Crane and Heavy Equipment Permit Guide for Arlington, TX

A crane or machine job in Arlington answers to five sets of public rules before the first lift, and this guide gives each one with the body that writes it. The City of Arlington governs work in its streets and right-of-way. The Federal Aviation Administration governs tall objects near DFW International, Arlington Municipal and Grand Prairie Municipal airports. Federal OSHA and the State of Texas set the distances from overhead power lines, and Oncor publishes its own safety rules. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles decides how an oversize machine moves through Tarrant and Dallas Counties, and Texas law requires a call to Texas 811 before digging. A sixth section covers OSHA's rules for crane operators, riggers and signal persons in construction work.

We work from the same rules when we quote. Before the date is fixed, we list the City permits, traffic control plan and timing rules the job needs and tell you whether the FAA must get notice, what the overhead lines require and who arranges it, and which TxDMV permit a move takes. Each rule below is quoted from its published text as it read in October 2026; where a rule has changed since, the current text controls. The only dollar figures here are public fees, fines and penalties, and the City's insurance minimums. Rental and operator rates sit on our pricing page for cranes and equipment, and the weather and project numbers behind lift days are on our Arlington construction and weather data page.

City of Arlington Street, Right-of-Way and Event-Day Rules

No City of Arlington chapter we checked uses the word crane; blocked access is what triggers a permit. Section 6.06, which Ordinance No. 25-065 added to the City Code's Streets and Sidewalks chapter on September 2, 2025, requires a permit "to temporarily restrict vehicular or pedestrian access" to a street or right-of-way, the public land along a street. A closure is exempt if it "is for a period of time that is less than four (4) hours on a single day," unless closures return to the same place "within a period of thirty (30) days or less." Public Works wants the application "at least five (5) business days before the proposed temporary restriction or detour," with a traffic control plan, schedule, location drawings and proof of the insurance and bonds in sections 4.02 and 4.03 of the Right-of-Way Management chapter. State highway closures also need TxDOT's sign-off.

Plans go in through the City's Temporary Traffic Control Permit page, which runs a Plan Share module; every submitting organization must finish the Plan Share training before it can get in. The permit form asks applicants to "allow a minimum of three business days for review," and once the City notifies the applicant, a $50.00 Traffic Control Plan Fee is due. Drawings follow Part 6 of the TMUTCD, the state's traffic control device manual, and the form lists a "$500/day fine for failure to comply." Right-of-way work also calls for a current City Business Registration, priced at $100 for one year or $175 for two. For insurance, section 4.02(A) of the Right-of-Way Management chapter sets general liability at $1,000,000 for each occurrence and $2,000,000 in aggregate, auto liability at a $1,000,000 combined single limit, and umbrella cover at $5,000,000 each occurrence.

The City's Public Right-of-Way Permitting and Construction Manual adds the timing rules. Under section 2.5(1), a permittee may not interfere with traffic flow on Thoroughfare Development Plan streets "during the hours of 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday." Section 3.1(4) reads "No work shall be permitted within the Entertainment District on the business day preceding the date of any event" that counts as a special event, and section 3.1(5) calls for a pre-construction meeting on work "within a two-mile radius of the Entertainment District." In the Police Department's Woodbrook, Roosevelt and Stadium West parking zones by AT&T Stadium, "Signs prohibiting all on-street parking will be activated 24-hours prior to enforcement." The bullets below give the nearby cities' rules in their own words; two of the sources are Fort Worth's temporary street use requirements and Irving's right-of-way management chapter.

