The Fort Worth Code of Ordinances is the full set of local laws the city enforces on residents, property owners, and businesses, covering everything from how tall your grass can grow to what you can build, how many pets you can keep, and how loud your yard can get after 10:00 p.m. Fort Worth is a home-rule city, so the council can adopt any rule that doesn’t conflict with state or federal law, and the code is where those rules live. Violate one and you can face fines up to $2,000 per offense, civil penalties up to $1,000 a day, and a lien on your property if the city has to fix the problem itself.
Where To Read the Code
The current code is hosted by American Legal Publishing at codelibrary.amlegal.com, not Municode as some older references still suggest.1Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth, Texas Code of Ordinances You can browse by chapter or run keyword searches across the whole code. Each section shows when it was last amended, which matters because the online version is only refreshed on a supplement cycle. Anything the City Council passed after the most recent supplement date won’t appear on the site yet, so for very recent changes you’ll need to check the City Secretary’s legislative records.
The Rules Property Owners Hit Most Often
Grass and Weeds
Section 11A-8 makes it a public nuisance to let grass or weeds on your lot grow higher than 12 inches, and that includes the parkway strip between your sidewalk and the street.2Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – 11A-8 High Weeds and Grass Prohibited It applies whether you own, occupy, or just control the property. Ignore the notice and the city will mow it, then bill you and, if you don’t pay, record a lien.
Noise
Fort Worth’s noise limits sit in Section 23-8, separate from the nuisance chapter. In residential zoning the ceiling is 70 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., dropping to 60 dBA overnight.3Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – 23-8 Noise 70 dBA is roughly the volume of a running vacuum cleaner. Amplified music or loud equipment measured over 60 dBA at your property line after 10:00 p.m. is a violation.
Pets
Chapter 6 caps a household at three dogs and three cats over eight weeks old. More than that requires a multi-pet permit under Section 6-23.4Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – Chapter 6 Animals and Fowl Every dog and cat has to be microchipped under Section 6-17 (Fort Worth dropped the old tag-based license), and unsterilized animals need an intact pet permit under Section 6-22. Rabies vaccination is mandatory. If your dog is formally classified as dangerous, the registration fee is $500 a year.
Building Permits
Chapter 7 adopts the 2021 International Building Code along with the associated electrical and plumbing codes.5City of Fort Worth. Building and Energy Codes Structural, electrical, or plumbing work needs a permit before you start; unpermitted work can lead to fines, forced removal, or trouble at closing when you sell.
Residential remodel fees run $112.50 per trade involved: two trades is $225, three is $337.50. Non-residential permits use a valuation scale that starts at $96.84 for work valued up to $2,000. Using a third-party inspector for plan review and field inspections can cut a residential permit fee by as much as 65%.6City of Fort Worth. Development Fees Schedule
Short-Term Rentals
If you list a property on Airbnb, Vrbo, or a similar platform, Section 7-455 requires an active short-term rental registration from the city before you can advertise or rent it out. The application also has to meet the zoning ordinance and the city’s taxation chapter.7Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – 7-455 Short-Term Rental Registration Operators also have to collect and remit the city hotel occupancy tax on each booking. Skip either step and you’re looking at enforcement action plus back-tax liability.
Zoning
Zoning rules aren’t in the numbered chapters. They sit in Appendix A of the code and divide the city into districts that dictate what can be built and how the land can be used.8Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – Appendix A Zoning Regulations Single-family districts carry designations like A-5 (5,000-square-foot minimum lots); B districts allow two-family dwellings.9Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – 4.705 One-Family A-5 District To find your district, check the official zoning map through the Planning and Development Department, then look up the setbacks, lot sizes, height limits, and permitted uses in Chapter 4 of the appendix. Overlay districts may add restrictions on top.
How Enforcement Works
Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Department runs enforcement through its Neighborhood Investigations and Building Standards divisions. Inspectors patrol for things like junk vehicles, illegal dumping, and substandard housing, and they respond to complaints from residents.
When a violation is found, the owner gets a formal notice naming the ordinance and giving a deadline to fix it. Miss the deadline and the city can issue a citation that brings you into municipal court. State law sets the maximum criminal-style fines under Texas Local Government Code Section 54.001:10State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code Section 54.001 – General Enforcement Authority of Municipalities
- General ordinance violations: up to $500 per offense
- Fire safety, zoning, or public health violations: up to $2,000 per offense
- Illegal dumping of refuse: up to $4,000 per offense
Substandard building violations run through a separate civil penalty process under Section 7-103. There, a municipal court judge can assess civil penalties up to $1,000 per day per violation. If the property is your homestead, that cap drops to $10 per day per violation.11City of Fort Worth. Municipal Court
Liens for Unpaid Violations
The most expensive part of ignoring a code notice isn’t the fine. Under Section 7-384, when the city abates a violation itself, the full abatement cost becomes a special assessment against the property. Once the city records a notice of lien with the county clerk, the amount attaches to the property and gets added to the next city tax bill.12Fort Worth Code of Ordinances. Fort Worth Code of Ordinances – 7-384 Assessment of Costs Against Property Lien
The lien collects the same way delinquent property taxes do, with the same penalties, and if it stays unpaid the city can foreclose through judicial sale. The owner is also personally liable, so the city can go after both the lien and the individual. A $200 mowing bill can turn into a recorded lien that fouls up any future sale or refinance.
Reporting a Violation
The MyFW mobile app is the fastest way to report a suspected violation. You can add a short description, attach photos, and drop a pin on the location; the request routes to the right city work team and you can track it to resolution.13City of Fort Worth. Customer Care The 311 Fort Worth Contact Center also takes non-emergency requests by phone, email, or chat, Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can start a request by texting HELLO to 817-928-0311. Include the exact address and a clear description of what you saw; the more specific the report, the faster an inspector can evaluate it.
Appealing a Zoning Decision or Requesting a Variance
If a zoning rule blocks how you want to use your property, the Board of Adjustment hears appeals and grants variances in specific cases. The property owner or an authorized agent files at City Hall, and the board weighs five criteria before granting relief:
- Whether literal enforcement would create a hardship or practical difficulty
- Whether the owner created the condition themselves
- Whether the condition is unique to this property or common to nearby ones
- Whether granting the variance would injure adjacent properties
- Whether it would conflict with the area’s orderly development
Filing fees are $562.50 for a residential owner-occupied variance, with $250 for each additional variance in the same application. Non-residential variances are $843.75. Special exceptions run $843.75 to $1,687.50.14City of Fort Worth. Board of Adjustment The city mails hearing notices to every property owner within 300 feet of the site at least ten days before the hearing. You or your representative have to show up, or the board can deny the case outright. The board also decides special exceptions for uses the zoning ordinance allows only with its approval, and it can issue formal interpretations when a zoning provision is in dispute.