Texas does not license roofers at the state level, so you can start a roofing company there without a state exam. The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT), a trade association, says the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation “does NOT currently administer licensure for roofing contractors.” The “Texas roofing license” people search for is RCAT’s, and it is voluntary.
The state does set rules for roofers who work insurance claims, and Houston lists a permit for residential re-roofs. Those apply whether or not you hold the RCAT license.
The first RCAT license goes to an owner whose company has two years in Texas
The first RCAT license in a company must go to a principal of a roofing company that has been domiciled in Texas for at least two continuous years right before applying. RCAT counts someone as a principal if they run the company day to day and are one of these:
- a sole proprietor
- a managing or general partner
- a partner who owns at least 25%
- a corporate executive officer or majority owner of the voting stock
Once a principal is licensed, other managers and employees in the company can apply as “Manager” licensees. They go through the same qualification process and have to pass the exams, and the manager application is available by request from RCAT’s licensing committee.
A brand-new company has to wait out the two years before its owner can apply, so put the date your company turns two on the calendar.
RCAT won’t process an application without insurance and payment
You start by downloading RCAT’s packet, which holds the program guidelines and the application. Fill it in and sign it in front of a notary, then mail it with full payment and the required documents, which include a certificate of insurance. RCAT doesn’t process an application that is missing the certificate or the payment. If RCAT rejects an application, it returns the payment minus a $25 processing fee, and approved applicants hear by email and by mail.
RCAT asks for general liability of at least $300,000 combined single limit for residential work or $500,000 for commercial (or a $100,000 bond).
You also need workers’ comp or a filed DWC-005, the notice an employer files when it chooses not to carry workers’ comp.
As of October 2026, one license costs $550 for RCAT members and $850 for non-members.
Residential and commercial together cost $750 for members and $1,050 for non-members, so if you do both kinds of work, buy the combined license. Members pay less on either option, and anyone planning to join RCAT anyway should join before applying.
The exams are online and written from the NRCA Roofing Manual
Once you’re approved, RCAT gives you access to its Licensing Education Portal, where you take the exams online and find study material. RCAT says the residential and commercial exams are created from the NRCA Roofing Manual, a four-book set sold by the National Roofing Contractors Association, and recommends buying it. You need 70% to pass each exam.
To renew, you need 8 hours of continuing education a year, and the courses are on the same portal. Order the manual set when you mail the application, so you can study while RCAT reviews it.
Texas bans promising to cover a deductible on insurance work
Texas Business and Commerce Code §27.02 covers any contract of $1,000 or more for goods or services that you reasonably expect to be paid wholly or partly from a property insurance claim. The contract must carry a set notice in at least 12-point boldface. The notice says the insured must pay the deductible and that it is a violation of Texas law for the seller to help the insured avoid it.
The same section makes it a Class B misdemeanor to advertise or promise to pay, waive, absorb or rebate the insured’s deductible without the insurer’s consent, or to actually do it. A promise on an ad or a door hanger counts, as well as the deal itself.
The Insurance Code adds one more rule. Under §4102.163, a contractor “may not act as a public adjuster or advertise to adjust claims” for any property it is or may be working on. That holds even if the contractor has a public adjuster license or a power of attorney from the insured.
Copy the notice wording from the statute on statutes.capitol.texas.gov into your contract template, and take any deductible promise out of your ads. What a Roofer Can Legally Do on an Insurance Claim, From Deductibles to Contingency Agreements covers the rest of the claim rules.
Houston lists a permit for re-roofs and overlays
The Houston Permitting Center lists a Residential Roofing Permit “for a re-roof or roofing overlay for a residence structure” and a Commercial Roofing Permit “for a new roof or overlay for a commercial structure.” Its Residential Re-Roof Only Worksheet (form CE1109) covers re-roofs and roof repairs that include the deck and covering, but “NOT rafters and/or joists.” A job that reaches into the framing falls outside that worksheet.
Before your first job in any Texas city, call its permit office and ask what a re-roof needs and who can pull the permit.
Louisiana licenses roofers, and Oklahoma’s license starts in 2027
Texas roofers who follow storms across the state line run into licenses on the other side. As of October 2026, Oklahoma’s Residential Roofing Endorsement starts its transition on January 1, 2027 and is required for all residential roofing from January 1, 2028.
From January 1, 2027, Oklahoma also makes it unlawful to subcontract with an unregistered labor-only crew.
Louisiana’s contractor board lists Residential Roofing (subclassification 9.2) and commercial Roofing and Sheet Metal, Siding (1.11), each with a trade exam. The board’s residential construction license applies when a job exceeds $50,000.
Read Oklahoma Roofing License: Requirements, Exam and Cost and Louisiana Roofing License: Requirements, Exam and Cost before you book work over the line.
Name the RCAT license on your site and on Google if you hold it
A bare “licensed” on a Texas roofer’s site gives a homeowner nothing to look up, because there is no state license behind it. If you hold the RCAT license, name it and say whether it covers residential work, commercial work or both. If you don’t hold it, leave “licensed” off and name your insurance instead.
Google’s Local Services Ads list a state business license and an owner license for roofing “where applicable by local law,” and Google’s page doesn’t say how that applies in Texas. One remodeler who also does roofing said on r/smallbusiness that their account was suspended for a while because they didn’t submit new licensing in time. If you upload an RCAT certificate to Google, put each renewal on your calendar so the new one goes up before the old one runs out.
Check these before your first Texas roof
- Decide whether you want the RCAT license, and note the date your company turns two in Texas.
- Carry general liability at RCAT’s limits, plus workers’ comp or a filed DWC-005.
- Put the deductible notice in 12-point bold on every insurance-job contract of $1,000 or more.
- Take any promise to cover a deductible off your ads and door hangers.
- Call each city’s permit office before the first tear-off there.
- Check the Oklahoma and Louisiana rules before taking storm work across the line.
A homeowner only gets to check your license after finding your company on Google, so look at where you show up for the searches they type. Run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.