Section 1 vs Section 2 Termite Findings, Explained

If you are buying, selling or just want to know what is in your walls, the starting point is a current report from a licensed Branch 3 inspector. Ask for a free inspection and a quote before any treatment.

The official definitions

The wording comes from the Structural Pest Control Board's regulations (California Code of Regulations, Title 16, section 1990). Every separated report has to print it just before the first finding. In plain terms:

• Section 1 items show visible evidence of an active infestation or infection, or conditions that have resulted from or in one. Live drywood termites in a rafter, fungus damage to a subfloor, or wood already eaten by termites all land here.
• Section 2 items are conditions deemed likely to lead to infestation or infection, where no visible evidence of one was found. Typical examples from the regulation are earth-to-wood contact, a faulty grade level, cellulose debris under the house and moisture conditions that could feed fungus.
• Further inspection items are areas the inspector could not get into during the original inspection. They cannot be called Section 1 or Section 2 because nobody has seen inside them.

The regulation writes them as Section I and Section II. Agents, escrow officers and most companies say Section 1 and Section 2. They mean the same thing.

Where the split comes from in the law

Business and Professions Code section 8516 governs wood destroying pest reports. Subdivision (c) says that when you order a report, the company has to tell you a separated report is available. If you ask for it at that time, the company has to label each recommendation as either an infestation or infection that is evident, or a condition likely to lead to one. If the company did not tell you and a dispute comes up, it has to provide the separated report within 24 hours, and no later than the next business day, at no extra cost.

Two other parts of section 8516 matter in a sale:

• Subdivision (e) says Section 2 conditions can never be described as actual defects or active infestations, or as something that must be fixed before the company issues a certification. A certification is what most people call a termite clearance.
• Subdivision (d) says that if the owner chooses not to correct a listed condition, the company bears no liability for damage that results from leaving it alone. The company remains liable for its own negligence or fraud.

The clearance itself is defined in section 8519. After the Section 1 work is done, the company can certify that the property is free of evidence of active infestation or infection in the visible and accessible areas. Note the last five words. A clearance is not a promise that nothing is hiding behind the drywall.

Further inspection items deserve more attention than they get

Section 8516 requires the report to describe any areas that were inaccessible or not inspected, with a recommendation for further inspection if practicable. The regulation lists the usual ones: furnished interiors, parts of attics nobody can reach, the inside of hollow walls, floors under coverings, built-in cabinets, stall showers over finished ceilings, and areas blocked by storage or locks. If someone later authorizes opening those areas, the company has to write a supplemental report.

Also note what section 8516 says about second opinions. Every report has to print a notice that reports from different companies should list the same findings, but recommendations to fix them may vary, and that you have a right to a second opinion from another company. If two reports disagree on what is Section 1, that is worth a phone call to both companies.

My advice to a buyer: do not treat a further inspection item as a non-issue just because it carries no dollar figure. It means nobody knows. If it is a stall shower over a finished ceiling, I would want that opened before closing.

Who usually pays in a home sale

No California statute decides who pays. It is negotiated in the purchase contract. The Santa Barbara Independent reported in 2021 that the California Association of Realtors changed its residential purchase agreement in 2014. The old version typically had the seller provide the inspection and pay for corrective work. The current approach leaves the inspection and repair costs as a negotiation point between buyer and seller.

In practice the conversation usually centers on Section 1. Under section 8519, a clean certification follows once the work to remove the infestation and repair its damage is complete; otherwise the certification has to list what was not done. Section 2 work is optional under the law, as subdivision (e) above makes clear, though the buyer or a lender can still ask for it in the deal. The Board notes that most lenders require a wood destroying pest inspection before they finance a California home. What a particular lender or loan program requires is a question for your loan officer, not for a pest company.

Two rights in section 8516 help in that negotiation:

• If the person who ordered the report asks, the company has to give a bid that prices each recommendation separately. That lets the buyer and seller split Section 1 and Section 2 costs line by line.
• If a bid was given, the company has to do a reinspection on request, for no more than its original inspection price, within 10 business days. After four months from the original inspection, any new visit counts as a fresh original inspection.

I am not a real estate agent or attorney. For anything about your contract, ask the agent or a lawyer handling the deal.

Report deadlines and how long records are kept

• The written report goes to the person who ordered it and to the owner or the owner's agent within 10 business days from the start of the inspection, and before any work begins.
• The company files the property address with the Board within 10 business days of the inspection or completed work.
• The company must keep inspection reports, field notes and activity forms for three years. If its guarantee runs longer than three years, it keeps them for the whole guarantee period plus one year.

How to get a copy of a past termite report

Start with the Board's WDO property search at pestboard.ca.gov. It shows whether a wood destroying organism inspection was filed for an address within the last two years. The Board suggests searching with only the building number and ZIP code to get broader results.

If a record turns up, ask the Board for the report using its form 43M-19, Request for Copy of Inspection or Completion Reports. You can email it to wdosearches@dca.ca.gov, mail it to the Board at 2005 Evergreen St., Suite 1500, Sacramento, CA 95815, or fax it to (916) 263-2469. The form says to allow 10 business days and that records can only be retrieved going back two years.

For something older, go to the company named in the Board's search result or on the old paperwork. Companies have to keep reports for three years, longer under a long guarantee. Past that, the report may be gone. Check that company's license status before you rely on it with our license verification guide.

For what the treatments on a Section 1 list involve, from spot treatment to tenting, see our termite inspection and treatment page. For published price ranges, see the Bakersfield pest control cost guide.

We only refer companies licensed by the California Structural Pest Control Board.