Do I Need a WDO Letter to Close on a House in Alabama?

Short answer: if your Alabama home purchase involves a loan, plan on yes. VA loans require the Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report (Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-9-.18, Exhibit A) outright, FHA requires evidence of no active infestation, and most conventional lenders ask for the same letter. So when your lender's checklist says "WDO letter," "termite letter," or "Form 99B" and your realtor says "no big deal, just get one" — here's what's actually involved.

What WDO stands for

Wood-Destroying Organism. In Alabama, that means primarily termites, but also includes wood-decay fungi, carpenter ants, carpenter bees, and powderpost beetles. The official form is the Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report, issued by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries as Exhibit A to Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-9-.18, and it's the document your lender will require to fund the loan.

What we do during the inspection

A licensed inspector — required by the State of Alabama, and we are licensed — walks the property and inspects every accessible wood surface. That includes:

• The crawlspace (if any), with attention to sill plates, joists, and floor decking.
• The garage, especially the door framing.
• Visible interior trim, baseboards, and around plumbing.
• The exterior siding, eaves, and trim.
• Decks, porches, and any wood-to-soil contact.
• The attic, if accessible.

The inspection takes about 60 to 90 minutes for a typical 2,500 sq ft home. We document everything photographically.

The three possible outcomes

Clear letter. No visible evidence of WDO activity, no conducive conditions, no damage. The lender accepts the letter and the closing proceeds. About 65% of our inspections come back this way.

Conducive conditions noted. No active infestation, but we find things like wood-to-soil contact, debris in the crawlspace, moisture-stained joists, or missing insulation that could lead to future problems. The letter still allows closing, but it documents these items for the buyer's awareness.

Active infestation or damage. We found termite tubes, wood damage from boring beetles, fungal rot, or carpenter ant galleries. The letter must report it. The buyer's lender will typically require either:

• Treatment of the active issue, with a re-inspection clear letter.
• A repair estimate and credit to the buyer at closing.
• In rare cases, the deal falls through.

What slows things down

The #1 cause of WDO letter delays in Alabama isn't actual termites — it's crawlspace access. If the seller hasn't cleaned out the crawlspace, if there's standing water, if the access door is locked or the entry is blocked by HVAC equipment, we can't complete a code-compliant inspection. We have to mark the letter "limited inspection" and the lender will reject it.

If you're a seller: have the crawlspace dry, accessible, and free of stored items before the inspector arrives. If you're a buyer: confirm with your agent that crawlspace access is part of seller's closing prep.

Our turnaround

Tell us your closing date when you order and we schedule the inspection around it — the completed letter goes to your lender, your agent, and you as soon as the inspection is done. Standalone WDO letters start as low as $125.

If you're already an active EnviroCare customer on our pest or termite program, your first WDO letter each year is free.

About warranty transfers

If you're buying a home that already has a Sentricon® bait system installed (look for the round green caps in the soil around the foundation), the existing warranty can transfer to you for a small fee — usually $50 to $100. That's almost always worth doing. A transferred Sentricon warranty preserves your $1,000,000 damage coverage with the home.

If the home has a liquid termite treatment instead, those warranties also transfer but check the remaining years carefully — most liquid warranties expire 5 years after the original treatment date.

Schedule a WDO inspection

Call the office nearest the property:

• Birmingham — (205) 940-6360
• Lake Martin / Alex City — (256) 234-6162
• Huntsville — (256) 937-7676

Or our main line, (205) 940-6360 — give us your closing date and we build the schedule around it. Homeowners can read more on our WDO letter service page; real estate agents, closing attorneys, and lenders who order letters regularly have their own direct line and details at WDO letters for closing professionals.