The licensed side

Coil, Blower and Sanitizing: Not Part of a Duct Cleaning

Some of what gets sold on a duct cleaning visit is not duct cleaning under Texas rules. It is air conditioning contracting, and it needs a licensed contractor. This page draws the line so a quote can be read against it.

Call (469) 712-2667 Write It Down Instead

The rule

What Texas Lets an Unlicensed Duct Cleaner Do

"Duct cleaning and air quality testing, including biomedical testing, may be performed by a person or entity that does not hold a contractor license under Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1302 if: (A) the task is limited to the air distribution system, from the supply plenum to the supply grilles of the unit and from the return air grill to the air handler intake of the unit; (B) no cuts are made to ducts or plenums; (C) no changes are made to electrical connections; and (D) the only disassembly of any part of the system is opening or removal of return and supply air grilles, or registers that are removable without cutting or removing any other part of the system."

"Biomedical remediation requires a contractor license under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1302."
Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, section 75.100(c)(1) and (c)(3)

Line by line

Reading a Quote Against the Rule

Item on the quote	Duct cleaning?	Why
Supply and return ducts, registers, grilles	Yes	Inside the limits in (A) to (D)
Evaporator coil cleaning	Licensed	The coil is inside the air handler, past the intake
Blower cleaning	Licensed	Same reason
Cutting an access door into a plenum	Licensed	"No cuts are made to ducts or plenums"
Sanitizer, disinfectant or antimicrobial fog	Licensed	Remediation under (c)(3)
UV light, new thermostat wiring, any electrical change	Licensed	"No changes are made to electrical connections"
Replacing or sealing a duct run	Licensed	Installation and repair are air conditioning contracting

The table is this site's reading of the rule, offered so you know what to ask. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is the authority on it.

How it should look

Separate Lines, Named Contractor

None of this means the licensed items are a bad idea. A coil matted with dust is a real problem and cleaning it is a real service. The point is who does it and how it is written down.

Licensed items appear as their own lines, apart from the duct cleaning.
The contractor doing them is named, with a Texas air conditioning contractor license number you can look up.
Any product to be applied is named, along with what it is registered for.
Nothing gets added after the crew has arrived that was not on the paper.

A crew that offers to fog the ducts or clean the coil on the spot, without a license number, is offering something it may not be allowed to sell.

Licensing Questions

Can a duct cleaning company clean my evaporator coil?

Only if it also holds a Texas air conditioning contractor license. Cleaning the ducts does not require one. Opening the air handler to clean the coil does.

Is a sanitizing or deodorizing fog part of duct cleaning?

No. Applying a disinfectant inside the system is licensed work in Texas, and the EPA says no chemical biocides are currently registered for use in internally insulated duct systems.

The technician says there is mold in my ducts. What now?

Ask for a photograph and the exact location. The EPA's trigger is substantial visible mold on hard surfaces, and it says insulated duct that is wet or moldy should be replaced, not cleaned. Texas licenses mold remediation separately from air conditioning work.

Why is there no license number on this site?

Because the site is not a contractor and holds none. A contractor who does licensed work for you does it under their own number, which you can ask for and check with the state.