How to Check a Texas Pest Control License

In Texas, the Structural Pest Control Act requires licensing for businesses and individuals who do structural pest control for hire, and the Texas Department of Agriculture runs the program. A business needs a license for each location, a responsible certified applicator for each location, and current liability insurance. The people who come to your house hold their own licenses. To check a company, ask for the business license number and the technician's license, then look them up in the current license files TDA posts online.

Calls to this line go to independent providers. Checking a provider's license is your right, and it takes a few minutes.

The license types

The rules are in Title 4, Section 7.121 of the Texas Administrative Code. These are the licenses a homeowner runs into.

Business license: required for each business location, including branch offices. The business must designate a responsible certified commercial applicator for each location and carry current general pest control liability insurance.
Certified commercial applicator: licensed in at least one category, works without direct supervision under the general supervision of the responsible applicator, and only in the categories they hold.
Technician: licensed in at least one category and works under the direct supervision of a certified applicator.
Apprentice: an employee registered for training who has not yet passed the technician exam, and who may work only for the business that registered them.
Certified noncommercial applicator: an employee of a government entity, apartment building, school, hospital or similar organization who does pest control for that employer.

Which category covers rats and mice

TDA licenses applicators by category: pest control, termite control, lawn and ornamental, structural fumigation, commodity fumigation, weed control and wood preservation. Rodent work in a home or business falls under the pest control category. A lawn-only or termite-only license is not the right fit for trapping mice in a kitchen.

When you ask about a license, ask whether the applicator or technician holds the pest control category.

How to look up a license

TDA's Structural Pest Control reports page offers downloadable files of current licensees in CSV format: commercial businesses, noncommercial businesses, certified applicators, technicians and apprentices. Download the commercial business file and search it for the company name or license number. Then check the applicator or technician file for the person coming to your home.

If something does not match, ask the company about it. For other questions, TDA's reports page lists an email contact, and its licensing page lists a toll-free number.

Rodenticide rules in Texas

Rodent bait is regulated by the EPA and enforced in Texas through TDA. TDA's rodenticide page summarizes the rules.

Retail consumers cannot buy second-generation anticoagulants.
Consumer first-generation and non-anticoagulant baits come in packages of one pound or less and must be sold in or with a bait station.
Pellet bait is not sold to the general public. Consumer bait must be in block or solid form.
For professionals, all outdoor, above-ground placements require bait stations, which must be tamper resistant where children or non-target animals could reach them.
Professional outdoor placements must be within 100 feet of a building.

Ask your provider which products they plan to use, where, and why. If you would rather avoid poison inside your home, say so. Many rodent jobs work with traps and sealing alone, and the CDC recommends snap traps for reducing rodents around the home. Our trap guide compares the options.

Insurance and paperwork

Section 7.121 requires a licensed business to carry current general pest control liability insurance. For roof work, commercial jobs or anything that involves cutting into walls, ask for a certificate of insurance before work starts.

Keep the paperwork from every visit: what was found, what was sealed, what products were used and where. If a pet or child reaches a product, the label information is the first thing a vet or doctor will ask for.

Sunland Park and other New Mexico addresses

Sunland Park, Santa Teresa and Anthony, New Mexico are outside Texas. In New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture handles pesticide licensing, including commercial applicators who apply pesticides for hire and the operators and technicians who work for them. The department lists its main office in Las Cruces. A Texas license does not cover work in New Mexico, so ask for the New Mexico license for any job across the line. See our Sunland Park page.

Step by step: checking a company in ten minutes

Here is the quickest way to run the check yourself.

Ask the company for its TDA business license number and the name of the technician coming to your home.
Open TDA's Structural Pest Control reports page and download the commercial business file.
Open it in a spreadsheet and search for the license number or company name. Note the categories listed.
Download the applicator or technician file and search for the technician's name.
Confirm the pest control category appears for the business and the person.
Ask for a certificate of insurance if the job involves roof work or your business.

If anything does not line up, ask the company before work starts. A legitimate company can explain quickly. Then compare its quote with our cost guide.

What a license does not tell you

A current license tells you the company and technician meet the state's requirements. It does not tell you whether they seal entry points, how many return visits they include, or how they handle cleanup. Those come from the questions above and a written estimate. Read reviews, ask neighbors who they used, and compare at least two written quotes for larger jobs.

Questions worth asking

Good answers to these tell you a lot about a provider.

What is your TDA business license number, and who is your responsible certified applicator?
What license does the technician coming to my home hold, and in which category?
What animal do you think it is, and why?
Where are they getting in? Can you show me or send photos?
What will you seal, and with what?
How many follow-up visits are included?

Be careful with anyone who will not give a license number, pushes you to sign on the spot, or wants a large cash payment before any work. Compare the quote with the ranges in our cost guide.

Frequently asked questions

Who licenses pest control in Texas?

The Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service.

Can a technician work alone?

Under 4 TAC 7.121, a technician works under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. Ask how supervision works on your job.

Can I buy the same rat poison professionals use?

Not second-generation anticoagulants. TDA's rodenticide page says those are not sold to retail consumers.

Does a pest control business need insurance in Texas?

Yes. 4 TAC 7.121 requires current general pest control liability insurance.

Is there a license search tool?

TDA posts downloadable files of current licensees. Search the commercial business file for the company and the applicator or technician file for the person.

How to verify a licensed pest control company in Texas