Richardson, TX

Under Sec. 6-212, every swimming pool, spa, or hot tub containing water over 24 inches deep must be completely surrounded by a fence, wall, or solid structure at least 4 feet high with…

Above-ground pools over 24 inches deep require a permit in Richardson and must meet pool barrier, setback, and electrical standards.

Richardson does not have breed-specific legislation. Under Sec. 5-7, any animal may be declared dangerous or vicious through a complaint and hearing process with the Director of…

Richardson makes it unlawful to own, possess, keep, or harbor any wild animal within the city, with no household-pet exception. Only government entities, public zoos, research…

Richardson does not require spay/neuter citywide, but Sec. 5-17(b) lets the city force an unaltered dog or cat to be spayed or neutered before release once it has been impounded twice…

Richardson permits residential beekeeping subject to hive setbacks, colony limits based on lot size, and registration under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 131 for beekeepers with six…

Richardson caps backyard flocks at eight hens and bans roosters outright under City Code Sec. 5-18. Chickens must live in a covered, predator-proof coop giving at least one square foot…

Under Sec. 5-9(1), dogs must not run at large. Off-premises, dogs must be on a leash no more than 6 feet long. On premises, dogs must be confined by a substantial fence or secured by a…

Native birds are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Chapter 64. Dallas County has no separate bird ordinance. Removing nests, eggs, or…

Dallas County has no dedicated cat ordinance. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 826 mandates rabies vaccination for cats over four months. Dallas County HHS oversees rabies control…

Texas does not prohibit retail pet sales statewide, and Dallas County imposes no countywide pet-store sourcing ban. Dallas City Code Section 7-3.1 limits retail sales to rescue and…

Dallas County has no county-specific hoarding ordinance. Texas Penal Code 42.092 governs cruelty to non-livestock animals; Dallas County Sheriff investigates in unincorporated areas…

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all…

Short-term rental guests must comply with Richardson's general parking ordinances under Ch. 13, Art. I. On-street parking is subject to the same rules as all residents, including…

Richardson requires every short-term rental owner to collect and remit hotel occupancy tax under Chapter 12 of the city code, and to provide the director or finance department a guest…

Richardson requires a valid short-term rental registration certificate before any STR can operate, with a separate certificate for each individual unit. Certificates are…

Richardson bars short-term rental guests and owners from making noise that violates the city's noise ordinance, and ties habitual noise complaints directly to STR registration…

Dallas County imposes no platform-liability requirements on Airbnb, Vrbo, or similar STR hosting sites. Texas has no statewide platform mandate. City rules vary. Dallas Chapter 42B…

Dallas County does not impose a maximum number of short-term rental nights per year in unincorporated areas. Texas counties lack general authority to regulate STRs, and no…

Richardson Code Ch. 13, Art. III, Div. 2 prohibits unreasonably loud noise at all hours. Sec. 13-72 makes it unlawful to create noise offensive to ordinary sensibilities. Sec. 13-74…

Under Sec. 13-75(9), construction noise near residential areas is unrestricted 7 AM to 6 PM weekdays. Before 7 AM, after 6 PM, and on weekends, construction must not exceed permissible…

Sec. 13-75(3) declares playing any radio, TV, phonograph, or musical instrument with volume disturbing the peace, quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any dwelling to be loud and…

Industrial and commercial noise in Richardson is regulated by zoning-based performance standards and the general noise ordinance. The Telecom Corridor hosts data centers and light…

Richardson bans letting an animal unreasonably bark, howl, crow, or make unprovoked loud noise that disturbs a person of ordinary sensibilities for at least 15 minutes. A prosecution…

Richardson sets no decibel or audible-at-a-distance limit for vehicle noise. Section 13-75 instead bans loud car radios, rattling out-of-repair vehicles, muffler-less exhaust, and…

No county or state regulation on leaf blower use in unincorporated Dallas County. Texas counties lack authority to enact noise ordinances. Only TX Penal Code Section 42.01 applies if…

Richardson requires a fence permit from the building inspection department before building any fence over two and a half feet tall. The application must include plans and…

Richardson caps residential fences at eight feet along rear and side property lines, but only three feet in the front yard, and requires a five-by-20-foot clear sight triangle at every…

Richardson allows wood, concrete, masonry, chain link, wrought iron, metal tubing, vinyl and fiberglass composite fencing, but bans barbed wire, razor ribbon, sheet metal, corrugated…

