Mold Testing and Removal: Why Texas Requires 2 Companies

Section 1958.155, titled "Conflict of Interest; Disclosure Required," has four parts (full text):

1. No doing both. "A license holder may not perform both mold assessment and mold remediation on the same project."
2. No owning both. A person may not have an ownership interest in both the assessment business and the remediation business working on the same project.
3. Ownership must be disclosed. A licensed company that isn't an individual must disclose to TDLR the name, address and occupation of each person with an ownership interest, and report ownership changes.
4. One exception. The rule doesn't apply to a license holder employed by a school district working on that district's own project.

TDLR's FAQ confirms how this works in practice: a company may hold both an assessment and a remediation license, but "you are not allowed to conduct both mold assessment and mold remediation activities on the same project," unless you work for a school district on its own project.

The state's rules repeat the point. Every license holder must comply with § 1958.155, and the TDLR code of ethics requires licensees to not participate in activities where a conflict of interest might arise and to disclose any known or potential conflicts to the people affected.

Texas law defines the two jobs differently.

Mold assessment means an inspection, investigation, or survey of a dwelling or other structure, the development of a mold management plan or remediation protocol, or the collection or analysis of a mold sample. This is mold testing.

Mold remediation means the removal, cleaning, sanitizing, demolition, or other treatment of mold or mold-contaminated material. This is mold removal.

Each needs its own license: a person may not do either job unless the person holds the matching mold assessment or mold remediation license.

Here's how a licensed Texas mold project moves from start to finish, and who is responsible at each step.

Table: mold assessor vs remediator responsibilities on a Texas mold project.

Notice the shape: the assessor is at both ends of the job, and the remediator is in the middle. The assessor defines the work, and the same profession checks whether it was done. The remediator never grades their own work.

For more detail on each stage, see the mold remediation process and mold clearance testing.

Think about who sets the size of the job. The protocol lists the estimated quantities of materials to be cleaned or removed. The more material the protocol calls for, the bigger the removal job. If the same company wrote the protocol and did the removal, it would be deciding the size of its own work order. Section 1958.155 takes that incentive away.

The split protects you in three practical ways:

• An honest scope. The person measuring the problem earns the same whether the protocol calls for one wall or a whole room. TDLR's ethics rules also require licensees to provide only necessary and desired services and not sell unnecessary ones.
• An independent pass/fail. Clearance is decided by a consultant against criteria written down before work started. A project only clears if it meets the protocol's clearance criteria. If it fails, the consultant must issue a written final status report to you and the remediator.
• A fair bid. Because the protocol exists before you hire a remover, every removal company can bid on the same written scope. You compare like with like.

The ethics code also bars licensees from any representation designed to take advantage of the fears or emotions of the public or a customer. Separating the jobs makes a scare-and-sell pitch much harder to pull off.

It also matters for insurance and resale. Only a licensed remediator can give you a Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation, and the certificate is signed by both a licensed mold assessment consultant and a mold remediation contractor. TDLR notes such a certification may be presented to an insurer, and if you sell the home within five years you must give the buyer a copy. See does insurance cover mold.

1. Hire the testing company first. Find a licensed assessment company or consultant on our city pages, such as Houston mold testing, Dallas mold testing or Austin mold testing.
2. Verify the license. Look up both the company and the individual consultant on our Texas mold license check or TDLR's own license search. Our guide on how to check a Texas mold license explains each license type.
3. Get the report and protocol in writing. The protocol cover page must be signed and dated with the consultant's license number and expiration date.
4. Send the protocol to two or three removal companies. Find them on pages like Houston mold removal or San Antonio mold removal. Ask each to bid on the protocol as written.
5. Ask each removal company about ownership. A simple question: "Does anyone at your company own part of the testing company I used?" Under § 1958.155(b), no one may own both on the same project.
6. Look for the consumer information sheet. The licensee overseeing the work must give you TDLR's Consumer Mold Information Sheet at least one calendar day before work starts, and TDLR's contact details must appear on reports, bids, contracts, and bills.
7. Use the same assessor for clearance. TDLR says a consultant who has not prepared a mold remediation protocol in advance of a remediation project cannot declare that the project has achieved clearance. Plan from day one for your protocol author to come back.

Not every job needs this full process. Under § 1958.102, remediation of contamination under 25 contiguous square feet is exempt from licensing, and homeowners can work on their own property. The EPA says you can usually handle areas less than about 10 square feet yourself. Costs for both jobs are covered in mold testing cost and mold remediation cost.

A company can hold both licenses. TDLR says one person can too, "if you meet all qualifications and requirements for each license". What it can't do is both on your project. Testing one house and removing mold at another house is fine; testing and removing at the same house on the same project is not.

What to do if one company offers both on the same job

Some offers sound like "we'll test it, and if we find mold, our crew can start tomorrow." If you hear that:

• Choose one role for that company. Let it either test or remove, not both. If it already did your assessment, hire a different company for removal.
• Ask about related companies. A "sister company" that does the other half may still share owners. Under § 1958.155(b), a shared owner is not allowed on the same project. Ask directly and get the answer in writing.
• Check both licenses. Look up each company on our license check. If the same names appear behind both, keep looking.
• Report it if needed. TDLR accepts complaints online, and you must file a complaint within two years of the event. TDLR's complaint page is here.

Note that a remediator usually needs to look at the area to price the job. But collecting samples and writing the protocol are mold assessment, which belongs to the testing company.

Texas isn't alone.

• Florida: A licensed mold assessor may not perform or offer to perform any mold remediation on a structure where the assessor or the assessor's company did a mold assessment within the last 12 months, and the same restriction applies in reverse to remediators. The statute carves out certain certified Division I contractors (Fla. Stat. § 468.8419).
• New York: Labor Law § 936 says "No licensee shall perform both mold assessment and mold remediation on the same property" and that no person may own an interest in both the assessment and remediation licensees on the same property.

Three of the country's largest states reached the same conclusion: the tester and the remover should be independent.

We list testing and removal companies on separate pages, and we check every listed company against TDLR records. You can read how we verify companies, or browse licensed companies across Texas.