General building work permit checklist — Plano, Texas
Assembled from Plano’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Plano requires a permit for general building work.
Section R105.2 of the Residential Code of the City of Plano, adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-6-15, keeps a narrow set of projects off the permit list. That set covers detached single-story accessory buildings at 120 square feet of floor area or less; a retaining wall of 4 feet or under, sized footing base to top of wall, so long as nothing loads the ground behind it; surface and finish work such as paint, wallpaper, tile, floor coverings, cabinetry and countertops; above-ground pool kits holding water shallower than 24 inches; backyard play structures; a wall-hung window awning reaching out 54 inches or less; and low decks at ground level. The Building Inspection Department handout When Is a Permit Required repeats the cosmetic side of that list — paint, wallpaper, floor coverings, cabinets and trim — and adds that swapping a fixture onto wiring or plumbing already in place is also permit-free.
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Sources
- building — fee schedule ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Plano publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Plano before you build.