WDO Inspection in Florida: The Complete Guide

A WDO (wood-destroying organism) inspection is a visual inspection of a home’s accessible areas for organisms that eat or degrade structural wood — plus the damage and evidence they leave behind. In Florida it can only be performed by an inspector working under a pest control company licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), and when it’s done for a real estate transaction the findings must be reported on state form FDACS-13645 (s. 482.226, Florida Statutes).

The form itself defines the target: a WDO is “an arthropod or plant life which damages and can reinfest seasoned wood in a structure, namely, termites, powder post beetles, old house borers, and wood-decaying fungi.” In practice, Florida inspectors are looking for four groups:

You will hear the same inspection called a “termite inspection,” a “pest inspection,” or a “termite letter” — in Florida these all point to the WDO inspection and the same state form. The scope is deliberately narrow: the inspector reports on wood-destroying organisms and nothing else. The form itself spells out what the inspection is not: it is not a structural damage report (that judgment belongs to a contractor or engineer), it does not cover mold or indoor air quality (only wood-decaying fungi are in scope), and it says nothing about areas that were blocked or concealed on inspection day.

A WDO inspection is also not a home inspection. A general home inspection covers systems — roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC — and a Florida home inspector cannot issue a WDO report unless they also work under the FDACS pest control license. The two are ordered together during most Florida purchases, but they are separate inspections, separate reports, and usually separate licenses — see our comparison of WDO vs home inspection.

No Florida law forces a WDO inspection on a resale purchase — the requirement comes from your lender and loan type, which is why two buyers on the same street can face opposite answers. The practical question is never “does Florida require it” but “does my transaction require it,” and that breaks down cleanly:

• VA loans — always. The VA lists Florida among the states where wood-destroying insect information is required for every purchase (VA local requirements). The Notice of Value is conditioned on a clear WDO report, and any repairs it triggers must be resolved before closing.
• FHA loans — situational. Under HUD Handbook 4000.1, an inspection is required when the appraiser sees evidence of infestation, when a state or local jurisdiction mandates it, or when it’s customary to the area — and given Florida’s termite pressure, many FHA lenders here treat it as customary.
• Conventional loans — lender’s call. Most conventional lenders only condition the loan on a WDO report when the appraisal flags wood damage, but some order one for any older or wood-frame home.
• Cash purchases — optional but standard due diligence. Nothing requires it; buyers order one anyway because the inspection is cheap relative to what hidden termite damage costs, and homeowners insurance does not cover termite damage (FDACS).
• New construction — different mechanism. Florida requires preventive termite treatment during construction and a certificate of compliance before the certificate of occupancy, under the Florida Building Code rather than a lender rule.

Two edge cases worth knowing. Refinances: a VA streamline (IRRRL) has no appraisal and normally no WDO requirement, but a cash-out refinance with an appraisal can be conditioned for a report just like a purchase. And a handful of insurers and condo associations ask for WDO or termite-protection evidence during underwriting or unit sales — not a state rule, but it shows up in Florida paperwork often enough to check for.

The full matrix — every transaction type with its source document and a visible link to the primary source — is on the requirements page; VA buyers should also read our VA termite inspection guide.

A typical single-family WDO inspection takes about 30–60 minutes; large, older, or heavily furnished homes can take longer. The inspector works through the property in a set sequence, checking every area that is visible and readily accessible:

1. 1

   Exterior walk-around

   Foundation walls, siding and stucco lines, eaves, fascia, soffits, wood fences and deck attachments — looking for mud tubes, wood-to-soil contact, and moisture damage. In Florida the inspector also checks that grade and vegetation leave enough of the foundation visible.

2. 2

   Interior rooms and garage

   Baseboards, window and door frames, sills, closets, and cabinet interiors. Garages get particular attention — mud tubes often show up first along garage walls and framing.

3. 3

   Attic

   Trusses, rafters, and decking, checked by flashlight for drywood termite frass, kickout holes, and fungal decay. Areas buried under insulation can only be inspected where wood is exposed.

4. 4

   Crawlspace, if the home has one

   Floor joists, sills, and piers — prime subterranean termite territory. Slab-on-grade homes (most of Florida) skip this step, and the slab edge is checked instead.

