Are Curb Address Numbers Required in Plano, McKinney & Allen?

What the law actually requires: numbers on the house

Plano, McKinney, Allen, and Frisco have each adopted the International Fire Code with local amendments, and each version of Section 505.1 says roughly the same thing: your home must display approved address numbers that are plainly legible from the street, in a color that contrasts with their background — and where your lot backs onto an alley, legible from the alley too. The numbers must also be maintained, so a faded or overgrown address can technically fall out of compliance.

The single-family minimum sizes differ a little from city to city:

• Plano: numerals at least 4 inches tall for single-family homes (Code of Ordinances ch. 8, adopting the 2024 fire code).
• McKinney: at least 3.5 inches tall for single-family homes (Fire Code of the City of McKinney, §505.1).
• Allen: at least 4 inches tall with a 5/8-inch stroke (Land Development Code §3.04, amending the 2021 fire code).
• Frisco: at least 3.5 inches tall for single-family homes (2026 fire code amendments, §505.1).

So where do curb numbers fit in?

Curb numbers are a supplement, not a substitute — a painted curb won't satisfy the fire code by itself, because the code wants numbers on the structure. But the reason the code exists is the same reason curb numbers help: emergency crews need to find you fast.

Don't take our word for it. The McKinney Fire Department's own address visibility page puts it bluntly: “When we respond to an emergency and are unable to locate an address, time spent verifying the location may mean the difference between life and death.” Among its recommendations, alongside proper numbers near your front entrance: “Paint four-inch letters on the curbing in front of your home.” That's a North Texas fire department recommending curb numbers by name.

Curb numbers earn their keep in exactly the situations where house-mounted numbers fail — at night, when porch lights are off, when a car is parked in front of the mailbox, or when landscaping has grown over the brass numerals by the door. If you'd like the deeper dive on the visibility question, we wrote one: Are reflective curb numbers worth it?

Nobody from the city will knock on your door about this

This matters because scammers exploit the confusion. A recurring con in the Dallas area involves someone claiming the city or police department requires curb numbers, painting first, and demanding payment after. The Dallas Police Department has publicly refuted it: “Neither the City of Dallas nor the Dallas Police Department requires that house numbers be displayed on the curb in front of the residence.” No city in our service area sends curb painters, endorses them, or fines homeowners for a bare curb.

In fact, door-to-door curb painters are themselves regulated here: McKinney's solicitor ordinance (ch. 78) explicitly lists “painting house numbers on streets” among the activities requiring a city solicitor permit, and Allen requires home solicitors to carry a police-issued permit. We cover the whole topic — including how to check a solicitor's permit — in our guide to spotting curb painting scams.

What about your HOA?

We found no rule in any of these cities against having your own curb number painted — and with a local fire department recommending the practice, it's about as uncontroversial as exterior changes get. Still, many North Texas neighborhoods have architectural control committees that review exterior modifications, and a few HOAs have opinions about what may appear on the curb. If you live under an HOA, a quick look at your CC&Rs (or a one-line email to your management company) before painting is cheap insurance. If your HOA has a preferred style, we're happy to work within it.