No county fence neighbor dispute ordinance. Texas is not a shared-fence-cost state. TX Property Code governs boundary disputes. Fence placement disputes are civil matters between…

Richardson regulates on-street parking under Chapter 22 (Traffic). Vehicles must be parked parallel to the curb with right wheels within 18 inches. A minimum 10 feet of roadway width…

Richardson bars parking a car, truck or motorcycle in the front yard or a corner side yard on anything but an approved paving surface. Section 13-1(b) makes it unlawful for property…

Richardson defines curb and freight loading zones and lets the city traffic engineer decide where they go. Loading in an alley is capped at 30 minutes, and tractor-trailers and other…

Richardson prohibits parking the same vehicle on a public street for more than 24 continuous hours, and restricts overnight parking of commercial vehicles, RVs, and trailers in…

Richardson prohibits parking box trucks, semis, dump trucks and any vehicle over 23 feet long, eight feet wide or ten feet tall on residential, duplex, townhome or apartment property…

Richardson bans parking a recreational vehicle, boat, trailer or manufactured home in the front yard, a corner side yard facing the street, or on vacant residential land, unless it…

Junked vehicles that are wrecked, dismantled, or inoperable without current registration or safety inspection may not be kept in public view. Richardson Code Enforcement actively…

Texas Transportation Code Section 544.011 gives official painted curb markings the force of regulatory signs across all of Dallas County. Red curbs prohibit stopping; yellow indicates…

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

Richardson's Fire Code amendments prohibit open burning and bonfires outright citywide, extend any Collin or Dallas County burn ban into the city automatically, and let the fire code…

Richardson adopts the International Fire Code (2021 Edition) per Sec. 8-27, which requires smoke alarms in all residential units. Texas Property Code Sec. 92.255 also requires…

Richardson bans bonfires outright and requires any permanently installed outdoor firepit to sit at least 10 feet from a structure or combustible material. Recreational fires and…

Outdoor burning is prohibited in unincorporated Dallas County unless a daily burn permit is issued by the Dallas County Fire Marshal. Burns must be at least 300 ft from any building…

TX Local Government Code Section 352.051 allows county commissioners to restrict fireworks in unincorporated areas during drought or disaster. TX Occupations Code Chapter 2154 governs…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

A home occupation or no-impact home-based business in Richardson cannot generate more vehicle traffic than a residential street normally carries. No-impact operations also cannot push…

A Richardson home occupation cannot advertise itself with any sign at all. Section 10(a)(6) bans interior and exterior signs, advertisements, or displays that promote the business, and…

Richardson allows a home occupation as an accessory use in a residential dwelling only if it stays incidental to living there: no more than 20 percent of the home's floor area…

Richardson permits home-based child care through a registered family home permit capped at six children during school hours and eight at any other time, counting the caregiver's own…

Texas cottage food law allows home production of non-hazardous foods without local permits, but annual sales cannot exceed $50,000.

Richardson zoning has no true accessory dwelling unit category. The only living-quarters accessory building it allows in single-family districts is a 'servants' quarters,' and the…

A Richardson tool or storage shed skips a building permit only if the roof area is 40 square feet or less. Anything larger falls under the zoning ordinance's accessory-building limits…

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

Richardson requires tree branches and vegetation to clear seven feet above sidewalks and 14 feet above streets and alleys. Section 13-141 also makes property owners trim growth back…

Richardson encourages xeriscape and native-plant landscaping. Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning drought-resistant landscaping, subject to reasonable design…

Richardson enforces its Water Conservation Plan and Water Resource Emergency Management Plan citywide, requiring every water user, including irrigation customers, to follow the stage…

On nonresidential, multifamily and undeveloped property in Richardson, cutting down a protected tree (6-plus inches DBH) or a specimen tree (24-plus inches DBH) requires a permit from…

Richardson permits artificial turf in single-family rear yards and in commercial landscape applications, with standards for quality, drainage, and installation. Front-yard use may be…

Richardson makes it unlawful to let grass, weeds, Johnson grass, or brush exceed 12 inches on any property within 150 feet of a street, alley, easement, or developed lot. The health…

Richardson allows and encourages residential rainwater harvesting. Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning rain barrels and cisterns, though reasonable location and…

Only state-licensed low-THC Compassionate Use dispensaries are legal in Texas; Richardson zoning does not establish recreational or medical marijuana dispensary categories.

Home cultivation of marijuana is illegal in Richardson under Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 481, with penalties ranging from Class B misdemeanor to felony.

