After a death, crime or biohazard event in Dallas, the cleanup is the property owner's responsibility — not the city's or the county's. We look for a company that covers Dallas and Dallas County, and tell you plainly when we do not have one yet.
Who releases the property, who to call, and what the housing here means for the work. Every
figure below is sourced, and anything we could not verify is left out rather than guessed at.
SWIFS combines the county Medical Examiner and the criminal investigation laboratory in one institute. Dallas County uses a medical examiner, not a justice of the peace inquest.
“Only personal effects on or associated with the body are brought into the ME’s office from a death scene; other property will be left in the residence, which is secured and released to the family by the police.”
— Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences
“Autopsies are generally completed the day after the decedent arrives at our facility. However, during periods of high workload, it may take an additional day or two.”
— Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences
Check the status yourself:www.dallascounty.org/mepi/ — shows “ready for release” without having to phone
The office publishes hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.
Also published by that office
—“There are no charges for medical examiner services performed for your loved one.”
—“Dallas County does not provide financial assistance for final disposition arrangements.”
None of these offices clean the property. That is arranged by whoever owns it, or by the next of kin.
The non-emergency number in Dallas
214-744-4444
For anything in progress, call 911. Police do not clean a scene once they have finished with it.
Dallas County is unusually clear about the handoff, and it is worth knowing before you call anyone: the medical examiner takes only what was on the person, and the residence itself is secured and released to the family by the police. Nobody in that chain cleans it.
You do not have to phone to find out where things stand. Dallas County publishes a status lookup at dallascounty.org/mepi — when it reads “ready for release”, the funeral home can collect. The office itself keeps weekday hours, so timing around a weekend is worth asking about directly.
Dallas is the most rented of the big North Texas cities: 57.6% of occupied homes, against 43.0% in Fort Worth and 38.4% in Garland. In practice that means a lease, a landlord and often a building manager are part of the job here in a way they are not a few miles west.
Where household waste can go — and where this cannot
Medical waste is on the published “do not bring” list, so nothing from a biohazard cleanup can go there.
Facility
Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center
Address
11234 Plano Road, Dallas, TX 75243
Hours
Tuesdays 9:00am–7:30pm; Wednesdays and Thursdays 8:30am–5:00pm; second and fourth Saturdays 9:00am–3:00pm
Free for residents of Dallas, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Rowlett and other participating cities, with a driver’s license and a utility bill.
Texas excludes household waste from the medical-waste rules, so a family clearing a home is not
breaking them. That is a point about waste law, not about safety: blood and body fluids carry
bloodborne pathogens, they soak into materials that look dry, and this is work for someone with
protective equipment and training. The drop-offs refuse the material anyway, and a contractor
hauling it needs a TCEQ transporter registration under 30 TAC 326.53.
Check a company in the TCEQ registry
If this followed a crime in Dallas
These offices help victims and families directly, and none of them will try to sell you anything.
Dallas Police — Crisis Intervention and Social Services214-671-3498The department publishes no hours for this line
The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program pays up to $2,250 toward crime-scene
cleanup for crimes after July 14, 2016, and it pays last — after any homeowners’ or
renters’ insurance. It applies to violent crime, not to an unattended natural death, and it
does not cover structural repairs. Claims run within 3 years of the crime, unless good cause can be shown for the delay.
Program rules
The questions below are the ones worth asking any company before it starts work in Dallas.
The local detail — which office releases the scene, which number to call, what the housing here
means for the job — is set out above, with its sources.
How to choose a provider in Dallas
Confirm the company serves Dallas, and ask for an arrival window in writing rather than a promise on the phone.
Ask whether technicians are trained under the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard, and whether there is a written exposure control plan.
Ask how regulated medical waste is transported and disposed of, and whether their transporter is registered with the TCEQ — you can look the registration up by name.
Ask whether they bill homeowners or renters insurance directly, and get the scope and price in writing before work starts.
Ask whether they use unmarked vehicles and how they protect your privacy.
Ask how they verify the job is finished — ATP testing, odor checks, or a post-clean walkthrough.
Ask where the material will actually go. Dallas's own household drop-off refuses it, so a contractor has to haul it — which is the TCEQ registration question above, made concrete.
