Denton contractor license lookup: TDLR, the plumbing board, City registration and the permits

Which license each job needs in Denton

TDLR's list of regulated programs includes "Electricians" and "Air Conditioning and Refrigeration" contractors; general contractors, home builders and roofers do not appear on it (TDLR, read 22 October 2026). Plumbers are on the State Board of Plumbing Examiners list, which "contains the last known company name associated with the Licensee", and "Activities allowed by a specific license/registration type shall not be performed with an expired license/registration."

The City fills the gap: Denton "requires all contractors to be registered to perform work" (Contractor Registration). Registration types run from general, sign or pool contractor to concrete, irrigator, mechanical, plumbing and electrical, and the trade types must attach the matching Texas license. Concrete contractors also need a $1,000 concrete surety bond. The usual Denton new-home permit carries $397,548 and the usual pool $86,500; for those builders, a City registration is the only credential on file.

How to run the lookup in five minutes

1. Electrician or AC contractor: search TDLR's License Search by license number or business name. It shows "Active Licenses only"; "If license not found, please contact Customer Service at 800-803-9202."
2. Plumber: search the plumbing board's public license search for the responsible master plumber.
3. Discipline: search TDLR's Complaints and Enforcement sanctions database for the company and the licensee.
4. City registration and permits: on the City's eTRAKiT, use "Search Contractors" and "Search Permit". Building Safety: (940) 349-8600.
5. Track record: open the firm on our Denton HVAC list, roofer list or new-home builder list.

How to search Denton permit records

The City's eTRAKiT portal carries Denton's building and trade permits, with "Search Permit" under Permits and "Search Contractors" under Contractor, and says "Contractors must schedule all inspections through the eTRAKiT portal" (read 22 October 2026). Search by address to see what was permitted on a house, and by contractor to see the City's registration. If the contractor on a trade permit is not the one you hired, someone else's license is on your job.

eTRAKiT is organised by record. Ours is organised by firm: each firm's Denton permits, its TDLR match and the share finaled, on the Denton permit statistics page and the compare lists.

What 15,700 Denton permits show

"Finaled" is the share of permits a year or more old the City finaled, adjusted for permit age. Most Denton trades final in 89% of cases or more; remodels are the exception at 72.4%. Electrical carries the most license problems for its size: 13 electrical firms matched a TDLR license that is no longer active, and 16 solar firms did.

See every Denton HVAC contractor by license and permits finaled →

Red flags in Denton

• An electrician or AC contractor not on TDLR's active list. The search shows active licenses only, so check the sanctions database too.
• A plumber who cannot name the responsible master plumber.
• A builder or roofer not registered with the City. With no state license, the registration is the one record that ties the firm to Denton.
• A request that you pull the permit yourself.
• A firm that has gone quiet: 6 HVAC firms, 5 roofers and 5 home builders with 5+ permits filed none in the last 12 months of our data.

What this lookup does not tell you

Our license status is a name match against TDLR's file of A/C and electrical contractor licenses: 29.6% of HVAC firms did not match, which is our gap, not proof they are unlicensed. Plumbers' licenses are not in that file, and Texas licenses no general contractors, builders, roofers or fence companies, so those show no license. The City's files for permits issued before 2025 were last refreshed in June 2025, so a permit that finaled after that still counts as open. Our data stops at September 2026. Statewide rules and TDLR penalties are in How to check a contractor's license in Texas.