Texas: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
Public recordTX LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Texas chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Texas?
#stove-installNONE- Credential
- No installer credential and no statewide contracting layer of any kind (Texas licenses no chimney/solid-fuel/GC work — per Pass 1); TDLR ACR (HVAC) licensing covers environmental air conditioning / process cooling-heating under Occ. Code ch. 1302 and does not reach freestanding wood/pellet stoves (scope-edge UNVERIFIED); THE CODE ABSENCE IS THE FINDING: no statewide residential code outside municipalities — Loc. Gov't Code § 214.212 adopts the IRC 'as it existed on May 1, 2012' as the MUNICIPAL residential code (cities may amend by public-hearing process), so manufacturer-listing/manufacturer-instruction rules reach only incorporated areas; unincorporated Texas has no residential code and no permits at all
- Issuing body
- n/a statewide; municipal building departments (permits, incorporated areas only)
- Statute
- Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 214.212; Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1302 (ACR)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — cities adopt/amend IRC (Austin/Dallas/Houston on newer editions) and issue building/mechanical permits; no city stove-installer license found
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Texas?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- Plumbing license (Journeyman/Master under a Responsible Master Plumber) — Texas 'plumbing' expressly includes gas piping and the installation/repair/service of gas appliances (Occ. Code § 1301.002(7)(A),(B),(D)); LP vs NG SPLIT: LP-gas work is EXEMPT from the plumbing law when performed by an RRC-licensed LP installer (§ 1301.055) — Railroad Commission Alternative Fuels program licenses LP companies by category, Category D 'General Installers and Repairmen' (service/install/repair LP piping and certain appliances) with exam-based employee certification; NO state credential of any kind for chimney/solid-fuel work (no GC license exists) — MISMATCH: same gas-log job takes a TSBPE plumber (NG) or RRC Cat. D (LP) while the chimney above it needs nothing
- Issuing body
- Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (NG); Railroad Commission of Texas — Alternative Fuels Safety (LP)
- Statute
- Tex. Occ. Code §§ 1301.002(7), 1301.351–.352 (license + exam), 1301.055 (LP exemption), 1301.051 (homestead owner exemption); Tex. Nat. Res. Code ch. 113 subch. D; 16 TAC ch. 9
- Dollar threshold
- none (activity-based, no dollar floor)
- Exam
- y (plumbing exams § 1301.352; RRC certification exams for LP company representatives)
- Local overlay
- y — municipal plumbing ordinances/permits (§ 1301.551); political subdivisions must verify the RMP certificate of insurance via the TSBPE website before permitting (§ 1301.552)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Texas require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- none for chimney/GC work (no state credential exists); trade licenses for gas (TSBPE plumbing, TDLR ACR, RRC LP)
- Liability minimum
- NONE for chimney work — nothing to attach it to; Responsible Master Plumber: CGL not less than $300,000 for all claims arising in a one-year period, COI FILED with TSBPE and political subdivisions MUST verify it via the board website before issuing permits (Occ. Code §§ 1301.3576, 1301.552) = STATE-VERIFIED; TDLR ACR contractors (16 TAC § 75.40): Class A $300,000/occurrence + $600,000 aggregate + $300,000 products-completed-ops; Class B $100,000/$200,000/$100,000 — COI filed with TDLR; RRC LP-gas licensees: insurance per 16 TAC § 9.26 Table 1 (ACORD filed with AFS before license grant/renewal; TABLE 1 DOLLAR AMOUNTS UNVERIFIED — table is an image attachment) with licensee duty to notify AFS >=30 days before any cancellation (Form 999)
- Bond
- none — no license bonds in the plumbing law (ch. 1301 reviewed; §§ 1301.506/.711 are appeal/penalty bonds), none in 16 TAC 75.40; LP rule allows a letter-of-credit self-insurance path, not a surety license bond; municipal permit bonds possible LOCAL overlay (UNVERIFIED)
- Guaranty fund
- none — no recovery/guaranty fund of any kind (no GC regime to attach one to; ch. 1301 section list reviewed)
- Workers' comp threshold
- ELECTIVE — Texas is the only state where private-employer workers' comp is optional (Lab. Code § 406.002(a)); no employee threshold exists; EXCEPTION: governmental entities must require coverage certification from contractors AND all subcontractors on public building/construction contracts (§ 406.096); non-subscribers lose common-law defenses and file DWC non-coverage reports
- How to verify
- WC: TDI/DWC TXCOMP 'Locate Covered Employer' (tdi.texas.gov/wc/txcomp.html) — but a blank result is LEGAL in Texas, wording must never imply violation; plumber CGL state-verified via TSBPE lookup (the one solid insurance proxy); ACR COI on file with TDLR
- Confidence
- high (plumbing/ACR/WC); medium (LP Table 1 amounts) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
- REFtexas.public.law/statutes/tex._occ._code_sec…REFtexas.public.law/statutes/tex._occ._code_sec…REFlaw.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/16-Tex-Ad…REFlaw.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/16-Tex-Ad…REFtexas.public.law/statutes/tex._labor_code_se…REFtexas.public.law/statutes/tex._labor_code_se…GOVtdi.texas.gov/wc/txcomp.html
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Texas?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.