Start with the official city calendar
Meeting dates, hearing schedules, and workshop calendars change throughout the year, so this page links to the official sources instead of printing dates that will go stale. Check the linked calendar for the current schedule before you register or travel.
The City of Dallas publishes an official city calendar covering City Council meetings and briefings, council committees, budget workshops, public hearings, and city holidays. The 2026 City of Dallas Official Calendar is an example of that published calendar, and the city site posts the current version for the year you are in. For board and commission meetings, including the City Plan Commission and the Landmark Commission, the city directs residents to its public meetings listings. If a zoning case, a plan commission item, or a landmark hearing affects your property or your neighborhood, that calendar plus the posted agenda is the authoritative source.
Planning and Development: your permit office
For permit questions, the standing resource is the City of Dallas Planning and Development Department. The permit line is 214-948-4480, residential questions can go to biresidential@dallas.gov, and inspection scheduling is at 214-670-5313. Applications, uploads, payments, and inspection requests run through DallasNow, and in person help is available at the Oak Cliff Municipal Center, 320 E. Jefferson Blvd. Before a complicated submittal, a short call to the permit line can clarify which forms, surveys, and energy documents your project type requires, and whether an overlay or surcharge applies to your lot. That ten minute call is often the difference between a five day first review and a correction cycle.
Neighborhood and historic district work: check before you change the exterior
Dallas protects its landmark districts and individually listed landmarks, and the rule is simple: exterior work needs approval first. A Certificate of Appropriateness is required before exterior work, including landscaping changes, can begin on a City of Dallas Landmark or on a structure in a Landmark district. Minor changes generally need only staff approval as routine maintenance, while substantial alterations require approval of the Landmark Commission. The city explains both paths, the submittal checklist through DallasNow, and the hearing process on its Landmark Review Process page, with common questions answered on its historic preservation FAQ. A Certificate of Appropriateness does not replace a building permit. You need the certificate first, and then the permit, so build that sequence into your schedule if you own in a historic district. Neighborhood associations in these districts are also worth meeting early, because they follow Landmark cases closely.
Help for small builders and trades businesses
The U.S. Small Business Administration Dallas and Fort Worth District Office, based in Euless at 150 Westpark Way, Suite 130, phone 817-684-5500, serves 72 counties across North Texas with counseling, lending guidance, and contracting help. Start at sba.gov and look for the Dallas and Fort Worth District Office for local programs and listings.
SCORE Dallas provides free mentoring and practical workshops for entrepreneurs and small business owners across Dallas, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, Ellis, and Kaufman counties, and into East Texas. Its calendar mixes online and in person sessions on starting a business, financing, marketing, hiring, and operations, and its mentors offer confidential one to one guidance at no cost. Dates change regularly, so use the SCORE Dallas site for the current workshop list. Builders in the wider region should also note the innovation and business calendar maintained by Dallas Innovates, which tracks events for the Dallas and Fort Worth business community.
How to use this page
Match the resource to your next step. Permit question: call Planning and Development first. Historic exterior work: read the Landmark review guidance before you design. Business question: book a SCORE mentor or check the SBA district listings. Hearing or meeting: confirm the date on the official city calendar, because dates change and the posted agenda governs. When you are ready to price the work, return to our Dallas permit estimator and our guide to the DallasNow process and fees.
This page lists standing community resources only. Event and workshop dates change, so always confirm details on the official calendar linked above. Last updated: November 2026.