Pest Control License ($50,000) Bond - Statewide in Tennessee

Brief Summary

This is the startup tier, and it is temporary. Tennessee requires $50,000 only for a new charter in category 7, only for the first three years, after which it drops to $10,000 per year. If you already held a commercial pest control operator business charter on July 1, 2005 you were never in this tier at all. Budget for the insurance separately, because Tennessee also requires $250,000 per occurrence and $500,000 aggregate, with errors and omissions on top for wood destroying organisms work. Those are licensing thresholds rather than risk transfer, so 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. 62-21-131 requires a person, company or corporation applying for a new charter in category 7 to furnish a surety bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars, which applies during the first three years and reduces to ten thousand dollars per year from the fourth year on. The section does not apply to anyone who, on July 1, 2005, held a current commercial pest control operator business charter as required by 62-21-103. The general charter bond in 62-21-107 is at least ten thousand dollars, corporate surety, satisfactory to the commissioner, and any person with a right of action against the charter operation may sue the principal and the sureties directly.

We can help with all Tennessee bonds!

How to Apply for a Pest Control License ($50,000) Bond:

• Confirm you are actually in this tier. $50,000 applies to a new charter in category 7 and only for the first three years.
• Check the grandfather clause before you buy. Section 62-21-131 does not apply to anyone holding 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, and expect a closer underwriting review than a $10,000 bond gets, since a new company is being asked to stand behind a $50,000 penalty.
• 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 for wood destroying organisms work. 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.
• Diary the year four date now, when the requirement drops from $50,000 to $10,000 per year, and replace the bond then.

Detailed Information About the Tennessee Pest Control License ($50,000) Bond:

Why you are at $50,000, and when you stop being

The baseline for a Tennessee pest control charter is at least $10,000 under 62-21-107. Section 62-21-131 layers a startup requirement 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.

That is not permanent. It runs for the first three years and drops to ten thousand dollars per year from the fourth. Put the year four date on a calendar the day you buy the bond, because nobody at the state is going to call and remind you that you are overpaying.

The exemption almost no page carries

Section 62-21-131 does not apply to a person, company or corporation that, on July 1, 2005, had a current commercial pest control operator business charter as required by 62-21-103. Established operators never entered this tier.

That matters when a long standing company adds a category or reorganizes. Whether the filing is a new charter or a continuation of an existing one is the question that decides between $50,000 and $10,000.

The University of Tennessee Extension Pesticide Safety and Education Program describes the same structure in working 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

Section 62-21-107 sets three conditions. 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.

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. A customer does not have to route a complaint through the department first.

Which also means a $50,000 penalty is a real exposure for a new company, and the surety will indemnify back against the owners. That is why underwriting on this tier is closer than on the $10,000 renewal bond.

Insurance is required too, and it is separate

Section 62-21-108 is a mandate, not an alternative to the bond. Every charter applicant provides evidence of $250,000 for a single occurrence of liability and $500,000 aggregate liability. Anyone working the wood destroying organisms category also carries errors and omissions coverage of $100,000 for a single occurrence and $300,000 aggregate.

Those limits exist so a damaged customer has something to reach. They are not chosen around what a termite damage claim, a missed or misidentified wood destroying insect report, a fumigation incident, chemical drift onto a neighboring property, a crew injury, an equipment loss or a drone application error costs a growing 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.

Charter, license and bond 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. Individual category licenses come through examination under 62-21-112. Solicitors and nonclerical employees are registered under 62-21-109 and 62-21-110. Office and branch office requirements sit in 62-21-106, termite service contract rules in 62-21-114, and monthly reporting in 62-21-128.

Passing every exam on the list does not reduce the bond, and posting the bond does not satisfy any of those other requirements.

Fees

Section 62-21-111 prints no dollar figures. Charter fees, category license fees, registration fees for nonclerical employees and consultant license fees are set by rule under 43-1-703. 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 schedule with the Department, since a rule change moves it without a statutory amendment. Section 62-21-121 gives the department a collection route for delinquent fees.

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 ($50,000) Bond:

• A corporate surety bond, satisfactory to the commissioner.
• $50,000 for a new charter in category 7 during the first three years, then $10,000 per year from the fourth.
• 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 and often personal indemnity. At $50,000 on a startup, a thin file can affect terms rather than just rate.

Tennessee Pest Control License ($50,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Tennessee Pest Control License ($50,000) Bond: