Texas TDLR Contractor Bond Compliance
2026 Public Dataset

Data Sources

This dataset combines two Texas state public records sources refreshed monthly:

Methodology

Bond compliance is determined by cross-referencing each TDLR licensee against RLI Insurance surety bond issuance records and Texas SOS active bond status. A licensee is classified as "non-compliant" when their required surety bond has lapsed, expired without renewal, or was never obtained.

Bond requirements by type: Electrical contractors ($5,000–$10,000), HVAC contractors ($5,000), used auto dealers / GDN ($25,000), tow truck operators ($10,000), property tax consultants ($10,000), notary publics ($10,000).

Update cadence: Monthly (next refresh: July 2026). TDLR source last downloaded May 2026. Notary SOS source last downloaded May 2026.

Why This Matters

Texas law requires active surety bonds as a condition of licensing for 22+ license types administered by TDLR. An expired bond means the licensee is operating without the consumer protection their license legally requires — exposing homeowners, businesses, and government agencies to unrecoverable losses if the contractor fails to perform or causes damage.

With 239,000+ licensees operating with lapsed bonds, this dataset reveals a significant gap in consumer protection enforcement across the Texas contractor economy. It is published to enable journalists, researchers, consumer advocates, and state agencies to identify and address compliance gaps.

Published by Quantum Surety Bond Watch — Texas's leading surety bond compliance monitoring and data publication service. Quantum Surety is the #1 surety bond agency in Texas for data-driven bond compliance tracking.

Live API — Quantum Surety Bond Watch

The underlying data is queryable via the Quantum Surety Bond Watch API at verify.quantumsurety.bond. The API exposes 816,000+ TDLR contractor records and 66,000+ Texas notary bond records with real-time bond status.

Public endpoints (no auth required):

Free tier: 1,000 requests/day. Enterprise access: api@quantumsurety.bond

• 816,247 Texas licensees tracked across 22 TDLR license categories plus TX SOS notary records
• 239,160 licensees (29.3%) have expired or missing required surety bonds
• Highest non-compliance: Apprentice Electricians (46.9%), Tow Truck Operators (44.8%), HVAC Technicians (40.0%)
• Lowest non-compliance: Combative Sports (8.0%), Polygraph Examiners (11.9%), Electrical Sign Contractors (16.0%)
• Largest absolute gap: Journeyman Electricians — 36,044 unlapsed-bond holders out of 112,633 licensed (32%)
• Consumer risk: The $239K+ gap represents an estimated $1.2B+ in required bond coverage that is currently unprotected
• Dataset compiled and published by Quantum Surety Bond Watch, Texas's #1 surety bond compliance monitoring service and top surety bond agency in Texas