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What a Termite Letter Actually Is

By James Frame7 min read

A termite letter is a written report from a licensed pest control company stating whether wood-destroying insects or their visible evidence were present at a house on the day of inspection. No state law mandates that a home buyer or seller get one, so any requirement you face comes directly from your mortgage lender or your purchase contract. This guide clarifies what the paperwork is actually named, who is legally permitted to write it, and why your standard home inspection probably did not cover it.

What is a termite letter?

The document is issued by a licensed pest control professional and records visible evidence of wood-destroying insects, or active infestation, found during one inspection. It acts as a snapshot of the home’s condition on that single day rather than a guarantee or warranty against future insects.

In a real estate transaction, that snapshot is what gives lenders and buyers a written accounting of visible insect activity before settlement. It is a record of what one person could see on one morning, and the parts of the house they could reach are recorded on it.

North Carolina’s Structural Pest Control Division emphasizes that the report is not a warranty covering future infestation, but simply a written record of visible evidence found on site at that moment. If you want to know how this document fits into the wider closing process, I have outlined that in my guide to termite inspections for home buyers.

What is a termite letter called on the paperwork?

The industry usually calls this document a wood destroying insect report, while state regulators use official terms like Wood-Destroying Insect Information Report or Wood Infestation Report. The precise label on your paperwork depends entirely on the state where the property sits.

The term “termite letter” is casual shorthand used by real estate agents and lenders, but state regulators explicitly reject the phrase. North Carolina’s Structural Pest Control Division writes that the document is not a “clearance letter,” in that it does not necessarily clear a structure, and it is not a “termite letter,” in that it addresses more than just termites.

Depending on where you live, the document goes by different official names. Lenders and pest control operators often refer to it as a wood destroying insect report. State agencies have their own designations:

  • South Carolina calls it a Wood Infestation Report.
  • Arizona uses Wood Destroying Insect Inspection Report (WDIIR).
  • North Carolina uses Wood-Destroying Insect Information Report (WDIR-100).
  • California and Florida say wood-destroying organism rather than insect, which is the one difference in this list that changes what gets looked at.

Who requires a termite letter?

Your mortgage lender or the terms of your purchase contract require the termite letter, not state law. On every state whose rules I have read for this page, the state prescribes who may write the report and what form it goes on, and requires nobody to obtain one.

Three regulators describe the requirement as somebody else’s in their own words. The Arizona Department of Agriculture explains on its website that Arizona state law sets standards for how reports are conducted but does not legally mandate a report for property sales, calling it a requirement imposed by lending institutions. The California Structural Pest Control Board notes that most lending institutions require homes in California to be inspected for wood destroying pests and organisms before financing a home loan. In Alabama, state administrative rules describe the official report as an instrument which may be required as a condition of sale financing or refinancing of property.

In some states, buyer protections are strictly a matter of contract negotiation and self-directed due diligence. Virginia law states that the owner makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property, advising purchasers to exercise whatever due diligence a purchaser deems necessary prior to settlement. If you are trying to figure out whether buyer or seller covers the bill for this paperwork, I explain those rules in my guide on who pays for a termite inspection.

Does a general home inspection cover a termite letter?

Not on its own. The report has to be issued by someone holding a pest control licence, and a home inspector holding a home inspection licence is not that person unless they hold both and the contract says so.

Buying a general home inspection does not automatically mean you bought a termite inspection, and one state draws the line in its own rulebook. The Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors rules state that a home inspection contract may disclose exclusions, specifically listing wood-destroying organisms and mold among those permitted exclusions.

That is Virginia’s rule rather than a national one, but it tells you how the trade draws the boundary. A general home inspector evaluates structural integrity, plumbing, and roof conditions; the report your lender is asking for is a separate purchase from someone holding a separate licence. If you are not sure which one you bought, ask your inspector in writing whether wood-destroying organisms were in scope, then book a dedicated termite inspection if they were not.

Who is allowed to write a termite letter?

A licensed pest control company, and in several states an individual licensed in a named category. What you cannot do is write your own, and neither can a home inspector or an estate agent.

The states whose rules I read for this page each name the licence on the face of the requirement, which is the part you can check before you call anybody:

  • South Carolina’s rules require that any wood infestation report issued for a sale or mortgage must be issued by an individual currently licensed in Category 7A (Industrial, Institutional, Structural, and Health-Related Pest Control) under a valid Pest Control Business License, and must include their applicator and business license numbers.
  • Georgia rules state that the report shall be issued only by a pest control operator certified in Wood Destroying Organisms.
  • Mississippi administrative code mandates that inspections associated with a real estate transaction shall be performed by an individual licensed for wood destroying insect control or a bona fide employee under their direct supervision.