5. 5

   Findings and report

   The inspector records live activity, evidence, damage, and signs of previous treatment, then issues form FDACS-13645 — usually the same or next business day — and affixes a notice-of-inspection sticker to the structure, commonly at the electrical panel or attic access.

Throughout the walk-through the inspector is hunting a specific checklist of signs:

• Mud shelter tubes climbing foundations, stem walls, and garage framing — the signature of subterranean termites moving between soil and wood.
• Frass and kickout holes — pellet piles beneath pinholes in trim, window frames, and attic wood, left by drywood termites.
• Compromised wood — surfaces that sound hollow or give under a probe, blistered paint, sagging sills, decayed fascia.
• Exit holes and powder from powderpost beetles and old house borers in flooring, cabinets, and framing.
• Previous treatment marks — drill patterns in slabs and mortar joints, old treatment stickers — which go on the report as treatment evidence.
• Conducive conditions — wood-to-soil contact, moisture at the foundation, vegetation pressed against walls — noted in comments even when no organism is found.

Every Florida WDO inspection tied to a sale ends in the same two-page state form — FDACS-13645, currently revision 05/21 — with five sections: general information (who inspected, license and ID card numbers, which structures), inspection findings, obstructed and inaccessible areas, notice of inspection and treatment information, and comments with a signed financial-disclosure statement. Findings come in four flavors: live WDOs, evidence (frass, shelter tubes, exit holes), visible damage, and signs of previous treatment — and a clear report simply checks the “no visible signs” box. Lenders read the checkboxes; you should read the whole thing, especially what wasn’t accessible, because the form gives no opinion on areas nobody could see. We break the form down field by field — with what each finding means for your closing — in how to read a Florida WDO report.

Florida’s heat and humidity support every major WDO group year-round. FDACS counts four types of termites established in the state — subterranean, drywood, dampwood, and the invasive conehead — and notes that termites cause more damage to structures than fires, floods and storms combined (FDACS consumer guidance). The Formosan subterranean termite, the most aggressive species, is now found across much of the state, and coastal housing stock adds drywood termite pressure that inland states rarely see.

Geography shapes what inspectors find. Coastal and older housing stock carries heavy drywood termite pressure — colonies live entirely inside sound-looking wood, which is why attic trim and window frames get the flashlight treatment. Inland and newer subdivisions skew subterranean, where the tell is mud tubes rising from the soil. Spring swarm season fills Florida windowsills with discarded wings, and that is when “we found wings, is this bad?” calls spike. None of this changes the form — it changes where a good inspector spends their time.

That is why the WDO report became a fixture of Florida closings: it is the state’s standard, regulated snapshot of termite risk at the moment a house changes hands — the Florida counterpart of the “termite letter” used in other states.

Keep the two ideas separate: the inspection documents, treatment fixes. A WDO inspection produces a report for your transaction; it obligates you to nothing. If the report turns up live activity, treatment is a separate service, a separate contract, and a separate budget line handled by a treatment company you choose — never something the inspection fee covers, and not something you owe to the company that happened to inspect. The clean sequence after findings — quotes, work, re-inspection, clearance letter — is laid out in the report guide.

Only a company licensed by FDACS under Chapter 482 for termite and WDO work may perform the inspection, and the inspector must carry an FDACS employee identification card — both numbers go on the report. Regulators and Tampa Bay news investigations have documented unlicensed operators selling “fictitious” WDO reports, so checking the license is not paranoia; our walkthrough shows how to verify a Florida pest control license in about two minutes.

• Confirm the company appears in the FDACS registry under the termite/WDO category — not just “pest control.”
• Expect to pay for the report. A company that charges for the inspection is selling you the document; a company that waives the fee is usually selling treatment.
• Ask that the report be addressed to you (the requestor) and dated with your closing timeline in mind — lenders typically want it under 90 days old at closing.

Every company listed in our Florida WDO inspector directory is cross-checked against the FDACS licensing registry — start from the city grid above or browse by county, and compare pricing expectations on the cost page before you call.