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Texas does not license general contractors statewide — a notable gap — but electricians and air conditioning contractors are licensed statewide through TDLR, and plumbers through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. For general building work, check local registration, insurance, and references carefully since no state license exists.

Start with the official lookup linked above from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Confirm the license or registration is active, that the classification matches your project, and check for disciplinary history or complaints. Then verify general liability insurance — and workers' compensation if the company has employees — directly with the insurance carrier, not from a photocopied certificate.

If something goes wrong, your state consumer protection office and the licensing board are the places to file complaints. Keep the written contract, invoices, photos, and all communication.

Permits are issued by city building departments. Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio each run their own systems, and requirements differ significantly between cities.

For permitted work, the contractor should pull the permit in their own name and schedule the required inspections. An inspection is your independent verification that the work meets code — be cautious of anyone who suggests skipping a required permit or asks you to pull an owner permit for work they are performing.

Extreme summer heat makes cooling capacity critical, hurricanes threaten the Gulf Coast, and hail storms drive roofing demand statewide. Freeze events like 2021 exposed plumbing freeze-protection gaps.

Much of Texas housing is post-1970 slab-on-grade construction. Rapid growth means young stock in the suburbs, but older urban neighborhoods have pier-and-beam homes with aging systems.

Get at least two or three written, itemized quotes. The contract should name the scope, price, payment schedule tied to milestones, start and completion dates, change-order process, and warranty terms. Tie payments to completed work, keep the final payment meaningful until the punch list is done, and never pay the full amount up front.

Federal consumer guidance from the FTC applies everywhere: be wary of door-to-door solicitation after storms, pressure to sign immediately, demands for large cash payments up front, and contractors who cannot provide a verifiable license, insurance, and local references.