Do you need a licence and insurance to do home watch?

The honest answer on licensing, insurance and bonding for a home watch business — and why the only reliable source is your own state, not a forum thread.

This is the question that stops people starting, and the internet answers it badly. The short version: insurance, almost certainly yes. Licensing, it depends on your state and on exactly what you do. Bonding, sometimes, and often because a customer asks rather than because the law does.

Why nobody can give you a single answer

There is no federal home watch licence. Requirements are set state by state, and the deciding factor is usually not the words “home watch” but what the work involves. Inspecting a property and reporting on it is treated differently from managing a tenancy, handling somebody's money, or doing repair work yourself. Cross one of those lines and a different rulebook applies.

The calls worth making before you start

Your state's real estate commission, to ask whether property inspection for absent owners falls under their licensing. Your state or county business licensing office, for the ordinary registration any business needs. If you plan to do handyman work as well, your contractor licensing board, because that usually has its own threshold and it is lower than people expect.

Insurance is the part that is not optional

General liability is the baseline. You are going in and out of properties worth a great deal, and the risk is not only dramatic damage — it is the accusation. A client comes home, finds something broken, and believes it was you. Without cover, that is your problem personally.

Ask your broker about care, custody and control specifically. Standard general liability often excludes damage to property in your care, which is precisely the situation you are in on every single visit. Operators tend to find this out at claim time.

Bonding, and what it is actually for

A surety bond protects the customer against theft by you or your staff. It is not insurance for you; it is reassurance for them. Some states require it, many do not, and plenty of operators carry one anyway because it answers the unspoken question every new client has about handing a stranger their key.

Put it in writing either way

Whatever your state requires, a written agreement saying what you check, how often, what you are not responsible for, and what happens if you find a problem is what keeps a bad week from becoming a dispute. It is also the document your insurer will ask to see.