How L-Cert Signing Requirements Differ Across Major Texas Jurisdictions, Such as Dallas County Versus Tarrant County

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The legal test behind an L-Cert signature is the same in every Texas county: the county clerk certifies whether the location is in a wet area for the permit sought, and inside city limits the city secretary certifies the same question under city law. What differs from place to place is how each office runs that step. In Tarrant County, the County Clerk describes its review as coming after the city secretary’s approval. In the City of Dallas, the city’s certification runs through its online permitting system with a measurement checklist, notarized affidavits, and a zoning check. Local fees tied to the permit are collected by different offices as well.

What is the same everywhere

Section 11.37 for permits, and Section 61.37 for beer licenses, give the certifying role to the county clerk and, for a location inside a city, the city secretary or clerk. Each office certifies whether the address is in a wet area and whether the sale is prohibited by local order, charter, or ordinance, within the time the Code allows. Local law enters the test through the city’s part of it: the city certifies whether the sale is prohibited by its own charter or ordinance, which is why a city’s zoning can matter at this step. Beyond that, each office sets its own submission channel, forms, and fee.

Tarrant County

The Tarrant County Clerk’s alcoholic beverage certification page states the county’s process:

  • Order. After an application is first approved by the city secretary, the County Clerk’s office reviews it.
  • What the clerk checks. The clerk verifies the wet or dry status and the license type for the location on the application, based on the results of local option elections.
  • Fee. The clerk charges a certification fee under its published fee schedule.
  • Maps. The county’s alcoholic beverage FAQs point applicants to the clerk’s website for maps of wet and dry areas.

After TABC issues a permit, the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector collects county fees for renewals of beer, wine, and liquor permits and licenses at its downtown Fort Worth office.

The City of Dallas

For a location inside the City of Dallas, the city’s alcohol beverage process page sets a different path for the city’s part of the certification:

  • Submission. The completed TABC application, an Alcohol Measurement Certification Checklist, and Alcohol Certification Affidavit forms are submitted through the city’s online DallasNow permitting system, with the forms completed and notarized.
  • Zoning. The Planning and Development Department verifies the zoning, and the City of Dallas Permit Center then certifies.
  • Zoning limits. Beer and wine sales are limited to specific non-residential zoning districts under Chapter 6 of the Dallas City Code, and the page lists the city’s minimum distances from religious institutions, public hospitals, and schools, with how each is measured.
  • Local fee. A local fee charged every two years to businesses in retail beer or liquor sales, or wholesale beer distribution, is handled by the Special Collections Section of Dallas Water Utilities.

For the county’s part of any Dallas County certification, including addresses outside city limits, the Dallas County Clerk certifies under Section 11.37, and that office sets its own procedure and fee.

Working in both counties

  1. Identify the county, whether the address is inside city limits, and which city, since each city runs its own step.
  2. Get each office’s current forms, submission channel, and fee before filing.
  3. In Tarrant County, for an address inside a city, plan for the city secretary’s approval before the County Clerk’s review.
  4. In the City of Dallas, finish the zoning and distance checks before submitting through DallasNow.
  5. Budget for the local fees tied to the permit, which go to different offices in each place.

This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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