Sell Your Fire Protection Business in Texas (2026): Valuation, Buyers & Deal Structure

Selling a fire protection company in Texas means dealing with three separate State Fire Marshal licensing chapters, and none of the certificates they issue can be sold. Sprinkler, fire alarm and extinguisher firms each register with the State Fire Marshal’s Office at the Texas Department of Insurance, and the Texas Insurance Code says plainly, in sections 6001.162, 6002.161 and 6003.160, that a registration certificate or license is not transferable. That one rule shapes how every Texas deal is structured, how early the buyer has to file with the State Fire Marshal and which of your employees the buyer will most want to keep.

This guide is written for Texas owners. It covers the registrations and individual licenses each trade needs, what the Texas Administrative Code says happens when ownership changes, the NFPA editions Texas has adopted, the Comptroller and Texas Workforce Commission steps at closing, and the acquirers that have bought Texas fire companies since 2022, all taken from TDI, statute and the buyers’ own announcements. CT Acquisitions draws on a network of 500+ active buyers. No fee to you on buy-side introductions; sell-side mandates are paid on success at closing.

Three Texas registrations, three different license tests

Texas does not issue one fire protection license. A company that designs sprinklers, installs alarm panels and services kitchen hoods may hold three certificates of registration, each backed by a named licensed employee. A buyer’s first diligence request is usually a list of every certificate and every licensee attached to it.

Sprinkler firms: SCR and the responsible managing employee

According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, sprinkler companies register under one of three certificates: SCR-General (plan, sell, install, maintain, certify or service any sprinkler system), SCR-Underground (underground water supply piping without planning) and SCR-Dwelling (one- and two-family dwelling systems). A company cannot be registered without a licensed employee. The individual licenses are RME-General, which requires the NICET Water-Based Systems Layout Level III tests plus the Texas statutes and rules exam; RME-Dwelling, which needs NICET Layout Level II; RME-Underground; and RME-General Inspector, which needs NICET Inspection and Testing of Water-Based Systems Level II. Texas registered professional engineers have the technical tests waived.

Two rules make the RME the most important person in a sprinkler sale. Under 28 TAC 34.716(f), a firm must employ at least one full-time RME-General or RME-Dwelling at each business office where system planning is done. And under Insurance Code section 6003.153, a registered firm can keep operating for only 30 days after the death or departure of its licensed RME unless the commissioner approves a longer period. A company with one RME who is also the selling owner gives the buyer a 30-day problem from the day that person leaves.

TDI’s published fees show the cost of the paperwork itself is modest: an SCR-General costs $950 at first registration (including a $50 application fee) and $1,800 for each two-year renewal, an RME-General license costs $200 initially and $350 to renew, and a revised company registration costs $35.

Fire alarm firms: ACR, APS and the monitoring license

A Texas fire alarm company needs an Alarm Certificate of Registration (ACR), and TDI requires that it designate a full-time employee holding a Fire Alarm Technician, Fire Alarm Planning Superintendent (APS) or Residential Fire Alarm Superintendent license. Every additional office needs its own branch certificate. The APS license is the planning credential: TDI requires ESA Level III Fire Alarm Designer certification, a passed NICET Level III Fire Alarm Systems test or a Texas PE license, plus the state statutes and rules test. Texas also issues a separate Fire Alarm Monitoring Technician license, whose exam is based on the NFPA 72 supervising station chapter and UL 827. Insurance Code section 6002.154 adds that a licensed individual may only work as an employee or agent of a registered firm, so licensees cannot simply consult for the buyer after closing.

An ACR main office certificate costs $500 initially and $1,000 per two-year renewal; APS, technician and monitoring licenses cost $120 initially and $200 to renew, according to TDI.

Extinguisher and kitchen suppression firms: ECR

Portable extinguisher and fixed system work falls under the Extinguisher Certificate of Registration, which TDI prices at $450 initially and $600 per renewal, plus a branch certificate for each extra location. The planning license for fixed extinguishing systems (EPL) requires the NICET Level III Special Hazards Systems test, and the Type K kitchen cooking system license requires at least 6 months holding an FEL-B license or apprentice permit first. Restaurant hood route businesses therefore depend on technicians who took time to qualify, which buyers notice.

What a change of ownership does to a Texas certificate

The Texas Administrative Code is specific, and it is the part of a Texas deal most often misunderstood by out-of-state buyers.

