Texas does not license general contractors, and as of October 2026 I found no state law that tells a general contractor or remodeler how much liability insurance to carry. Cities fill part of the gap. San Antonio ties insurance limits to its contractor registrations. Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth run their own registration or permit rules, and the text I read does not state an insurance amount for general contractors. Each rule below is quoted as written, with the page it came from.
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I am a landlord and a cost estimator, not an agent or an attorney. This guide reports what the rules say. It does not tell you what to buy or what limits to carry. Where I could not confirm something, I say so.
What the state requires
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) keeps a public list of the programs it licenses and regulates at tdlr.texas.gov/licenses.htm. I read it on October 31, 2026. It includes air conditioning contractors, electricians, and elevator contractors. General contracting is not on it, and neither is roofing. Our guide to which Texas trades must carry liability insurance by law quotes the insurance rules for the trades that are on the list.
That is a statement about what I found, not a promise that no Texas rule exists anywhere. I did not read every chapter of Texas law. If a job depends on the answer, ask a licensed agent or an attorney.
Two cities say the same thing about the license in their own words. Austin’s How to Select a Contractor page reads: “A State of Texas license is not required to be a General Contractor for a Building Permit.” Houston’s plan review page reads: “A general contractor’s license is not required to obtain building permits.”
What cities say
A city can require a contractor to register before it pulls a permit, and it can attach insurance to that registration. Here is what the five largest say, as of October 2026. Where a city’s page or code is silent on insurance, I say that and do not fill the gap.
San Antonio
San Antonio is the only one of the five I found that ties stated insurance limits to general contractor work. Its Building and Home Improvement page sorts building contractors into three types. For the first, it says:
Commercial General Contractor There are no license or registration requirements for commercial general contractors.
A Home Improvement Contractor registration is for “limited repair and replacement such as” non-structural remodeling alterations, conversions, and modernizations. The page lists these requirements:
A certificate of liability insurance with The City of San Antonio listed as the certificate holder Must maintain the following type and minimum limits of liability: $300,000 per occurrence (combined for property damage and bodily injury) $600,000 (total amount the policy will pay for property damage and bodily injury coverage) $300,000 for products and completed operations
A Residential Building Contractor registration is required for new residential construction, additions, foundation repairs, and remodeling “that involve structural work.” The page lists the same requirement for a certificate of liability insurance with the city as certificate holder, with these limits:
$500,000 per occurrence (combined for property damage and bodily injury) $1,000,000 (total amount the policy will pay for property damage and bodily injury) $500,000 for products and completed operations
The page also lists an FBI national background check, a government-issued photo ID, and, for residential building, a Residential ICC certification or another certification the Building Official approves. Development Services answers questions at 210-207-1111.
Dallas
Dallas registers general contractors in Chapter 52 of its City Code, Subchapter 11. I read the city’s published booklet of Chapter 52, which is labeled “Current through March 27, 2024” and says it is “for informational purposes only.” Section 1101.1 defines two general contractor types:
COMMERCIAL GENERAL CONTRACTOR means a person engaged in the business of constructing a commercial structure, building, or other improvement for the owner or developer and who retains a construction labor force or uses subcontractors.
RESIDENTIAL GENERAL CONTRACTOR means a person engaged in the business of constructing residential structures, buildings, or other improvements on property that is not the contractor’s homestead.
Section 1102.1 says who must register:
It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, or demolish any building, sign, or structure in the city, or cause the same to be done, unless such person, firm, or corporation is the holder of a valid registration with the city to perform such work.
The same section closes with: “In extending the rights and privileges of such registration, the city makes no statement of the technical competency of those so registered, and no manner of license is proffered.” Section 1103.1 lists what the application must include. Insurance is not on that list, and I found no insurance amount anywhere in Subchapter 11.
Remodelers face a second Dallas rule. Section 1103.1.1 reads:
Except as provided in Section 50-135 of the Dallas City Code, to register or renew a registration with the city, residential contractors whose work includes any remodeling or additions to a single-family or duplex structure must have a current home repair license issued under Chapter 50 of the Dallas City Code.
Chapter 50, Article X of the Dallas City Code, on home repair, defines “home repair” as “the addition, improvement, remodeling, repair, or replacement to an existing single-family or duplex dwelling” and related structures, and Section 50-134 says: “A person who is not a licensee shall not perform, agree to perform, or advertise or represent that he will perform a home repair for compensation.” Section 50-136(c) lists what the license application must contain. Insurance is not among the listed items. The city’s repair license application form that I read asks for no insurance information either.
