City of Dallas, Code Compliance – Consumer Protection Unit. Read 2026-10-30.
  3. TDLR Active License Search. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Read 2026-11-02.
  4. Free Licensee Lists. Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Read 2026-11-02.
  5. Development Services permit guide. City of Dallas. Read 2026-10-12.
  6. City of Dallas Homeowner’s Exemption from Registration as a Contractor. City of Dallas, Building Inspection Division (2018-01-01). Read 2026-11-02.
  7. DallasNow. City of Dallas, Planning and Development. Read 2026-10-30.
  8. Brush & Bulky Item Collections. City of Dallas, Sanitation Services. Read 2026-10-30.
  9. Frequently Asked Questions – Save Dallas Water!. City of Dallas Water Conservation (Dallas Water Utilities). Read 2026-11-02.
  10. Save Dallas Water: City of Dallas Maximum Twice-Weekly Watering Schedule. City of Dallas Water Conservation (Dallas Water Utilities). Read 2026-11-02.
  11. Exceptions and Variances – Save Dallas Water!. City of Dallas Water Conservation (Dallas Water Utilities). Read 2026-10-30.
  12. Free Irrigation Evaluations – Save Dallas Water!. City of Dallas Water Conservation (Dallas Water Utilities). Read 2026-10-30.
  13. Prepare Your Home for Winter (water bill insert, publication FY 25-26:3). City of Dallas, Dallas Water Utilities (2025-10-07). Read 2026-10-29.
  14. American Community Survey 2020–2024 (5-year), table B25003: Tenure, Dallas city, Texas. U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-10-30.
  15. American Community Survey 2020–2024 (5-year), table B25035: Median Year Structure Built, Dallas city, Texas. U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-10-30.
  16. Multi-Tenant Inspection & Response. City of Dallas, Code Compliance. Read 2026-10-30.

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