You are under contract, the lender wants a wood-destroying organism report, and the deadline is short. Here is what the inspection is, what the state makes the report say, and how to check the company before you book it.
Quick answer
A Florida WDO inspection is a visual check for termites, wood-boring beetles and wood-decaying fungi in the accessible parts of a home. When a fee is charged or a written report is requested for a real estate deal, Florida requires the inspection be reported on FDACS Form 13645. It records what was visible that day, not a guarantee.
Florida's definition covers organisms that damage seasoned wood in a building and can reinfest it: subterranean and drywood termites, powder post beetles, old house borers, and wood-decaying fungi. That is why the form says organisms and not insects. What it does not do is price repairs or judge whether the house is structurally sound. If the report notes damage, a building contractor or engineer is the person who tells you what fixing it costs.
The inspector reports what could be seen without dismantling the house. Florida requires the report to list the areas that were inaccessible, which is the part buyers skip and then regret. Read that list first. A crawl space nobody could enter, or a garage packed to the ceiling on inspection day, is a part of the house nobody looked at.
Section 482.226 sets the contents: the licensee's name, the inspection date, the address, the inaccessible areas, evidence of previous treatment, the organisms found, and a statement certifying that neither the inspector nor the company has a financial interest in the property or a role in the transaction. That last line exists so the report is not written by someone with a stake in the sale closing.
The company has to keep its copy for at least three years. If your file goes missing after the deal, the inspecting company still has one.
PestPin's national planning range for a standalone termite inspection is $75 to $150. That is an editorial planning figure for the whole country, not a measured Florida average and not a quote. Some companies waive or credit the fee if you go on to hire them for treatment, so ask. Treatment, if it turns out you need it, is a separate and much larger number.
Ask whether the company performs real estate WDO inspections on Form FDACS-13645, and whether its business license covers the Termite and Other Wood-Destroying Organisms category. A general pest control license, or a fumigation license on its own, is not the same thing.
The inspection is performed by someone holding a wood-destroying organisms identification card or by a certified operator in that category. Ask for the name of the person who will do the inspection and sign the report, not just the company name.
Search the company name or license number on the FDACS pest control company license search and confirm the license is current and carries the wood-destroying organisms category.
When the completed report arrives, read the inaccessible areas and the previous-treatment lines first, then the findings. Those are the parts that tell you what was not looked at.
PestPin carries 3,561 source-linked Florida pest control business records. Those are company license records. They do not record which companies perform WDO inspections, because that credential rides on an employee identification card rather than the company row we read. So we will not tell you that any company on this site does one.
What the records give you is the company, its license, and the link back to the state source. Call and ask the two questions above, then check the answer on the FDACS lookup. A license record is not proof of insurance, workmanship, availability, or a specific inspection capability.
Licensed pest control businesses by city. Whether any of them performs WDO inspections is a question for the company.
The statute sets what the report must contain and how long the company keeps its copy, but it puts no expiration date on the report itself. The date of the inspection is what your lender and your contract react to, and they are the ones who decide how recent it has to be. Ask the lender for its window before you schedule, because rebooking after a delay is the usual reason a closing slips.
Florida law does not assign it. It is a term the buyer and seller negotiate in the purchase contract, and it goes both ways in practice depending on the market and the loan. Settle it in writing along with the deadline for getting the inspection done, since a deadline with no named payer is where these stall.
No. Florida prescribes one report form for a real estate WDO inspection, and that form records whether visible evidence of wood-destroying organisms was observed on the day of the inspection. A report with no findings is still the same report, not a separate certificate, and it is not a warranty that the house is free of termites.
Nothing automatic. The report states what was found; what happens next comes from the purchase contract, which is where treatment, repair credits, and walk-away rights are written. Live activity and old damage are different problems: activity means a company treats it, damage means someone qualified prices the repair. A WDO report does neither of those jobs for you.
Florida requires the licensee to post a notice after a WDO inspection or treatment, immediately next to the attic or crawl space access or another readily accessible spot. It has to be at least 3 by 5 inches, made of material that lasts at least three years, and carry the company name and address and the date. Only the property owner may remove it, so those stickers are a real history of the house worth reading during a showing.
Yes, and this is one of the few insurance facts about pest control that Florida writes into law. A licensee performing these inspections must hold errors and omissions coverage or a bond of at least $500,000 in the aggregate and $250,000 per occurrence, or show equity or net worth of at least $500,000. That is a requirement on the licensee, not something PestPin has confirmed for any individual company.
Facts on this page were checked against the sources above on . Requirements change, and a purchase contract can be stricter than the state. Confirm with the regulator, your lender, and your agent for an actual transaction. This is general information, not legal advice.