Texas Contractor License Requirements: What You Actually Need

Short answer: Texas has no state general contractor, home builder, or remodeler license — there is no dollar threshold to cross, because no statewide license exists to trigger. What Texas does license is specific trades: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation covers electrical and air conditioning and refrigeration work, and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners covers plumbing. Those apply to every job regardless of size. Cities add their own registration on top.

Texas is where the usual question breaks down. Everywhere else a contractor asks “what’s the dollar threshold?” — in Texas there isn’t one, because there is no state license to threshold. Regulation runs through two trade agencies, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, plus your city. Compare California, where a $1,000 job can require a license, and you see how badly a rule of thumb travels. What Texas substitutes for licensing is tax and liability exposure — see Texas sales tax for contractors.

Does Texas require a general contractor license?

No. TDLR publishes its list of regulated programs and industries, and general contractor, home builder and remodeler do not appear on it. No other Texas state agency issues one either. You can lawfully frame, drywall, tile, paint, roof, pour concrete and manage an entire residential remodel without any state contractor license.

But “Texas doesn’t require a license” is a half-truth that gets people fined. If any part of your work is a regulated trade, that portion needs a state license with no size exemption — and your city or county almost certainly has its own registration, permit and bond rules. The honest framing is “Texas moved licensing from the state down to the trade and the city.”

Which trades does Texas license, and who issues them?

Trade	Texas agency
Electrical	TDLR
Air conditioning, refrigeration, heating	TDLR
Plumbing	Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners
Elevator and escalator	TDLR
Boilers	TDLR
Industrialized housing and buildings	TDLR
Water well drilling and pump installing	TDLR
Mold assessment and remediation	TDLR
Residential solar retail	TDLR
General contracting, home building, remodeling	None — no state license exists

Electrical. TDLR’s rule is that anyone who performs, or offers to perform, non-exempt electrical work in Texas must be licensed and perform that work through a licensed electrical contractor. That contractor must either assign its own master electrician license to the company or employ a licensed master electrician to serve as the Master Electrician of Record. Exemptions are narrow and easy to over-read: work on buildings and equipment used exclusively in agricultural activities is exempt, and so is electrical work performed at a business operating a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant, pipeline, or oil and gas exploration and production operation. That industrial exemption does not extend to new construction, nor to out-of-state contractors.

Air conditioning and refrigeration. Contractors who install, repair or maintain air conditioning, refrigeration or heating systems must hold a TDLR license, and an ACR company must employ an ACR contractor in each permanent location.

Plumbing. TSBPE issues four licenses — Tradesman Plumber-Limited, Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Inspector — plus registrations and endorsements. To run a plumbing company you need the Responsible Master Plumber designation. The RMP supervises all plumbing work contracted under the license, whether those doing it are employees or subcontractors, and the role carries hard requirements: a minimum of $300,000 of commercial liability insurance, pulling permits and requesting inspections, ensuring everyone doing plumbing work holds a current license, ensuring a licensee provides direct supervision on site, and displaying the company name and RMP license number on service vehicles. The initial application fee is $225, rising to $300 if you apply during the renewal period. One RMP can act as RMP of record for only one company at a time — which quietly rules out lending your designation to a second business.

Is there a dollar threshold for contractor licensing in Texas?

No — the structural point that separates Texas from almost every state with a licensing board.

Where a threshold exists it creates a small-job exemption: below the figure you may work unlicensed, above it you may not. Texas has no such dial for general contracting, because there is no license. For the trades that are licensed, the requirement turns on the activity, not the price. Replacing a single outlet for $80 is electrical work. Swapping a water heater for $600 is plumbing work. There is no de minimis floor to hide under.

The upshot reverses what people expect: Texas is more permissive than California or Florida for a large general remodel, and less forgiving for a tiny trade job — a threshold state would let a $200 job slide, and Texas does not.

What does your city require in Texas?

This is where most Texas contractors actually get caught. Because the state left a gap, cities and counties fill it: registration with the building department, permit-pulling privileges tied to a registered contractor, proof of insurance, sometimes a bond. Requirements differ between neighbouring cities in the same metro, and a registration in one does not carry into the next.

There is no statewide list. Before your first job in a new city, call its building department and ask two questions: does a contractor of my type register here, and who may pull the permit for this job.

What happens if you work unlicensed in Texas?

For general contracting there is no state license to lack, so your exposure is contractual and civil rather than regulatory. That is not nothing: with no licensing board’s complaints process between you and an unhappy client, disputes go straight to civil court, and Texas mechanics lien procedure is unusually deadline-driven, pinned to calendar months rather than counted in days.

For the regulated trades it is a different story. Non-exempt electrical work without a license, or plumbing without the right TSBPE credential, invites enforcement action by the licensing agency, plus failed inspections and permits that cannot be closed out. A trade job that fails inspection is also a job the homeowner will not pay for, and getting clients to pay is harder when the work was not lawfully performed.