• Fort Worth: "Full road closures are discouraged and partial street closures with stages is recommended"; "If full closure is justified, Approved M&C (typically a 6-week review process) must be obtained" for one lasting 10 or more consecutive days.
• Fort Worth: "Any temporary street use request requires at least 3-5 business days lead time," the "Street Use Other Permit fee is $112.50," and "Site-specific and/or Modified Typical TCP's are required to be Signed & Sealed prior to acceptance."
• Fort Worth: "Noise created by construction work within 300 feet of an occupied residential structure" is barred "Before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m." on weekdays and "Before 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m." on weekends.
• Irving: "The working hours in the rights-of-way are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday," and permit applications are due "at least ten (10) working days before the proposed commencement of work."
• Irving: "Lane closures on major thoroughfares will be limited after 8:30 a.m. and before 4:00 p.m." and "Lane closures shall not last longer than four (4) hours, unless a different period of time is shown on the permit."
• Grand Prairie: "No lane closures on major roadways permitted before 9:00 am or after 3:00 pm," and the contractor must "notify the Transportation Services Department two (2) weeks prior to any requested roadway closure."
• Mansfield: "Allowable construction hours in all zoning districts are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central Standard Time," and outdoor construction is not allowed on Sundays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
• Mansfield: City Code section 71.26 allows "a total outside width, including any load thereon, of 96 inches" and a 13-foot, six-inch height; police oversize permits run from "Single trip permits - $10" to "Periods not exceeding one year - $50."

Airspace: DFW, Arlington Municipal and FAA Notice for Cranes

A crane needs FAA notice when its height trips a test in Federal Aviation Administration rule 14 CFR 77.9. The rule covers "Any construction or alteration that is more than 200 ft. AGL at its site," AGL meaning above ground level, and anything that would break a sloped imaginary surface: "100 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 ft. from the nearest point of the nearest runway" of an airport "with its longest runway more than 3,200 ft." Smaller fields, whose longest runway is 3,200 feet or less, get a 50-to-1 slope over 10,000 feet, and heliports get 25 to 1 over 5,000 feet. Temporary gear counts: 14 CFR 77.13 reaches construction equipment, and the FAA's Part 77 notification page lists "Cranes, Boom Trucks" among its examples of temporary construction.

The filing is Form 7460-1, Notice of Proposed Construction or Alteration, due at least 45 days before the start date under 14 CFR 77.7. Because an aeronautical study takes time, the FAA's page recommends "a 45-60 day advance notification," and the form asks how long a crane, as a temporary structure, will stand. The answer comes back as a Determination of Hazard or of No Hazard to Air Navigation (14 CFR 77.31). A No Hazard finding can include "Limitations necessary to minimize potential problems," for example on "the use of temporary construction equipment," and "Marking and lighting recommendations, as appropriate"; under 14 CFR 77.33 it "expires 18 months after the effective date of the determination" unless extended, revised or terminated. The 45 days are waived for work needed "because of an emergency involving essential public services, public health, or public safety," though the completed form must follow within 5 days.

DFW International Airport's Fast Facts list 7 runways, and 13,400 feet is the listed length of four of them, so the 100-to-1 test reaches 20,000 feet beyond DFW's runways. Arlington's Airport chapter adopts Airport Zoning Ordinance No. 71-100, restricting the height of structures near DFW, with the Office of the Building Official enforcing it. In Irving, a structure that could be an airport hazard needs a City permit under Code section 3-68, and section 3-69 keeps the FAA filing in force. Arlington Municipal Airport (GKY), a general aviation reliever airport just south of I-20, sits in Class D airspace; its rules allow construction on the airport only with the City's prior written approval. Grand Prairie Municipal's runway runs 4,000 feet. Near any of these fields, we test the crane's height and position against the FAA criteria and the city's airport rules and tell you if a Form 7460-1 filing applies.

Power Lines: OSHA's 20-Foot Rule, Texas's Six Feet and Oncor

Federal OSHA rule 29 CFR 1926.1408 makes the employer check whether "any part of the equipment, load line or load" "could get closer than 20 feet to a power line," and the work zone may be drawn as "the area 360 degrees around the equipment, up to the equipment's maximum working radius." Then come three options. Option (1), "Deenergize and ground," needs the utility's word that the line is deenergized, with visible grounding at the worksite. Option (2) is the 20-foot clearance itself. Option (3), "Table A clearance," works from the voltage: 10 feet up to 50 kV, 15 feet over 50 to 200 kV, 20 feet over 200 to 350 kV, rising to 45 feet over 750 to 1,000 kV. The utility "must provide the requested voltage information within two working days," and until it confirms otherwise the employer "must assume that all power lines are energized."

