Is Your Cleaning Company Licensed and Insured in Texas?

Almost every cleaning company in Texas describes itself as licensed and insured. We do it too — it is on the bottom of every page of this site. The phrase is so common that it has stopped carrying information, and most people hiring a cleaner have no idea which part of it can be checked, which part cannot, and which part means something different in Texas than it does anywhere else in the country.

This guide is the version we would want a customer to read before signing anything, including with us. It covers what a Texas cleaning company is genuinely required to hold, how to verify it yourself in about five minutes without paying anyone, and the one insurance question that is specific to Texas and that almost nobody asks.

This is general information about how licensing and insurance work in Texas, not legal or tax advice. For your own situation, check with the agency linked in each section or with your own adviser.

At a Glance

There Is No Cleaning Licence in Texas

Start here, because it changes how you read every cleaning company's website: Texas does not issue a licence for cleaning or janitorial services. There is no state board, no exam, no certificate number to ask for. Texas is one of the easiest states in the country in which to start a cleaning business, and that is a deliberate policy choice rather than an oversight.

What follows from that is worth sitting with. When a Texas cleaning company says it is “licensed”, it cannot mean state-licensed for cleaning, because no such licence exists. In practice the honest reading is: the business is properly registered, it holds the tax permit it is required to hold, and it carries insurance. Those are real things. They are just not the thing the word normally implies.

Three kinds of paperwork do genuinely apply:

• Business registration. An LLC or corporation is registered with the Texas Secretary of State. A sole proprietor may operate under an assumed name filing instead. Either way there is a legal entity behind the invoice, and you are entitled to know its name.
• A Texas sales tax permit. This is the one that is genuinely mandatory for a cleaning company, and it is the one you can look up. More on it in the next section.
• Local requirements. Cities and counties can require their own general business registration, and rules differ across the state. San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels and San Marcos do not all treat a service business identically, so “we are registered in Texas” is not automatically the same as “we are registered where you are”.

The One Permit You Can Actually Verify

Cleaning is a taxable service in Texas. Building and grounds cleaning, janitorial and custodial work are classified as taxable real property services, set out in the Texas Administrative Code at 34 TAC §3.356 and listed among taxable services in the Comptroller's publication 96-259, Taxable Services. The same rule covers keeping the inside and outside of a building clean, orderly and functional — which is the job description of every cleaning contractor in the state.

Because the service is taxable, a company selling it has to be registered with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to collect and remit that tax. The permit itself is free and is applied for through the Comptroller's eSystems portal. That means there is no cost excuse for not having one.

And here is the part most people never use: the permit is public.

How to check it, in under a minute

1. Open the Comptroller's Sales Taxpayer Search.
2. Search by the company's legal or business name. You can also search by taxpayer number or employer identification number if you have one from an invoice or a quote.
3. Read the status. A permit shows as active or inactive.
4. Check that the name on the record is the entity that will actually invoice you. A trading name that maps to no registered taxpayer is worth a question.

What this proves: the business exists as a taxable entity, is registered with the state, and is set up to handle tax properly. That is a genuine baseline, and plenty of cash-only operators will not clear it.

What it does not prove: anything about quality, insurance, staff screening or whether they will show up. It is a floor, not a recommendation.

If you want to understand what will and will not appear as tax on your invoice, including the exceptions for new residential construction, that is a topic in its own right and we cover it in whether cleaning services are taxable in Texas. The Comptroller's publication 94-157, Homebuilders and Real Property Services is the source for the construction side.

Insurance: What to Ask For and What to Read

Texas does not require a cleaning company to carry liability insurance. Commercial landlords, property managers, medical practices and school districts almost always do, which is why any contractor working in those buildings will have it. For a homeowner nobody is checking on your behalf, so you have to.

General liability

This is the cover that responds when something is damaged or someone is hurt in the course of the work: a stone counter marked by the wrong chemical, a slip on a wet floor, a fitting broken while moving furniture. Ask for a certificate of insurance, the one-page summary the insurer issues. On it, check three things and ignore the rest:

• The name. It must be the entity that is going to invoice you. Certificates in a different name than the contract are common and meaningless.
• The policy period. It has to cover the dates you are booking. Certificates get emailed for years after they expire.
• What is listed. General liability should be there by name. If you are contracting for a commercial building, ask to be named as an additional insured — that is a normal request and a routine endorsement.

A company that hesitates to send a certificate is telling you something. It takes a contractor about one email to their broker.

The Texas-specific part: workers' compensation is optional here

This is the piece almost nobody asks about, and it is the one where Texas genuinely differs from everywhere else. Texas is the only state in the United States that does not require private employers to carry workers' compensation coverage. The Texas Department of Insurance calls an employer that opts out a non-subscriber, and it is a legal choice, not a violation.

Non-subscribers do carry obligations. They have to post a notice of no coverage in the workplace in English and Spanish, and give written notice to new hires that there is no coverage. An employer with five or more employees that chooses not to carry coverage has to tell the state, by filing DWC Form-005 each year between 1 February and 30 April.

Why it matters to you as the customer rather than as an employer: if a cleaner is injured while working in your home or your building and their employer carries no coverage, the injury does not simply resolve inside a state system. The route it takes is different, and it can end up pointed at the premises instead. You are hiring people to work in your space, often outside your hours, frequently on wet floors and ladders.

So the question to ask is short: are you a workers' compensation subscriber or a non-subscriber? Either answer can be fine. A company that does not understand the question is the problem.

Bonded is not insured

These two get used interchangeably in advertising and they cover opposite things. A janitorial or surety bond is protection against employee dishonesty — theft from your premises by someone on the crew. Liability insurance covers accidental damage and injury. A company can be bonded and uninsured, or insured and unbonded, and both can truthfully claim one word of the pair.

