WDO Inspection in Florida: Termites, Form 13645 and What the Report Means

What is a WDO inspection in Florida?

WDO stands for wood-destroying organism. A WDO inspection is a visual check of a building for those organisms and for the damage they leave behind, and in Florida it ends with one specific state document: the Wood-Destroying Organisms Inspection Report, FDACS Form 13645. You will also hear it called a termite inspection, a termite letter or simply the WDO report. When a home is under contract, this is the report that buyers, agents and many lenders have in mind.

Florida law ties the form to home sales. Section 482.226 of the Florida Statutes says that when a licensed pest control company inspects a property for wood-destroying organisms for a real estate transaction and charges a fee, or when the customer asks for a written report, the findings must go on the form prescribed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). FDACS Rule 5E-14.142 names that form and sets the minimum standards for the inspection itself. The company must keep a copy of each report for at least three years.

The inspection answers a narrow question: is there visible evidence of wood-destroying organisms, or of damage they caused, in the parts of the structure the inspector could reach? It does not grade the roof, the wiring or the A/C, and it does not estimate what damaged wood will cost to fix. That wider view is the job of a home inspection, which is why buyers in Florida so often book both during the same inspection period.

What counts as a wood-destroying organism

Florida's list is short and precise. Section 482.021 defines a wood-destroying organism as arthropod or plant life that damages and can reinfest seasoned wood in a structure, and then names them: termites, powder-post beetles, old house borers and wood-decaying fungi. The rule requires the inspector to look for all of them, not only termites.

• Termites. The reason most people order the inspection. South Florida has both drywood and subterranean species, and they live, travel and get treated in completely different ways.
• Powder-post beetles. Their larvae tunnel inside wood. The adults leave through small exit holes in the surface, sometimes with fine powder underneath.
• Old house borers. Another wood-boring beetle. It is named in the statute and on the form, so a Florida WDO inspection includes it by law.
• Wood-decaying fungi. In plain terms, rot. The FDACS rule describes them as fungi that can damage wood, "such as those that produce white rot, brown rot, poria, and cubical rot."

Two things sit outside that list. The first is mold. The rule says the fungi check does not include "surface molds that do not cause damage to sound wood." The form goes further: it states that the property was not inspected for any fungi other than wood-decaying fungi, that no opinion on health or indoor air quality is given, and that people with those concerns should consult a certified industrial hygienist or another qualified person. If your worry is a musty smell or staining on drywall rather than soft wood, you want a mold inspection, not a WDO report.

The second is any insect not on the list. Because the definition names four groups, carpenter ants and carpenter bees do not fall under it. A WDO report is simply not the document that tracks them.

Who can perform a WDO inspection in Florida?

Under Chapter 482, looking for infestations is itself pest control. The statute's definition of pest control includes "the identification of or inspection for infestations or infections in, on, or under a structure." Section 482.071 then makes it unlawful to operate a pest control business that FDACS has not licensed. Put those two together and the answer is clear: a WDO inspection for a home sale has to come from a licensed pest control business.

The business license is only the first layer. Four more requirements stand behind every legitimate Form 13645:

• A certified operator in the right category. FDACS certifies operators by category, and one category is termites and other wood-destroying organisms pest control. The rule places the WDO report with licensees that have a certified operator in that category, and Section 482.111 requires each licensed location to be supervised by an operator certified in the kind of work done there.
• A special identification card. An employee who inspects for WDOs without being a certified operator in that category needs a special ID card under Section 482.091. The employee and the company sign an affidavit that the employee was trained in the biology, behavior and identification of the WDOs common in Florida and the damage they cause, in the forms used to report findings, and in the laws that apply. The card must be carried during the work and shown to the customer on request.
• Financial responsibility. A licensee that performs WDO inspections for real estate must carry errors and omissions insurance or a bond of at least $500,000 in the aggregate and $250,000 per occurrence, or show a net worth of at least $500,000 supported by a CPA review or audit.
• No stake in the sale. Section 5 of the form certifies that neither the company nor the inspector has a financial interest in the property or any connection to the transaction or its parties, other than the inspection.

Can a home inspector do a WDO inspection?

A Florida home inspector's license covers home inspections, which state law defines as a limited visual examination of the structure, electrical system, HVAC system, roof covering, plumbing, interior and exterior components and the site conditions that affect the structure. Pest control, including inspecting for infestations, is licensed separately under Chapter 482. So a home inspection license by itself does not authorize anyone to issue Form 13645. Some home inspection companies do offer WDO inspections, either because the company also holds a pest control license or because a licensed pest control business performs that part. Either way, the pest control licensee's name and business license number belong in Section 1 of the form.

