Georgia Termite Bonds: Retreatment, Repair and Renewal
Updated 2026-10 · Atlanta, GA
What people mean by a bond
In Atlanta, a termite bond is the everyday name for a termite control contract with a guarantee. The word is a little misleading. Georgia's rules do separately ask whether the company carries an approved bond, in the insurance sense, and the contract has to say so. But what a homeowner is buying is the contract: a treatment, or a monitoring arrangement, plus a promise about what happens if termites come back.
The one sentence that matters most
If the contract carries a guarantee, Georgia requires one of two statements at the top of the first page, in letters at least an eighth of an inch tall, boxed in a heavy black line. One says the contract provides for retreatment of the structure but does not provide for the repair of damages caused by wood-destroying organisms. The other says it provides for retreatment and the repair of damages within the limits stated in the contract.
Retreatment only
If termites return, the company treats again at no charge. Damage they did is yours to pay for. This is the cheaper contract and is perfectly reasonable on a house you inspect regularly.
Retreatment and repair
The company treats again and also pays to repair new damage, up to the limits written into the contract. Read those limits: a dollar cap, what counts as damage, what is excluded (pre-existing damage nearly always is), and what you have to do to keep the cover valid.
What else the contract has to include
Georgia's rules list the contents. The control method. The effective date and contract period. A reasonable diagram of the house showing any visible active or previous infestation. The price, including any repair estimate. Whether the company has an approved bond and whether it covers this job. Any limit on liability tied to changes you make to the house, with your obligation to tell the company about them. For residential buildings of up to two units, the treatment area cannot be limited. You sign before work starts and have a three-day right to cancel. A bait contract also carries a boxed warning that removing the system may leave the house without protection.
Renewals
The renewal terms have to state the fee, how many years that fee is fixed, and whether reinspections happen and roughly how often. Most bonds are renewed yearly with an inspection visit. If you let one lapse, many companies will not simply restart it; they want a new inspection and sometimes a retreatment first. Diary the renewal date the way you would an insurance premium.
When termites keep coming back
Two rules help here. First, a retreatment in Georgia means treating at the required concentrations at least ten feet in every direction from where termites came back, not a squirt at the mud tube. Second, a house under contract with three or more separate areas of active subterranean termite infestation within five years must get a complete retreatment to the state's minimum standard.
If your bond company keeps patching the same house, those are the rules to cite. If the conversation stalls, the Georgia Department of Agriculture's structural pest section takes inspection requests about termite treatment, through the inspection request form on its website or by phone.
Monitoring-only contracts
Georgia also allows a warranty-only contract, with no initial treatment, but only for one- and two-family houses and townhomes, and never in place of the pre-construction treatment on a new house. It must include an initial inspection and diagram, treatment at the first sign of termites, and an inspection every year.
Bonds when a house is sold
The state rules on contracts do not say what happens to a bond at sale; that is in each contract's own transfer terms. The termite letter for the sale records whether the house has a warranty that can be transferred to the buyer for a fee before it expires, one that cannot be transferred, or none. Sellers should find the contract early. Buyers should ask for a copy, not a summary.
Call for a termite inspection and a written contract quote. Say whether you have an existing bond and who holds it, and a local company will quote retreatment-only and repair cover side by side.
Where to go next
Common questions
Is a termite bond required in Georgia?
Not for owning a house. Lenders and purchase contracts may require a clean termite letter at sale, and new construction must be pre-treated, but keeping a bond afterwards is your choice.
Is a repair bond worth the extra?
It depends on the limits and exclusions. On an older Atlanta house on a crawlspace, cover for new damage can be valuable. Read the cap and the exclusions before deciding.
Can I switch bond companies?
Yes, but the new company will usually inspect and may want to treat before it guarantees anything. Do not cancel the old contract until the new one is signed.