Avila Solar Drafting produces submittal-ready solar permit designs for Dallas and the surrounding Metroplex AHJs. Dallas runs traditional plan review — there is no SolarAPP+ instant-approval path here — so the drawing set that goes over the counter has to be right the first time. We draw the plans; you file the permit. We confirm the reviewing jurisdiction’s adopted code cycle and amendments before drafting, on every order.
Key takeaways
- We design; we don’t file. The AHJ account and contractor licensing stay with you — we produce the drawing set and handle comment responses.
- Dallas uses traditional plan review. No SolarAPP+ instant-approval path is available in the Metroplex.
- Dallas’s own published sources have disagreed on which NEC cycle is current — ask us for the current position before you draw or submit.
- Dallas enforces the 2021 IBC and IRC with Dallas amendments, effective May 12, 2023.
- Fort Worth, Irving and Plano sit on three different electrical adoption dates — March 2024, March 2024 and August 2025.
What we design, and what you file
We are a design firm, not a permit runner. We produce the permit-ready drawing set — cover sheet and code summary, site plan, roof plan, single-line diagram, structural details and label schedule — drawn to the reviewing jurisdiction’s requirements. When the AHJ returns comments, they come back to us and we revise.
The application itself stays with you: the AHJ account, the contractor licensing and the relationship with the reviewer and inspector are all on your side of the line, and that’s how the licensing works. Our national solar permit design page covers the split in more detail.
Which code cycle will your Dallas permit be reviewed against?
This is the question worth settling before you draw anything, and in Dallas it is genuinely ambiguous. The City of Dallas “Current City Code” page lists the 2020 National Electrical Code with Dallas Amendments, effective June 13, 2022 as the electrical code in force. Separately, a Chapter 56 amendment package adopting the 2023 NEC carries a stated effective date of May 23, 2025 and went before council in April 2025.
Both cannot describe the same present state. Either the amendment package took effect and the city’s summary page is stale, or the adoption did not land as drafted. We are not going to guess on your submittal.
Inquire before you submit and we’ll give you our current read. We track this jurisdiction and re-check it as new information comes out. What we do on every order regardless: confirm the adopted cycle with the reviewing jurisdiction before drafting, and put the confirmed cycle on the cover sheet code summary so the plan reviewer can see immediately what the set was drawn to.
Dallas’s building and residential codes are not ambiguous: the 2021 IBC and 2021 IRC with Dallas amendments, both effective May 12, 2023.
Three cities, three code dates — the Metroplex problem
A Dallas-area installer typically works across half a dozen jurisdictions, and they are not synchronized:
| City | Electrical code | Adoption date |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth | 2023 NEC | March 1, 2024 (Ord. 26721-02-2024) |
| Irving | 2023 NEC | March 21, 2024 (Ord. 2024-10884) — 2024 IBC/IRC from March 26, 2026 |
| Plano | 2023 NEC | August 1, 2025 (Ord. 2025-6-13) |
| Dallas | See above — inquire before submitting | — |
| Garland | Not verified — confirm directly with the city | — |
Fort Worth’s date is worth a second look if you have it recorded internally: the city’s summary materials read ambiguously as 2023, while the codified ordinance number (26721-02-2024) puts the adoption in 2024.
The practical consequence is that a plan set that cleared Plano last month is not automatically drawn to Fort Worth’s requirements, and label schedules in particular do not travel between cycles. This is one of the most common avoidable rejection causes we see — why permits get rejected covers the broader pattern, and permitting requirements installers miss covers the jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction variation.
What’s in a complete Dallas submittal package
A residential PV submittal for a Metroplex AHJ generally needs:
- Cover sheet with code summary naming the adopted NEC and I-code editions being drawn to
- Site plan showing property lines, structures, setbacks, equipment locations and the service point
- Roof plan with array layout, module count and orientation, attachment spacing and fire access pathways
- Electrical single-line diagram with conductor and OCPD sizing, grounding, interconnection method and the AC disconnect
- Structural details and calculations where the scope or roof condition triggers them
- Placard and labeling schedule matching the adopted cycle
- Equipment cut sheets for modules, inverters and, where applicable, storage
- Utility interconnection application — a separate track from the building permit
What happens when Dallas returns comments
Plan review comments are a normal part of the process, not a failure state. What matters is the loop time.
