Texas Mold Remediation License: Requirements, Training and Exam

Who needs a Texas mold license?

Anyone providing mold assessment or mold remediation services in Texas needs a TDLR license, unless the project falls inside the exemption in the rules. The program sits under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1958 and 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 78, and it covers both individuals and the companies they work for.

That catches more people than expected. A general contractor pulling out mold-damaged drywall as part of a larger renovation is performing remediation; a home inspector taking mold samples and writing up findings is performing assessment. Neither is exempt because the mold work was incidental to something else — the rules look at the activity, not the job title on the invoice.

Out-of-state firms travelling in after a storm are covered too. Texas does not suspend its licensing during a catastrophe response, and the enforcement actions TDLR publishes routinely involve unlicensed operators who assumed otherwise.

What TDLR license types are there?

TDLR issues six mold license types: mold assessment technician, mold assessment consultant, mold assessment company, mold remediation worker, mold remediation contractor and mold remediation company. Three are on the assessment side and three on the remediation side, and the split is deliberate.

• Assessment technician. Performs assessment activities under the direction of a consultant. Entry point on the inspection side.
• Assessment consultant. The senior assessment licence — develops mold remediation protocols and issues the certificate at the end of a job.
• Assessment company. The business entity licence that employs assessment licensees.
• Remediation worker. Performs remediation under a licensed contractor or company. This is where most crew members sit.
• Remediation contractor. Supervises remediation projects and is accountable for the work plan on site.
• Remediation company. The business entity licence for a firm performing remediation.

Pick the licence that matches what you will actually do, then check whether your company also needs an entity licence. A licensed individual working for an unlicensed company does not make the company compliant.

What training and exam does Texas require?

Contractor and consultant licences require training from a TDLR-accredited provider plus a state examination. TDLR accredits the training providers and the courses, so the question is never "is this a good mold class" but "is this course accredited for this licence."

Work in this order: confirm the licence type, pull the accredited-provider list from TDLR, book the course for that licence, then schedule the exam through the examination provider TDLR names. Doing it the other way around — taking a class you already had planned and hoping it counts — is how people pay twice.

Course hour counts, exam question counts and passing scores are set in the rules and change with rulemaking, so read them on TDLR's laws and rules page rather than trusting a training company's summary.

What insurance and paperwork does the application need?

Texas requires evidence of insurance for licensed mold companies, along with the standard application, fees and proof of training and examination. The specific coverage type and amount are set by rule, and your carrier will need to issue a certificate that matches what TDLR asks for rather than a generic general-liability certificate.

Build the file before you apply: training completion documents, exam results, entity documentation for the company licence, insurance certificates and the responsible person's details. Applications stall on missing insurance documentation more than on anything else, because the certificate has to be requested from a carrier who may never have written a mold policy before.

Current fees, forms and insurance requirements are published on the TDLR mold program site.

What is the Texas small-project exemption?

Texas exempts small mold projects below a square-footage threshold set in the statute and rules. Below that line the licensing requirements do not attach, which is why a homeowner or a maintenance crew can clean a small area of growth without a licence.

Two cautions. The threshold is a legal definition, not an estimate — how you measure affected area, and whether adjacent areas count together, is decided by the rules, so read them on TDLR's laws and rules page. And a job that starts small often does not stay small: once you open a wall cavity and find growth running past the threshold, you are in licensed territory mid-project.

Document the size finding before demolition. If the exemption is your defence, the measurement and photos taken at the start of the job are the evidence for it.

What is the Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation, and who gets it?

A licensed mold assessor issues a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation to the property owner after a covered remediation project. It records that the work was performed, and it is the closing document Texas built into the program — the remediator does not issue it about their own work.

The certificate then travels with the property. Sellers must provide certificates to buyers, so a certificate issued today can surface in a transaction years later, and an owner who cannot produce one for past mold work has an awkward disclosure conversation.

For a contractor, three practical consequences follow. Bring an independent licensed assessor into the project plan from the start, because there is no one else who can issue the certificate. Make sure your documentation supports what the assessor has to attest. And explain the certificate to the property owner up front — it is a benefit of doing the job correctly, and it is easier to price when the client understands they are getting a document that protects a future sale.

The certificate requirements and the form itself come from TDLR; do not use a form a training company handed you.

Does IICRC AMRT count toward a Texas license?

Not automatically. TDLR requires training from providers it has accredited for the licence you are seeking, so an AMRT certification does not by itself satisfy the state training requirement. Some providers hold both approvals — that is a question for the provider and for TDLR's accredited list.

AMRT still earns its place. The ANSI/IICRC S520 is the standard of care the industry works to, Texas clients and carriers ask about IICRC certifications, and the containment, negative-air and verification thinking you learn in the AMRT class is the same thinking a Texas remediation protocol expects. Treat AMRT as competence and the licence as permission.

How do you renew a Texas mold license?

Texas licences run on a fixed term with a renewal application, a fee, and continuing-education requirements set in the rules. TDLR's renewal pages carry the current term length, CE hours and deadlines for each licence type.

Renew early. A lapsed licence in a licensing state does not just cost a late fee — it means the work you performed while lapsed was unlicensed work, and that is an enforcement question rather than an administrative one. Diary the renewal alongside your IICRC certification renewals so a single missed month does not take out both.

Frequently asked questions