Do I need a license for water damage restoration?
One of the questions we get asked the most is, “What license do I need to do water damage restoration?” The answer is simple, none! You don’t need any license to perform water damage restoration, HOWEVER, many of the actions performed in water damage restoration work may fall under another license category. Let’s discuss this in more detail.
IICRC Certifications
If you are starting your restoration business, you have probably heard of the IICRC. The IICRC is the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification. The IICRC writes standards, issues certifications, and helps advocate for the industry. The IICRC does NOT teach classes, they have approved schools, like LearnToRestore.com, that teach the courses, then the IICRC issues the certifications to students after completing the course and passing the corresponding exam.
In general, an IICRC certification is not required to perform water damage restoration by any state. There are multiple reasons why you will want IICRC certifications. The first reason is that IICRC courses teach the technical aspects of restoration, in other words, how to do the work the right way. This means you can technically do water damage restoration work without any IICRC certification, BUT you don’t want to do that. Without the proper training, you can make things much worse.
There are also many Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and insurance companies that will require you to have, at a minimum, the IICRC Water Restoration Technician (WRT) certification if you are doing work for their clients. These requirements vary from company to company.
In addition to understanding the technical aspects of performing the work, and meeting requirements set by insurance and TPAs, having certifications will also give your clients confidence in your ability. After obtaining an IICRC certification, you can qualify to become an IICRC certified firm.
State Contractors License
No states issue specific licenses for water damage restoration (check with your state to confirm as laws change all the time!). As we discussed previously, much of the work that you will perform during the water damage restoration process will fall under another contractor license classification. What exactly does this mean?
It means that you can extract water and set drying equipment without any contractors license, but in the process of this dry out, you may need to remove carpet or carpet pad, demo drywall or other building materials, or remove cabinets, among other things. In addition, if you are doing the rebuild portion of the job, you will be performing reconstruction work. These things generally fall within the scope of a contractor’s license.
Each state has different laws, requirements, and license types for contractors licensing. If you call your state contractors board and explain to them what you plan to do, they can tell you what, if any, contractor license you need.
Let’s take Nevada as an example. We can go into a property and extract water, but the moment we need to perform any demolition, we will be required to have a C-31 wrecking license. And if we want to do the reconstruction, we will need a Class B License. In addition, there are multiple types of building contractor licenses available in Nevada, so you need to be sure to apply for the correct one.
Doing this work in Nevada without a Contractor’s License is against the law. It can be a felony with fines and even jail time! Again, each state is different, talk to your contractor’s board to determine what state contractor licensing you need.
Other Licenses
Some states also have requirements for mold remediation work. Texas, Florida, and New York, for example, have additional requirements, training, and licenses you must obtain. You can find this information by looking at your state laws.
In addition, you may be required to have a license or permit to transport the contaminated water you extracted from a property.
Business License
This license is more general than the other items we talked about above. Your state, city, and possibly county may require you to obtain a business license to comply with the laws.
Final Note
This is not a comprehensive list of every license or certification you must obtain to do water damage restoration work, but it is a great starting point! Be sure to do your due diligence with your state and local laws to determine exactly what license requirements they have, and stay up to date with any changes to laws and regulations.
