Dallas, TX Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Sec. 15(a) sets the path to a zone: owners or occupants of two-thirds of the residences and business establishments abutting a street block must sign a petition, then pay a nonrefundable $350 application fee before the director runs a parking study. That study must show more than 60 percent of available curb space in use during the proposed hours, with 20 percent or more of those vehicles belonging to people who neither live nor operate a business on the block, before a zone can be designated.

Only complete blocks qualify, a majority of the abutting lots must be single-family or duplex, and the zone cannot cut off any residence's or business's ingress or egress. Once approved, applicants pay $70 per sign, and the zone becomes effective five working days after signage goes up, with courtesy notices issued in the meantime (Sec. 15(b)). Under Sec. 16, permits cost $20 a year, up to six per residence or business, require a Texas ID and a utility bill showing the address, and a lost or stolen permit is replaced for $6.

Sec. 17 adds ten-cent temporary event permits, capped at 50 per address per month. Modifying or eliminating a zone follows the same petition mechanic at reduced fees (a $50 restudy, $10 sign removal, $35 sign change). Dallas separately runs an older, geographically fixed program: Div. 5B's Residential Permit Parking Program (Secs. 11), which applies only within the Deep Ellum District at $25 for a first household permit and $50 for each additional one, without the citywide petition-and-study process.