Before you let a pest control company into your house or sign up for a termite treatment, you can confirm that the business and the person doing the work are licensed by the State of Texas. It takes a few minutes, and the information comes straight from the agency that issues the licenses.
The catch is that the Texas Department of Agriculture does not present it as a simple search box. It publishes lists. This guide explains what is required, where the lists are, and how to read them.
Who needs a license in Texas
The Structural Pest Control Act, Chapter 1951 of the Texas Occupations Code, requires licensing of businesses and individuals that perform structural pest control for hire. According to TDA, structural pest control for compensation includes identifying infestations, making inspection reports, providing recommendations, submitting estimates or bids, contracting, performing services to prevent, control or eliminate infestations, and advertising those services (Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Licensing).
That list matters for homeowners because it covers the inspection and the estimate, not only the treatment. A company that comes out to “take a look” and write you a bid is already doing licensed work.
Business license versus individual license
Texas licenses both the company and the people who work for it, and you are checking two different things.
The business license
TDA says any person engaged in the business of structural pest control must hold a business license for each business location, including branch offices. Each commercial business must designate a commercial certified applicator, registered with the business, as its responsible certified applicator. And a business cannot advertise or solicit work without first holding a business license and having an applicator certified in each license category in which it does business (Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Business).
The individuals
The people who come to your house hold their own credentials. TDA’s records separate certified applicators, technicians and apprentices. TDA also states that apprentices must be registered within 10 days of beginning training.
The categories
Licenses are issued by category. The categories TDA lists include pest control (insects and pest animals in and around buildings, such as roaches, ants, flies, mosquitoes, rats and mice), termite control (termites, beetles and other wood-destroying organisms by means other than fumigation), lawn and ornamental, structural fumigation, commodity fumigation, weed control and wood preservation. A company licensed only for general pest control is not licensed in the termite category simply because it treats ants.
Where to look it up
TDA publishes the current license lists on its Structural Pest Control Reports: Current Licenses page. It offers separate downloadable files for commercial businesses, noncommercial businesses, applicators, technicians and apprentices. The page also notes that the next week’s report will not include licenses that expire that week and are not renewed, so the lists are refreshed on a weekly cycle.
The files open in any spreadsheet program. Here is how to use them.
Step 1: find the company
Open the commercial business file and search for the company name. Search both the legal business name and the name on the truck or the website, because the file has a column for each (the second is the DBA, or “doing business as” name). Note the license number and the county.
Step 2: read the row
The business file includes, among other columns, the license categories, the license expiration date, and the name and license number of the responsible applicator. Check that the expiration date is in the future and that the categories cover the work you are discussing. The categories appear as letter codes. If the code for the work you need is not obvious, ask the company which categories it holds and compare its answer to the file.
Step 3: check the person
Ask for the name of the technician or applicator who will be doing the work, then look for that name in the technician or applicator file. Those files list the person’s license number, account type, categories and expiration date.
Step 4: save what you found
Take a screenshot or note the license numbers and the date you checked. If something goes wrong later, those details are what any complaint or conversation will start from.
What a license does and does not tell you
A current license tells you the state has issued credentials in specific categories and that the business has named a responsible applicator. It does not tell you whether a particular treatment plan is right for your house, or what terms are in the agreement. Those are questions for the company, and for you to settle in writing before work starts.
If you are still deciding whether the problem needs a professional at all, our page on signs a pest problem has outgrown a homeowner is a good starting point. For wood-destroying insects specifically, our termite control page covers what an inspection usually involves, and prevention work around the house is covered in our article on sealing gaps and exclusion in Texas homes.
Questions homeowners ask
Does a pest control company in Texas need a license?
Yes. TDA states that the Structural Pest Control Act requires licensing of businesses and individuals that perform structural pest control for hire, including inspections, estimates and advertising, not only treatments.
Is a technician’s license the same as the company’s license?
No. The business holds a business license for each location, and individuals hold their own credentials as certified applicators, technicians or apprentices. TDA publishes separate lists for each.
How current are TDA’s license lists?
TDA’s reports page indicates a weekly cycle: the following week’s report drops licenses that expired and were not renewed. If you are checking right before a job, look at the expiration date in the row as well as whether the company appears.
Does a termite job need a different license category?
Termite control is its own category on TDA’s list. Check that the company’s categories include it before agreeing to termite work.
Homeowners in Central Texas looking at termite work specifically can start from our Waco termite control page.
Checking what is available in your area
texaspestcontrolpro.com is a connection service. We do not perform pest control and we do not employ technicians. If you would like to be matched with participating providers based on your service area, you can use the request options on this site. Availability varies by area and by season, and you decide whether to move forward with anyone you speak to.