A University of Florida extension paper written with an FDACS specialist gave buyers a simple test that still makes sense: the business named as the licensee on Form 13645 should be the business you pay for the WDO inspection. If the names do not match, ask why before you rely on the report. FDACS can confirm a pest control license or an inspector's ID card, and the phone number of its Bureau of Inspection and Incident Response, (850) 617-7996, is printed at the top of both pages of the form.

FDACS Form 13645, section by section

The current version is FDACS 13645, Rev. 05/21, incorporated by reference in Rule 5E-14.142. It runs two pages and has five sections. One detail in the rule matters to buyers more than it seems: the company "shall not place any disclaimers or additional language" on the form. Every Florida WDO report therefore reads the same way, and once you know where each answer lives, you can read any of them in a few minutes.

How to read WDO inspection findings

Most confusion about a WDO report comes from reading one box in isolation. The findings in Section 2 only mean something next to the blind spots in Section 3 and the treatment notes in Section 4. Here is what each entry usually tells a buyer.

A clean report is a snapshot, not a clearance

Box A says that nothing was visible in the areas the inspector could reach on that date. The FDACS rule limits the inspection to areas "accessible by normal means" and excludes anything enclosed or concealed by wall coverings, floor coverings, furniture, equipment, stored articles or insulation, or anything that would require removing or defacing part of the structure. Termites that live inside a wall cavity or under a floor can leave no visible sign for a long time. Treat a Box A report as good news about what was seen, read Section 3 to learn what was not, and keep watching for signs after you move in.

Evidence is not the same as an active infestation

Line B2 covers dead insects or insect parts, frass, shelter tubes, exit holes and other evidence. On its own, that tells you organisms were there at some point. It can be old activity from a colony that was treated years ago, or it can be the visible edge of a colony the inspector could not reach. The report alone cannot tell you which. That is why the treatment history in Section 4, and the seller's paperwork, matter so much when B2 or B3 is checked without B1.

Damage on the report is located, not measured

Line B3 tells you where visible damage is and what caused it. It does not tell you how deep it goes. The rule allows the inspector to probe and sound wood, but only as needed after a preliminary visual finding, and the form states in capital letters that it is not a structural damage report and that hidden damage may be present. When damage is reported in roof framing, a door frame or a beam, the next call is to a qualified contractor who can open things up and price the repair.

Drywood vs. subterranean termites in Florida

Every termite finding raises the same first question: which kind? The answer decides the treatment, the cost range you will be quoted and how worried you should be about the rest of the house. University of Florida entomologists stress that each termite species is controlled differently, which is why identification comes before treatment.

Drywood termites

A drywood colony can live inside a single piece of wood and needs no contact with soil or water. In South Florida, the invasive West Indian drywood termite nests in structural wood and in furniture, and its swarms become active in April. Drywood termites push their droppings out of the wood through small openings often called kick-out holes, so the classic sign is a small pile of hard pellets on a windowsill, a cabinet floor or under wooden furniture, which UF/IFAS notes can appear at any time of year. Under magnification, drywood pellets are six-sided. If the infestation is confined to one piece of wood, a spot treatment may work. If colonies are spread through the structure, UF/IFAS describes tenting and fumigation as usually the most cost-effective option.

Subterranean termites

Subterranean termites need moisture, so they nest in the ground and travel into buildings through mud tubes they build between the soil and the wood. The two invasive species that dominate South Florida, the Asian subterranean termite and the Formosan subterranean termite, can also infest trees. UF/IFAS reports that Asian subterranean colonies can attack live, healthy trees and forage up to a hundred feet from the nest. Because the colony lives outside the house, tenting does not solve the problem: termites outside the tent simply come back. The usual tools are liquid termiticides, which keep colonies out of a treated zone, and bait stations, which eliminate colonies that feed on the bait.

Signs of termites you can spot yourself

Termites are hard to see because they spend their lives inside wood or soil. Most homeowners find them through what they leave behind. None of these signs replaces a WDO inspection, but each one is a good reason to book one.

Pellets that look like coffee grounds

Small piles of tiny, hard grains on windowsills, inside cabinets, along baseboards or under wooden furniture are the most common drywood clue. Sweep a pile up and check the same spot a few days later. If it comes back, something is still pushing material out of the wood above it.