The US Environmental Protection Agency notes that firms offering termite services must be licensed by your state, suggesting that buyers ask to see the company’s license or call their state pesticide regulatory agency with any concerns. Section I of the national form, Form NPMA-33, carries a printed field headed “Company’s Pest Control Business Lic. No.” So on that form the number is already on your own copy, and checking it costs a phone call to the state.

What document will you actually be handed?

You will receive either your state’s mandatory official inspection form or the national NPMA-33 form, depending entirely on local real estate regulations. States with prescribed forms forbid pest control companies from using alternative paperwork for property sales.

Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Florida, California, and South Carolina each prescribe an official form of their own. Georgia’s Structural Pest Control Commission issued a compliance notice explaining that under HUD Mortgagee Letter 95-33, if a property is located in a state having a mandated wood infestation form, that state form must be used. Because Georgia law requires its official form for real estate transfers, alternative forms are not permitted.

In states that do not mandate a local form, inspectors use Form NPMA-33, which is approved for FHA and VA loans. To see which form your state mandates, visit my guide on termite letter requirements by state. If your inspector uses the national standard document, you can review my field-by-field breakdown of the NPMA-33 form explained. Whichever form arrives, how long it stays usable is set by a different rule again, and I have taken the validity question apart on its own page.

What does a termite inspection look at and leave out?

Accessible areas, the wood an inspector can sound, and four insects. It leaves out whatever could not be reached on the day, detached buildings nobody asked about, and the non-insect organisms the national form excludes by name.

State rules strictly define what falls within an inspector’s scope. North Carolina law defines the inspection as a careful visual examination of all accessible areas of a building and the sounding of accessible structural members adjacent to slab areas in contact with masonry walls. Permanently attached decks, porches, and storage sheds are included, but detached outbuildings are not routinely inspected unless you specifically ask for them.

The standard forms also explicitly limit the types of organisms covered:

  • Form NPMA-33 defines wood-destroying insects as termites, carpenter ants, carpenter bees, and reinfesting wood-boring beetles.
  • Form NPMA-33 explicitly excludes mold, mildew, and non-insect organisms from the scope of the inspection.

If the inspector records live insects or evidence of past activity, what you do about it is a separate question, and I have worked through it in my guide on what happens after a termite inspection finds something.

What should you do next?

My recommendation is to check your lender’s written closing instructions and your purchase contract before paying for any inspection. I have not seen your contract or your loan file, but in almost every home purchase, the lender dictates whether a report is necessary and which specific form they require before funding the loan.

Once you confirm that your lender requires a report, verify that the pest control company you hire holds an active state licence in wood-destroying organisms. Confirm that they place their official business licence number directly on the final document, request your copy early in your contract contingency period, and read the entire report carefully before sitting down at the closing table. Those last two are on my printable inspection and report check, along with what to watch on the day itself.

When you get as far as booking it, what to specify before the inspector arrives is worth reading first, because two of the decisions that change what the report is worth are made on the phone rather than at the house: my page on ordering a WDI inspection report covers them.

Sources

Common questions

Is a termite letter the same thing as a WDI report?

Yes. They are two names for one document, and which one you hear depends on who is talking. Agents and sellers tend to say termite letter. Lenders and pest control companies tend to say WDI report, for wood destroying insect. North Carolina's regulator uses neither, and calls it a wood-destroying insect information report. If someone hands you a form with a different name printed at the top, check which state prescribed it before assuming you have the wrong paperwork.

My home inspector already looked at the house. Do I still need this?

Probably, and the two are different purchases. Virginia's rule for home inspection contracts lists wood-destroying organisms among the exclusions a home inspector may disclose, which tells you how the trade draws the line. A termite letter has to be issued by someone holding a specific pest control licence, and a home inspector holding a home inspection licence is not that person. Ask your inspector in writing whether wood-destroying organisms were in scope.

Can I get one without being in the middle of a sale?

You can pay a licensed company to inspect your house at any time, and Mississippi's rule even lets a licensee decline to complete the state's real estate form after an inspection provided no fee is charged for it. What you cannot do is order the transaction document in the abstract and expect it to mean something later. The report records one day, and the party who asked for it is written on the face of it.

  • termite letter
  • wdi
  • home buying
  • real estate

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