Did Your Pool Pass Final Inspection? How to Check in Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano & McKinney (2026)

Short answer: ask your builder for the permit number, look it up in your city's permit portal, and open the inspections list. You want to see the city's pool final marked as passed or approved, and the separate electrical, plumbing and gas permits finished too, where your city issues them. If the final never happened, the builder (the permit holder) usually has to schedule it. In Dallas, only a licensed professional registered with the city can request inspections.^[1][2]

How to read this page. City rules below come from each city's own permit documents and portals, checked on October 30, 2026. Portals and status labels change, and cities use different words for a closed-out permit, so look at the final inspection result itself and call the building department if you're unsure. This is not legal advice. This guide names no company. We run a pool service company (see the footer). We don't build pools or pull pool construction permits.

Why homeowners end up asking this

The pool is full and swimmable, the builder has been paid, and nobody mentions the city. Then, sometimes years later, a buyer's agent, an inspector or the homeowner finds the permit was never finished. In a 2025 r/pools post, a Georgia owner wrote that the builder “didn’t get all the proper inspections signed off on (gas, final electric, and final project).”^[20] In a 2024 r/swimmingpools post, a Houston owner wrote that the installer had been “fully paid as of May,” the spa's gas was still disconnected, and the installer wanted $850 to renew an expired plumbing permit.^[21] These are the posters' own accounts, not verified by us, and neither post names a company. The steps below help you catch it while the builder is still on the job.

City by city: where to look and what “final” means

City	Where to check	Pool inspections the city lists	Worth knowing
Dallas	DallasNow; the city's Online Records page searches by permit number or address^[1][4]	A pool/spa permit “includes multiple inspections at different stages of construction”; the city's guide doesn't list them by name^[2]	Electrical or plumbing work for the pool needs its own permit.^[3] Only a registered licensed professional can obtain the pool permit and request inspections.^[2] Active permits expire after 2 years, or 120 days with no activity; notices go out 30, 20 and 10 days before; $200 extension fee.^[2]
Fort Worth	Accela Citizen Access (Search Applications and Permits)^[5]	The city's Building Final (100) guidance applies at the end. The inspector checks the piping and outlet spacing for suction-entrapment safety during the steel inspection^[7][8]	A building permit doesn't include the trade permits. Each needs its own permit and inspections. The building final is turned down if related trade permits aren't signed off. Inspections can only be scheduled while a permit is in issued status.^[6][7]
Frisco	eTRAKiT permit search^[10]	Five: belly steel and ground, gas/P-trap, deck steel, pre-plaster, pool final^[9]	Permanent fencing and gates must be in place at pre-plaster, with a notarized Certification of Pool Protection Device Installation signed by all homeowners. The city says stop-work orders or citations may follow for failing to get and pass each inspection.^[9] More in our Frisco pool permits tracker.
Plano	eTRAKiT; results also by phone (IVR 972-424-2534, option 3, with the application number)^[13][14]	A sequenced list comes with the permit. Pool codes include 700 underground electric, 710 steel, 720 deck steel, 740 pre-plaster/enclosure and 760 pool final^[12][13]	Pre-plaster can't be done until the pool barrier is approved; fences need their own permit. The permit holder is responsible for requesting and completing all required inspections.^[11] Every department on the inspection list must approve before the final building inspection.^[12]
McKinney	Citizen Self Service (CSS), the permit's Inspections tab^[16][17]	Eight: belly/steel/ground, electrical underground, gas underground, gas, P-trap, deck, pre-plaster, pool final^[15]	Homeowners can register in CSS and ask to be added to the permit by emailing css@mckinneytexas.org. The city no longer accepts the house-pool protection certification form; the contractor must arrange for the homeowner to be home for that inspection.^[15] An inspection's Checklist tab shows why it failed.^[17]

Other DFW cities (Allen, Prosper, Southlake, Arlington and more) run their own portals. Search your city's name plus “permit search,” or call its building inspections office with your address. Unincorporated areas may have different rules; ask the county.