Mud tubes on walls, slabs and piers

Thin, earth-colored tubes running up a foundation, a slab edge, a pier or the inside of a garage wall are the signature of subterranean termites. UF/IFAS points to tubes between the ground and the structure as a way to catch an infestation early. Do not scrape them all away before an inspection; the inspector needs to see where they start and where they go.

Wings and swarmers

Swarmers are winged reproductive termites that leave a mature colony to start new ones, then drop their wings after landing. In South Florida, Asian subterranean termites can begin swarming in late winter or early March, often around sunset on warm days, and Formosan swarms usually start in late April to early May. One winged termite inside does not prove an infestation: UF/IFAS notes that lights can draw swarmers in from outside. Wings found in several parts of the house are a different story and justify an inspection. Flying ants are easy to confuse with termites, and UF/IFAS identifies termite samples for free if you want to know for sure.

Damaged wood, beetle holes and rot

Wood that sounds hollow when tapped, paint that bubbles over trim, or a door frame that dents easily can all point to something working inside. Small round holes in wood, sometimes with fine powder below, suggest wood-boring beetles. Dark, soft or crumbling wood near a leak, a sprinkler that hits the wall or a poorly sealed door threshold suggests decay fungi. Note where you see it, take photos, and leave the wood alone until someone qualified has looked.

If you find any of these, avoid spraying store-bought insecticide on the spot. It can scatter the insects and erase the evidence the inspector needs to identify them.

What happens during a WDO inspection

The FDACS rule sets the minimum standard: the inspection covers all areas accessible by normal means, it is visual, and it may include probing and sounding of structural members when the inspector sees a preliminary sign of infestation or damage. In practice, a thorough visit follows a predictable order.

1. Access. Someone opens the house, the garage, the attic hatch and any locked areas. Anything stacked against garage walls or blocking the attic opening will either be moved or end up in Section 3 as an obstruction.
2. The exterior. The inspector walks the foundation line and slab edge looking for mud tubes, checks where soil, mulch or planters meet the walls, and looks at wood that is exposed to weather: fascia, soffits, door frames, window trim, decks and attached structures.
3. The interior. Baseboards, door and window frames, cabinets, closets, the areas under sinks and the garage walls get a close look for pellets, tubes, wings and damage.
4. The attic. Where it can be entered safely, the inspector checks the roof framing, the underside of the roof sheathing and the tops of the walls, which are favorite places for drywood colonies and for rot near roof leaks.
5. Probing and sounding. Where something looks wrong, the inspector may tap or probe the wood to judge whether it is hollow or soft, without removing or defacing finished surfaces.
6. The notice. The company posts a Notice of Inspection, at least 3 by 5 inches and made to last at least three years, next to the attic or crawl space access or another readily accessible spot. It shows the company's name and address and the inspection date. Only the property owner may remove it.
7. The report. The findings go on Form 13645, signed by the licensee or its agent, and the company keeps a copy for at least three years.

When buyers and lenders ask for a WDO inspection

No Florida law requires a WDO inspection before you buy a house. Chapter 482 controls how a WDO inspection is reported when one is done for a sale, not whether you must have one. The pressure to get one comes from three places: your contract, your lender and your own common sense in a state with this many termites.

The standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract

The standard (non "AS IS") Florida Realtors/Florida Bar residential contract, in the Rev. 12/24 version we reviewed, has its own WDO paragraph. It lets the buyer have the property inspected by a Florida-licensed pest control business during the inspection period, which is 15 days after the effective date if the blank is left empty. Its definition of WDO mirrors the statute but excludes fences. If evidence of infestation or damage is found, the buyer must deliver the report to the seller within the inspection period. Then the seller has 10 days to get the damage estimated by an appropriately licensed person and any corrective treatment estimated by a WDO inspector.

The seller pays for treatment and repairs up to the "WDO Repair Limit," a dollar amount or a percentage of the purchase price written into the contract, which defaults to 1.5% if left blank. If the cost is higher, the buyer can agree to pay the difference or pick which repairs the seller makes within the limit; otherwise either side may cancel and the buyer gets the deposit back. There is one exception worth knowing: if the seller previously treated for the same type of WDO, the seller does not have to treat again when there is no visible live infestation, provided the seller transfers a current full treatment warranty to the buyer at closing.

