Dallas contractor registration, DallasNow permits and noise hours

Dallas does what many Texas cities do and layers its own registration on top of the state's trade licenses. The details below come from the city's Development Services Department, Sanitation Services, the Dallas City Code as published by the city and the Texas agencies, all as of October 2026. Treat it as general information and not legal advice. Several city forms carry 2024 and 2025 dates, so confirm with Development Services at (214) 948-4480 before you file.

State licenses sit under a Dallas registration layer

The state licenses electricians, air conditioning contractors, plumbers and pesticide applicators, and sets sales tax and workers' compensation rules. Our Texas contractor licenses guide and Texas page cover those. Dallas adds a city registration for each trade, a permit portal and its own codes for noise, wash water and waste hauling. The city's registration forms say the certificate of registration expires when the state license expires, and for plumbers also when the certificate of insurance expires.

DallasNow decides whether you can pull a permit

Dallas runs permits through DallasNow, an online portal. The Development Services guide says contractors and trade professionals must register with the city before pulling permits, and lists registration types for general contractors, electricians, master plumbers, air conditioning contractors, lawn sprinkler contractors, fire alarm and fire sprinkler contractors, backflow contractors, paving contractors and movers, among others. The electrical instructions add that the automated system will not issue a permit to a contractor who is not registered, has an expired registration or whose insurance has expired.

The same guide names who can pull each trade permit:

• Electrical: a registered master electrician. A journeyman cannot pull permits independently.
• Plumbing: a registered master plumber, for pipes, fixtures, water heaters and sewer connections.
• Mechanical: a registered air conditioning contractor.
• Irrigation: a registered lawn sprinkler contractor.

When the trade permit hangs off a primary building permit, the city charges no technology or permit fee on the trade record, but you must type the primary record number exactly. A standalone trade permit carries the standard permit fee and a $15 technology fee, as listed by the city.

Registering with the city, trade by trade

The Development Services office is the Oak Cliff Municipal Center at 320 E. Jefferson Boulevard, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Each form asks for a list of personnel authorized to sign permits for the license holder. The license holder is responsible for keeping that list current, and the all-trades form lists a $30 record change fee for any correction. A company located inside the city limits must give a certificate of occupancy number or confirm that a home office form is on file. The electrical form also asks for proof of business location, which can be a certificate of occupancy, a letter from the municipality of the business, or a state registration certificate showing the address.

When common jobs need a permit

The Development Services guide gives plain answers to several jobs a home service company runs into:

• Re-roofing: a residential roofing permit is required when the total value of materials and labor exceeds $500. The applicant is a registered roofing contractor, or an owner on a verified primary homestead who files a Homeowner's Exemption Affidavit and does the labor personally.
• Windows and doors: like-for-like replacement typically needs no permit if the opening and wall sections do not change. In a historic overlay or conservation district, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required for any exterior change, including like-for-like.
• Decks: a freestanding deck is exempt only if it is 30 inches or less above grade, not over a basement, under 200 square feet and outside the setbacks.
• Retaining walls: four feet or less usually needs no permit unless the wall carries a surcharge. Walls over four feet always need one.
• Pools: in-ground pools and spas always need a pool permit, and the pool electrical work needs its own electrical permit.

The city lists tree mitigation and removal as its own permit type, handled by the City Arborist. The same guide tells customers to verify that a contractor is active in DallasNow for the correct trade and warns against anyone who offers to use the customer's name on a permit. That check is the one your customers are told to make, so keep your registration current.

Construction hours and the noise waiver

Section 30-2(8) of the Dallas City Code limits construction on or next to residential use on weekdays to the hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and starts an hour later, at 8 a.m., on Saturdays and legal holidays, ending at 7 p.m. The director of transportation may issue a written permit to exceed those hours for urgent public safety needs or other reasons the director finds necessary. The city accepts the waiver application by email at nowrequest@dallas.gov. The city page does not state a fee or lead time.

Hauling waste needs a franchise

Dallas Sanitation Services says a company must hold a franchise to legally provide solid waste collection or hauling in Dallas. The City Council grants the franchises, which are non-exclusive. They cover commercial, industrial and multifamily properties, while the city serves single-family homes and duplexes and private haulers may not serve those locations. The April 2025 supplement to the city code defines solid waste collection as removing wet or dry solid waste from any premises, and lists a defense for an operator that did not run a vehicle more than twice in a calendar year for that purpose. The code sets an impoundment fee of $509 for removing a collection bin to storage and $20 a day for storage. For junk removal, roll-off and dumpster services, read Chapter 18 and ask Sanitation at 214-670-3111 where your service sits.

Wash water and the storm drain

Section 19-118.2 of the Dallas City Code makes it an offense to discharge any water that is not entirely stormwater into the storm drainage system. As quoted in the city's 2012 stormwater management program, the defenses include water used to wash streets, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways or other structures when it is not contaminated with soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, emulsifier, dispersant or a harmful quantity of another cleaning substance. A pressure washer using detergent on a driveway therefore does not fit that defense. The quoted text is from 2012, so confirm the current wording with the city before you set your wash water practice. State considerations for your work are on the pressure washing start-up guide.

Before you dig

Section 251.151 of the Texas Utilities Code sets a notice window for excavators: a locate request goes in between 14 days and 48 hours before digging, and weekends and legal holidays do not count toward the 48 hours. A Saturday notice allows digging the following Tuesday at 11:59 a.m. unless Monday is a holiday.

Sales tax rate and the North Texas calendar

The Texas Comptroller lists the Dallas local rate at 1 percent, with the Dallas Metropolitan Transit Authority at another 1 percent and a total of 8.25 percent. Taxability of your service is set by the state, and our table summarizes it in our state sales tax table. The National Weather Service's 1991 to 2020 normals for Dallas/Fort Worth show 37.01 inches of precipitation a year, an average of 20 days at or above 100 degrees and 29 freezes a season.

What this means for your site and phones

If you work inside the city limits, put your trade registration on your website so a customer checking DallasNow sees the same company name. Because permits and inspections depend on getting the right person on the line, an AI receptionist that books the inspection window and passes the permit number to your office saves a callback. Review the state's recording rule in our call recording guide before you set up a recorded line.

Frequently asked questions