What the CL-100 Wood Infestation Report is and is not

What is a CL-100 Wood Infestation Report?

It is the state's official record of visible infestation and damage caused by insects and decay. Most people call it the termite letter.

The CL-100 is the South Carolina Wood Infestation Report, and it is what most people mean by the termite letter. It records visible infestation and damage caused by insects and by decay. The Clemson Department of Pesticide Regulation describes it in a guide for home buyers, sellers and builders. That guide dates from 2007, so the details in it may have moved since it was written, and the current form should be checked when a sale is under way.

Because the report is a state form, its purpose is fixed: to record what is visible. It is a snapshot of what the inspector could see on the day, in the areas the rules require. It is not a promise that a house is free of termites, and it does not say that no problem will develop later. A buyer who reads it as a guarantee will be disappointed by what it does not cover.

When you receive a copy, read the areas it names as inspected and the areas it names as not reached, because that split is the most useful part of the record. A report that is clear about its limits is easier to act on than one that reads as if the whole house was examined. Keep the copy with the closing papers so that anyone who needs it later can see the same limits.

What does the regulation behind it require?

Section 27-1085 sets standards for preventing or controlling termites and other wood-destroying organisms. It applies to anyone doing that work on another person's property.

South Carolina's regulation at section 27-1085 of the state code sets the standards for preventing or controlling termites and other wood-destroying organisms. It applies to anyone performing those measures on another person's property. It requires at least the methods the regulation specifies, and it expects treatment to cover the entire structure unless there is a reason not to.

The regulation has an exception. If the property's characteristics or the owner's instructions make full coverage unnecessarily difficult or costly, the owner must sign and acknowledge an Official Waiver of Standards Form in writing before the work begins. The regulation also requires the firm to keep warranties, treatment records, waivers and inspection records for five years or the length of the warranty, whichever is longer.

Why does the decay inspection stop at the first living-area floor?

Under the regulation, the inspection for wood-decaying fungi and decay damage is limited to the area below the first main living-area floor. The one exception is decay in some exterior parts of the house.

Under the regulation, the inspection for wood-decaying fungi and decay damage covers the area below the level of the first main living-area floor. That line is the boundary the report is drawn around. The sub-floor, the crawl space and the framing at that level are where moisture and decay usually do their work, so the inspection concentrates there. Decay above the living-area floor is outside that inspection, which is why a report can be careful about the crawl space and still say nothing about the upper floors.

The regulation makes one exception. Decay in the lower portions of exterior doors, door jambs, steps, stairs and porch columns still has to be reported. A buyer who sees soft wood low on a porch column or a stair can ask the inspector whether it was recorded. The question is worth asking, because those parts can sit above the living-area floor and still be inside the reporting requirement.

Why does a deadline for the report get quoted?

A deadline is often quoted for a CL-100 in home sales. The sources used for this guide attribute that timing to lenders and closing attorneys rather than to the regulation's text.

A deadline for the CL-100 is often quoted in home sales. In the sources used for this guide, that timing is attributed to lenders, including VA and FHA loan requirements, and to closing attorneys, rather than to the regulation itself. The sources disagree on whether the regulation's text sets any expiration, and that point was not confirmed against the subsection, so this guide does not state a validity period.

Ask your lender or closing attorney what timing they need, and when the report must be dated for the closing. A technician cannot decide that for them. Plan the inspection around their answer rather than around a number taken from a website, because the party who needs the report is the one who sets the date that matters.

Who signs the report, and what certification does that take?

The sources for this guide do not settle which certification a technician needs to issue the report, so ask who will sign it before you book.

Pest control licensing in South Carolina sits with the Clemson Department of Pesticide Regulation, and termite and wood-destroying-organism work falls under the structural certification. The sources used for this guide conflict on whether a CL-100 may be issued under the general structural certification or under the fumigation one, so this guide does not take a side. The licensing page covers the broader rules for the trade.

What you can do is ask who will sign the report, and check the department's license records for that person before the visit. The license number is not printed on this site, so ask for it when you call. A clear question at the time of booking is far easier than finding out after the report arrives that the signer was not the person you expected.

How does a CL-100 fit with a termite bond or a sale?

A CL-100 records what the inspector can see. It does not replace a bond or a treatment plan, and a sale and a bond are separate reasons to ask for one.

The report and a termite bond do different jobs. A bond is a contract with a holding company about which subterranean termites and which damage it covers. The CL-100 is a record of what is visible on the day of the inspection. Clemson advises a homeowner under a bond to read the contract, and that advice applies whether or not a sale is under way.

If a sale is in progress, bring the timing question to the lender or closing attorney early, so the report is ordered at the right point in the process. The crawl space is where the decay inspection concentrates, so moisture there matters before the report is written. The page on the CL-100 service explains how the report is ordered and what it includes in this area.

What does the report not tell you?

It does not give a validity period or a price, and it does not guarantee that nothing hidden exists. It records visible findings within the scope the regulation sets.

The report is limited to what is visible and to the scope the regulation sets. It does not set a price, it does not state how long its findings remain valid, and it does not promise that nothing exists behind walls or above the living-area floor. Anyone reading it should treat it as a record of what was seen, not as a warranty of the whole structure.

For a homeowner, that means the report is a record rather than a guarantee. If it notes a finding, ask for the treatment and repair options in writing before any work begins, and ask what the price includes. The price is confirmed on site and explained before the work is approved, so nothing is started on a report alone.

How should a homeowner prepare for the inspection?

Clear access to the crawl space and the perimeter, and have the foundation type and any bond contract ready. Clear space helps the inspector see the sill and the framing.

Clear the crawl space hatch so that it opens without tools, and move stored items away from the foundation and the perimeter. Note the foundation type: crawl space, pier or slab. A slab house has less sub-floor to inspect, while a vented crawl space has the framing that the decay inspection is about, so the answer changes what the inspector needs to reach on the visit.

Have any termite bond contract and the holding company's name at hand, and note any past treatment or repair you know about. Phones are answered 24/7 at (855) 974-4733 to book the work, and a visit the same day is possible only when a technician is free. Ask what the inspection covers before the day, so you know what will and will not be looked at.