A lawn care or irrigation business in Texas answers to three agencies before it answers to a customer: the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for sprinkler systems, the Texas Department of Agriculture for pesticides, and nobody at the state level for mowing. Only one of those three has an insurance rule. This page quotes the rules as of October 2026 and links each one.
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Irrigators and TCEQ
TCEQ licenses the people who install and service sprinkler systems. On its licensing page, TCEQ says:
“A person may not sell, design, install, maintain, alter, repair, service or inspect an irrigation system—or consult in these activities—in this state, unless the person is licensed by the TCEQ.”
Source: TCEQ, Occupational Licenses: Landscape Irrigator, Irrigation Technician, and Irrigation Inspector.
The same agency answered the insurance question in a document written for city and water district staff. The question was “What are the insurance requirements to be a licensed irrigator, irrigation technician, or irrigation inspector?” The answer, word for word:
“TCEQ does not have any insurance or bonding requirements to be licensed to perform irrigation work in Texas.”
Source: TCEQ, Questions and Answers for Local Governments.
That document is a staff FAQ, not a rule. The irrigation licensing statute, Occupations Code Chapter 1903, contains no section on insurance or bonding; the only uses of the word “financial” in it concern advisory council membership and license eligibility (statute text). I did not read TCEQ’s rule chapter, 30 TAC Chapter 344, line by line. If you need a definitive answer for your situation, ask TCEQ or a licensed agent.
Pesticide applicators and the Texas Department of Agriculture
Spraying or spreading pesticide for hire is the other state-regulated piece of lawn care. TDA says:
“Applicators who want to apply any pesticide (regardless of classification and including general-use) to ornamental plants, trees, lawns, or weeds for hire must be licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA).”
It adds: “Applicators who apply only fertilizer do not need to be licensed by TDA.”
Source: TDA, Applying Pesticides to Ornamentals, Trees, Lawns, or Weeds.
The insurance rule sits in the Agriculture Code. Section 76.111(c) reads:
“Except as otherwise provided by this section, each applicator business shall file with the regulatory agency issuing the license a liability insurance policy, certification of a policy, or other proof of financial responsibility considered acceptable by the department protecting persons who may suffer damages as a result of the operations of the applicator business, its employees, and its agents.”
Section 76.111(e) sets the floor:
“Except as otherwise provided by this section, the amount of the proof of financial responsibility may not be less than $100,000 for each occurrence for property damage and may not be less than $100,000 for each occurrence for bodily injury or a general aggregate at a minimum of $200,000 for each occurrence.”
Source: Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 76, Section 76.111.
Read the definition before you apply that to yourself. Subsection (a)(1) defines “applicator business” as “a person who applies a state-limited-use or restricted-use pesticide or regulated herbicide to the land of another for compensation” and who is a licensed commercial applicator or employs one. TDA describes the same registration on its applicator license page: the business must “provide proof of liability financial responsibility in the amount of $100,000 property damage and $100,000 bodily injury per occurrence or a general aggregate at a minimum of $200,000 for each occurrence.” Source: TDA, Pesticide Commercial/Noncommercial Applicator License.
I cannot tell you from those pages whether a lawn service that applies only general-use products falls inside that definition. That is a question for TDA’s licensing division and your agent.
The other license, Structural Pest Control Service
TDA’s lawn page says a for-hire applicator can hold an Ag Pest license or a Structural Pest Control Service license. The second has its own statute. Occupations Code Section 1951.312(a)(1) says the department may not issue or renew a structural pest control business license until the applicant:
“files with the department a policy or contract of insurance, approved as sufficient by the department, in an amount not less than $200,000 for bodily injury and property damage coverage, with a minimum total aggregate of $300,000 for all occurrences, insuring the applicant against liability for damage to persons or property occurring as a result of operations performed in the course of the business of structural pest control on premises or any other property under the applicant’s care, custody, or control;”
Subsection (b) adds: “A structural pest control business license holder shall at all times maintain the insurance policy or contract or the security described by Subsection (a)(3) in the amount approved by the department.”
Source: Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1951, Section 1951.312.
Workers’ compensation
Mowing crews are employees, so the workers’ compensation question comes up. Labor Code Section 406.002(a) reads: “Except for public employers and as otherwise provided by law, an employer may elect to obtain workers’ compensation insurance coverage.” Source: Texas Labor Code Chapter 406. Our guide on workers’ comp and nonsubscriber status in Texas explains what that election means in practice.
Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Fort Worth
This page quotes no city ordinance, because I did not find one that sets an insurance requirement for lawn care or irrigation work. I checked TCEQ’s local government FAQ, which says cities of 20,000 or more must adopt a landscape irrigation ordinance at least as stringent as TCEQ’s rules, and which lists no insurance requirement. I could not search the cities’ online codes of ordinances in full, so treat this as a gap, not a finding. Large cities do register building contractors, and whether a given city’s registration reaches a landscaper is a question for that city’s permitting office.
What a certificate of insurance is
A certificate of insurance is a one-page summary of a policy, prepared by your agent. Insurance Code Section 1811.152 says: “A certificate of insurance is not a policy of insurance and does not amend, extend, or alter the coverage afforded by the referenced insurance policy.” Source: Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1811. Our guide on the certificate of insurance for Texas contractors walks through the form box by box.
Who asks a new landscaper for one
Property managers, HOAs, and commercial building owners are the usual requesters. A property manager wants proof of coverage on file before a vendor starts, as our certificate guide explains. None of the rules quoted above tells them to ask. The request comes from their own contracts and vendor files, and each one writes its own terms. What they want to see, and in what amounts, is a decision for your agent to read against the contract in front of you.
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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.