Texas contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Texas, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Texas
- License you need
- Journeyman Plumber Renew Annual
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000 liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Your choice not required in this state
- Texas does not license a plumbing business as such. The business runs under one person, the Responsible Master Plumber, and that person's license number goes on your invoices, your quotes, your adverts, and both sides of your work trucks.
- Workers' comp is optional in Texas. If you go without it you must tell the state you have opted out, and you lose some legal protection if a worker is hurt.
HVAC in Texas
- License you need
- ACR Contractor, Class A Renew Annual
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000 for Class A; Class B is $100,000
- Workers' comp
- Your choice not required in this state
- Your license class sets your insurance minimum. Class A needs $300,000 per claim. Class B, for smaller systems, needs $100,000.
- Everyone who does HVAC work for you must be registered or certified with TDLR, including helpers. Registration costs $20 and has no exam.
Electrical in Texas
- License you need
- Apprentice Electrician Renew Every year
- Insurance you must carry
- $300,000 liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Your choice not required in this state
- Texas licenses the person and the business separately. You need a Master Electrician license to hold the knowledge, and an Electrical Contractor license for the company that takes the money. One person can hold both.
- Every electrical contractor has to name a Master Electrician of Record. If that person leaves, you have thirty business days to tell the state, and the company cannot take new electrical work without one.
Across states
Sales tax on labor for plumbers and HVAC contractors by state. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.