• Sprinkler. Under 28 TAC 34.710(d)(1), a total change of a firm’s ownership invalidates the current certificate, and a new application should be submitted to the State Fire Marshal 14 days before the change. A partial ownership change needs a revised certificate only if it alters the firm’s name, location or mailing address. Changes of corporate officers must be reported in writing within 14 days, and section 34.710(h) states that a certificate is neither temporarily nor permanently transferable from one firm to another.
• Fire alarm. 28 TAC 34.610(d) applies the same rule: total change of ownership invalidates the certificate, and the new application must be filed at least 14 days before the change. Changes of the designated licensed employee and of officers must be reported within 14 days, and under 34.611(e) the firm must report any licensee hire, termination or resignation within 14 days.
• Extinguisher. 28 TAC 34.510(h) requires the new owners to apply for a new certificate 14 days before a total ownership change, and 34.510(l) bars transfers between firms.

In practice this means a 100% stock purchase of a Texas fire company still needs new registrations, filed before closing, not after. The buyer’s application must include proof of general liability cover, including products and completed operations, of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate, which Insurance Code sections 6001.154, 6002.153 and 6003.152 require before TDI will issue any certificate. The cleanest Texas closings we see have the buyer’s insurance certificate, the named RME or APS and the new application ready at least two weeks before the signing date.

When the Private Security Act also applies

A firm that only does fire alarm work regulated under the Insurance Code is outside the Private Security Act; Occupations Code section 1702.329 carves it out. Once the company also sells, installs, services or monitors intrusion alarms or other detection devices, section 1702.105 treats it as an alarm systems company needing a Department of Public Safety license, and section 1702.124 requires that licensee to carry at least $100,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage, $50,000 for personal injury and $200,000 aggregate. Combined fire and security books therefore carry a second license transfer, on a second regulator’s timeline.

Running fire and security together? Several Texas buyers named here, Pye-Barker and Sciens among them, have bought companies that combine fire alarm work with access control, video or intrusion monitoring. That second line brings the Private Security Act into the sale, which is covered below and in our companion guide: sell your security integration business in Texas.

The NFPA editions Texas enforces, and the paper trail they create

Texas writes its code editions into rule. 28 TAC 34.707 adopts NFPA 13-2019, NFPA 13R-2019, NFPA 13D-2019, NFPA 24-2019 and NFPA 25-2020 for sprinkler work, and 28 TAC 34.607 adopts NFPA 72-2019, NFPA 101-2021, NFPA 17A-2021, NFPA 2001-2018 and UL 827 for alarm work. Under 34.716(h), a city or county may adopt a different standard, so a company working across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and smaller jurisdictions needs to know which edition each fire marshal enforces.

The rules also create documents a buyer will ask to see. 28 TAC 34.716(b) requires the RME to fix a State Fire Marshal contractor’s material and test certificate near the riser after installation, keep the company copy for the life of the system and send a copy to the local authority within 10 days. A complete archive of those certificates is evidence of every system your firm installed and is a ready list of inspection prospects. Vehicles are covered too: section 34.716(e) requires trucks regularly used by a sprinkler firm to show the company name, phone number and registration number in the form “TX: SCR-number” in lettering at least one inch high, so a new certificate number after closing means relettering the fleet.

How big the Texas market is, and where it hides in the data

Federal statistics do not count fire protection firms as their own industry. The closest clean figure is security systems services (NAICS 561621), where the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages counted 990 private Texas establishments in 2024, employing 18,523 people at average annual pay of $81,252. Sprinkler contractors are folded into plumbing and HVAC contractors, a category with 9,788 Texas establishments and 116,845 employees in the same 2024 data, and many alarm installers sit inside nonresidential electrical contracting, with 3,432 establishments. The pay figure is the useful one for a seller: buyers model technician retention against what neighbouring trades pay licensed staff.

Who has been buying Texas fire protection companies

Three acquirers stand out in Texas on the strength of their own press releases.

• Pye-Barker Fire & Safety. In November 2023 it bought seven Texas locations of Koetter Fire Protection (Austin, Corpus Christi, Belton, Houston, Longview, Lubbock and San Antonio), with Koetter’s Dallas office staying under Rabroker family ownership. It added Fortress Security, with offices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, in September 2025, saying the deal took it past 20 Texas locations; FSD Protection of Houston in November 2025; Coastal Sprinkler of Beaumont, in business since 1987, in January 2026; and AAA Fire Extinguisher Co. of Lubbock in May 2026.
• Summit Fire & Security. Summit described its April 2024 purchase of A-1 Fire Equipment of Galveston, founded in 1967, as its 8th Texas acquisition since 2022. Others include Global Alarm Systems of Tyler and Lufkin (March 2023), Shield Fire & Suppression of Bryan (June 2023), Remington Alarm Systems of Tyler (March 2024) and Texas Fire & Sound, with branches in Garland, Fort Worth and Houston, effective June 11, 2025, when Summit already had nine Texas branches.
• Sciens Building Solutions. Its Texas deals include Fire Alarm Control Systems of San Antonio (August 2022), whose two state-licensed planners held NICET Level IV and Level III; Christian Cable Group of Haslet (August 2023); Classic Protection Systems of Houston (October 2024); J.W. Dielmann of Bulverde (December 2024); Alarmtechs of Katy (August 2025); and Fire Safe Protection Services of Houston, founded in 1982 (August 2026).