How to check, step by step

Get the permit number in writing. Ask for it before digging starts.
Look up the record in your city's portal (table above) by permit number or address.
Open the inspections list and read each line: passed or approved, failed or disapproved, or never scheduled. A failed inspection that was never re-inspected is still open.
Check the trade permits. Dallas and Fort Worth issue electrical and plumbing (including gas) permits separately from the pool or building permit.^[3][6] Each one needs its own final.
Check the permit's status and expiration date. An expired permit may need a renewal or extension before anyone can inspect again.^[2]
If anything is missing, ask the builder in writing to schedule it, and keep the reply. In Dallas and Plano the permit holder or a registered licensed professional requests inspections, so you can't always do it yourself.^[2][11]
Call the city if the builder won't respond. Ask what it takes to close the permit: re-inspection, a new contractor taking over the permit, or a new permit. Write down who you spoke with and when.

Tie your last payment to the city's final

Put the pool final in the contract as a condition of the last draw, along with the trade finals your city requires. Our Texas payment schedule guide covers normal draws and the 10% retainage.
Ask for each inspection result as it happens (belly steel, deck, pre-plaster, final). Your city portal lets you confirm it yourself.
Collect the final bills-paid affidavit and lien waivers at the same time.
Remember the fence. Several cities won't pass pre-plaster or final without a compliant barrier, and fencing is often a separate contract and permit.^[9][11]

Why it matters later: resale and safety

When you sell a single-family home in Texas, the seller's disclosure notice in Property Code §5.008 asks whether you're aware of “room additions, structural modifications, or other alterations or repairs made without necessary permits or not in compliance with building codes in effect at that time.” The TREC form 55-1 used for contracts on or after September 1, 2023 asks the same question.^[18][19] The final inspection is also where the city checks barrier and gate requirements meant to keep small children out of the pool area.^[9][11][15] We don't know how any particular buyer, lender or insurer treats an open pool permit. Ask them, and ask the city how to close it.

If the builder is gone

If the builder walked off or won't answer, see builder stopped work or walked off for the notice, retainage and lien steps. Ask the city how an open permit and any passed inspections carry over to a new contractor. If a sub says it wasn't paid, see what to do when a sub says the builder didn't pay.

More: how to vet a pool builder · Frisco pool permits tracker · all DFW builders.

FAQ

How do I check if my pool passed final inspection in Dallas?

Get the permit number from your builder, then look the record up in DallasNow, the City of Dallas permitting and inspections portal. The city's Online Records page also lets you search records by permit number or address. Open the record and check its inspections. Electrical and plumbing work on a pool needs separate permits in Dallas, so check those records too. Only a licensed professional registered with the city can request inspections, so your builder or its subs have to schedule any missing ones.

What inspections does a new pool need in Frisco, Plano or McKinney?

Frisco's July 2026 checklist lists five: belly steel and ground, gas/P-trap, deck steel, pre-plaster, and pool final. Plano gives a sequenced list with each permit; its pool codes include steel, deck steel, pre-plaster/enclosure and pool final, and pre-plaster can't be done until the pool barrier is approved. McKinney's July 2026 packet lists eight: belly/steel/ground, electrical underground, gas underground, gas, P-trap, deck, pre-plaster and pool final.

Can a pool permit expire before the final inspection?

Yes. Dallas's DallasNow guide says an active permit expires after 2 years, or after 120 days with no activity. The city sends notices 30, 20 and 10 days before, and there is a $200 extension fee. Plano's guide gives 180 days to begin work under a permit. Other cities have their own rules, so check your permit's status before the job is done.

Why does it matter if my pool never got its final inspection?

The final inspection is the city's check that the finished pool meets code, including the barrier and gate rules that protect children. It also matters when you sell. The Texas seller's disclosure notice (Property Code section 5.008) asks whether the seller is aware of alterations or repairs made without necessary permits or not in compliance with building codes. Ask the city what it needs to close the permit.

Checked October 30, 2026. If a city's portal or rule has changed, tell us.

Did your pool pass final inspection? How to check in Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano and McKinney (2026)