Dallas, Texas - City Development Fees
Dallas | City | Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA | Dallas County seat
Dallas is the anchor city of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the seat of Dallas County; the city limits also extend into Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. The City of Dallas administers developer-side fees through two distinct vehicles. The Department of Planning and Development (formerly Sustainable Development and Construction) publishes the Planning and Development Permit Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2025), which covers Board of Adjustment cases, major and minor platting, the Planned Development / Specific Use Permit surcharge, zoning verification letters, commercial alteration permits, and Certificate of Occupancy fees, codified under Dallas City Code Chapter 52 and Ordinance 33080. Dallas Water Utilities separately administers water and wastewater service connection (tap) charges under Dallas City Code Chapter 49. The Office of Economic Development administers the Public Improvement District program under Chapter 372 of the Texas Local Government Code. Dallas does not impose Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact fees.
On this page
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning Verification Letter | Confirmed | $302 per letter (minimum 3 business days) | July 1, 2025 |
| Board of Adjustment (variance / special exception) | Confirmed | $600 single-family; $900 multifamily/nonresidential (+ per-acre); $1,200 nonconforming use / sign | July 1, 2025 |
| Major Plat (preliminary / final) | Confirmed | $2,871 to $6,238 by lot count and acreage | July 1, 2025 |
| Planned Development / Specific Use Permit surcharge | Confirmed | 10% of total permit fee | July 1, 2025 |
| Water Service Line + Tap to Main (City Contractor) | Confirmed | $3,790 (3/4 in) to $6,270 (2 in) by service size; $275 per-tap inspection | October 1, 2020 |
| Public Improvement District (PID) Application Fee | Confirmed | $15,000 per new or renewing PID (Ch. 372 TLGC); max assessment $0.15 per $100 valuation | - |
| Impact Fees (water / wastewater / roadway) | Not administered by this city | Dallas has not adopted a TLGC Chapter 395 impact fee program; capital funded via utility rates + Capital Improvement Budget | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers | - |
Planning, Zoning, Platting, and Permit Fees - Planning and Development Permit Fee Schedule (Effective July 1, 2025)
Source: City of Dallas Planning and Development Permit Fee Schedule PDF (SHA-256 3fded2be...; 11 pages) and the Planning and Development Fee Changes summary (SHA-256 9178fe65...), both effective July 1, 2025. Authority basis: Dallas City Code Chapter 52 Administrative Procedures and Ordinance 33080. Extracted verbatim via Stage 1 fetch plus Stage 4 pdfplumber.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Zoning Verification Letter | $302 per letter (minimum 3 business days) |
| Board of Adjustment - Single-Family Variance | $600 |
| Board of Adjustment - Single-Family Special Exception | $600 |
| Board of Adjustment - Multifamily / Nonresidential Variance | $900 + $25 per acre |
| Board of Adjustment - All Other Non-Sign Appeals / Sign Appeals | $900 |
| Board of Adjustment - Off-Street Parking Variance / Special Exception | $900 + $100 per parking space |
| Board of Adjustment - Nonconforming Use Compliance Request | $1,200 + $50 per acre |
| Board of Adjustment - Landscaping or Tree Mitigation Special Exception | $1,200 + $50 per acre |
| Board of Adjustment - Sign Special Exception | $1,200 |
| Major Plat - Preliminary | $2,871 to $4,736 (by lot count / acreage) |
| Major Plat - Final | $4,180 to $6,238 (by lot count / acreage) |
| Minor Plat - Final | $840 |
| Minor Plat - SF / Duplex / Townhouse (lot 3 acres or less) | $2,895 |
| Minor Plat - Lot Over 3 Acres | $3,364 |
| Planned Development / Specific Use Permit / Deed-Restricted Area Surcharge | 10% of total permit fee |
| Plat and Field Notes Review | $100 per hour (1 hour minimum) |
| GIS Property Description Review (platted) | $100 |
| Commercial Alterations or Repairs (incl. standalone trade permits) | Valuation x multiplier x 1.33; minimum permit fee $175 |
| Additional Inspection Service Fee | $125 (1 trade) to $1,125 (9+ trades) |
| Certificate of Occupancy - General | $375 |
| Certificate of Occupancy - Partial | $104 |
| Certificate of Occupancy - Residential TCO (1-2 family) | $250 |
| Certificate of Occupancy - Temporary | $500 |
| Certificate of Occupancy - Validation Inspection | $113 |
| Address / Suite Assignment | $50 |
| Water and Wastewater Engineering Plan Review (site development) | $1,848 initial submittal; Capacity Analysis $2,500 |
The Commercial Alterations or Repairs multiplier schedule has tiers from $0 to $2,000 through $10,000,001 and up, with a base multiplier of 0.009652 declining to 0.007940 plus fixed adders ($13 to $8,426); the full tier table is captured at PDF level (SHA-256 3fded2be...) but is summarized here rather than enumerated row by row. The Water and Wastewater Engineering plan-review fees above are site-development engineering review charges, not utility tap or impact fees; Dallas Water Utilities administers tap and connection charges separately (see below).