Dallas County has no recreational cannabis dispensary buffer-zone rules because Texas does not allow recreational dispensaries. Compassionate Use Program (CUP) sites face no…

Texas has no recreational cannabis program, so no social-equity licensing exists in Dallas County. The state's narrow Compassionate Use Program (CUP) licenses three dispensing…

Texas prohibits all personal cannabis cultivation. Growing even one plant violates TX Health and Safety Code Section 481.120, treated as possession with intent to deliver based on…

Texas prohibits all recreational cannabis delivery. Compassionate Use Program low-THC products may be delivered to qualifying patients only by the three licensed dispensing…

HOAs in Richardson may operate architectural review committees to approve exterior modifications, subject to Texas Property Code 209.00505. State law caps review timelines, limits…

HOA disputes in Richardson follow Texas Property Code 209 procedures requiring written notice, an opportunity to cure, and a member hearing before enforcement actions such as fines…

CC&R enforcement in Richardson is governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 209, which requires recorded enforcement policies, reasonable notice, and graduated remedies. Unrecorded or…

HOA assessments in Richardson are collected under the authority of recorded dedicatory instruments and Texas Property Code Chapter 209. State law requires priority of payment…

TX Property Code Chapters 202 and 209 govern POA procedures statewide. HOAs must provide open board meetings, annual meetings, and financial reports. County has no role in HOA…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

Rental habitability in Richardson is governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 92 and the city's property maintenance code. Landlords must provide working smoke alarms, keep buildings…

Texas Local Government Code 214.902 preempts rent control; Richardson may not cap rents or annual increases on private residential property.

Texas does not recognize just-cause eviction; Richardson landlords may decline to renew a lease for any lawful, non-discriminatory reason.

Texas has no statewide source of income protection, and Dallas County has not adopted a county-level rule covering its 25 cities. Only the City of Dallas, through 2020 Chapter 46…

Texas has no statewide tenant relocation assistance law, and Dallas County has no county-level relocation ordinance. Tenants displaced by no-fault terminations, condemnation, or sale…

Dallas County does not regulate cash-for-keys voluntary buyout agreements. Texas Property Code Chapter 92 governs landlord-tenant relations and allows landlords and tenants to…

Texas allows landlords to end fixed-term leases at expiration and to terminate month-to-month tenancies with at least 30 days' written notice for any lawful reason. Dallas County has…

Texas Property Code Sections 92.101 through 92.110 set statewide security-deposit rules for all Dallas County rentals. Landlords must return the deposit within 30 days of move-out with…

Dallas County has not adopted a comprehensive tenant anti-harassment ordinance. Tenants countywide rely on Texas Property Code Section 92.331 retaliation rules and Section 92.0081…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

Richardson requires a city building permit before you erect, alter, repair, move, or demolish any structure. The city adopted the International Building Code, 2021 Edition, whose…

Richardson enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code, with Appendices C and E, as the Richardson Plumbing Code under Sec. 6-287. Any plumbing work requires a permit through the…

Richardson requires a city-issued permit or contractor's voucher before any electrical wiring, fixture or equipment is installed, altered or repaired within city limits. All work must…

Texas amended IRC R313 to make residential fire sprinklers optional for one- and two-family homes. Dallas County does not require home sprinklers in unincorporated areas, but…

Daycare centers in Dallas County must be licensed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Child Care Regulation division. Dallas County HHS handles local sanitation…

Richardson bans mobile food vending on any street with four or more marked traffic lanes and, on residential streets, allows a vendor to stop only when a customer flags them down, for…

Richardson requires anyone running a mobile food unit on a public street or sidewalk to carry both a police department solicitor's permit and a health permit from the director of…

To run a food truck in Richardson you need a mobile food vendor license from the Texas Department of State Health Services. As of July 1, 2026, that single statewide DSHS license…

Richardson's amended fire code bars charcoal grills, open-flame cookers and similar devices from combustible balconies and decks, and requires 10 feet of clearance from combustible…

Every outdoor light fixture in Richardson, in any zoning district, has to be built and aimed so its beam does not cross the property line. The zoning ordinance's performance standards…

Richardson caps how bright a light can be at a property line: outdoor lighting in any zoning district cannot exceed one foot-candle measured at the boundary. City, county, or…

Richardson requires new construction and substantial improvements to residential structures in a special flood hazard area to sit with the lowest floor, including any basement…

Richardson makes every property owner and every contractor personally responsible for stopping silt, earth and topsoil from washing off a site onto city streets, sidewalks, storm…