Texas adds a six-foot rule that reaches people and tools, not just cranes. Chapter 752 of the Health and Safety Code defines high voltage as "more than 600 volts," and section 752.004 bars work where someone could "bring any part of a tool, equipment, machine, or material within six feet of a high voltage overhead line" without the precautions of section 752.003. Those precautions start with notice to the line's operator "at least 48 hours before the work begins," and the work waits on an agreement for "temporary de-energization and grounding, temporary relocation or raising of the line" or "temporary mechanical barriers." The working party pays the operator's actual expense, and "The operator may require payment in advance." A violation brings "a fine of not less than $100 or more than $1,000," "confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both."

Oncor, the transmission and distribution utility building new lines inside Arlington, restates chapter 752 in section 200.01 of its Electric Service Guidelines, where it warns that "Contractors and owners are legally responsible for the safety of construction workers under this law." Oncor's published pages show no separate form or lead time for line covers, so chapter 752's 48 hours is the only published notice period. Its Division 138 kV project, a new line in Arlington and Grand Prairie with a Notice of Approval signed January 26, 2026 and a substation planned southwest of Division Street and Stadium Drive, falls in Table A's over 50 to 200 kV band: 15 feet. Our pre-lift site check measures the crane's reach against both distances, and we tell you which steps the job needs and who takes each one. OSHA's separate rules for aerial lifts are on our boom lift rental page.

Moving a Crane or Machine Through Tarrant and Dallas Counties

Inside TxDMV's no-permit envelope a machine moves without an oversize permit: a height of 14 feet, a width of 8 feet 6 inches, and "Gross - 80,000 pounds maximum," with "Single axle - 20,000 pounds" and "Tandem axle group - 34,000 pounds." Length tops out at 45 feet for a single vehicle and 59 feet for the semitrailer of a two-vehicle combination. Bigger loads need an oversize/overweight permit through TxPROS, TxDMV's permitting system, and "you must know the exact dimensions and weight of your vehicle and load" first. A general single-trip permit costs $60 for one move up to 254,300 pounds, plus a highway maintenance fee that steps from $150 to $375 with gross weight above 80,000 pounds; heavier moves need a superheavy permit, requested "three to four weeks before the permit is needed." Route and escort planning is on our heavy haul page.

Mobile cranes get their own permit. TxDMV's annual unladen lift equipment permit costs $100 and allows 10 feet of width at legal height and length, with "120,000 pounds gross weight," "25,000 pounds single axle" and "46,000 pounds tandem axle group." Night travel is open to a permitted crane no more than 10 feet 6 inches across, 14 feet tall and 95 feet long, with escorts front and rear. Other moves follow 43 TAC section 219.11: "A permitted vehicle may be moved only during the daytime unless" it "is overweight only" or meets an interstate exception, daytime running from "one-half hour before sunrise" to "one-half hour after sunset." One escort joins past 14 feet of width, 17 feet of height or 110 feet of length, and "Vehicles and loads exceeding 14 feet wide, 16 feet high, or 110 feet long may not be moved" on TxDMV's listed holidays.

Tarrant County's weekday curfew does not bind mobile cranes. TxDMV's Time Permit Curfews list (effective date September 30, 2025) gives "Tarrant County All oversize vehicles" a curfew of "7 a.m. - 9 a.m. & 4 p.m. - 6 p.m." on "M-F" and marks it "Mobile cranes are not affected"; restriction 17801 on the Fort Worth District list agrees: "Mobile cranes are exempt from the Tarrant county curfew." The same district caps width at 11 feet on a stretch of the I-20 frontage roads ending at Green Oaks Boulevard in Arlington (restriction 66950) and height at 14 feet 6 inches on certain ramps where I-30 meets SH 360 (63376). The Dallas District allows "No permits on the tolled main lanes between IH20 and IH35E" of SH 161 and none on highways inside Loop 12 in Dallas. Permittees must check the latest restrictions and clear overhead lines themselves, TxDMV says.

Digging: Texas 811, OSHA Trench Rules and Arlington's Ground

Texas 811's home page says: "Texas law requires excavators to contact 811 at least two business days before excavating." Section 251.151 of the Utilities Code fixes the window at "not earlier than the 14th day" before digging and no "later than the 48th hour" before it, "excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays," and under section 251.002 excavation means mechanized work "to remove or otherwise disturb soil to a depth of 16 or more inches." Texas 811's FAQ also says to call even when the dig is not very deep, that utilities "have 48 hours to locate," that "Getting the lines marked is a FREE service," that a start delayed "beyond fourteen days of the original notice" needs renotice, and that "18 inches on either side of the marked utility" is a reasonable tolerance zone. Under section 251.201, skipping the notice risks a $500 to $1,000 civil penalty.

