Quick facts: Texas requirements
- General contractor licence
- Does not exist statewide
- Franchise tax
- Texas Comptroller, filed annually by every entity, due May 15
Fees, bond amounts, and rules change. Verify every item with the responsible agency before you rely on it.
The first thing to get right about Texas is what it does not have: a statewide general contractor license. There is no single board that licenses "contractors" the way many other states do. What Texas actually has is entity registration through the Secretary of State, an annual franchise tax filing through the Comptroller regardless of what your business does, and a specific list of trades the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses individually.
Want this mapped to your exact trade? Build your free Contractor Lane roadmap.
What actually governs a Texas contracting business
There is no general contractor license to apply for. TDLR licenses specific construction-related trades - electricians, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, elevator and escalator work, water well drillers and pump installers, and a handful of others - but a general contractor doing framing, remodeling, or handyman-style work without one of those specific scopes has no state license to obtain. That does not mean no rules apply: cities and counties across Texas commonly impose their own local licensing, registration, or permitting requirements, and those vary place to place.
Every entity files with the Comptroller, whether or not it owes tax. The franchise tax report is due May 15 every year, moving to the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday. For the 2026-2027 report years, entities with annualized total revenue at or below $2,650,000 file a Public Information Report or Ownership Report instead of a full tax calculation - but they still file something. Skipping it because "I didn't owe anything" is not correct; the filing obligation is separate from the tax liability. Rates for entities that do owe: 0.375% for retail or wholesale businesses, 0.75% for most others, with a 0.331% EZ Computation Rate available under $20 million in revenue.
If your trade IS one TDLR licenses, the rules are real and specific. Electrical contractors, for example, go through a defined TDLR application process with its own exemptions and its own enforcement schedule for unlicensed work and advertising. The requirements differ meaningfully by trade - an electrical contractor license application looks nothing like an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor application - so check the specific TDLR program for your trade rather than assuming a generic "contractor license" process applies.
Where people get this wrong
The most common mistake runs in two directions. Some new Texas contractors spend time hunting for a general contractor license application that does not exist, assuming they are missing something. Others take the absence of a state general license to mean nothing is regulated, and then find out the hard way that their specific trade is one of the ones TDLR does license, or that the city they are working in has its own permit and registration requirements the state never mentioned.
Not sure if your trade needs a TDLR license? Contractor Lane checks before you assume either way.
Where Contractor Lane comes in
Contractor Lane sorts out what genuinely applies to your specific trade in Texas - whether that means a TDLR application, just local permitting, or neither - instead of leaving you to guess from a state structure that does not look like most other states'.
Build your free roadmap to get the sequence for your specific trade and location.
General educational information for people starting a business in Texas. Requirements and fees change. Contractor Lane is not a law firm or tax advisor.
Common questions
Does Texas have a general contractor license?
No. Texas has no statewide general contractor license. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses specific trades instead - electricians, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, elevator/escalator work, water well drillers, and a handful of others. A general remodeling or handyman-style contractor with no trade-specific scope may not need a state license at all, though cities and counties can and do impose their own local licensing or permitting requirements. Source: TDLR Programs Licensed and Regulated.
Do I have to file a Texas franchise tax report even if I owe no tax?
Yes. Every Texas entity above a minimal size files something with the Comptroller every year. For the 2026-2027 report years, entities with annualized total revenue at or below $2,650,000 file a Public Information Report or Ownership Report instead of a full tax report - but they still file. The report is due May 15, moving to the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday. Source: Texas Comptroller, Franchise Tax.