Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: October 2026
These are the questions people ask us most about building permits in Fort Worth, answered the short way first. This site is not a government agency; we estimate fees from the city's published schedule (Ordinance 26-28781) and point you to the official office for the final word. For the calculator itself, start on the home page.
Can I apply for a Fort Worth building permit online?
Yes. All residential permit types are submitted through Accela Citizen Access at acaprod.accela.com/CFW.
How much does a building permit cost in Fort Worth?
New construction and additions are priced by square footage starting at $102.00, remodels are priced by trade starting at $112.50 for one trade, and every permit adds a $31.50 application fee plus a $16.87 technology fee. A typical 2,000 square foot new home runs about $1,171 in base permit fees.
How long does it take to get a building permit in Fort Worth?
The city's plan review target is about 7 business days for a full review. Incomplete applications and correction cycles add time.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Fort Worth?
If you are only replacing shingles, no. If the roof decking or sheathing is being replaced too, you need a building permit.
Do I need a permit for a shed or fence?
Sheds and other accessory structures generally need a permit, and solid fences over 7 feet (or open-design fences over 8 feet) do as well. Any fence work in a historic district needs a permit regardless of height.
Who do I contact with questions about my permit?
The Development Services Department's customer service line is 817-392-2222, at 200 Texas Street in downtown Fort Worth.
How long is a Fort Worth building permit good for?
Permits generally expire if work has not started within 180 days of issuance, or if work stops for 180 days after the last inspection.
Real stories: why permits matter
These are real cases from around the country. The names and fines are real, and every one of them comes down to the same lesson: the permit is the cheap part.
The HGTV stars who skipped permits and paid $20,000 in penalties
HGTV hosts Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama of "Renovation Aloha" flipped houses on Oahu without waiting for building permits. Work on the show's Season 1 homes began before permits were approved, and one home's permit listed only windows and a carport while the crew did $425,000 of structural, electrical and plumbing work. The city revoked the permit and the couple paid $20,000 in penalties, then faced another $40,000 in fines for related rental violations.
Illustrates: even professionals with TV crews behind them cannot outrun the permit office, and fines follow the property.
Source: TV Insider
The New Jersey homeowner hit with a Stop Construction Order and weekly fines
Merrick Wilson of Lambertville, New Jersey, had tenants living in his garage and began installing a bathroom on an enclosed porch without permits. The city issued a Stop Construction Order and fined him $2,000 plus another $2,000 for each week the violations stayed open, and the penalties survived his appeal.
Illustrates: weekly fines turn a small unpermitted project into an open-ended bill.
Source: New Jersey Courts opinion (PDF)
The Florida treehouse that cost its owners 14 years and a $188,621 lien
Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen built a two-story treehouse at their beachfront resort in Holmes Beach, Florida, in 2011. The city cited them for building without a permit, and $125-a-day fines piled up for 14 years. A judge ordered the treehouse removed, it was demolished on August 29, 2024, and in July 2025 the city refused to reduce the resulting $188,621 lien.
Illustrates: fighting the permit office for a decade costs far more than the permit ever would.
Source: Anna Maria Island Sun
The $6.7 million estate with a secret second house built without permits
The owners of a palatial home in West Vancouver, assessed at more than $6.7 million, built a small second residence at the back of the property with no permits and no inspections. After a neighbor complaint, the city posted a Stop Work Order and ordered the 1,500-square-foot structure demolished, and the owners lost their appeal.
Illustrates: wealth does not exempt anyone from permits.
Source: News report (YouTube)
The $3 million "renovation" that was really a new house
Philip and Raven Garrow of West Vancouver pulled a permit to renovate a small house and add a garage, then demolished the original house entirely and built a massive ultra-modern home with almost no permits or inspections. After neighbors complained, the District issued Stop Work orders and asked the B.C. Supreme Court to force demolition at the owners' expense.
Illustrates: a permit for one thing does not cover doing something else.
Source: Canadian Contractor
The flipped rowhouse with an illegal, leaking gas tap
In 2003, Washington Post real estate columnist Jill Chodorov Kaminsky was representing a buyer on a newly flipped rowhouse in Washington, D.C. During the home inspection, they smelled gas and the inspector found the flipper had tapped into the gas meter illegally and it was leaking at an alarming rate. The deadly defect might have been caught earlier if the flip had been properly permitted and inspected.
Illustrates: unpermitted work can be genuinely dangerous, not just a paperwork problem.
Source: Washington Post column (PDF)
The South Florida homeowner facing foreclosure over the previous owner's unpermitted work
Angelica Martinez bought her South Florida home in 2019 after a clean title search. Years later, city inspectors found unpermitted work done by the previous owner, code enforcement fines piled up, and CBS News Miami reported her home was on the brink of foreclosure over violations she did not create.
Illustrates: unpermitted work follows the property, not the person who did it.
Source: CBS News Miami (YouTube)
The Bethesda homeowner whose permits caught the previous owner's shortcut
A Bethesda, Maryland homeowner hired a contractor to build a second story on an addition the previous owner had built. Because the contractor pulled permits before starting, the county discovered the existing addition had never been permitted and required the foundation to be dug up and rebuilt.
Illustrates: pulling permits before you build catches hidden problems while they are still fixable.
Source: Washington Post column (PDF)
The Silver Spring sellers who checked permit records before listing
Before listing a home, agent Jill Chodorov Kaminsky looked up the property's permit history and found the contractor had never pulled permits for a back addition built five years earlier. The sellers hired an engineer, got a post-construction permit, and the only cost was the engineer's report and the permit fee.
Illustrates: a five-minute permit lookup before selling can save a deal and a lawsuit.
Source: Washington Post column (PDF)
The HVAC system that got its permit after the fact, before the sale
A home's new HVAC system had no county inspector approval sticker, and the seller admitted a family member had installed it. Before listing, the seller applied for a permit and received approval after installation.
Illustrates: it is never too late to legalize work.
Source: Washington Post column (PDF)
The treehouse owners who asked the city first (and why you get it in writing)
Before building their treehouse, Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen say they contacted the building department to ask whether they needed a permit and were told they did not. After it was built, code enforcement cited them anyway: the original inquiry described a simple platform in a tree, not the elaborate two-story structure actually built.
Illustrates: asking first is the right instinct, but get the city's answer in writing.
Source: Anna Maria Island Sun
Figures on this page come from the City of Fort Worth's adopted fee schedule (Ordinance No. 26-28781, effective October 1, 2026) and the Development Services Department's published permit materials. Fee schedules are updated periodically, so confirm current fees with the city before finalizing your project budget. Last updated October 2026.
Is this an official city website?
No. This is an independent resource operated by Perfect Option MBC, LLC. We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with the City of Fort Worth. Every estimate is built from the city's published fee schedule so you can confirm the number at the source.
Is the estimator free?
Yes. The estimator and this guide are free to use, with no account and no sign-up. The details you enter are calculated in your browser and are not stored or sent to us.