Contractor Licensing in Texas: No General License, Licensed Trades

“Do I need a license to be a contractor in Texas?” For general contracting, remodeling or building homes, the state does not issue one. For a long list of trades, it does, and the trades covered here alone answer to five different state agencies. On top of that, the city where you pull permits may make you register. This is Texas in detail; the method for any state is in Do I Need a Contractor License?

Why there is no general contractor license

Texas once registered home builders, through the Texas Residential Construction Commission. In August 2008 the Sunset Advisory Commission’s staff report found that “Registration does not provide an effective mechanism for adequately protecting the public” and recommended abolishing the agency. The Texas State Library records the result: abolished in the 2009 Sunset review, effective September 1, 2010.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) presented its list of 37 licensing programs at the Governor’s office’s 2022 business licensing session under the question “Does TDLR License General Contractors?” The list includes air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, electricians, mold assessors and remediators, and water well drillers and pump installers. It has no general contractor program.

Who licenses what

Electricians (TDLR)

§1305.151: a person or business “may not perform or offer to perform electrical work or residential appliance installation” without the right license. TDLR’s page adds that the work must be performed “through a licensed electrical contractor.” An electrical contractor must be or employ a master electrician, show proof of financial responsibility, and either carry workers’ comp or elect not to under the Labor Code (§1305.159). The exemptions in §1305.003 matter to neighboring trades: Class 1, 2 and 3 remote-control, signaling and power-limited circuits, fire alarm circuits, optical fiber cables and communications circuits; landscape irrigation installers wiring irrigation controls, and landscapers installing low-voltage exterior lighting and holiday lighting, “excluding any required power source”; and the electrical connections, including the equipment’s own disconnect, that a licensed A/C contractor makes to supply heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment. A city may not charge a state-licensed electrician a permit, registration, administrative or other fee for work in the city, though it may still charge a building permit fee (§1305.201(f)).

Air conditioning and refrigeration (TDLR)

• One state license, good everywhere. The contractor license is valid throughout the state, with no municipal license needed (§1302.251). Class A covers any size; Class B is limited to 25 tons of cooling or 1.5 million Btu per hour of heating (§1302.253).
• Experience. At least 48 months of supervised experience in the last 72, or 36 in the last 48 plus a year as a certified technician (§1302.255).
• The company. Each permanent office must employ a license holder full-time; a company that does not, when the contract is signed and when the work is done, “may not collect a fee or otherwise enforce the contract” (§1302.252).
• The crew. Technicians must be registered or certified, apart from helpers assisting a licensed contractor on a total system replacement (§1302.501).
• What is outside it. Portable or self-contained ductless units of three tons or less, residential refrigerators and freezers, and kitchen vent hoods (§§1302.058, 1302.060).

Plumbing (TSBPE)

Plumbing has its own board, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Under §1301.351, nobody but a responsible master plumber may do plumbing without the proper license or registration and supervision by a licensed plumber, and any person that advertises plumbing “must secure the services of a responsible master plumber.” Every written proposal, invoice or contract must carry the responsible master plumber’s name and license number and the board’s contact details (§1301.302). Licenses are good statewide and renew every year (§§1301.359, 1301.401). Two exemptions touch other trades: an appliance dealer may connect appliances, other than water heaters, to existing openings with a code-approved connector, and water treatment installations are outside the plumbing license (§1301.053); TCEQ licenses water treatment specialists separately.

Pest, lawn and tree treatments (TDA)

The “business of structural pest control” in §1951.003 is wider than the name. It covers identifying and controlling insects, rodents, weeds and other pests in and around structures, and also “pests or diseases of trees, shrubs, or other plantings” adjacent to a residence or business, including bids and inspection reports. A business doing it for pay needs a structural pest control business license for each office, must employ a certified commercial applicator at all times (§1951.301), and must file proof of liability insurance of at least $200,000 for bodily injury and property damage, with a $300,000 aggregate, or a bond or other security of at least $300,000 (§1951.312). The Department of Agriculture’s categories include pest control, termite control, lawn and ornamental, and weed control. So a lawn care or tree service company that sprays for weeds or treats trees for pay is in this law, unless it holds an agricultural applicator license under Agriculture Code ch. 76 that covers the work (§1951.053).

Irrigation, septic and water (TCEQ)

§1903.251 requires a TCEQ license for anyone who “sells, designs, installs, maintains, alters, repairs, or services an irrigation system,” and installing one without a license is a Class C misdemeanor (§1903.256). A worker helping under the direct supervision of a licensed irrigator, and the owner of a business that employs one to supervise its irrigation work, are exempt, as are licensed plumbers and homeowners on their own homes (§1903.002). TCEQ’s license list also includes on-site sewage facilities, including septic tanks, water treatment specialists and backflow prevention assembly testers.

Mold, locks and alarms

• Mold (TDLR). Mold assessment and mold remediation each need a license (§1958.101). None is needed for remediation of less than 25 contiguous square feet, or for a builder fixing mold in a one- or two-family home it is building or improving at the time, unless it does mold work for the public (§1958.102). That matters to water damage crews.
• Locks (DPS). A locksmith company is one that “sells, installs, services, or maintains” mechanical security devices, “including deadbolts and locks,” or uses the word locksmith in its ads or name (§1702.1056), and it needs a security services contractor license (§1702.102). The exemptions in §1702.324 cover your own property and retailers who do not service locks for the public, not handymen. A handyman who wants to advertise lock installation should ask DPS first.
• Alarms and cameras (DPS). An “alarm system” includes intrusion alarms, computer-controlled access control, and camera systems that record images of a home or business (§1702.002). The company needs a security services contractor license, and each installer needs an individual license and must be employed by a licensed company (§§1702.102, 1702.221, 1702.223); that reaches low-voltage crews who install cameras. A gate or garage door opener is not an alarm system unless it is monitored by security personnel or sends a signal that police or emergency services respond to.

City registration on top

Cities fill some of the gap the state leaves. San Antonio is one example: “All City and State licensed contractors must be registered with Development Services before permits are issued,” with registration categories that include building and home improvement, demolition, tree maintenance, and sidewalk, curb and gutter work, and some registrations require a bond or insurance. State law bars a city from charging licensed electricians and A/C contractors a registration fee, though a building permit fee is still allowed (§1305.201(f) and §1302.304), and a licensed A/C contractor must notify a city that asks for notice (§1302.262). Check the building department of every city you work in before you pull the first permit.

Three things to do

1. Match every service on your website to the table above, including the small add-ons: the outlet, the sprinkler head, the deadbolt, the weed spray.
2. Look yourself and your subs up the way a customer would: TDLR and the plumbing board both have public license searches.
3. Register with each city before you need the permit, and keep the license numbers on your paperwork; the plumbing law requires them on every proposal and invoice. If a customer does not pay, Texas lien rules are in Mechanics’ Liens for Small Residential Contractors.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state; check with the agency named above or a professional for your situation.