How to check who works on your San Antonio bathroom

Why there are three checks

Texas has no state license for general contractors or remodelers. The state licenses the trades inside the job: plumbers through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and electricians through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

1. City of San Antonio registration

To pull a permit for non-structural remodeling inside San Antonio city limits, a contractor must be registered with the city as a Home Improvement Contractor. That registration requires liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence and an FBI background check. The fee is $150 for two years. Structural remodels and additions need a Residential Building Contractor registration instead, which adds an ICC certification and at least $500,000 per occurrence in liability insurance.

The city publishes a list of contractors registered with it, called Contractor Connect. The list keeps contractors whose registration has expired. The city notes that only a valid registration lets a contractor obtain permits. Ask the remodeler for their registration type and number, look them up, and ask for the insurance certificate. If the job is outside city limits, ask what that city requires.

2. The plumber's license

Under Texas Occupations Code Section 1301.351, a person may not do plumbing work without the proper state license, and the work must be supervised by a licensed plumber. Anyone who advertises plumbing must secure the services of a responsible master plumber. Ask for the name and license number of the plumber who will do the work, then look it up on the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners public license search.

A homeowner does not need a plumbing license to do plumbing in their own homestead (Texas Occupations Code Section 1301.051). A contractor working in your house does.

3. The electrician's license

Texas Occupations Code Section 1305.151 bars anyone without a state electrical license from doing electrical work or offering to do it. Look up the electrician or electrical contractor on the TDLR license search.

Two more checks for older houses

• Lead-safe certification. Under EPA's lead renovation rule (RRP), anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in a home built before 1978 must be certified. That includes plumbers and electricians. Minor work that disturbs 6 square feet or less of paint per room inside is not covered. Ask for the firm's EPA certification if the house is from before 1978.
• Historic district approval. The city notes that a property in a historic district or a neighborhood conservation district may face restrictions on design and materials. Corridor districts can carry them too.

What we ask of the contractors we refer

That they use licensed plumbers and electricians, register with the city for work inside city limits, pull the permits the job needs, and give you an itemized written price before work starts. Check all of it yourself anyway.