Water and Wastewater Tap / Connection Fees - Dallas Water Utilities (Effective October 1, 2020)
Source: Dallas Water Utilities Water and Wastewater Customer Fee Table PDF (SHA-256 e15a53dd...; revised 10-1-2020), captured verbatim via Stage 1 fetch plus Stage 4 pdfplumber. These are one-time developer-side service connection charges under Dallas City Code Chapter 49. The City Contractor installs water service for single-family, duplexes, and individually owned businesses and churches with 1 inch or smaller service (1.5 to 2 inch residential only); larger and commercial connections are installed by a bonded contractor with a City inspection.
| Connection Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Water Service Line + Tap to Main (City Contractor) - 3/4 in | $3,790 |
| Water Service Line + Tap to Main (City Contractor) - 1 in | $4,200 |
| Water Service Line + Tap to Main (City Contractor) - 1-1/2 in | $5,580 |
| Water Service Line + Tap to Main (City Contractor) - 2 in | $6,270 |
| Dead Head Conversion Fee - 3/4 in | $890 |
| Dead Head Conversion Fee - 1 in | $950 |
| Dead Head Conversion Fee - 1-1/2 in | $1,830 |
| Dead Head Conversion Fee - 2 in | $1,940 |
| Dead Head Conversion Fee - up to 2 in Bullhead | $2,590 |
| Large (>2 in) Water Service Connection (bonded contractor; meter hatch $832 + inspection $275) | $1,107 total |
| Closed Fireline Connection - 4 in | $1,699.80 |
| Closed Fireline Connection - 6 in / 8 in | $1,971.60 to $2,458.80 |
| Closed Fireline Connection - 10 in | $3,545.40 |
| Inspection Fee per Tap (developer / bonded-contractor installs) | $275 per tap |
| Wastewater 6 in Lateral Conversion (City Contractor; install + inspection) | $4,060 |
| Wastewater 6 in New Connection by DWU to Bonded Contractor (tap in place) | $475 |
| Wastewater 6 in Lateral Conversion - Inspection Only | $275 |
Additional labor is quoted after a field investigation for extra taps, easement mains, deep cuts, or runs longer than 25 feet in state highways or principal arterials.
Special District Fees - Public Improvement Districts
Source: City of Dallas Office of Economic Development Public Improvement Districts program page (SHA-256 4245ab13...), captured via Stage 1 fetch. Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) are governed by Chapter 372 of the Texas Local Government Code.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Public Improvement District (PID) Application Fee | $15,000 per new or renewing PID |
| PID Maximum Assessment Rate | $0.15 per $100 valuation (special-purpose PIDs may exceed) |
| Tax Increment Financing (TIF) / Reinvestment Zone | Incentive program; no developer-facing fee |
The PID assessment is levied on property within the district, not as a one-time development fee. Tax Increment Financing reinvestment zones are an incentive program: a portion of incremental property-tax revenue is reinvested and paid to developers upon project completion, so there is no charge to participate; it is out of scope as a developer-facing fee.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were not closed via confirmed fee amounts on this page. They are disclosed here rather than estimated or omitted silently.