Federal OSHA's excavation rules then govern. Section 1926.651 wants underground lines located before an excavation is opened, their exact position found "by safe and acceptable means" as digging nears them, spoil and equipment kept "at least 2 feet" from the edge, and inspections daily and "after every rainstorm or other hazard increasing occurrence" by a competent person, meaning a worker who can recognize the dangers and is empowered to act on them. Under 29 CFR 1926.652, "Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system," except in excavations "made entirely in stable rock" or shallower than 5 feet when a competent person's look at the ground shows no hint of a cave-in. Unless the employer uses another listed option, sloping stays "not steeper than one and one-half horizontal to one vertical." Our excavator rental page lists dig depths by machine size.

The Handbook of Texas places Arlington in eastern Tarrant County and lists the county's natural regions from east to west as the Blackland Prairie in the southeast ("rich clayey and loamy soil"), the Eastern Cross Timbers ("deep loamy soil"), the Grand Prairie ("shallow, clayey soil and alternating layers of limestone and marl") and the Western Cross Timbers. The USDA places Houston Black clay in the Blackland Prairies and the eastern Grand Prairies and gives it "High shrink-swell potential." Tarrant County is on the Railroad Commission's list of counties affected by the Barnett Shale gas field, and the City regulates urban gas wells in its Gas Drilling and Production chapter. Texas 811 says a damaged gas line also means a call to 911, and Oncor's safety page asks for a call to 811 at least 48 hours before digging 16 inches or deeper. The City's Excavation/Fill Permit fee is $125.

Operators, Riggers and Signal Persons: OSHA, NCCCO and Lift Plans

Federal OSHA rule 29 CFR 1926.1427 puts the duty on the employer: "The employer must ensure that each operator is trained, certified/licensed, and evaluated in accordance with this section." "When a state or local government issues operator licenses for equipment covered under subpart CC," the operator needs that license; otherwise certification comes from an accredited testing organization, where "A certification issued under this paragraph is valid for 5 years," or from an audited employer program that is "Not portable." The employer then evaluates the operator on the crane's size and configuration, and "The employer must document the completion of the evaluation," a requirement effective February 7, 2019. Until every step is done, the person "may only operate the equipment as an operator-in-training under supervision." The section exempts derricks, sideboom cranes and equipment with a maximum "manufacturer-rated hoisting/lifting capacity of 2,000 pounds or less."

On an operated rental, the operator arrives with the crane and section 1926.1427 governs that person like any other operator; on a bare rental, where you take the machine alone, your operator has to satisfy it, and we ask who will be at the controls. OSHA's Cranes FAQ says "Crane lessors who provide operators and/or maintenance personnel with the equipment" have duties under the standard, but a worker who "merely moves the equipment on and off the transportation trailer" next to the site is not doing construction. Section 1926.1419 requires a signal person, who directs the operator by hand or voice, when the load's path or landing point "is not in full view of the operator," when "the view in the direction of travel is obstructed," or when "either the operator or the person handling the load" calls for one. Our mobile crane rental page weighs operated against bare.

Section 1926.1428 accepts a signal person qualified by a third-party qualified evaluator, with documentation, or by an evaluator the employer supplies, whose assessment "is not portable"; either way the person passes "an oral or written test" and "a practical test." When workers stand in the fall zone, OSHA's term for the ground a falling load could reach, to hook, unhook or guide a load, rule 29 CFR 1926.1425 says "The materials must be rigged by a qualified rigger," meaning a rigger who meets OSHA's qualified-person test. NCCCO's handbook describes CCO as "a nonprofit organization founded in 1995" whose program "is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to ISO 17024," with programs including "Signalperson, Rigger Level I and Level II." ASME P30.1 says "The categories are designated as Standard Lift Plan and Critical Lift Plan," and our rigging and lift planning page covers what each holds.