Public Health Rules in Texas (2026)

Amarillo scores every food establishment after each inspection and converts the number into a letter grade under Code…

Every Arlington food establishment must conspicuously display its most recent inspection letter grade in public view…

Austin Public Health scores every food service enterprise and retail food store inspection on a 100-point scale…

Cedar Park restaurants that rack up more than 30 demerits on a WCCHD inspection must post an 'UNSATISFACTORY' placard…

Corpus Christi restaurants that rack up more than thirty demerits on a regular health inspection trigger a mandatory…

Grand Prairie doesn't post letter grades on restaurant doors. Instead, Sec. 13-20 requires every food establishment to…

Midland's Health Department scores every food establishment on each inspection, and a failing score triggers immediate…

New Braunfels inspects restaurants on a risk-based schedule of one to four visits per year and treats any inspection…

Pearland's code enforcement/health officer inspects every food establishment at least once every 12 months and issues a…

San Antonio requires every food establishment to post its current health permit and the latest city inspection report…

Sugar Land does not post letter grades; it sorts permanent food establishments into low-, medium-, or high-risk tiers…

Waco requires every premises to be kept free of rodents and rodent harborage, with the Waco-McLennan County Public…

Abilene's nuisance code makes it unlawful to maintain any condition on public or private property that provides…

Austin requires property owners to maintain premises free from rodent and insect infestations under the city's property…

Baytown requires every property, occupied or not, to stay reasonably free of conditions that breed or harbor rodents…

Carrollton's animal code makes it a public nuisance to store food, feed birds or wildlife, or let food and animal waste…

Cedar Park's Building and Standards Commission can act against accumulated refuse and vegetation that creates breeding…

Conroe makes it a nuisance offense to let stagnant water, holes or unsanitary conditions accumulate on real property if…

Dallas County Health and Human Services Vector Control monitors rodents and mosquitoes countywide, while Texas Health…

Denton property owners must keep structures and yards free of insect and rodent infestation and exterminate promptly…

City code makes every property owner responsible for eliminating rodents and vermin on their land and inside any vacant…

Frisco property owners must keep premises free of rodent harborage under city property maintenance and nuisance…

Georgetown's nuisance chapter makes it unlawful to let carrion, filth, or other unwholesome matter accumulate on any…

Grand Prairie requires every property to stay free of rodent harborage and infestation under Sec. 13-334, with…

Harris County Public Health Mosquito and Vector Control monitors rodents and mosquitoes countywide. Texas Health and…

Killeen's Historic Overlay District ordinance requires every registered vacant structure to keep its exterior sealed…

Leander makes it unlawful for a property owner to let weeds, garbage, junk, or other unsanitary matter pile up on a…

Lewisville's housing standards article makes rodent control a legal duty, not a suggestion: owners must furnish and…

Midland's health code bans letting filth or unwholesome matter build up on any lot if it is likely to attract rodents…

Parker declares it a code violation to let trash, junk or debris pile up on a property in a way that creates a…

San Antonio's Property Maintenance Code (SAPMC) requires all structures to be maintained free of pest infestations…

Sugar Land Code Sec. 3-166 bans keeping dead animals, stagnant or polluted water, and foul-smelling accumulations on…

Taylor's nuisance code declares any condition that harbors rats, mice, or other vermin a public nuisance under Sec…

Property in Texarkana with piled refuse or overgrown vegetation that breeds rats and insects is declared a public…

Property owners in unincorporated Travis County must abate rodent harborage and standing water that breeds vectors…

Allen enforces property maintenance code requiring owners to control rodents, roaches, and mosquitoes. West Nile…

Arlington property owners must keep buildings free of rodent and insect infestations under the citys Property…

Cameron County's housing code requires every window, exterior door and other structure opening to be substantially…

Pest control in Collin County is licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture under Occupations Code Ch. 1951…

Converse requires property owners to keep structures free of rodents and insects under the 2018 IPMC. Commercial…

Chapter 40 of the Corpus Christi Code of Ordinances requires property owners to prevent pest harborage. Commercial…

Dallas operates a comprehensive mosquito abatement program through Code Compliance Services and enforces property…

El Paso property owners must keep buildings free of rodents, roaches, and bed bugs under Chapter 13 health and…

Euless property owners must keep structures free of rats, roaches, and other vermin under the adopted property…

Fort Worth Code Ch. 10 (Minimum Urban Rehabilitation Standards) requires property owners to maintain structures free…

Under Chapter 32 minimum property standards, multifamily and lodging operators must show proof of pest treatment within…

Texas Structural Pest Control Service (TDA SPCS) licenses commercial pest control. Grapevine code compliance enforces…

Irving property owners must maintain premises free from conditions that harbor pests. TX Structural Pest Control Act…

Pest control operators in Keller must be licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture under Occupations Code Chapter…

Laredo Property Maintenance Code requires owners to keep structures free of rodents, insects, and vermin. Landlords…

Live Oak property owners must keep premises free of rodents, roaches, and other vermin under the adopted Property…

Lubbock Code Chapter 18 (Health and Sanitation) requires property owners to prevent rodent and insect harborage…

Mansfield property owners must eliminate rodent harborage and pest infestations under the adopted International…

New Braunfels' Mobile Home Community Ordinance requires every licensed mobile home park in the city to keep its…

