Dallas, TX Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

The traffic engineer sets loading zones by engineering and traffic survey under Dallas City Code Sec. , except Sundays and meter holidays, unless the posted sign specifies different hours; passenger loading zones run at all times. If a loading zone sits inside a curb segment also marked for a parking ban, the loading zone goes dark during the ban window under Sec. 28-89(b). Sec. 28-93 makes clear the zones are not exclusive: any vehicle actually loading or unloading nearby may use one. Sec. 28-95 caps a commercial vehicle's stop in a freight zone at 30 minutes unless the chief of police or the director gives written permission for a longer single job.

Sec. 28-96 extends the same 30-minute cap to non-commercial vehicles using a freight zone, but only if the driver is actively loading or unloading and displays a valid annual or temporary loading zone permit issued under Sec. 1. 50 for a 15-day temporary permit, with a $25 fee to replace one lost or destroyed; it is non-transferable between vehicles and won't issue until any outstanding parking citations on the vehicle are paid. Annual permits expire on the last day of the issuance month, one year later.

Forging, altering, or possessing a counterfeit permit is a separate offense under Sec. 1(h). Passenger loading zone use is governed separately by Sec. 28-94, which bars stopping there for anything but expeditiously loading or unloading passengers, and caps the stop at whatever time limit the posted sign or marking states.