In Richardson's FEMA special flood hazard areas, any new or substantially improved residential structure must have its lowest floor, including basement, elevated a full two feet above…

Richardson has adopted the 1989 Storm Drainage Design Manual, prepared by Shimek, Jacobs and Finklea, as the city's controlling storm drainage standard. The manual overrides any…

Dallas County sits within the Dallas-Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area, where TCEQ Rule 30 TAC 114.512 limits commercial heavy-duty vehicle idling to five minutes. Locally adopted by…

Texas has no statewide cool roof mandate, and Dallas County applies cool roof specifications only to its own facilities through capital project standards. Private buildings follow the…

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

In Richardson's R-1250-M single-family district, a house is capped at two stories, with the first story limited to 25 feet and the second to 15 feet, while a detached accessory…

Richardson's R-1250-M single-family district requires a 30-foot front setback, a 25-foot rear setback, and a side setback that scales with lot width from 7 to 15 feet, with narrow…

Richardson caps total building footprint at 32 percent of the lot in the R-1250-M single-family district, with a grandfathered 35 percent for subdivisions platted and filed before…

Richardson's tree code sets a higher protection tier for its biggest trees: any tree with a caliper of 24 inches DBH or more is a "specimen tree," and removing one requires replanting…

Richardson does not license vape shops directly, but it treats an 'electronic-cigarette establishment' as a special permit use under the zoning ordinance, meaning a shop built around…

Richardson requires a city sexually oriented business license and makes it an offense to operate any adult business within 1,250 feet of a church, school, day-care, park, residential…

Richardson requires anyone who buys electronics, tools, jewelry, precious metals, firearms or other used goods for resale to log the seller's ID, fingerprints and a description of each…

Richardson's home occupation rules flatly prohibit repairing or servicing vehicles, engines, or large equipment as a home-based business. The only exception is work an owner or tenant…

Massage establishments cannot open in Richardson without a special permit issued by the city council, and only inside a nonresidential or non-apartment zoning district. The permit…

Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2308 makes the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation the sole licensing authority for tow operators and vehicle storage facilities in Dallas…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 146 requires every tattoo and body-piercing studio in Dallas County to hold a Texas Department of State Health Services license. Dallas County HHS…

Pawnbrokers in Dallas County are licensed under Texas Finance Code Chapter 371 by the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC). The county adds no parallel license, but the Dallas…

Before anyone builds, alters or resurfaces a walk, drive, curb, gutter or paved area on public property in Richardson, the building inspection department has to authorize it first…

Richardson makes it unlawful for a property owner or occupant to place or leave any object, tree, shrub or vegetation between their property line and the curb in a way that blocks the…

In Richardson, the owner of property abutting a sidewalk, driveway, curb or gutter is on the hook for fixing it once the chief building official finds it defective, unsafe or…

Inside the Galatyn Park Urban Center, Richardson bans skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and similar devices on any public or private street, sidewalk, parking area, Galatyn…

Richardson makes it a misdemeanor for three or more people to congregate and loiter anywhere on a drive-in restaurant's premises, other than inside the restaurant building or a legally…

Richardson makes it an offense to solicit money by coercion, and separately bans any solicitation within 25 feet of an ATM, bank entrance, pay phone, self-service car wash, fuel pump…

Richardson bans possessing or drinking alcohol in any city park under Sec. 15-61(a)(15), unless the person is at a city-permitted event with authorized alcohol sales and got the drink…

Richardson bans smoking in every public park, including recreation fields, pools, playground equipment, concession stands and restrooms, and within 25 feet of any door or window…

Texas Transportation Code 552.005 requires pedestrians crossing outside marked crosswalks to yield right-of-way to vehicles in Dallas County. There is no specific jaywalking offense…

Texas Local Government Code 250.008 lets counties regulate noise only in unincorporated areas. Dallas County's Sheriff enforces state Penal Code 42.01 disorderly conduct (unreasonable…

Texas does not have a stand-alone public urination statute, but Penal Code 42.01 disorderly conduct and 21.08 indecent exposure cover the conduct in Dallas County. The Dallas County…

Riding a motor-assisted scooter, whether it's your own or a rental, on a Richardson street or highway requires a Richardson Police Department permit if you're 12 or older and don't…

Richardson bans driving a motor vehicle inside a street lane marked by sign and pavement striping for the exclusive use of bicycles, and separately bans riding a bicycle inside a lane…