Impact Fees (water / wastewater / roadway)
The City of Dallas has not adopted a Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 water, wastewater, or roadway impact fee program. Official sources checked: Dallas City Code Chapter 49 (Water and Wastewater) provides service connection charges (captured under tap fees above), not impact fees; the Planning and Development comprehensive Permit Fee Schedule and the FY2024-25 and FY2025-26 City Manager fee-and-rate-adjustment memos disclose no impact fee; Dallas Water Utilities pages disclose no Chapter 395 impact fee; no Capital Improvements Advisory Committee or CIP impact-fee ordinance is codified. Dallas funds water and wastewater capital improvements through utility rates and the Capital Improvement Budget bond program, the rate-funded model used by major Texas municipalities. Substitute-source paths probed: American Legal Publishing Dallas Code of Ordinances index, dallascityhall.com Water Utilities and Sustainable Development, and dallasecodev.org. Closed-search outcome: not administered by this jurisdiction.
Proffers
Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303 has no Texas counterpart. Dallas's developer-side capital contributions occur through platting and zoning application fees, building and trade permits, water and wastewater tap fees, and (where applicable) Public Improvement District assessments. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.
Commercial Alteration Multiplier Tiers and Trade-Permit Itemization
The Commercial Alterations or Repairs permit fee is computed from a valuation-tier multiplier schedule (base multiplier 0.009652 declining to 0.007940 plus fixed adders, minimum permit fee $175). The full tier table is captured at PDF level (SHA-256 3fded2be...) but is summarized rather than enumerated on this page. Closed-search outcome: minimum captured; full tier schedule not enumerated on-page.
County FIPS and Adjacency
Dallas spans five counties (Dallas County primary, plus Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall). The per-county FIPS codes and the adjacent-jurisdiction list for the Dallas-Fort Worth corridor have not yet been researched and are not published on this page rather than estimated. These are geographic-context enhancements and do not affect any fee figure above.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| City of Dallas - Department of Planning and Development (Building Inspection) | Zoning verification, Board of Adjustment, platting (major / minor), PD/SUP surcharge, commercial alteration permits, Certificate of Occupancy, address assignment, engineering plan review | dallascityhall.com (Planning and Development - Fee Schedule) |
| City of Dallas - Dallas Water Utilities | Water and wastewater service connection (tap) charges under Dallas City Code Chapter 49 | dallascityhall.com (Water Utilities) |
| City of Dallas - Office of Economic Development | Public Improvement District (PID) application fee and assessment; Tax Increment Financing (incentive) | dallasecodev.org/245/Public-Improvement-Districts |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| Planning and Development Fee Schedule landing page | City of Dallas, TX - Department of Planning and Development | 2026-05-26 |
| Planning and Development Permit Fee Schedule PDF (11 pages; effective 2025-07-01; SHA-256 3fded2be...) | City of Dallas, TX - Department of Planning and Development | 2026-05-26 |
| Planning and Development Fee Changes - Effective July 1, 2025 PDF (SHA-256 9178fe65...) | City of Dallas, TX - Department of Planning and Development | 2026-05-26 |
| Water and Wastewater Customer Fee Table PDF (effective 2020-10-01; SHA-256 e15a53dd...) | City of Dallas, TX - Dallas Water Utilities | 2026-05-27 |
| Public Improvement Districts program page (SHA-256 4245ab13...) | City of Dallas, TX - Office of Economic Development | 2026-05-27 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-05-27. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Dallas Department of Planning and Development (for zoning, platting, and permit fees), Dallas Water Utilities (for tap and connection charges), and the Office of Economic Development (for Public Improvement District fees) before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Dallas Planning and Development Permit Fee Schedule (SHA-256 3fded2be...; effective July 1, 2025), the Planning and Development Fee Changes summary (SHA-256 9178fe65...), the Dallas Water Utilities Water and Wastewater Customer Fee Table (SHA-256 e15a53dd...; effective October 1, 2020), and the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development Public Improvement Districts page (SHA-256 4245ab13...). ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. The City of Dallas has not adopted a Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact fee program; water and wastewater capital is funded through utility rates and the Capital Improvement Budget. Texas jurisdictions do not use Virginia-style cash proffers. The Commercial Alterations multiplier tier schedule is summarized rather than enumerated row by row. Per-county FIPS codes and the Dallas-Fort Worth adjacency list have not yet been researched. Verify all current rates directly with the relevant City of Dallas department before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due-diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.