Matching service only. Under Florida Chapter 482 we are not a certified operator. We do not spray, bait, tent, or inspect.
Florida does not name the seller as the person who “must” order a wood-destroying organism inspection. That is the point of this page. Florida Statutes section 482.226 tells a licensed pest control company what to do when a real-estate WDO inspection happens. It does not assign the fee to the listing side, the buying side, or the lender. Who requests the report is a contract question. What the report must contain is a statute question.
This is for sellers and buyers in Windermere, Winter Garden, Horizon West, Hamlin, Waterleigh, Ocoee, Oakland, Stoneybrook West, Clermont, and Minneola. Orlando West Pest Care is a matching service. We match you with a licensed local pest control operator. We do not inspect, spray, or tent. Need the licensed report: termite and WDO or get a quote. Companion post: WDO inspection in Winter Garden and Horizon West.
What the statute actually triggers
Section 482.226(1) is a conditional, not a mandate that every listing include a WDO. When a licensee inspects for wood-destroying organisms for a real estate transaction, and either a fee is charged or a written report is requested, a WDO inspection report shall be provided by the licensee or its representative qualified under Chapter 482. The inspection must follow good industry practice and department standards and must cover all wood-destroying organisms, not only the insect on a sill. Findings go to the person who requested the inspection. The report must be on a form prescribed by the department. The licensee keeps a copy for not less than three years.
The statute does not say the seller has to order it before going live, or that the buyer has to order it during an inspection period, or that a cash buyer can skip it as a matter of pest-control law. Those decisions live in the purchase contract, the lender’s conditions, and whoever wants a paper in the file. If the buyer’s agent orders it, the buyer is the customer unless the paperwork says otherwise. If the seller orders a pre-listing WDO, the seller is the customer. We match. We do not write the form.
Who usually requests it when a west Orlando house is for sale
Practice is not 482.226. In a conventional west Orange or south Lake sale, the buyer often orders a WDO during due diligence because the contract gives inspection rights and a lender may want a current report. Some sellers order one before listing, especially on an older Winter Garden bungalow or a Windermere house with a prior attic notice. Government-backed loans can be stricter than a cash file. None of that is a sentence that says “the seller shall.”
Who pays is also not in the statute. The fee is whatever the parties negotiate. Section 482.226(2)(d) is the line people skip: the report must certify that neither the inspector nor the licensee has any financial interest in the property, or is associated in the transaction other than for inspection purposes. Asking the inspector to “just make it go away so we can close Friday” is asking for a financial interest the statute forbids. Treatment is a separate licensed job.
On the quote form, say sale or refinance, buyer-ordered or seller-ordered, and the city or subdivision. Buying in Windermere: same form. We still only match.
What the report is required to say
Subsection (2)(a) is a list. The report must include the licensee’s name; the date; the address; visible accessible areas not inspected and why; inaccessible areas; visible evidence of previous treatments or infestations; any wood-destroying organisms present and visible damage; and a statement that an inspection notice was affixed, plus its location.
If treatment is provided at the inspection, subsection (2)(b) requires the report to name each organism treated, the pesticide, and the conditions and terms. That is the licensee’s work.
Subsection (2)(c) is the sentence buyers underline. An inspection report does not constitute a guarantee of the absence of wood-destroying organisms or damage unless the report specifically states the extent of such a guarantee. A “clear” WDO is a licensed snapshot of what was visible and accessible that day, not a lifetime certificate.
The attic notice, who may inspect, and financial responsibility
When a real-estate WDO is provided under subsection (1), the licensee shall post notice immediately adjacent to attic or crawl access, or another readily accessible area. The notice must be at least 3 inches by 5 inches, last at least three years, and show the licensee’s name, address, and date. It is a violation of Chapter 482 for anyone other than the property owner to remove it. If the licensee also performs control, subsection (5) requires a separate treatment notice stating the pesticide and the organism. Inspection and treatment are not the same product.
Who is allowed to write the report
Subsection (3)(b): a person may not perform the inspections or treatments unless she or he has an identification card issued under section 482.091(9). FDACS licenses the industry. Each structural pest-control location must be licensed, carry required insurance, and employ full-time a Florida-certified operator in the categories in which it operates, including termite and other wood-destroying organisms control. See FDACS Pest Control Licensing and Certification. A general home inspector is a different license. A matching service is neither.
Subsection (6): any licensee that performs WDO inspections under subsection (1) must carry errors and omissions insurance or a bond of no less than $500,000 in the aggregate and $250,000 per occurrence, or show net worth of no less than $500,000 substantiated by a CPA review or certified audit. That is why a real-estate WDO is not a weekend side job and not something we perform.
West Orlando moisture is context, not a diagnosis
A Windermere or Winter Garden sale in September is still a wet-season file. The Florida Climate Center publishes NOAA / NCEI 1991–2020 normals for Orlando International Airport: 51.45 inches of rain a year, and 6.37 inches in September. See the Orlando 1991–2020 normals. Rain does not convert a DIY photo into a 482.226 form, and it does not tell you who should order the inspection.
FDACS lists the termite groups Florida actually names: subterranean termites, the Formosan termite program, dampwood and drywood termites, and the conehead termite eradication program. See FDACS, Protect Your Home from Pests. A licensed operator may put a name on the report. We match you with that operator. We do not inspect, spray, or tent. Nearby: termite and WDO and get a quote.
Related matching notes
- Matching service page
- Service area
- Get a quote
- What a WDO inspection is
- WDO when refinancing
- New-construction termite gaps
Sources
- Fla. Stat. 482.226 (2024), Wood-destroying organism inspection report; notice of inspection or treatment; financial responsibility: flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/0482.226
- FDACS, Pest Control Licensing and Certification: fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Pest-Control/Licensing-and-Certification
- FDACS, Protect Your Home from Pests: fdacs.gov/Consumer-Resources/Health-and-Safety/Protect-Your-Home-from-Pests
- Florida Climate Center / NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals, Orlando International Airport (annual 51.45 inches; September 6.37 inches): climatecenter.fsu.edu/.../orlando
FAQs
Does Florida law require the seller to order a WDO?
No. Section 482.226 requires a licensed report when a licensee inspects for a real estate transaction and either charges a fee or is asked for a written report. It does not assign the order, or the fee, to the seller or the buyer.
Who should request a WDO inspection when selling a house in Florida?
Whoever the contract, the lender, or the parties want on the request. The statute sends findings to the person who requested the inspection. Neither buyer nor seller is the statutory default.
Is a clear WDO a guarantee the house has no termites?
Not unless the report itself states the extent of a guarantee. Subsection (2)(c) says the report is not a guarantee of absence or of no damage unless it specifically says so.
Can a home inspector write the WDO?
No. A person may not perform those inspections without the identification card issued under section 482.091(9). The report comes from a Chapter 482 licensee on the department’s form.
Do you perform the WDO for a Windermere closing?
No. We match you with a licensed local pest control operator. That operator inspects and, when the job is a real estate WDO, issues the department-prescribed report. We do not inspect, spray, or tent. Use get a quote.