Send us the comment letter and we turn the revision inside the same free-revision window — no new order, no restart fee, for 6 months from the original order date. Because we keep the source files, a comment that would mean redrawing from scratch for an in-house team is usually a targeted edit for us.
Note that no Metroplex city publishes a committed plan-review turnaround for residential solar, so we don’t quote one. Anyone who gives you a firm city-side review timeline for Dallas is telling you something the city itself doesn’t publish. What we control is our side: 2–3 business days for a standard set, 1–2 for Fast Roof, 1 business day with a Roof Order or EagleView XML — the deliverable spec is on our Dallas solar plan sets page.
Getting ahead of the September 1 code change
Texas adopts the 2026 NEC statewide on September 1, 2026. The rule at 16 TAC §73.100 reads: “Effective September 1, 2026, the department adopts the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) as approved by the National Fire Protection Association, Inc. on September 9, 2025.”
Cities then align on their own ordinances, and the Metroplex’s track record above suggests those dates will not arrive together. For projects submitting near the boundary, the question to settle with the reviewer is which cycle governs a set submitted before the date but reviewed after it. We flag boundary-date projects at intake and draw accordingly. For background on the code articles behind a solar submittal, see which NEC articles apply.
Where a submittal turns out to need a stamp, our engineering stamps service handles it without restarting your schedule.
Dallas Solar Permit Design FAQs
Do you pull the Dallas permit for us?
No. We produce the permit-ready design package and respond to plan review comments; you file the application. The AHJ account and contractor licensing stay on your side, which is how the licensing works.
Does Dallas accept SolarAPP+?
Dallas uses traditional plan review for residential solar; no SolarAPP+ instant-approval path is available. Houston is the Texas metro currently accepting SolarAPP+. Confirm current submittal channels with the city before your first submission of the year.
Which NEC edition governs a Dallas solar permit?
Worth confirming with the reviewing plan examiner, and worth asking us before you submit. The city’s Current City Code page lists the 2020 NEC with Dallas amendments (effective June 13, 2022), while a Chapter 56 amendment package adopting the 2023 NEC carries a stated effective date of May 23, 2025. We confirm the cycle before drafting and state it on the cover sheet.
Do Fort Worth, Irving and Plano use the same code cycle as Dallas?
Not necessarily. Fort Worth adopted the 2023 NEC effective March 1, 2024, Irving on March 21, 2024, and Plano on August 1, 2025. Each city also carries its own amendments, so a set drawn for one jurisdiction should not be assumed to satisfy another.
What goes into a complete Dallas solar submittal?
Cover sheet with code summary, site plan, roof plan with fire pathways, electrical single-line diagram, structural details where triggered, the placard and labeling schedule for the adopted cycle, equipment cut sheets, and the separate utility interconnection application.
What if my plans were drawn to an older code cycle?
Label schedules and disconnect requirements change between cycles, so an older set usually needs more than a cover-sheet edit. Send it over — a cycle update is a revision, not a new order, inside the 6-month window.
What changes when Texas moves to the 2026 NEC on September 1?
The statewide adopted edition changes under 16 TAC §73.100, and cities follow on their own ordinances. For projects submitting near that date, confirm with the reviewer which cycle applies to a set submitted before but reviewed after. We flag boundary projects at intake.
Start a Dallas permit design
A Dallas resubmittal costs more calendar time than the drafting did. We confirm the reviewing jurisdiction’s adopted cycle before we draw, state it on the cover sheet, and respond to plan review comments free for six months.
Or call 971-410-0655 to ask where Dallas currently stands before you submit.