How to Actually Check That an Electrician Is Licensed and Insured in Texas

Anyone can print licensed and insured at the bottom of a truck or a website. Almost everyone does. For a homeowner hiring someone to swap a fixture, that might not matter much. For a church, a school, or a property manager hiring someone for commercial electrical work, it matters a great deal, and it's worth knowing what those words are actually supposed to mean before taking them at face value.

What a TECL number actually is

In Texas, electricians carry a license issued by the state, and the license number usually gets shortened to TECL followed by a string of digits. A real, current license means the electrician has met the requirements to do the work, and it's checkable. If a company prints its TECL number where you can see it, on a truck, a sign, or a website, take that as a good sign. It means they're not asking you to just trust the claim.

Insured actually means two separate things

General liability insurance covers damage the electrician's work might cause to your property, things like a fire from a bad connection or damage from a botched repair. Worker's compensation insurance is different, and it's the one property owners underestimate. It covers an electrician's own employee if they're hurt on your job site. Without it, an injury on your property can turn into a claim against you instead of against the contractor. Asking whether a company carries both, not just one, is a fair question before anyone starts work, and a legitimate contractor answers it without hesitating.

How to actually look up a license, not just ask about one

Texas keeps a public license lookup you can search by name or license number, and checking it takes less time than reading this paragraph. If a contractor gives you a TECL number, or you spot one printed on their truck, search it before the job starts, not after something's gone wrong. A license that comes back active and in the right category tells you the state currently recognizes that person to do electrical work. One that doesn't come back at all, or comes back under a different name, is worth asking about directly rather than letting slide.

This matters more once the job is commercial

A residential fixture swap and a commercial lighting job carry different exposure. A church, a school, a bank, or an office building has more people moving through the space, more property at risk, and often a board or an insurer somewhere who will eventually ask who did the electrical work and whether they were properly covered. That question is a lot easier to answer well before the work starts than after something's gone wrong, and it's a fair thing to ask about up front rather than assume.

References are worth calling, not just collecting

Any established contractor should be willing to give you names of past customers, especially for commercial work. The part people skip is actually calling them. A five-minute call asking whether the job came in on schedule and whether the crew cleaned up after themselves tells you more than a stack of reviews online ever will.

A workmanship guarantee is not the same as a warranty

A manufacturer's warranty covers a part that fails on its own. A workmanship guarantee is different. It's the contractor telling you that if something wasn't installed correctly, they'll come back and fix it at no charge, regardless of what the part itself is doing. Ask how long that guarantee runs and what it actually covers, in plain language, before you sign anything.

What to ask before you hire anyone

• What's your TECL number, and can I look it up myself
• Do you carry both general liability and worker's compensation, not just one
• Can I call two or three past customers, including at least one commercial job
• How long does your workmanship guarantee run, and what does it cover

Cobb Electric has carried TECL #17658 for as long as the state has issued them, and the company puts only state-licensed electricians on a job. They carry both general liability and worker's compensation insurance, back their work with a one-year workmanship guarantee, and will give you references on request. That's not marketing language. It's the actual answer to every question on the list above. If you're vetting an electrician in Longview, Tyler, or Lindale for a commercial job, ask them the same things and see how they answer. Cobb Electric can be reached at 903-757-4953.