What does Texas tax instead of licensing you?

Texas trades regulatory burden for a distinctive tax profile.

No state personal income tax. Texas is one of a handful of states with none, so your profit faces federal tax only at the individual level.

Franchise tax, with a filing trap. For 2026 reports the no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 in annualized total revenue, at 0.375% for retail and wholesale and 0.75% for everyone else. The trap: being under the threshold does not excuse you from filing — entities at or below it must still submit a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report for 2026. Small operators miss this constantly, hearing “no tax due” and assuming “nothing to file.”

Sales tax that turns on the property, not the trade. Labor to repair, remodel or restore nonresidential real property is taxable on the total charge; the same labor on residential property is not, and neither is new construction of either type. The same crew bills the same work differently depending on whether the building is a house or an office.

The definition of “residential” is broader than it sounds and worth checking before you invoice. It covers family dwellings, apartment complexes, condominiums, nursing homes and retirement homes — but not hotels, and not property rented for periods of under 30 days. A remodel in a short-stay rental is nonresidential work for sales tax purposes even though it looks domestic.

How does a Texas homeowner verify a contractor?

Check by trade, because there is no single register:

• Electrical, ACR and other TDLR trades — TDLR’s license search, covering individual and business licenses.
• Plumbing — TSBPE’s license search. Confirm the company’s RMP designation, not just that someone on the crew holds a plumbing license.
• General contracting — no state register exists. Verify at city level instead.
• Insurance — ask for a certificate from the insurer or agent. The Texas Department of Insurance is explicit that private employers can choose to carry workers’ compensation coverage but are not required to in most cases, so do not assume it is carried. An employer that opts out becomes a “non-subscriber” and must report that status to the state, and must still report work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.

If a contractor tells a Texas homeowner they hold a “Texas contractor’s license,” that is a red flag. No such thing exists.

What records should a Texas contractor keep?

With no licensing board issuing you a credential, your own records carry more weight in Texas than elsewhere. Contracts, change orders, invoices, lien notices and receipts are what you have when a dispute starts — and the residential-versus-commercial sales tax split means invoices must be right when you write them.

Keel is built for that, and it is worth saying plainly what it is not. Keel is a record keeper, not a compliance tool: it does not apply for TDLR or TSBPE licenses, file your franchise tax report, or sell insurance. It holds the evidence — invoices as PDFs with your own numbering, logo and a payment-link QR code; receipts captured and read on-device with Apple Intelligence; a mileage log; reports; an Accountant Pack; and an append-only hash-chained ledger, so records cannot be quietly changed later. A year exports as one file for the IRS and your state department of revenue or your CPA.

It runs entirely on your iPhone — no account, no bank connection, no cloud — and its App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected.” Free covers unlimited invoices, receipts and mileage at $0; Keel Pro is a one-time $249.99 Lifetime purchase, not a subscription. Estimates are in development and have not shipped. For the tax side of a Texas year, how much to set aside for 1099 taxes is the companion piece.

Frequently asked questions

Is there any general contractor license in Texas at all?

No. Texas issues no state general contractor, home builder or remodeler license, and none of the three appears on TDLR’s published list of regulated programs and industries. You can legally run a full residential remodel without one. What you cannot do is perform regulated trade work — electrical, HVAC, plumbing — without the specific state credential for that trade.

What is the dollar threshold for a Texas contractor license?

There isn’t one. Threshold states use a dollar figure to create a small-job exemption from a license that exists. Texas has no statewide general contractor license to be exempted from, and the licensed trades are triggered by the type of work rather than its price — so an $80 electrical job still needs a licensed electrician.

Do I need a license to do handyman work in Texas?

Not from the state, for general handyman tasks. But the moment a task crosses into electrical, plumbing, or air conditioning and refrigeration work, the relevant TDLR or TSBPE license applies no matter how small the job is. Check your city too — many Texas municipalities require handymen to register locally.

Can I run a plumbing company in Texas with just a Master Plumber license?

No. Contracting for plumbing work requires the Responsible Master Plumber designation from TSBPE, which carries its own obligations: a minimum of $300,000 of commercial liability insurance, permit and inspection duties, and vehicle signage showing the company name and RMP license number. The initial application fee is $225, or $300 if you apply during the renewal period. An RMP may hold that role for only one company at a time.

If I owe no Texas franchise tax, do I still have to file?

Yes. For 2026 reports the no-tax-due threshold is $2,650,000 in annualized total revenue, but entities at or below it must still file a Public Information Report or Ownership Information Report. “No tax due” is not “nothing to file” — one of the most commonly missed obligations for small Texas operators.

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This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change — confirm with the authority named above.