Before You Build in Fort Worth, TX: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

Fort Worth exempts retaining walls up to four feet tall, measured footing to top, from a building permit, unless the wall holds back a surcharge or Class I-III-A liquids. Anything taller needs a permit with plans sealed by a Texas-licensed engineer, and wood walls over four feet must use new, properly treated lumber.

Fort Worth has no city ordinance requiring neighbors to share fence costs or notify each other before building. The city only enforces fence height, location, and material standards under zoning Sec. 5.305. Cost-sharing is a private civil matter.

Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance §5.305 caps residential front-yard fences at 4 feet with open design (max 50% density), and behind the front building line allows solid fences up to 7 feet and open fences up to 8 feet without a permit. Corner-lot sight triangles cap fences at 2 feet within a 20-foot triangle, and the Texas Local Government Code Chapter 211 authorizes the city's zoning enforcement.

Fort Worth exempts most residential fences from a building permit, but only up to a specific height: the Building Administrative Code excuses fences seven feet or shorter, and open wire fences without slats up to eight feet, from permit review. Taller fences, and any fence classified as a required barrier under the Electrical Code, need a permit before installation.

Fort Worth requires a barrier of at least 48 inches around any residential swimming pool, spa, or hot tub under Appendix Q of the adopted 2021 International Residential Code (Fort Worth Construction Code). Openings cannot allow a 4-inch sphere to pass; the gap below the barrier cannot exceed 2 inches; gates must open outward away from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching. Multifamily and HOA-owned pools are additionally subject to Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 757.

Above-ground pools in Fort Worth are treated as residential pools under Chapter 7 and 2021 IRC Appendix Q. A building permit is required when the pool exceeds 24 inches in water depth or contains 5,000+ gallons, and barrier and ladder-removal rules apply.

An accessory dwelling unit in Fort Worth is a habitable accessory structure under Zoning Ordinance § 5.301, and it has to clear three hurdles before anyone can move in: the same side and rear setback and lot-coverage limits that apply to every accessory building, the City's building code for habitable space, and a height cap that never exceeds the primary house.

Fort Worth requires a building permit for all sheds regardless of size per the Development Services Department. Sheds must comply with Zoning Ordinance Section 5.301 setback requirements for accessory structures and cannot exceed the height of the primary structure.

Open burning of yard waste is prohibited inside Fort Worth city limits, but contained recreational fires in approved pits under three feet across and using clean wood are allowed.

Fort Worth bans burning combustibles like grass, weeds, rubbish and leaves on any street, alley, lot or premises, including bonfires and ceremonial fires, under Fire Code § 307.1 as amended by City Code § 13-2. Cooking or heating fires in a manufacturer-approved device using only seasoned wood or charcoal, and permitted trench burns, are the only exceptions.

Fort Worth limits sprinkler and irrigation-system watering to two designated days a week tied to street address, and bans watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. year-round. Hand watering, drip irrigation, soaker hoses and tree bubblers are exempt and allowed any day, any time.

Fort Worth's park and recreation department controls all trimming, pruning and removal of trees on city streets, alleys and public grounds, and can even enter private property to deal with a diseased or dangerous tree. A permit from the city forester is required before anyone else prunes, plants or removes a tree on public property.

Fort Worth Zoning Ordinance § 6.302 requires developers to preserve significant trees, replant trees removed during development, and meet minimum canopy targets toward a citywide 30% goal, enforced through urban forestry plans and permits by the Development Services Department.