The pattern is regional fill-in. Pye-Barker went after West Texas and the Golden Triangle, Summit built out East Texas and the Gulf Coast, and Sciens concentrated on Houston and San Antonio alarm firms. When Sciens announced FACS it named the licensed planners and their NICET levels, which tells you exactly what these buyers count as the asset.

Texas tax and closing steps for a fire protection sale

Texas is unusual among large states in how little tax it takes from the seller personally, and unusual in how much it asks of the buyer at closing.

• No state income or capital gains tax. Article 8, section 24-a of the Texas Constitution bars a tax on individuals’ net incomes, including partnership income, and section 24-b, added on November 4, 2025, bars a tax on an individual’s realized or unrealized capital gains, including on the sale of a capital asset. Federal tax still applies, so allocation of the price between equipment, customer contracts and goodwill matters.
• Successor liability for state taxes. Tax Code section 111.020 requires a buyer to withhold enough of the price to cover state taxes owed until the seller produces a Comptroller receipt or a certificate showing no tax is due. A buyer who does not withhold can be liable up to the purchase price. The Comptroller has 60 days from the request (90 at most) to issue it, so ask early.
• Franchise tax. The Comptroller sets the rate at 0.75% of taxable margin (0.375% for retail or wholesale), with a no tax due threshold of $2,470,000 for 2024 and 2025 reports and $2,650,000 for 2026 and 2027 reports. Buyers check that reports are filed and current.
• Sales tax. The state rate is 6.25%, with local add-ons up to a combined 8.25%. Fire protection firms that sell extinguishers and parts should expect a buyer to test whether tax was charged correctly on materials.
• Unemployment tax experience. Under Labor Code section 204.083, unemployment experience moves to the successor automatically where there is common ownership or control. A buyer with no common ownership can apply jointly with the seller under section 204.084 to transfer the experience for the acquired part, no later than the first anniversary of the acquisition.

Getting a Texas fire company ready for a buyer

Most of the preparation that pays off in Texas is licensing and records work rather than financial engineering.

• Put a second licensee behind every certificate. If you are the only RME-General or APS, start a key employee on the NICET Level III path now. The 30-day grace period in section 6003.153 is too short to recruit after closing.
• Build the certificate archive. Gather the material and test certificates sent to each local authority, sorted by building, so the buyer can see the installed base you service and the installed base you could.
• Separate inspection, service and project revenue in your accounts, by trade and by branch, so the recurring NFPA 25 and NFPA 72 work is visible. Our guide to fire sprinkler business valuation and buyer demand explains how buyers price each stream.
• Check the Private Security Act position if you do any intrusion, video or access control work, and confirm the DPS license is current.
• Request the Comptroller certificate once a letter of intent is signed, given the 60-day window.
• Review branch certificates so every office that plans or services systems holds the right ACR, ECR or SCR branch registration and, for sprinkler planning, a full-time RME on site.

How CT runs a Texas fire protection sale

CT Acquisitions is an M&A advisory firm for founder-owned businesses, working sell side, buy side and on exit planning. For a Texas fire company we start with the licensing map: which certificates you hold, who the named licensees are, and whether a combined fire and security book needs DPS involvement. We then put the inspection book, certificate archive and branch records into a form buyers can read quickly, approach the acquirers that fit your trade and metro alongside others in our network, and plan the State Fire Marshal filings so they land 14 days before closing. Conversations are confidential and NDA protected. No fee to you on buy-side introductions; sell-side mandates are paid on success at closing.

Sell a fire protection business: Texas and beyond

Companion guides:

• Sell a fire protection business (national overview)
• How to sell a fire protection business
• How to sell a fire alarm company
• Fire sprinkler business valuation and buyer demand
• Maximizing value when selling your fire protection firm
• Who buys home and commercial services companies
• The lower middle market buyer mandate report

Related sale guides for Texas sellers

Running a second trade in Texas, or comparing notes with fire protection owners in other states? The guides below cover each one with its own licensing and buyer detail.

Other Texas industry sale guides

• Sell a Commercial HVAC business in Texas
• Sell a managed IT / MSP business in Texas
• Sell an insurance agency in Texas
• Sell a paving business in Texas
• Sell a RIA / wealth management firm in Texas
• Sell Your Texas Business (state hub with all verticals)

Fire protection business sales in other states

• California
• Florida
• New York

Texas fire protection sale: frequently asked questions