Texas Transportation Code Sec. 707.020 bars every city in the state, Richardson included, from implementing or operating a red light or photographic traffic-signal camera: House Bill…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

Richardson requires anyone soliciting funds, going house to house to sell goods or services, or distributing handbills on private property to first obtain a permit from the police…

Dallas County has no 'no-knock' registry or ordinance for unincorporated areas. 'No Soliciting' signs on private property are enforceable through Texas criminal trespass law…

Richardson lets residents set out brush, shrubs, tree trimmings, lawn clippings, logs and boards for collection only if tied in bundles or stacked, or placed in a receptacle, and every…

Richardson requires every residence to use the city's or a franchised hauler's solid waste service, and it is unlawful to haul trash within the city without a franchise or permit…

Richardson requires garbage and recycling receptacles to sit at the rear of the property next to the alley where one exists, or at the front edge of the sidewalk where there is no…

Richardson provides weekly curbside trash collection. Most homes have alley pickup. Trash must be out by 7 AM on collection day. Bags may not weigh more than 50 lbs. Non-collection day…

Texas Health and Safety Code section 365.012 criminalizes dumping bulk loads of litter or solid waste at any place that is not an approved solid waste site, and the penalty scales with…

Richardson requires every front-loading and roll-off container in commercial, retail, apartment, office and industrial areas to sit on an engineered concrete pad and be screened by a…

Richardson makes it unlawful to dump, throw or place garbage, rubbish, refuse, junk, ashes, wastepaper, weeds, grass cuttings, rock or other waste on any public street, alley or public…

Richardson residents must set out recyclables only in blue disposable containers, which the city collects at least once a week. Garbage, trash or waste placed in a blue container will…

Richardson caps window signage at 25 percent of the total visible window area per facade under Sec. 18-96(35), counting poster marquee signs toward the same limit, and no permit is…

Temporary holiday lighting and decorations in Richardson are exempt from sign permits but must comply with electrical safety, setback, and noise rules.

Electronic message signs in Richardson must hold each message at least four minutes, change it within two seconds, skip all flashing or animation, and cap brightness at one foot-candle…

Richardson regulates signs under Chapter 18. Texas Election Code Sec. 259.001 broadly protects political signs on private property. Local governments may not prohibit political signs…

Richardson regulates temporary signs including garage sale signs under Chapter 18. Signs must not be placed in public rights-of-way or on utility poles. Garage sale signs should comply…

Richardson caps garage and occasional sales at three per address and three per resident within any rolling 12-month period, each capped at 72 consecutive hours, under Sec. 13-157. A…

Richardson parks close nightly at 10:30 p.m. and reopen at 5:00 a.m.; Sec. 15-61(a)(20) makes it unlawful to remain, stay or loiter in a park during those hours, and Sec. 15-63(b)…

Texas HB 1819 (88th Legislature, 2023), codified at Local Government Code 370.008 (originally 370.007), prohibits all Texas municipalities and counties from adopting or enforcing…

Reserving a Richardson park facility, fields, tennis courts, pavilions, for a tournament, camp, organized sporting event or game requires prescheduled director approval under Sec…

Richardson requires a temporary open air market permit from the director of health before any vendor fair or produce market opens on private property. Markets run only Saturdays…

Richardson regulates HVAC equipment noise under its general noise ordinance, which sets dBA limits at the property line that vary by zone and time of day. New equipment installations…

Portable and standby generators in Richardson must operate within the city's noise ordinance decibel limits, which are stricter at night and in residential zones. Permanent standby…

Owners of vacant lots in Richardson must keep grass and weeds under 12 inches, remove trash and debris, and secure the property against dumping.

Richardson enforces property maintenance standards under Chapter 14 (Nuisances) and minimum property standards. Properties must be free of trash, debris, and accumulated materials…

Richardson levies a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax on top of the state's 6 percent, reaching any room rented for $2 or more a night to a guest staying fewer than 30 days. Hotels collect…

Texas Property Code Section 202.010 (SB 398) bars Richardson HOAs from prohibiting solar panels, limiting them to reasonable aesthetic conditions.

Residential rooftop solar installations require a Richardson building and electrical permit, with structural review for mounting and NEC compliance for wiring.

