The short answer: no, not for general contractors
Texas does not license general contractors at the state level, and it has no state law requiring general contractors, remodelers, roofers or handymen to carry general liability insurance. No contrary source was found, and the secondary sources that state this all cite the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. That is the short answer — and it is also the reason the rest of this guide exists, because the requirement arrives from three other directions instead.
What commercial general liability covers
The Texas Department of Insurance defines it: commercial general liability insurance protects business owners against claims of liability for bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury (slander and false advertising). Premises and operations coverage pays for bodily injury or property damage that occurs on your premises or as a result of your business operations. Products and completed operations coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage that occurs away from your business premises and is caused by your products or completed work.
The same regulator page states the limits of the form: CGL policies are written on an occurrence or a claims-made basis; they are not intended to provide coverage for workers' compensation or employer's liability; and they exclude damage to your work and damage to your product.
The licensed trades that do have minimums
Licensed trades do have state general liability minimums, set by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE). These are statutory minimums, not contract terms.
| Licensed trade | Minimum general liability | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical contractor (also electrical sign and residential appliance installer) | $300,000 per occurrence / $600,000 aggregate / $300,000 products and completed operations | 16 TAC §73.40 |
| Air conditioning and refrigeration contractor, Class A | $300,000 per occurrence / $600,000 aggregate / $300,000 products and completed operations | 16 TAC §75.40 |
| Air conditioning and refrigeration contractor, Class B | $100,000 per occurrence / $200,000 aggregate / $100,000 products and completed operations | 16 TAC §75.40 |
| Responsible Master Plumber | $300,000 commercial general liability, certificate filed with the board | Tex. Occ. Code §§1301.3576, 1301.552 |
The electrical figure is confirmed against the rule text itself (16 TAC §73.40: at least $300,000 per occurrence, at least $600,000 aggregate, and at least $300,000 aggregate for products and completed operations) and against TDLR's own renewal page and licence application form ELC-LIC-003 (revised February 2026), which repeat the identical figures. Proof must be maintained at all times to satisfy proof of financial responsibility, and the insurance must come from an admitted company, an eligible surplus lines carrier, or a company rated B+ or higher by A.M. Best.
Why you still need it: contracts, cities, public work
First, contracts. General contractors, property managers and commercial clients almost always require proof of cover, typically $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate — that is contract practice, not statute, and the figure is set by the party hiring you, not by the state. Second, city registrations and permits: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth attach insurance to local registration and permits, city by city, with no single statewide figure. Third, public projects, which carry their own insurance and workers' compensation conditions.
The contrast with Louisiana is the point: Louisiana licenses contractors and mandates a $500,000 minimum for residential, mold-remediation and home-improvement contractors, while Texas licenses no general contractor at all. The Louisiana guide is the mirror image of this page.
Workers' comp in Texas: optional — except on public work
Workers' compensation in Texas is optional for private employers — Texas is the only state where it is. A non-subscriber files DWC Form-005 annually (1 February to 30 April) and within 30 days of hiring a first employee, and loses three common-law defences if sued (Texas Labor Code §406.033). A Texas non-subscriber also has no employers' liability cover at all — there is no Part Two without a workers' compensation policy, as the employers' liability guide explains.
The exception is public work. Workers' compensation is mandatory on public building and construction contracts: the contractor must certify in writing that it carries compensation for each employee on the project, and subcontractors certify up the chain (Texas Labor Code §406.096).
Certificates of insurance
A certificate of insurance (ACORD 25, the Texas Department of Insurance-approved form) is evidence only. Under Texas Insurance Code chapter 1811 it cannot change or add coverage: what the certificate says does not alter what the policy says. Check the policy, not the certificate, for the cover you actually hold.
What it costs: labelled benchmarks
Texas has no state-set price, and no Texas-contractor-specific official cost figure exists. The benchmarks that do exist are marketplace medians, labelled as such. Insureon's national general liability median is $45 a month, with an annual range of $265 to $3,030, and 85% of its customers choose $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate (updated 30 March 2026). The closest Texas-specific benchmark found is Insureon's San Antonio figure of $43 a month for its Texas customers — a city-level marketplace median, not a statewide figure.
Both are Insureon medians from its small-business customers. A contractor's premium will usually sit above the all-industry median, because construction is a higher-risk class — and no contractor-specific monthly figure is presented here as verified, because none was found from a source this site can stand behind.