Pest control operators in Plano must be licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Property owners must keep…

Commercial pest control in Richardson requires a Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Structural Pest Control Service…

Structural pest control in Tarrant County is regulated by the Texas Structural Pest Control Service under TDA per…

Universal City requires property owners to keep premises free of rodents, vermin, and insect infestations under its…

Bexar County pest control is regulated by the Texas Department of Agriculture under Occupations Code Chapter 1951…

Houston Code of Ordinances Chapter 10 requires property owners to keep premises free from insect and rodent…

McKinney property owners must control rodents, roaches, and other vermin under the Property Maintenance Code…

Commercial pest control in Mesquite is licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture; property owners must address…

Austin's Property Maintenance Code requires every structure to be kept free of bed bugs, insects, scorpions, and…

Texas Property Code Chapter 92 requires landlords to maintain habitable rentals, and Dallas Code Chapter 27 Minimum…

Texas Property Code Chapter 92 makes landlords statewide responsible for habitable rentals including bed bug…

Texas treats bed bugs as a habitability issue under landlord-tenant law rather than a dedicated city ordinance. Corpus…

Texas does not impose a statewide bed bug disclosure law and Frisco has no separate bed bug ordinance, but landlord…

Texas has no statewide bed bug statute and Lubbock has not adopted a dedicated ordinance. Tenants rely on the implied…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 728 governs disposal of household sharps. Harris County Public Health operates a…

New Braunfels requires sharps to be sealed before they ever reach the curb: Sec. 110-39(k) bans placing loose lancets…

San Antonio relies on Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 728 and Metro Health guidance for sharps disposal. Used…

Arlington follows Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 363 on special waste; loose syringes in household trash are…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 728 governs disposal of used needles and sharps, and Dallas County Health and Human…

Used syringes in El Paso must be discarded in approved sharps containers and never placed in regular trash or…

Fort Worth follows Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 728 and Tarrant County Public Health guidance for safe sharps…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 728 prohibits placing used needles and sharps in regular trash. Houston Solid…

Texas treats used syringes as regulated medical waste. Corpus Christi has no city-run needle exchange. Residents and…

Texas treats home-generated sharps as household waste when properly contained. Lubbock has no syringe service program…

Every food handler and food manager working in an Abilene food establishment must carry the certification the state…

Amarillo requires a Certified Food Manager on-site during every hour a food establishment operates, under Code Sec…

The Texas Food Handler Education Act requires food employees to complete a state-approved food handler course within…

Baytown Code Sec. 42-177 requires every food employee besides the certified manager to finish an accredited food…

Carrollton requires a certified food handler on site at any farmers market stall selling food that needs time or…

Cedar Park bars food establishments from employing anyone who handles food until that worker holds a valid WCCHD food…

Food establishments in Converse must have a person in charge holding a valid state food handler's certificate present…

The Texas Food Handler Education Act and Dallas Code Chapter 17 require food employees to complete a state-approved…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 438 requires food handlers to complete an accredited course within sixty days of…

Denton requires every food service employee to hold a valid food handler card within 10 days of being hired.

El Paso requires anyone working as a food handler in a food establishment to obtain a food handler certificate within…

Every food employee at a Farmersville food establishment must complete a state-approved food handler class within 15…

Grand Prairie requires every food service, drinking, and food manufacturing employee to complete an accredited food…

Houston Health Department food handler certificates are valid for two years, and the department accepts…

Every worker in a Laredo food establishment must hold a valid food handler's certificate issued by the Public Health…

No food establishment in Leander may put a worker on the line until that food handler holds a valid registration…

Every Lewisville employee who handles food, utensils, or food-service equipment must hold a valid food handler's permit…

New Braunfels makes it unlawful to employ anyone in a paid food-handling role at a restaurant, food establishment, or…

Pearland adopts the Texas Food Establishment Rules for food service citywide and layers on a local requirement for…

Every food employee at a Plano food establishment, apart from the certified food protection manager, must complete an…

San Angelo requires every food establishment to follow the Texas Food Establishment Rules, 25 TAC chapter 228, which…

Every Sugar Land food establishment must operate under a certified food protection manager whose certificate is under…

Anyone who handles food or drink in a Taylor restaurant, grocery, bakery, or other food establishment must hold a valid…

Every food establishment in Texarkana must keep at least one certified food protection manager on site, trained through…

Waco requires anyone who handles, prepares, cooks, serves, or stores food at a food establishment to hold a food…

All Arlington food-service workers must hold a Texas Department of State Health Services accredited food-handler card…

Food employees in Bexar County must complete an accredited Texas food handler course within 60 days of hire and keep…

Texas requires food handlers in restaurants to complete an accredited food-handler course within 60 days of hire and…

Texas Food Handler Education Act requires anyone who handles unpackaged food to complete an accredited food handler…

All Frisco food employees must complete an accredited food handler course within sixty days of hire, and at least one…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 438 requires food handlers to complete an accredited course within sixty days of…

Groups that serve free food to the public at outdoor charity events in Irving must notify the city's Health Manager in…

Texas state law requires food employees to complete an accredited food handler training program within 60 days of hire…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 438 requires every San Antonio food employee to complete an accredited food…

Texas requires food employees to complete an accredited food handler course within 60 days of hire, and Travis County…