Dallas Chapter 52 does name a liability amount in one place, the permit to barricade public property or a public way. Section 301.4.4.1 requires proof of insurance for that permit, and items 1 and 2 read:
The commercial general liability insurance must provide combined single limits of liability for bodily injury and property damage of not less than $500,000 for each occurrence, or the equivalent, and include coverage for premises operations, independent contractors, products/completed operations, personal injury, contractual liability, and medical payments.
The comprehensive automobile liability insurance must provide combined single limits of liability for bodily injury and property damage of not less than $500,000 for each occurrence, or the equivalent, for each motor vehicle used by the permittee.
That rule applies to a job that occupies a street or sidewalk, not to every remodel. The booklet is the city’s Chapter 52 PDF. It says later amendments may not appear in it, so confirm with Building Inspection at (214) 948-4480.
Houston
Houston’s plan review page says, under its residential licensing and registration heading:
A general contractor’s license is not required to obtain building permits. However, trade contractors (i.e., Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical) are required to register their license with the City of Houston.
Under its commercial heading, the same page says: “A license is not required to obtain a structural permit or a paving permit for commercial projects.” I found no insurance amount for general contractors on the page. The city does state one for a different trade. Its Voluntary Registration Program for roofing contractors asks for general liability limits of $500,000 for bodily injury and $500,000 for property damage per occurrence.
Austin
Austin’s Contractor Registration page says:
A General Contractor (GC) is the responsible individual assigned to a Building Permit. In Texas, anyone can be a General Contractor, including homeowners, and a state license is not required.
A general contractor registers with Building and Trade Contractor Services before being assigned to a building permit. The page lists a Letter of Authorization as the item to upload, and says a general contractor does not have to renew yearly: “General Contractors are not required to update their registration annually since a license is not required.” It states no insurance amount for general contractor registration. The only insurance line is an update rule:
All contractors must submit a Letter of Authorization for any changes to contact information, company ownership, agent changes, or license and insurance status.
Fort Worth
Fort Worth’s Contractor Registration page says that anyone “obtaining a permit related to the building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical provisions of the City of Fort Worth’s Codes shall have on file in the Development Services Department a valid Contractor Registration.” The exceptions are owners of single-family residences working on their own homestead and owners of commercial property installing banners on their own property. One of the listed registration types is Building Contractor.
The city’s registration application marks which types need insurance with two footnotes:
*Insurance Required
**Insurance and Bond Required
On that form the asterisks attach to Master Plumbing, Wrecking Contractor, Moving Contractor, and Parkway. The Building line carries no footnote. The page lists a $168.75 annual fee for building contractors. Development Services answers questions at 817-392-2222.
Public jobs and workers’ compensation
One state rule on insurance reaches general contractors and their subcontractors on government work. Labor Code Section 406.096 reads in part:
(a) A governmental entity that enters into a building or construction contract shall require the contractor to certify in writing that the contractor provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage for each employee of the contractor employed on the public project.
(b) Each subcontractor on the public project shall provide such a certificate relating to coverage of the subcontractor’s employees to the general contractor, who shall provide the subcontractor’s certificate to the governmental entity.
Subsection (e) defines “building or construction” to include “remodeling, extending, repairing, or demolishing a structure.” I read this section on a Texas statute mirror, texas.public.law, because the legislature’s page would not display it in full to me. On private jobs, workers’ compensation is the contractor’s choice under state law, and a customer’s contract can still ask for it.
What a certificate of insurance is and who asks for one
A certificate of insurance is a one-page summary of a policy, prepared by the agent and sent to whoever asked for it. Under Texas Insurance Code Section 1811.152 it is not a policy and does not change the coverage of the policy it names. Our guide to the certificate of insurance for Texas contractors goes through the ACORD 25 field by field. Our guide to the commercial general liability policy covers the policy the certificate usually describes.
A new general contracting business tends to hear the request from the same places. A customer asks before work starts, and so does a property manager or owner. A lender asks when the work is part of a financed project. A larger general contractor asks when hiring the business as a subcontractor. A governmental entity asks, for workers’ compensation, under Section 406.096. Where a city registration lists insurance, as in San Antonio, the city asks for a certificate naming itself as holder. Read the form, not the brochure, and read the certificate when it arrives.
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Leave your name and number. We pass your request to one licensed Texas insurance agency, and that agency calls you back. PolicyCompared does not sell insurance.