Free Texas scope and risk checklist. Official sources checked 2026-10-27.
Private Inspection Services in Texas: Scope, Contract, and Insurance Checklist
Before accepting a private inspection assignment, verify who authorizes the work, what the contract includes, what the report can say, and which insurance questions still need a licensed professional’s answer.
Open four separate gates
1. Authority
Name the city, county, state program, client, or other decision owner. Save the written appointment, program approval, or other source that defines what the result can be used for.
2. Contract scope
List the property or project, inspection stage, documents supplied, deliverable, exclusions, correction process, recheck process, record owner, and stop conditions.
3. General liability questions
TDI says commercial general liability addresses claims such as bodily injury and property damage. Policy terms and exclusions control. Ask what operations, locations, people, and completed work are included or excluded.
4. Professional liability questions
TDI describes professional liability as coverage for claims arising from professional services or a failure to provide them. Ask whether the exact report, advice, error, omission, and service period fit the policy terms.
Private scope worksheet
- Decision owner: who requested the service, who may rely on it, and who grants any public or program authority?
- Service identity: advisory review, contract inspection, quality check, due diligence, or a named public program role?
- Documents: approved plans, permit or program record, adopted requirements, revisions, prior findings, and items still missing.
- Deliverable: format, recipients, permitted use, limitations, factual observations, reference path, and unresolved questions.
- Exclusions: concealed conditions, destructive access, design decisions, repairs, legal conclusions, insurer decisions, and any work outside written authority.
- Correction and recheck: who can require a correction, who performs it, what evidence closes it, and whether a recheck is included.
- Insurance review: named insured, covered service description, locations, policy period, limits, exclusions, additional-insured request, claims reporting, and proof required by the client.
- Records: retention owner, privacy limits, photographs, plan versions, report revisions, notices, and secure evidence location.
Why both insurance categories must stay separate
The U.S. Small Business Administration lists general liability and professional liability as different common business insurance categories. SBA says general liability can address financial loss tied to bodily injury or property damage, while professional liability can address financial loss tied to malpractice, errors, or negligence in services. TDI likewise warns that the two cover different kinds of damage and that policy wording controls what is and is not covered.
Do not infer coverage from a policy title. Ask a licensed agent or insurer about the exact service, contract, personnel, location, policy period, exclusions, and reporting terms. Do not publish a premium estimate or choose a carrier from this checklist.
Special boundary for TDLR IHB work
TDLR defines a third party inspector in the Industrialized Housing and Buildings program as an approved person or agency qualified for that program, including independence of judgment, to inspect specified work against approved plans, documentation, a compliance control program, and applicable code. Verify the exact approval and program scope. Do not apply that status to an unrelated local or private assignment.
Official sources
- SBA launch-your-business insurance guidance, checked 2026-10-27.
- TDI commercial general liability guidance, checked 2026-10-27.
- TDI professional liability FAQ, checked 2026-10-27.
- TDLR IHB Third Party Inspector Information Packet, checked 2026-10-27.
- ICC certification FAQ, checked 2026-10-27.
