Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond - Statewide in Tennessee

Brief Summary

$10,000 is the baseline, not the whole story. A new charter in category 7 posts $50,000 for the first three years and drops to $10,000 per year from year four, and anyone who already held a commercial pest control operator business charter on July 1, 2005 is exempt from that higher requirement entirely. Check which of those you are before ordering. Also budget for the insurance, because Tennessee requires it separately at $250,000 per occurrence and $500,000 aggregate, with errors and omissions on top for wood destroying organisms work. Even that is a licensing threshold rather than risk transfer. Price the real program at PestControlLiability.com, which quotes pest control general liability, workers compensation, pollution coverage for drift and contamination, property and equipment, drone operations, termite and bedbug, lawncare and remediation.

T.C.A. 62-21-107 requires each application for a pest control business charter to be accompanied by a corporate surety bond of at least ten thousand dollars, satisfactory to the commissioner, conditioned that the principal will honestly conduct the business in accordance with the pest control laws of this state, comply with the rules and regulations, and faithfully perform any contracts for pest control work. Any person having a right of action against the charter operation may sue the principal and the sureties on the bond. Section 62-21-131 raises that to fifty thousand dollars for a new charter in category 7 for the first three years, reducing to ten thousand dollars per year thereafter, and exempts anyone holding a current charter on July 1, 2005.

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How to Apply for a Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond:

• Work out your tier first. Baseline is at least $10,000 under 62-21-107. A new charter in category 7 is $50,000 for the first three years and $10,000 per year from the fourth.
• Check the grandfather clause. Section 62-21-131 does not apply to anyone who held a current commercial pest control operator business charter on July 1, 2005.
• Legal business name exactly as it will appear on the charter application.
• Owner or officer information for the underwriting and credit review.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Receive the executed corporate surety bond, satisfactory to the commissioner, conditioned on honest conduct of the business, compliance with the rules and faithful performance of pest control contracts.
• Place the separate insurance required by 62-21-108: $250,000 per single occurrence and $500,000 aggregate, plus $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate errors and omissions if you work wood destroying organisms. Price it against your real exposure at PestControlLiability.com.
• File the bond and the insurance evidence with the charter application and the current fees, which are set by rule rather than by statute.
• Register solicitors and nonclerical employees as required, and keep the category licenses current through the examination process.
• Watch the year three to year four transition if you started in the $50,000 tier, so the replacement bond is written at the right amount.

Detailed Information About the Tennessee Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond:

Two amounts, and which one applies depends on when you started

The baseline in 62-21-107 is at least $10,000 for every charter application. That is a corporate surety bond, satisfactory to the commissioner.

Section 62-21-131 sits on top of it. A person, company or corporation applying for a new charter in category 7 furnishes a surety bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and that runs for the first three years. From the fourth year it drops to ten thousand dollars per year.

The grandfather clause is the fact competitor pages never carry. Section 62-21-131 does not apply to a person, company or corporation that, on July 1, 2005, held a current commercial pest control operator business charter as required by 62-21-103. Long established operators never entered the $50,000 tier at all.

The University of Tennessee Extension Pesticide Safety and Education Program describes the same structure in operating terms: a $10,000 surety bond generally, with a $50,000 bond for new companies holding a WDO, GRC, FUM or BDC license for the first three years, reducing to $10,000 in the fourth year.

What the bond actually promises

Three conditions, straight out of 62-21-107. Honestly conduct the business in accordance with the pest control laws of this state. Comply with the rules and regulations promulgated under those laws. Faithfully perform any contracts for pest control work.

And it is directly enforceable. Any person having a right of action against the charter operation may bring suit against the principal and the sureties on the bond. That is unusual language and it means a customer does not have to go through the department first.

Insurance is required too, and it is the bigger number

Section 62-21-108 is a separate mandate, not an alternative. Every charter applicant provides evidence of $250,000 for a single occurrence of liability and $500,000 aggregate liability.

Anyone working in the wood destroying organisms category carries additional errors and omissions coverage of $100,000 for a single occurrence and $300,000 aggregate.

Those limits exist so the state and a damaged customer have something to reach. They are not chosen around what a termite damage claim, a missed wood destroying insect report, a fumigation incident, drift onto a neighboring property, a crew injury, an equipment loss or a drone application error actually costs a company. Build the real program separately at PestControlLiability.com, which covers pest control and pesticide general liability, workers compensation, pollution for drift and contamination, property and equipment, drone operations, termite and bedbug, lawncare and remediation.

The bond, the license and the charter are three different things

A charter is the permit that lets a person, firm or corporation engage in the business of commercial pest control operations in Tennessee. Individual licenses by category, and registration of solicitors and employees under 62-21-109 and 62-21-110, are separate. Passing a category exam under 62-21-112 gets you the license. It does nothing about the bond or the insurance, and the bond does nothing about the exam.

Office and branch office requirements under 62-21-106 are separate again, as are the termite service contract rules in 62-21-114 and the monthly reporting requirement in 62-21-128.

Fees

Section 62-21-111 does not print dollar figures. Charter fees, license fees by category, registration fees for nonclerical employees and consultant license fees are all set by rule under 43-1-703, so the current schedule lives in the department's rules rather than the statute. The UT Extension charter page describes the working numbers as a $400 charter fee, $50 for each licensing category passed and $50 for each technician or solicitor, with fees paid every two years. Confirm the current amounts with the Department before you write a check, since a rule can change them without a statutory amendment.

Section 62-21-121 gives the department a collection mechanism for delinquent fees, so late is not free.

Free and worth doing

While the charter paperwork is out, list the company on BestPestControlIn.com. It is free for any licensed pest control company, consumers search it by ZIP code and state, the listing carries a backlink that helps your own site rank, it sends referrals, and we write blog posts on companies in the directory.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Tennessee Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond:

• A corporate surety bond, satisfactory to the commissioner.
• At least $10,000 as the baseline, or $50,000 for a new charter in category 7 during the first three years, reducing to $10,000 per year afterward.
• Conditioned that the principal will honestly conduct the business in accordance with the pest control laws of this state, comply with the rules and regulations, and faithfully perform any contracts for pest control work.
• Directly actionable. Any person having a right of action against the charter operation may sue the principal and the sureties.
• Separate liability insurance of $250,000 for a single occurrence and $500,000 aggregate, required of every charter applicant.
• Additional errors and omissions coverage of $100,000 per single occurrence and $300,000 aggregate for wood destroying organisms work.
• Business name on the bond matching the charter application exactly.
• Owner credit review. At $10,000 this is usually a minimum premium bond, while a $50,000 bond for a brand new company is underwritten more closely.

Tennessee Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Tennessee Pest Control License ($10,000) Bond: