Garage door rules & licensing in Texas

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) — official site

No state contractor licence. The Texas Governor's Business Permit Office states that the State of Texas does not require a general license; businesses register with the Texas Secretary of State or the county clerk instead. Garage doors, general contracting and residential construction contracting do not appear among the programs licensed and regulated by TDLR, so any licence or registration requirement for garage door work comes from the city or county.

Texas adopts a minimum residential building code by statute rather than running a statewide permit office. The Texas State Law Library states: "State law adopts a minimum residential code requirement for all cities and some unincorporated areas of Texas. These laws adopt the International Residential Code from the International Code Council. The law allows local governments in these areas to adopt later versions of the codes." The municipal adoption is Section 214.212 of the Texas Local Government Code; for unincorporated areas of certain counties it is Chapter 233, Subchapter F of the Local Government Code. Commercial work runs through Sections 214.216 and 214.219 (International Building Code). Because "requirements in your city or county may be different than the version adopted by state law" and "in many cases, state law allows local officials to adopt a more recent edition of a statewide building code," whether a garage door replacement needs a permit - and which IRC edition it is judged against - must be confirmed with the local building or code enforcement department.

Structures in the designated catastrophe area — the First Tier Counties of Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Willacy, plus the cities of La Porte, Morgan's Point, Pasadena, Seabrook and Shoreacres east of State Highway 146 in Harris County — must be built and inspected to the building specifications adopted by the Texas Department of Insurance to qualify for wind and hail coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. A WPI-8 Certificate of Compliance is issued when the inspection is complete. The Windstorm Inspection Program was established by the Texas Legislature in 1987 and inspections began January 1, 1988.