Does Texas require a licensed company to remove the mold in your house?

What to do when mold turns up

1. Stop the water feeding it and dry the area, since TDI says mold can start growing within a day after a leak.
2. Measure the visible patch, because TDLR draws its line at 25 contiguous square feet.
3. Skip paying for a mold-type test, since TDLR says testing to determine mold type is not required before remediation or cleaning.
4. Photograph the mold and the damp area, and report the water damage to your insurer, because TDI says hidden damage usually must be reported within days of first seeing it.
5. If you hire a company, ask for its TDLR license and for the Consumer Mold Information Sheet, which licensees must hand over before any mold-related activity begins.
6. Renting? TDLR says it does not inspect homes for mold and cannot make a landlord clean up mold.

What TDLR licenses

The mold law is Occupations Code chapter 1958, and the rules are 16 TAC chapter 78. TDLR's program page lists eight license types: remediation worker registration, assessment technician, remediation contractor, assessment consultant, assessment company, remediation company, analysis laboratory and training provider accreditation. A remediation company needs at least one licensed remediation contractor as its responsible person. It also needs an office in Texas with a street address and at least $1 million per occurrence in commercial general liability insurance.

One firm can't do both jobs on one project. TDLR's FAQ says an individual or company may hold both an assessment and a remediation license but may not do both on the same project. The Consumer Mold Information Sheet adds that a licensed remediator follows a protocol written by an assessment consultant and a work plan of its own, and that the consultant does the post-remediation assessment and issues a passed clearance report.

What mold remediation costs in Texas (estimates, not quotes)

Our model gives $1,275 to $5,050 per job for mold remediation in Texas, and the table's second estimate row gives the same work per square foot. Neither is a quote. One Texas restoration company publishes a mold price, which is fewer than the five needed to build a range from company prices, so national guides carry the estimate and the wage rows show only pay.

Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (3 sources), adjusted by Texas's hazardous materials removal worker wage ratio to the US (0.84, BLS May 2025). Not a quote. One Texas restoration company publishes a price we could count on their own websites; where five or more price the same job, the range is the middle half of their prices, and where two to four do, the estimate is widened to take them in. Coupons, specials and figures a page gives as an average are not counted. Only one Texas company publishes a price we could count for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Full method. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.

When no license is needed

A homeowner can take samples or clean mold in the home without a license, and an owner, managing agent or owner's employee of a residential property needs none unless the property has 10 or more residential dwelling units. For non-residential property, an owner or tenant is exempt unless the mold covers 25 contiguous square feet or more. TDLR's FAQ also lists a homebuilder exemption: mold work done by the builder under a builder warranty on a one- or two-family home is exempt, including work by its subcontractors, but unlicensed workers can't issue a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation.

The size exemption covers only people who aren't licensed. A licensed remediation contractor you hire must follow an assessor's protocol and a work plan even on a small job, though it doesn't file the notification. And if you clean up yourself, a consultant who didn't write the protocol can't declare it cleared.

The notice, the work plan and the certificate

A Mold Remediation Notification goes to TDLR online, with a $25 fee, when contamination covers 25 contiguous square feet or more and remediation will be done. Moving the start date earlier needs at least five calendar days' notice unless an emergency notification was filed. Where delay would increase the contamination from water damage, the notice is due not later than the next working day, and the licensee decides whether it is an emergency. The contractor must also give you the work plan at least one day before the project begins.

The remediation contractor must sign and give you a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation no later than the 10th day after the project stop date, and the assessment consultant who did the post-remediation assessment must sign it and state whether the underlying cause of the mold has been corrected. A seller must hand the buyer every certificate received in the preceding five years. TDLR's penalty schedule makes failing to issue the certificate a Class C violation, $2,000 to $5,000 plus a probated suspension of up to revocation.

What a Texas policy does about mold

TDI says mold that develops on a damaged item is covered when the damage is, and that gradual leaks or seepage, and the mold from them, usually aren't covered. Mold from a flood isn't covered because home policies don't cover floods. Most home policies leave out mold cleanup and testing after the damaged item is removed, and an insurer may let you add that coverage for a covered loss. For a claim TDI says to use a mold professional with a state license and to get an inspection showing the mold was removed and the cause fixed.

The certificate matters later, too. TDLR's information sheet says it prevents an insurer from making an underwriting decision on the home based on previous mold damage or mold claims. A 2017 copy of Insurance Code section 544.303 says the same, and later amendments may differ.

When mold can't wait

Mold work in Texas: licenses, asbestos and lead

TDLR charges $450 for a remediation contractor license, $500 for an assessment consultant and $850 for a company, and it takes questions and complaints at (800) 803-9202. The rebuild after remediation is a separate job with a city permit. In Dallas, replacing structural members needs a building permit, while repairing sheetrock typically doesn't.

Asbestos belongs to DSHS, and two DSHS documents give different answers. Its renovation flowchart says the Texas asbestos rules and the federal NESHAP don't apply to a single-family dwelling or an apartment or condominium of four or fewer units, and its notifications page doesn't repeat that. A contractor gutting a house should confirm with the DSHS Asbestos Program at 512-834-6787.

Texas has no state lead renovation program. EPA runs it for paid work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978, and TDLR warns mold contractors they may need EPA certification as a Renovator and a Renovation Firm.

Ask which licenses your state requires for the work, and check them with your state's licensing office before anyone starts. A credential from a private body, such as IICRC, isn't a license.

Questions people ask

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Related services

• Water damage
• Flooded basement
• Structural drying

Texas licensing, code and permit facts · Report a wrong price or rule