Texas (TX)
On the runs: Northern Plains to Texas holding to California · Southeast to Gulf to California
Record held: 37 fields — 23 published, 14 not published / not yet checked.
This is a thin record because the state publishes little of this layer. What it publishes is below; every field it does not publish is marked plainly instead of filled in. A short page with honest gaps is the right page for this state.
Regulator
StateTexas
RegulatorTexas Apiary Inspection Service
Regulator typeUniversity extension inspection service (university-extension-inspection-service)
Regulator contactTexas Apiary Inspection Service, 2475 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2475 • tais@ag.tamu.edu • Phone: 979-321-5827 • Fax: 979-845-0983 (as published on the TAIS Regulations and Forms & Fees pages)
Instruments
Entry permit (interstate-permit · issued by the destination side)
Fee$200 (per-year) — Interstate Permit – $200.00; this permit will be valid for any state line movement between Sept. 1st through Aug. 31st of each year. (TAIS Forms & Fees)
Validity windowThe permit 'applies to all shipments made by the beekeeper and expires on August 31 following the date the permit is issued. The term of a permit may not exceed one year' (Tex. Agric. Code § 131.041(b)). TAIS Forms & Fees states the same window: valid for any state line movement between Sept. 1st through Aug. 31st of each year.
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeA person may apply at any time, but 'a person must apply for a permit before the 10th day preceding the date of a shipment if the person does not hold a permit on the 10th day preceding the date of the shipment' (Tex. Agric. Code § 131.041(c)).
What the certificate must stateAn application must include all information required by the chief apiary inspector (§ 131.041(c)). A shipment originating outside Texas requires, before it may enter, either (1) a certificate of inspection signed by the official apiary inspector or entomologist of the state, territory, or country of origin, or (2) an inspection of the shipment by the chief apiary inspector of Texas not more than 12 months before the date of shipment (§ 131.041(d)). The inspector issues the permit if satisfied the shipments do not pose a threat to disease and pest control in the beekeeping industry (§ 131.041(f)). The statute (§ 131.041(h)) requires a fee for each permit, set at an amount reasonable in relation to the costs of administering the section; TAIS publishes the amount as $200 (Forms & Fees).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsThe person shipping bees or equipment into or out of Texas applies to the chief apiary inspector (TAIS). TAIS publishes an Interstate Permit Application form; completed forms with payment are sent to Texas Apiary Inspection Service, 2475 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2475 (TAIS Forms & Fees). TAIS Regulations states: 'If bees are brought into the state from outside the border, then the beekeeper must have a health certificate and an interstate permit ($200). The health certificate can originate from the same state as the bees, but the Texas interstate permit is required.'
Health / inspection certificate (health-certificate · issued by the origin side)
FeeNot published / not yet checked
Validity windowOne year. TAIS Regulations: 'The health certificate is valid for one year after the date of inspection.' The statute matches the clock: the certificate must be based on an actual inspection conducted not more than 12 months before the date of the shipment (Tex. Agric. Code § 131.041(e)); commercial operations are required to have a health inspection from the state agency upon movement across state lines (TAIS Regulations).
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateThe certificate must certify that the bees or equipment 'are apparently free from disease and reportable pests based on an actual inspection conducted not more than 12 months before the date of the shipment' (Tex. Agric. Code § 131.041(e)). TAIS's published reportable pests and diseases are American Foulbrood (AFB), Tropilaelaps Mites, and Yellow Legged Hornet (TAIS Regulations).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsThe certificate is signed by the official apiary inspector or entomologist of the state, territory, or country from which the bees are shipped (§ 131.041(d)(1)); the alternative published route is an inspection of the shipment by the chief apiary inspector of Texas not more than 12 months before shipment (§ 131.041(d)(2)). TAIS Regulations: the health certificate can originate from the same state as the bees, but the Texas interstate permit is separately required.
Health / inspection certificate (apiary-inspection-requested · issued by the destination side)
Fee$100 (per-inspection) — Apiary Inspection (requested by beekeeper) – $100.00 (TAIS Forms & Fees); TAIS Regulations: 'Small-scale operations can request a health inspection for a fee ($100).'
Validity windowTAIS performs health inspections on honey bees on an as needed basis; the health certificate resulting from inspection is valid for one year after the date of inspection (TAIS Regulations).
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateNot published / not yet checked
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsRequested by the beekeeper from TAIS. TAIS Regulations distinguishes the tiers: commercial beekeeping operations are required to have a health inspection from the state agency upon movement across state lines; small-scale operations can request a health inspection for the $100 fee. (TAIS Forms & Fees separately lists a Queen Breeder Inspection at $300.00, an Apiary Equipment Brand at $10.00, and an official extra copy of a permit at $10.00.)
Registration (beekeeper-registration · issued by the destination side)
Fee$35 (per-year) — Beekeeper Registration – $35.00; Registration will be valid from Sept. 1st through Aug. 31st of each year. It will not be mandatory by state law but may be required for participation in other programs. (TAIS Forms & Fees)
Validity windowSeptember 1 through August 31 of each year (TAIS Forms & Fees).
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeBeekeeper registration may be requested at any time but is only valid through August 31 of the same fiscal year (TAIS Regulations).
What the certificate must stateNot published / not yet checked
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsThe beekeeper applies to TAIS (Beekeeper Registration Application, Forms & Fees). Registration is distinct from the interstate permit: 'The state of Texas does not require a beekeeper to register' (TAIS Regulations), but a beekeeper must maintain a beekeeper registration in force with TAIS to legally perform bee removal in Texas (an exemption from the structural pest control section of the Texas Occupation Code, Chapter 1951.056), and registration may be required for participation in other programs.
Moving bees — the rules around the instruments
Passing throughNo pass-through / through-transit exemption is published. Texas Agriculture Code § 131.041(a) bars shipping bees or equipment into OR out of Texas without a permit from the chief apiary inspector, and § 131.041(g) provides only that the section 'does not apply to a shipment of package bees.' TAIS states the same rule for entry: if bees are brought into the state from outside the border, the beekeeper must have a health certificate and an interstate permit.
Border and destination inspectionNot published / not yet checked
County layerNo county filing duty for interstate entry is published by TAIS. TAIS notes on its Regulations page: 'Other regulations that may apply to beekeepers can be found in the local city or county ordinances' (and homeowner association rules may also apply). Intrastate (county-to-county) TAIS permits were dropped effective September 1, 2023, per TAIS's published post-2023 framework as reflected on its Regulations / Forms & Fees pages (no intrastate permit form or fee is listed).
Recognition of other states' certificatesNo reciprocity / equal-standards recognition rule is published. The published fallback for origins without an official apiary inspector or entomologist (Tex. Agric. Code § 131.041(e)) is: (1) the shipper may provide other suitable evidence that the bees and equipment are free from disease and reportable pests; or (2) the bees may be shipped into Texas under quarantine and the person receiving the shipment shall have the bees inspected not later than the 30th day after the date the bees enter the state.
Consequences, as publishedShipping into Texas without the required permit is an offense: under Tex. Agric. Code § 131.121(a)(3), as amended by H.B. 4538 (88th Leg., 2023), a person commits an offense if the person 'ships or causes bees or equipment to be shipped into this state without the permit required by Section 131.041.' (The pre-2023 text of § 131.121(b) classed an offense under the section as a Class C misdemeanor; the 2023 bill analysis fetched for this packet amends subsection (a) and the section heading and does not restate the penalty class, so the class is not asserted here.)
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