Ask who they will deal with at the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, and whether they will wait for the property to be released before anyone enters.
How it works
Getting help in Dallas
01
Call or request a callback
Tell us what happened and where in Dallas. The call is confidential and there is no obligation.
02
Get connected in Dallas
We look for a company that serves Dallas County, and tell you plainly if we do not have one.
03
Assessment and written estimate
Get the scope and the price in writing after someone has seen the property. Ask whether they will bill your insurer directly.
County
Dallas County
Dallas–Fort Worth
Residents
about 1.3 million
Dallas, TX
Services covered
6
Biohazard, crime scene, death, hoarding, odor
Cost to you
Free
We are paid by providers, not by families
Providers serving Dallas
No company has finished our checks in Dallas yet, so there is nothing here we would stand behind.
We would rather show you that than a list we cannot vouch for.
Call (866) 697-0754
or leave your number and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for your address today.
The checks a company has to pass are published in full.
Who releases the property back to the family in Dallas?
Dallas County publishes this plainly: “Only personal effects on or associated with the body are brought into the ME’s office from a death scene; other property will be left in the residence, which is secured and released to the family by the police.” So the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences releases the person, and the police release the house. Neither of them cleans it — that is arranged by the owner or the next of kin.
How long does the Dallas County office take?
Its published wording is: “Autopsies are generally completed the day after the decedent arrives at our facility. However, during periods of high workload, it may take an additional day or two.” The office publishes hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. You can check the current status yourself at https://www.dallascounty.org/mepi/.
What do I call in Dallas if it is not an emergency?
214-744-4444. Anything in progress is still 911.
Can I take the material to a Dallas drop-off myself?
No. Medical waste is on the published “do not bring” list, so nothing from a biohazard cleanup can go there. Texas rules do not treat household waste as medical waste — 30 TAC 326.3(23) excludes “waste from single or multi-family dwellings” — but that is waste law, not a safety opinion. Blood and body fluids carry bloodborne pathogens and soak into materials that look dry, so this is work for someone with protective equipment and training. The drop-offs refuse the material anyway, so it has to leave with a contractor. A company hauling it needs a TCEQ transporter registration under 30 TAC 326.53, which you can check in the TCEQ Central Registry.
It happened in a rented home in Dallas. Who pays?
Start with the lease and the insurer, not with an assumption. Under Texas Property Code § 92.052, the Texas Attorney General puts it this way — Unless the need for repair was created by “normal wear and tear,” the landlord does not have a duty to repair problems caused by you, another lawful occupant, a member of your household, or your guests. — which means the landlord's usual duty to repair does not automatically cover damage caused by a member of the household. It matters here: 57.6% of occupied homes in Dallas are rented.
Does a cleanup company in Texas need a license?
Not for this work. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation publishes the state’s licensed trades. Mold assessors and remediators are licensed, and so are sanitarians and code enforcement officers — but there is no license for crime-scene, biohazard, trauma-scene or unattended-death cleanup itself. So a company advertising a Texas cleanup license is describing something that does not exist. If mold is part of your job a mold remediation license is real and worth asking for; otherwise ask about insurance, bloodborne-pathogens training and where the waste goes.
How much does biohazard cleanup cost in Dallas?
Companies commonly advertise $1,000 – $10,000+ for this work, and we publish that band because it is what the trade publishes — not because we have verified it. Nobody can price a job before they have lifted a floor covering and seen how far the fluid travelled. Get a written estimate after an on-site assessment, and ask whether the company will bill your insurer directly.
Is there help with the cost after a crime?
The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program pays up to $2,250 toward crime-scene cleanup for crimes after July 14, 2016. It applies to violent crime — not to an unattended natural death — it does not cover structural repairs, and by law it pays last: “By law, the program is a last-resort option. If you qualify for compensation from other sources, like homeowners’ or renters’ insurance, that must be used before the CVC Program.” Claims run within 3 years of the crime, unless good cause can be shown for the delay. The Attorney General's crime victim line is (800) 983-9933.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Call or leave your number about a property in Dallas and we'll tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for your address today.
