How to choose a foundation repair contractor in Collin County, TX

The short version

Texas has no license for foundation repair contractors, so there's no license number to look up. Protect yourself with five checks instead: who the company really is, an independent engineer's opinion, the city permit, a written warranty you've actually read, and a payment schedule that doesn't put you ahead of the work. The rest of this page explains each one, with the questions worth asking and the red flags to watch for.

This is general consumer information, not an assessment of any house. We're not engineers, and we don't recommend repairs.

Why there's no license to check

The Texas Legislature tried twice to license foundation repair companies, and both bills died: SB 1399 in 2011 and HB 613 in 2013. The analysis of HB 613 said the lack of state standards "allows unqualified and unscrupulous people to perform foundation repairs, often with disastrous results for people's homes" (HB 613 analysis). ABC13 in Houston put it plainly: "foundation repair companies are not licensed by the state of Texas" (ABC13).

So if a company says it is "state licensed" or "state certified" for foundation repair, ask what license it means. The people in this process who are licensed are the engineers, by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS).

1. Check that it's a real, local business

• Business name. LLCs and corporations are registered with the Texas Secretary of State, searchable on SOSDirect (small fee per search) or free through the Texas Comptroller's account status search. Check how long it has existed under that name.
• Address. Look it up on a map and in Street View. A yard with equipment or a real office is a good sign. A suite number at a shared virtual office, a mailbox store or a house that isn't theirs deserves a question.
• BBB record. Look the company up on BBB.org. Read the complaints and how the company answered them, not just the letter grade.
• City registration. Some cities register the company doing the work. Prosper says "the foundation company performing the work shall be registered with the Town and obtain a permit" (Prosper FAQ), and Allen's contractor registration form lists "Foundation" as a category (Allen registration form, PDF). Registration means the company can pull permits there. It isn't a quality rating.
• Insurance, confirmed with the insurer. Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance, and workers' compensation if the company has employees, then call the insurance company on the certificate to confirm the policy is current. ABC13's reporting advises verifying coverage directly with the carrier rather than relying on a certificate alone (ABC13).

2. Get an independent engineer involved

A free inspection from a repair company is a sales visit. The person doing it may be experienced, but in Texas, working out why a foundation moved and what repair it needs is engineering. The engineering board wrote that "analyzing the cause of a condition, recommendations for repair, or providing any other expert engineering opinion associated with a foundation" is the practice of engineering (TBPELS advisory opinion 43).

Every city we cover expects an engineer anyway (see the permit section below), so the real question is whose engineer. Many companies bring an engineer they work with regularly. In 2017 a Dallas engineer complained to TBPELS that engineers "recommended by the Foundation company" were sealing pier plans without proper analysis of the slab. The board declined to issue an opinion but said it would investigate substantiated complaints (TBPELS response, 2018).

You can hire your own engineer before you get quotes, so the repair plan is written by someone who isn't selling the repair. Check any engineer's license at pels.texas.gov. Our guide to engineer reports versus free inspections explains what an engineer's evaluation includes and roughly what it costs.

3. Insist on the city permit

Texas regulates this work through city permits rather than a license. The four cities whose rules we could read all require a permit and a Texas-licensed engineer's sealed documents, and Allen's permit records list foundation repair permits too:

• McKinney requires a permit for any leveling, pier or footing replacement, shimming or floor-system replacement. An engineer's letter and drawings come first, repaired foundations "are required to be engineered by a licensed professional registered in the state of Texas," and the permit closes only after a final engineer's report is uploaded (McKinney foundation repair requirements, PDF).
• Plano requires a foundation plan with pier locations and details, plus an engineer's letter, all "dated, designed, sealed and signed by a State of Texas Registered Engineer" (Plano foundation repair permit requirements, PDF).
• Frisco requires a stamped engineer letter and stamped pier drawings, and the "engineer must provide inspection report at time of completion" (Frisco residential submittal requirements, PDF).
• Prosper requires "an original engineer sealed design" with the permit and a second sealed engineer letter at inspection (Prosper FAQ).
• Allen lists Foundation Repair as its own permit type ($75 in the June 2025 fee schedule), and its 2026 residential construction packet says an Engineer's Final Letter of Acceptance must be uploaded to close the permit. The city doesn't publish a list of engineering documents needed to apply, so confirm those with Building and Permitting.