Every single-family, duplex, and townhome rental in Richardson must be registered with the Chief Building Official within 30 days of first occupancy, renewed each year with a $75…

Commercial pest control in Richardson requires a Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Structural Pest Control Service license. Landlords must address infestations that affect…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 438 requires food handlers to complete an accredited course within sixty days of hire. DCHHS verifies cards and Certified Food Manager credentials…

Texas Property Code Chapter 92 makes landlords statewide responsible for habitable rentals including bed bug remediation. DCHHS responds to complaints in unincorporated Dallas County…

Richardson makes it a criminal offense to be found asleep on any sidewalk, street, alley, public thoroughfare or park in the city. Section 13-52, carried forward from the 1966 Code, is…

Recreational drone use in Richardson is governed primarily by FAA Part 107 and the FAA Recreational Flyer rules, with Texas Government Code Chapter 423 preempting most local…

Texas allows open carry of holstered handguns by adults 21 and older without a permit. House Bill 1927 (2021) ended the License to Carry requirement. Long guns may also be openly…

House Bill 1927 (2021) lets most Texans 21 and older carry a handgun concealed without a permit anywhere in Dallas County. The optional License to Carry through Texas DPS still…

Texas Penal Code section 46.02(a-1), the Motorist Protection Act expanded by HB 1927, lets any adult legally entitled to possess a firearm carry a handgun inside their motor vehicle or…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas counties cannot generally zone land. Dallas County regulates only subdivision plats, floodplains, and on-site sewage facilities in unincorporated areas under Local Government…

Texas HB 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act effective September 2023, broadly preempts local labor regulation including paid sick leave. Dallas County cannot mandate paid leave…

Texas HB 2127 (2023) preempts local predictable scheduling laws. Dallas County has no scheduling ordinance and is barred from adopting one. Federal FLSA overtime is the only floor.

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 preempts any city or county from setting a minimum wage above the federal $7.25 per hour floor. Dallas County cannot enact a higher local wage.

Filming inside a Dallas County building requires written approval from the commissioners court, plus a copy of the film script submitted with the rental request. Productions pay a…

Dallas County's Nuisance Abatement Division enforces a set list of public nuisances in the unincorporated area: overgrown weeds, accumulated junk, unsanitary conditions, unsafe…

Dallas County residents can report a suspected public nuisance verbally or in writing to the Nuisance Abatement Division, or the county can catch it during a routine field inspection…

Dallas County must investigate a reported nuisance within seven days under Sec. 34-141(b). Once a violation is confirmed, the owner gets 30 days to abate it, and the county reinspects…

Texas Health and Safety Code section 361.0961 preempts cities and counties from regulating containers and packages, which the Texas Supreme Court Laredo case extends to polystyrene…

Texas Health and Safety Code section 361.0961 and the 2018 Laredo Supreme Court decision preempt city and county regulation of single-use packaging, which restaurant lawyers extend to…

The Texas Supreme Court ruling in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) invalidated municipal plastic-bag bans under Health and Safety Code section 361.0961. Dallas…

Dallas County does not run a turf replacement rebate, but member cities and water utilities including Dallas, Frisco, and Plano offer SmartScape and turf-conversion incentives…

Texas has no statewide E-Verify requirement for private employers. State agencies and contractors must use E-Verify under a 2014 executive order. Dallas County requires it for its own…

Texas SB 4 (2017) prohibits any county, city, or sheriff from adopting sanctuary policies or refusing ICE detainers. Dallas County is not a sanctuary jurisdiction and the Sheriff…

Dallas County designates historic markers and monuments through its 15-member Historical Commission, not through a zoning or landmarks board. A state historical marker cannot be…

California's Mills Act does not exist in Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.24 lets cities and counties exempt part or all of designated historic property's appraised value from local…

Federal Tobacco 21 (PL 116-94) and Texas Health and Safety Code section 161.082 ban sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapor products, and any tobacco to anyone under 21 in Dallas…

Texas House Bill 1771 (2023), codified at Health and Safety Code section 161.0876, preempts cities and counties from restricting flavored tobacco, menthol cigarettes, or vape flavors…

Texas does not grant counties general Euclidean zoning authority. Dallas County has minimal unincorporated land, so agricultural zoning decisions largely fall to cities. Local…

Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 251, the Right to Farm Act, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance suits when neighbors arrive after farming began. Dallas County…

Texas Tax Code Chapter 171 imposes a single state franchise tax on most businesses operating in Dallas County. Texas does not allow city or county business gross-receipts taxes, so…

Texas is a one-party consent state. Under Texas Penal Code §16.02, only one party to a conversation must consent to recording. This applies to both in-person conversations and phone…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 234, Subchapter E lets any county's commissioners court license, zone, and inspect "game rooms": for-profit businesses with six or more skill or…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…