Do You Need a Permit for a Dumpster in Dallas? And Who May Deliver One — A DFW City-by-City Guide

The short version

Private driveway or lot: we found no city on our run that publishes a permit requirement for a roll-off on private property. Street, alley or sidewalk: Dallas treats it as occupying the right-of-way and Public Works handles it; most suburbs either bar it outright or have no permit route at all. Who may supply the container: this is where DFW splits. Dallas, Garland, Grand Prairie and Cedar Hill require a hauler to hold a city franchise; Richardson issues a construction-debris hauler permit; Carrollton runs an open permit system; Irving leaves construction haulers alone; and nine cities — Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Lewisville, Mesquite, Arlington, Rowlett and DeSoto — reserve commercial and construction containers to their contracted hauler.

Every rule below is quoted from the city's published code or web page as we read it in October 2026, with the department to confirm. Codes change; call the number before you rely on it.

Dallas — the home city

Driveway: no permit found. Street or alley: Chapter 43 of the City Code requires a Public Works permit for construction in the right-of-way (Sec. 43-139) and assumes a timed permit for occupying a street for building purposes (Sec. 43-14); the Right-of-Way Management office (214-948-4290) issues right-of-way and traffic control permits through its online system, and a lane closure needs a traffic control plan. Who may haul: Sec. 18-32 makes it an offense to run a solid waste collection service without a City franchise, Sec. 18-29 defines a "collection bin" to include a roll-off box, and the franchise is non-exclusive with a fee of at least 6% of gross receipts. The Sanitation Franchise Unit (214-670-3111) keeps the list. The City itself provides no roll-off service and tells commercial properties to use a franchised private hauler.

The southern suburbs — DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, Irving

DeSoto: §13.817(b), amended May 2024, says "the city shall be the sole provider of solid waste collection, including temporary roll-off open top" construction containers; Republic Services is its contractor and the Action Center (972-274-2489) schedules dumpsters for large projects. No street placement: §13.807(b).

Cedar Hill: Sec. 19-101(a) bars any obstruction in the right-of-way with no permit route; Sec. 9-58 requires a City contract or franchise plus a street-usage or franchise-percentage fee to collect garbage or refuse, and the City's WM contract already prices 20, 30 and 40 yard open-top roll-offs. Utility Billing 469-272-2931.

Grand Prairie: Sec. 26-101(a) requires a council-granted contract or franchise (5% of gross) for anyone transporting trash on city streets, routes municipal solid waste to the City's own landfill, and names no construction exemption; Republic Services is the contractor. Solid Waste 972-237-8151.

Irving: the clearest city for construction containers. §33-18.3 says the franchise article "shall not apply to a solid waste collection service … operated by a person engaged in collecting construction and demolition debris." §33-18.22(q) keeps commercial containers off curbs and out of the right-of-way. Solid Waste Services 972-721-8059.

The middle ring — Arlington, Carrollton, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Lewisville, Rowlett, Plano

Arlington: the Designated City Collector is "the exclusive waste collection provider for all commercial, institutional, and industrial customers" (Sec. 2.09), any roll-off on residential property "must be provided by the Designated City Collector" (Sec. 2.07), and a non-Collector roll-off gets a 48-hour removal notice. Republic Services; Action Center 817-459-6777.

Carrollton: the open market. §50.70 (August 2025) requires a City solid waste collection permit for commercial and industrial collection — $50 application, 7.5% of gross receipts annually. Residential collection is reserved to the City with a defense for refuse the City does not collect. Environmental Services 972-466-3000.

Garland: §52.39 requires a non-exclusive City franchise (5% of gross) for any solid waste, landscape, bulky or recycling collection, granted only if the Director finds "public convenience will be served"; §52.14(E) allows a container in the right-of-way only with two directors' approval. Sanitation 972-205-3500.

Mesquite: Sec. 14-13(a) prohibits collection by anyone other than the City or its contracted or permitted company; Sec. 14-51 makes an "unauthorized container" subject to impound; the City calls itself "the sole provider of trash hauling services for residential and commercial sites." Commercial Solid Waste 972-216-6922.

Richardson: Sec. 19-6 issues a City permit to construction and demolition haulers (5% of gross, issued within 15 days) and the City publishes the permitted list; Sec. 19-4(d) and 19-30(a) reserve other roll-off and bulky service to the City, "exclusive of construction containers containing brick, concrete, shingles/roofing material, dirt, gravel, tile." Public Services 972-744-4111.

Lewisville: Sec. 12-1 grants "exclusive rights to the franchisee"; Sec. 12-25(a) says any roll-off used for residential construction debris "shall be those owned and operated by the franchisee"; Sec. 12-42(e) requires commercial containers "solely on private property." Republic Services.

Rowlett: Sec. 50-3(a), August 2024, names the City "the sole provider … including … the provision and use of temporary roll-off open-top construction containers"; the City's page says "Republic Services has exclusive rights." Utility Customer Service 972-412-6105.

Plano: Sec. 18-18(a) bars anyone without a City contract from collecting commercial solid waste or using the streets for it; Sec. 18-2 defines commercial containers to "specifically include all roll-off open top containers"; Sec. 19-1 treats any item encroaching on public property as an offense. Republic Services is the contracted vendor.

The far north and east — Rockwall, Allen, Frisco, McKinney

Rockwall: Sec. 34-6 (1965, amended 1992) makes it unlawful to use the streets for commercial collection of garbage or trash without a City contract. It does not mention roll-offs and leaves construction materials to the owner, so a construction roll-off is a grey area the text does not settle. City Hall 972-771-7700. Demolition over 50 years old in the Downtown Historic Core needs council approval.

Allen: Sec. 6-62 bars collecting garbage except by City contract or permit; the City says CWD is "the contracted provider of all solid waste collection" and that using another company "is prohibited by City ordinance," with roll-offs ordered through CWD. Sec. 6-63(b) keeps private containers off city streets and rights-of-way. Allen Waste Services 214-509-4551.

Frisco: the City sells its own open-top containers, hauled by Waste Connections, and says "the use of another contractor and/or their equipment for this purpose is not permitted within city limits." A $1,000 deposit applies per account. Environmental Services 972-292-5915.

McKinney: Sec. 86-32 designates one contractor for all solid waste in the city, Sec. 86-33(b) bars anyone else from the business, and Sec. 86-2 says commercial containers "shall specifically include all roll-off containers." Waste Connections; Solid Waste Services 972-547-7385.

What this means when you book

We deliver across the metroplex and we will tell you straight, on the phone, which of these applies to your address and your material. Construction debris in Irving is the simplest case we have; a household cleanout in a city with an exclusive franchise is the hardest. If the honest answer is that your city routes the container through its own hauler, we say so before the truck leaves the yard, not on your driveway.

Two things apply everywhere: keep the container on your own property, and keep asbestos out of it — Texas requires a survey and a notice to the Department of State Health Services at least 10 working days before demolition of a public or commercial building.