Who writes the IICRC standards
The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is a non-profit for the inspection, cleaning, and restoration industries founded in 1972. IICRC describes itself as a standard-development organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). A consensus body writes and revises each standard, and IICRC sells the full standards through its webstore. S500 Section A.3 says the standard is written first for restoration companies and workers, then for people who assess water damage and manage projects, and then for other interested parties such as consumers, occupants, and property owners.
IICRC also certifies technicians. IICRC says a Certified Firm is a business that employs one or more IICRC Certified Technicians. When you check a restoration company, IICRC Certified Firm verification lets you confirm its Certified Firm status.
S500 for water damage
The current edition is the ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration, Fifth Edition, 2021, listed on IICRC's S500 page. IICRC says the S500 consensus body has begun work to revise it. S500 describes procedures and precautions for water damage restoration in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and in their systems and contents. It covers drying technology and psychrometry (the science of moisture in air), building and material science, inspections and preliminary determinations, project documentation, HVAC restoration, contents, and large or catastrophic projects.
S500 assumes that finding and fixing the source of the water is the property owner's responsibility. Under S500, the owner can hire the restorer or other experts to do that work. Ask who is fixing the source of the water before drying starts.
Water categories 1, 2, and 3
IICRC's S500 water categories describe how contaminated water is, based on where it came from and its condition after it touches materials in a building. S500 says time and temperature can change the category. S500 defines Category 3 as "grossly contaminated" water that can carry disease-causing, toxin-producing, or other harmful agents and can cause significant adverse reactions if touched or swallowed. S500's Category 3 examples include sewage, wasteline backflows from beyond any trap (the U-shaped bend in a drain), all flooding from seawater, rising water from rivers or streams, and other contaminated water such as wind-driven rain from hurricanes, tropical storms, or other weather-related events.
Under S500 Section 10.6.7, the restorer's preliminary determination sets the category for the scope of work. S500 says a restorer can proceed with Category 1 water without contamination controls such as containment barriers. For Category 2 or 3, S500 says remediation should happen before restorative drying, and restorers use contamination controls and worker protection.
In the S500 position statement on weather-related water dated February 10, 2026, the S500 consensus body says water that comes in from the top down, wind-driven rain, and water from weather-related events aren't automatically Category 3. The consensus body says the restorer can call it Category 3 when inspection finds a grossly contaminated condition. S500 says an indoor environmental professional (IEP) should be brought in when risk is higher, such as when occupants are high-risk, there's a public health issue, or a suspected contaminant needs to be identified.
Inspection, class, and drying goals
IICRC's S500 defines inspection as gathering the information needed to determine the category, condition, class, or status of a water intrusion, a building material, an assembly, or a system. Under IICRC's S500 Section 10.6, the least a restorer should do on the first visit is conduct a site safety survey, learn the customer's priorities and concerns, verify the water source, find how far the water migrated, make a preliminary determination of the category, note pre-existing damage, flag immediate secondary damage concerns, and set dry standards and drying goals.
Ask the company which category it recorded and what dry standard and drying goal it set. Ask to see the moisture readings that show the goal was met.
S520 for mold
ANSI/IICRC S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation, Fourth Edition, 2024, sets out procedures for mold remediation of buildings and their contents in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. It covers remediator qualifications, inspection and preliminary determination, structural, HVAC, and contents remediation, post-remediation verification, and the indoor environmental professional. The S520 page on IICRC's site describes the standard.
In Texas, licensed mold assessors and remediators also follow TDLR's work practice rules in 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 78. TDLR's rules address the protocol, the work plan, clearance, and the Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation. You can read about those rules in Texas mold rules.
S700 for fire and smoke damage
The ANSI/IICRC S700 Standard for Professional Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration, First Edition, 2025, covers assessing whether fire residues and odors are present, how intense they are, and how far they reach in a building, its HVAC system, and its contents. It applies after a fire in that building, an adjoining building, or one nearby, other than wildfires. According to IICRC's S700 page, the standard also covers restoration cleaning, fire odor management, contractor qualifications, a written Restoration Work Plan (RWP), documentation, and following the local officials and agencies with authority over the work, which the standard calls the authorities having jurisdiction. IICRC says a new consensus body has begun work to revise S700.
S700 doesn't comprehensively address reconstruction, wildfires, chemical or industrial fires that pose environmental hazards, buildings with special requirements such as healthcare facilities and labs, or occupants with special requirements such as infants, the elderly, or people with respiratory diseases. S700 says restorers should be aware that regulated hazardous materials can be present and work under the regulations of the authorities having jurisdiction when they suspect those materials.
Questions to ask a restoration company
Ask the restoration company questions tied to the standards and Texas rules for your job:
- Which water category did you record, and why? IICRC's S500 standard calls for a preliminary determination.
- What dry standard and drying goal did you set, and can I see the moisture readings?
- Who's fixing the source of the water? IICRC's S500 standard leaves that to the owner, who can hire someone to fix it.
- For my fire job, can I see the Restoration Work Plan? IICRC's S700 standard addresses that plan.
- For my mold job, which separate licensed company is writing the protocol? Texas Occupations Code Section 1958.155 bars one company from doing both on the same project.