Ask for the permit number before work starts and the engineer's final letter when it's done. Keep both: buyers, lenders and warranty claims tend to ask for them. A company that says "we don't need a permit" is telling you something important. Each city page has the details.

4. Read the warranty before you sign

"Lifetime transferable warranty" is common in North Texas foundation repair, and it often covers less than it sounds. Ask for the actual warranty document, not the brochure, and check:

• What's covered. Many warranties promise free adjustment of the piers that were installed, and only in the area those piers support. One Dallas-area company's own explanation says warranties generally don't cover the rest of the slab, plumbing, cosmetic damage such as drywall cracks, or a full redo (HD Foundation Repair, a contractor's page).
• Transferability. If it transfers to a buyer, how? Some require notice within a set time, a transfer fee and the original paperwork.
• Conditions. Ask what the warranty expects of you, for example around drainage or watering, and what would void it.
• What happens if the company is sold or closes. A warranty is only as good as the company behind it. In August 2025, KRGV reported on a Harlingen family whose 2023 "lifetime warranty" was refused after the company changed owners (KRGV).

More in our warranty and resale guide.

5. Compare written quotes line by line

A useful quote shows:

• The number of piers, their type and where they go, matching the engineer's plan
• The target depth or installation criteria for the piers
• Whether the engineer's letter, permit, plumbing test, and final engineer's report are included or extra
• Cleanup, landscaping and concrete patching around the house
• The total, the payment schedule and the warranty terms

For context, HomeAdvisor puts a typical foundation repair at $2,225 to $8,133 nationally, with piers at $1,000 to $3,000 each (HomeAdvisor, June 2026). Those are national estimates, not a price for your house. Our Collin County cost guide goes further. Very low bids deserve a question too: shortcut jobs with too few piers, or piers not driven deep enough, are among the problems Houston reporting has described (ABC13).

6. Keep the payment schedule on your side

• Keep the deposit small and don't pay in cash. The FTC's home improvement guide advises limiting the down payment and not paying cash.
• Tie payments to milestones you can verify: the permit issued, the work completed, the city's final inspection, and the engineer's final letter.
• Get the payment terms in the contract, along with the start date and what happens if the job runs over.

7. Know your 3-day right to cancel

If you sign a contract at home after an in-person sales visit, Texas law usually gives you a cooling-off period. Under the home solicitation law, a consumer may cancel a sale of more than $25 made at the home "not later than midnight of the third business day," and the seller must give you a written notice of that right (Business and Commerce Code chapter 601). No notice of cancellation in your paperwork is a red flag. If you're unsure how it applies to your contract, ask a lawyer.

8. Don't let anyone rush you

Foundation movement is usually slow. A salesperson who says the price is good "today only," or that the house will be unsafe by next week, is using pressure, not information. The Texas Attorney General's office warns about pressure to sign and out-of-area crews after storms (Texas AG). If you're worried a problem is getting worse quickly, that's a reason to call an independent engineer, not to sign faster.

Questions to ask

1. What's your business's legal name and street address, and how long have you operated under it?
2. Who designs the repair, and is that engineer independent of your company? Can I use my own engineer?
3. Who pulls the city permit, and can I have the permit number?
4. How many piers, of what type, and to what depth or installation criteria?
5. Is a plumbing test included, before and after the work?
6. Are the engineer's letter, permit and final engineer's report in the price?
7. Can I have the full written warranty now? What does it cover, how does it transfer, and what happens if you sell the company?
8. What's the payment schedule, and what's due before work starts?
9. Can you send your insurance certificates so I can confirm them with the insurer?

Red flags

• "Today only" pricing or pressure to sign at the first visit
• The salesperson diagnoses the problem and no independent engineer is involved
• "You don't need a permit"
• A warranty that isn't in writing, or covers only "adjustments" without saying so up front
• No pier count or depth in the contract
• A large deposit, full payment up front, or cash only
• No notice of your right to cancel after an in-home sale
• An insurance certificate you can't confirm with the insurer
• A bid far below the others with no explanation
• Pressure to skip the plumbing test

If something goes wrong

1. Raise it with the company first, in writing, with photos, the contract, the warranty and the engineer's letters.
2. Call the city if permitted work wasn't inspected or closed out.
3. File a complaint with the Texas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division through its online complaint form, or call (800) 621-0508.
4. File a BBB complaint at bbb.org/file-a-complaint.
5. Engineering concerns about a licensed engineer's work can go to TBPELS.
6. Talk to a lawyer about your own situation before you sue or stop paying.