The "AS IS" contract

If your sale uses the "AS IS" version instead, there are no repair limits. The WDO report then works like any other inspection: it gives you facts to negotiate with or a reason to cancel within the inspection period. Our guide on whether you need a home inspection in Florida explains how that inspection period works.

Lenders and loan programs

Some lenders ask for a WDO report on every Florida purchase, others only when the appraiser notes possible damage, and government-backed loans have their own rules on when a termite report is needed and which form is accepted. Ask your loan officer early, in writing, which report they want and how recent it must be, so you can book it inside your inspection period.

How long is a WDO inspection good for?

Neither Chapter 482 nor the FDACS rule sets an expiration date for a WDO report. The notice on the wall must last three years and the company keeps its copy for three years, but those are record-keeping rules, not a validity period. A report describes one day. How recent it must be is up to your lender and your contract, and from a buyer's point of view the useful report is the one done during your own inspection period, close to closing.

Selling? Consider getting one first

A seller who orders a WDO inspection before listing learns about old damage or past treatment while there is still time to gather paperwork, treat, repair or price the house accordingly. It pairs well with a pre-listing inspection, and it can save a deal from a surprise in week two of the buyer's inspection period.

What to do if a WDO inspection finds termites

A finding in Box B is not unusual in a state with this many termite species, and it is rarely a reason to panic. It is a reason to move quickly and in order, because contract deadlines keep running.

1. Read the whole report. Note which lines in Section 2 are checked, the organism named, the locations, what Section 3 says was not inspected and whether Section 4 shows previous treatment.
2. Pin down the type. Drywood, subterranean, beetles and decay fungi each lead to a different fix. If the report is unclear, ask the inspector to explain the identification.
3. Get a treatment proposal in writing. It should name the organism, the method, the area treated and the terms of any warranty. Getting more than one proposal from licensed companies is reasonable.
4. Have the damage evaluated. The WDO report is not a structural report. A licensed contractor, or an engineer for serious framing damage, should open up the affected areas and price the repair.
5. Use your contract on time. Deliver reports and notices within the deadlines in your contract, and let your agent or attorney handle the formal steps.
6. Keep the paper trail. After treatment, the company posts a treatment notice showing the date, the pesticide and the organism treated. Keep the contract, the warranty and every report together; the next buyer will ask for them.

What tenting involves

Structural fumigation, or tenting, encloses the whole house in tarps and fills it with a gas that reaches termites deep inside the wood. EPA notes that sulfuryl fluoride is the only fumigant registered for use in residential structures. After the fumigation period, the house is aired out and tested with a clearance device before anyone goes back in. In 2024, EPA approved label changes that require clearly posted no-entry warning signs, site-specific fumigation logs and longer aeration times for residential fumigations, and Florida's rule requires the fumigator to record each structural fumigation on a fumigation log, FDACS Form 13000 or an equivalent. The fumigation company gives you a preparation list for people, pets, plants, food and medicine. Follow it exactly, and do not go back inside until the company clears the house.

Spot and localized treatments

For drywood termites confined to one board or one piece of furniture, a localized treatment may be enough. The trade-off is certainty: a spot treatment only reaches the colony the technician can find, so ask what the warranty covers if a new spot appears elsewhere.

Subterranean treatments

Liquid soil treatments and bait systems are the standard approaches. Either way, fixing the moisture that attracted the colony, such as leaks, wet soil against the slab or wood touching the ground, is part of the solution.

Treatment history, termite warranties and notices

A house with a past termite treatment is not necessarily a bad house. A documented treatment can simply mean an earlier owner dealt with a problem properly. What matters is whether the treatment was done, by whom, for what, and whether any warranty or service agreement survives the sale.

Start with the notices. Florida law requires a Notice of Inspection after each WDO inspection and a separate treatment notice after each treatment, posted next to the attic or crawl access or another readily accessible spot. The treatment notice must show the date, the pesticide used and the organism treated, and only the owner may take either notice down. Old notices are a free history lesson: they tell you which companies have been inside, when, and for what.

Then ask the seller for the paperwork. Section 4 of the form says the inspecting company can give no assurances about another company's work and tells you to contact the company that did the treatment. Useful questions for the seller and that company include:

• Which organism was treated, drywood or subterranean, and by what method?
• Is there a current warranty or service agreement, and can it be transferred to a buyer?
• Does it cover retreatment only, or repair of new damage as well, and what are the renewal terms?
• When was the last inspection under that agreement, and what did it find?
• For a subterranean treatment, are there bait stations that need ongoing service?

