Dallas Building Department | Permits, Inspections & Contact

The City of Dallas Planning and Development Department administers permitting, plan review, inspections, zoning, and development-code services inside Dallas city limits. Dallas County and neighboring municipalities have separate authorities, so a Dallas postal address should be checked against the actual city boundary before an applicant uses DallasNow.

Dallas permit process

Dallas states that all permits are submitted through DallasNow. Prepare the project address, scope, valuation, plans, contractor information, and any required site or zoning materials before creating the application. Commercial work, new construction, additions, and changes of use may require site-plan, zoning, landscape, fire, or other coordinated reviews in addition to the building permit.

Inspections, zoning, and occupancy

Use the City’s online records service to search by permit number or address, and review the inspection instructions associated with the permit record. Dallas requires a Certificate of Occupancy for many uses and changes of use; the City’s CO guidance says the application is submitted through DallasNow and that required inspections must be passed before the CO or temporary CO is released. Zoning districts, planned development districts, conservation districts, and specific-use approvals can change what is allowed on a parcel and should be confirmed with Planning and Development.

Official contact information

The Dallas Permit Center is at Oak Cliff Municipal Center, 320 E. Jefferson Boulevard, Room 118, Dallas, Texas 75203. The City’s published contact number for permitting and inspections is (214) 948-4480. Use the official online records page for permit lookups and DallasNow for applications and inspection workflow.