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STATE REQUIREMENTS · CLEANING & JANITORIAL

Cleaning & janitorial insurance in Texas

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Cleaning & janitorial in Texas usually carry general liability, commercial crime and workers' compensation. Texas itself leaves workers' compensation optional for most private employers, with duties for those who go without, sets minimum auto liability for the vehicles the work puts on the road. The state's rules with their sources, what cleaning companies carry, who asks for proof and how to keep it all current are below.

Reviewed by CoverMatch licensed agents, Licensed property & casualty agents · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated
Coverage scoreA cleaning companie with the right wallet
General LiabilityRenews in 47d
Workers' CompensationLive cert ✓
Commercial AutoCan switch
CoverMatch I read your General Liability — one thing on this checklist is missing. Want quotes?
Texas rules with sources
TopicThe rule in TexasSource
Workers' compensation: when it appliesTexas does not require most private employers to carry workers' compensation. An employer that goes without (a non-subscriber) must file an annual notice with the Division of Workers' Compensation, post and give written notice to employees, and loses its common-law defenses when an injured employee sues.Tex. Labor Code § 406.002, § 406.004, § 406.033, § 406.096; Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation — Employer resources
Workers' compensation — optional for most private employersPrivate employers may elect whether to carry workers' compensation; public employers, and private employers under contracts with governmental entities, must carry it. Building and construction contractors working for government entities must cover their employees.Texas Labor Code §§ 406.002, 406.096; Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation
Non-subscriber dutiesEmployers that do not carry coverage must file an annual notice of non-coverage with the Division (DWC Form-005), post and give written notice to employees, and report work-related injuries and illnesses; they cannot use the common-law defenses of contributory negligence, assumption of risk or fellow-servant negligence in an employee's lawsuit.Texas Labor Code §§ 406.004, 406.005, 406.033 and 411.032
Auto liability minimumsBodily injury $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident and property damage $25,000 for vehicles operated in Texas; commercial vehicles above certain weights and for-hire vehicles must carry higher limits.Texas Transportation Code § 601.072; Texas Department of Insurance

Rules change. Each row links to the agency or statute it came from; the review date above is when a licensed agent last checked them.

What Texas asks of cleaning companies

Texas's rules that reach a cleaning business are in the table above, each with its official source: workers' compensation: when it applies, workers' compensation — optional for most private employers, non-subscriber duties, auto liability minimums. Everything else a cleaning business carries in Texas comes from leases, contracts, platforms and clients rather than from statute, which is why the next two sections matter as much as the first.

What cleaning companies in Texas carry

Coverage Who usually asks Why it matters
General liability · expected Every commercial client, property managers, landlords A wet floor, a scratched counter, a damaged piece of equipment. The policy every cleaning contract starts with.
Janitorial bond or crime coverage with third-party theft · expected Commercial clients, property managers, residential clients who ask 'are you bonded?' Your people hold keys and work alone. This covers theft of a client's property by an employee, which general liability does not.
Workers' compensation · expected Your state once you have employees; every commercial client Slips, chemical exposure, repetitive strain. Part-time and evening staff count.
Commercial auto or hired and non-owned auto Clients; required if you own vehicles Company vans need commercial auto; staff using their own cars between sites need hired and non-owned coverage on your side.
Lost key coverage Property managers, office buildings Losing a master key can mean re-keying a building. Often an inexpensive endorsement on the general liability policy.
Umbrella / excess liability Large office parks, hospitals, schools, enterprise vendor programs Institutional contracts ask for limits above a primary policy.
Employment practices liability Prudent with a sizable, high-turnover workforce Wage-and-hour and harassment claims arise from staff, and general liability does not cover them.

Who will ask a Texas cleaning business for proof

  • Property managers & HOAs — general liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation (what they require)
  • Enterprise clients & vendor onboarding — general liability, professional or cyber liability, workers' compensation and often an umbrella (what they require)
  • Landlords & commercial leases — general liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation (what they require)

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

Workers' comp the day a Texas cleaning business hires

Texas leaves workers' compensation optional for most private employers, but a non-subscriber takes on the filings and loses its defenses in court, and general contractors and clients usually require the policy by contract. CoverMatch quotes workers' compensation from the first employee, and asks every carrier that offers pay-as-you-go to bill through your payroll company, so premium follows each payroll run instead of a large deposit against an estimate.

Bring it, control it, get matched in Texas

Bring your policies here. Upload what you already have. If the carrier is one we are appointed with in Texas, one signed letter moves the policy to CoverMatch with no change to carrier, coverage or price; if not, we quote a replacement now or before the renewal. The wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

Control them here. Renewal dates, documents, the roster of locations, vehicles and staff, and a live certificate for every landlord, contractor, platform or client in the list above, all in one place and current on their own.

Let us match you. When a cleaning business in Texas needs general liability, commercial crime, workers' compensation, we compare quotes from the carriers we are appointed with on coverage first and price second, and a licensed agent is one tap away at every step.

Sources

Questions people actually ask

Does Texas require a cleaning business to carry workers' compensation?

Texas does not require most private employers to carry workers' compensation. An employer that goes without (a non-subscriber) must file an annual notice with the Division of Workers' Compensation, post and give written notice to employees, and loses its common-law defenses when an injured employee sues. Whether a worker is an employee is decided by Texas's own test of control and independence, not by the form you file, and workers who fail it are added at audit.

What insurance does a Texas cleaning business need to sign a lease or win a contract?

Usually general liability, commercial crime, workers' compensation; Property managers & HOAs typically ask for general liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation. A live certificate from the wallet answers each request without a new call to the agent, and changes to the policy update it on their own.

What auto coverage does Texas require for a cleaning business's vehicles?

The state minimum limits: Bodily injury $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident and property damage $25,000 for vehicles operated in Texas; commercial vehicles above certain weights and for-hire vehicles must carry higher limits. Business policies are written above those limits because leases, platforms and clients ask for more, and hired and non-owned auto covers staff who use their own cars for the work.

Can CoverMatch take over the policies a Texas cleaning business already has?

When the carrier is one we are appointed with in Texas, one signed broker-of-record letter moves the policy into the wallet with no change to carrier, coverage or price, and the live certificate and renewal shopping switch on. For any other carrier we quote a replacement now or before the renewal; the wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

What does 'bonded' actually mean for a cleaning company?

Usually a janitorial or third-party fidelity bond, or a crime policy with client-property coverage, that pays a client if an employee steals from them. It is separate from general liability and is the thing residential clients mean when they ask.

Are my cleaners employees or contractors?

If you set the schedule, supply the products and direct the work, states and carriers treat them as employees for workers' compensation whatever the paperwork says. Misclassification is one of the most expensive audit findings in this industry.

Does general liability cover damage to the thing I am cleaning?

Often not. Policies commonly exclude property in your care, custody or control. Ask for that exclusion to be removed or buffed back for the items you handle, and check the dec page for a care, custody and control limit.

MANAGE IT IN THE APP

Every policy, renewal and live certificate in one wallet.

Scan a dec page and the card appears. Share a live certificate link that updates itself. Get matched when a renewal comes around.

Cleaning & janitorial insurance in other states

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