For newer homes, there is one more document. The Florida Building Code requires termite protection for new construction, and a pest control company that applies a preventive treatment for subterranean termites must give the building department a certificate of compliance. If you are buying a recently built house, ask for a copy. Our guide to new construction inspections in Florida covers the other paperwork worth collecting from a builder.

WDO inspection vs. home inspection

These two inspections overlap at the edges and differ at the core. One is a specialized pest report on a state form. The other is a condition report on the whole house.

During a home inspection we look at the same wood a WDO inspector does, but for a different reason. We note visible damage to framing, trim, doors and windows, and we pay close attention to the conditions that invite termites and rot: wood touching soil, mulch or planters piled against the walls, plumbing and roof leaks, A/C condensate soaking a wall, and wood debris left in the yard or attic. When we see signs of wood-destroying organisms, we say so in the report and recommend evaluation by a licensed pest control company. A home inspection report is still not a WDO report: Form 13645 has to come from the pest control licensee named on it.

For buyers, the two reports work best together. The WDO report answers whether there are signs of termites and other WDOs. The home inspection answers what else is going on with the roof, the electrical panel, the plumbing and the moisture in the house. Our Florida home inspection checklist walks through what that visit covers, and our list of the most common issues found in South Florida homes shows how often wood damage travels with water problems. Buyers of older homes will usually need insurance paperwork too, which our guide to 4-point and wind mitigation inspections explains.

Termites in South Florida: what is different here

South Florida is termite country in a way the rest of the country is not. UF/IFAS describes the Asian subterranean termite, an invasive tropical species, as common from Key West to West Palm Beach, and the Formosan subterranean termite is established in many parts of the state. Add the West Indian drywood termite, which nests inside structural wood and furniture, and a home in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County can face drywood and subterranean pressure at the same time.

The calendar matters too. Swarms are the visible part of the year, roughly March through June for the major invasive species, but UF/IFAS stresses that colonies are active all year, so watching for signs should be a year-round habit. The southern counties can also run early: in 2022, UF/IFAS reported swarms in South Florida by late February.

Local construction shapes where damage hides. Concrete block walls do not feed termites, but the roof framing, sheathing, door frames, window trim, cabinets and furniture inside a block house are all wood. Older homes with wood additions, Florida rooms or wooden porches add more. In a condo, the building structure and any whole-building fumigation are association decisions, while responsibility for drywood activity inside a unit's cabinets or furniture depends on the association's documents; ask the association for its termite treatment history, and consider a condo unit inspection for the rest of the unit. If you are buying in Broward, our page on home inspections in Hollywood and the city pages below describe what homes in each area tend to show.

Six common misunderstandings about WDO reports

• "A clean WDO report means the house has no termites." It means nothing was visible in the areas the inspector could reach that day. Section 3 lists what was not inspected.
• "Tenting kills every kind of termite for good." Fumigation targets termites inside the structure. Subterranean colonies live in the soil outside the tent, so they need soil treatments or baits.
• "Any inspector can fill out the WDO form." Only an FDACS-licensed pest control business can issue Form 13645, through properly certified or carded staff.
• "A WDO inspection also checks for mold." It covers wood-decaying fungi only. The form says it gives no opinion on other fungi, health or indoor air quality. For mold, our guide to what mold looks and smells like is the place to start.
• "A block house cannot get termites." The walls may be concrete, but the roof framing, trim, doors and cabinets are wood, and drywood termites need nothing more than one piece of it.
• "If the report shows damage, the house has an active infestation." Damage and evidence can be left over from an infestation that was treated long ago. The treatment history in Section 4 and the seller's paperwork tell the rest.

The bottom line

A WDO inspection in Florida is a narrow, regulated report: one state form, five sections, issued only by a licensed pest control business, and limited to what was visible and accessible on the day. Read Section 2 together with Sections 3 and 4, know whether you are dealing with drywood or subterranean termites, and use your contract deadlines. Pair it with a full home inspection so the moisture problems that feed termites and rot do not go unnoticed. If you are buying or selling in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, call or text (954) 297-0317 about your home inspection and ask whether a WDO inspection can be added to the visit, or send us a request. You will have a firm price before anything is scheduled, and our guide to home inspection costs in Florida explains what affects it.

About the author

Peter Lemos, Certified Master Inspector®

Owner and lead inspector of Global Home Inspectors in Hollywood, FL. Peter holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection and has served Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties since 2008.