If your concern is an empty office being cleaned at 10pm with nobody watching, bonding is the word you want, and you should ask about it by name rather than accepting “bonded and insured” as a single unit.

The Five-Minute Verification Checklist

In the order that gets the most information for the least effort:

1. Get the legal entity name. Off the quote, the invoice or by asking. Trading names are fine, but you need the entity behind it.
2. Look up the sales tax permit. Sales Taxpayer Search, search by name, check active status.
3. Ask for a certificate of insurance. Check name, policy period, and that general liability is listed. Request additional insured status for commercial work.
4. Ask the workers' comp question. Subscriber or non-subscriber. Note the answer.
5. Ask about bonding if the building will be unattended during cleaning.
6. Ask who is actually coming. Employees or subcontractors, and whether they are screened. Subcontracted crews can sit outside the insurance you were just shown.
7. Get the scope in writing. Room by room, task by task, with frequency. This is where most disappointment comes from, not from paperwork.

Our guide on how to choose a cleaning company in Central Texas covers steps six and seven in more depth, and how commercial cleaning is priced per square foot explains what should be in the number they quote you.

Red Flags

• No legal entity name anywhere — not on the quote, the invoice or the website
• No sales tax permit on file with the Comptroller, or one that shows inactive
• No sales tax on the invoice for building cleaning, with no explanation of which exception applies
• A certificate of insurance in a different name from the contracting party
• An expired policy period, or reluctance to send a current certificate at all
• “Bonded and insured” used as one phrase, with no answer when you separate them
• Cash only, or a refusal to invoice
• A price far below every other quote — which is usually uninsured, unpermitted or subcontracted to someone who is

Where Texas Sparkle Services Stands

Since this article amounts to a list of questions to interrogate cleaning companies with, here is our own position on it. Texas Sparkle Services LLC is a registered Texas entity, licensed and insured, and we provide a certificate of insurance on request — for commercial accounts it goes into your project file before we mobilise, and we can be named as additional insured. Our capability statement carries the NAICS codes we operate under (561720 janitorial services, 561740 carpet and upholstery cleaning, 561790 other services to buildings, 561210 facilities support services) for clients who need it for a bid package.

We are not going to publish policy numbers or coverage amounts on a public web page, and neither should anyone else — those belong in a certificate issued to you, for your dates, by the insurer. Ask us for it. If you want to check the tax permit before you even call, the Comptroller's search is public and we would rather you used it.

We clean across San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels and San Marcos — commercial cleaning, office and janitorial contracts, medical office cleaning and house cleaning. If you are comparing us against another quote, use the checklist above on both of us.

Sources

• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Sales Taxpayer Search
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Publication 96-259, Taxable Services
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Publication 94-157, Homebuilders and Real Property Services
• Texas Administrative Code — Title 34, Part 1, Chapter 3, §3.356, Real Property Service
• Texas Department of Insurance — Non-subscribers and reporting requirements

Frequently Asked Questions

Do cleaning companies need a licence in Texas?

Texas does not issue a statewide licence for cleaning or janitorial work, so no cleaning company in Texas holds one. What a legitimate company does hold is a Texas sales tax permit from the Comptroller of Public Accounts, because building cleaning and janitorial services are taxable services in Texas. Cities and counties can add their own general business registration on top, which varies by location.

So what does “licensed and insured” mean on a Texas cleaning company's website?

In Texas it means registered and insured rather than state-licensed, because there is no state cleaning licence to hold. Read it as: the business is properly registered, holds a sales tax permit, and carries liability insurance. It is a reasonable claim, but it is not a credential you can look up under that name, which is exactly why you should check the two things you can verify.

How do I check a cleaning company's sales tax permit for free?

Use the Texas Comptroller's Sales Taxpayer Search at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/taxpayer-search.php. You can search by business name, taxpayer number or employer identification number and see whether the permit is active or inactive. It takes under a minute and costs nothing.

Is workers' compensation insurance required for cleaning companies in Texas?

No. Texas is the only state in the country where workers' compensation coverage is optional for private employers. A company that opts out is called a non-subscriber. Non-subscribers must post a notice of no coverage in the workplace in English and Spanish, give written notice to new hires, and, if they employ five or more people, file DWC Form-005 with the state each year between 1 February and 30 April.

Why should a customer care whether the cleaner carries workers' comp?

Because if a cleaner is injured while working in your building and their employer has no coverage, the route the injury claim takes is different, and a claim can end up pointed at the property owner or occupier instead. Asking whether a contractor is a subscriber or a non-subscriber is a fair question and a professional company will answer it plainly.

What is a certificate of insurance and what should I look for on it?

A certificate of insurance, usually called a COI, is a one-page summary issued by the insurer that names the policyholder, the type of cover, the policy period and the limits. Check that the name on it matches the company you are actually hiring, that the policy period covers the dates you need, and that general liability is listed. Ask to be added as an additional insured if you are contracting for a commercial building.

Is a bonded cleaning company the same as an insured one?

No, and the two get mixed up constantly. A janitorial or surety bond is protection against employee dishonesty, such as theft from your premises. Liability insurance covers accidental damage and injury. A company can be bonded and uninsured, or insured and unbonded. If theft from an unattended building is your concern, ask specifically about bonding.

Are cleaning services taxable in Texas, and should tax appear on my invoice?

Building cleaning and janitorial services are taxable real property services in Texas, so sales tax normally appears on the invoice for cleaning a home, office or other building. There are specific exceptions, including cleaning bought by a builder as part of new residential construction. We cover the detail, and the exceptions, in our separate guide on whether cleaning services are taxable in Texas.