Texas Requires Five Years of Leak-Test Records. Check Your State's Rule Before Run-Out Season.

The Situation

Every customer who runs out of gas this winter costs a dealer a truck roll and a leak check, and the leak check produces a record someone may ask to see years later. In Texas, the answer to how many years is written into the rules: at least five.

Other states set their own requirements, so dealers outside Texas need to look theirs up before heating season.

The Facts

Under 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 9.4, Texas LP-gas licensees must keep records of pressure tests and leakage tests for at least five years, and a copy of all customer records for at least five years. During normal business hours, an authorized representative of the Railroad Commission may inspect those files, records and facilities to verify compliance.

The leak check itself follows a run-out. The Missouri Propane Safety Commission says the National Fire Protection Association and Missouri's state code require a leak check on new systems or after an interruption in service, commonly read to mean the system's pressure dropped low enough that appliances stopped working. PropaneDeal, a consumer propane site, likewise says NFPA 58 requires a pressure test before service resumes after a complete run-out.

Missouri adds one more rule: public institutions must have each LP-gas piping system leak-tested every year, with the report sent to the commission.

Business Impact

Run-outs pile up in a cold snap, and so does the paperwork. A dealer who files each leak check where an inspector can find it, for as long as the state requires, avoids scrambling for old records later.

What this means for your business: 1. Texas dealers need five years of test and customer records on hand. 2. Dealers elsewhere should confirm their own state's period instead of assuming Texas's. 3. Public-institution accounts in Missouri need an annual test report on file.

Key Takeaways

• Texas inspectors may review test and customer records during normal business hours.
• A run-out is a leak-check trigger under NFPA and state code, per Missouri's safety commission.

Action Steps

1. 1.Look up your state's LP-gas rules this week and write down the record-retention period for leak and pressure tests.
2. 2.Add that period to your policies and procedures manual.
3. 3.Texas dealers: confirm five years of test and customer records are on file and easy to pull.
4. 4.File every run-out leak check with the customer's account the same day.

Competitive Advantage

A dealer whose leak-check records are filed by account and kept for the required period can answer an inspector or insurer the same day.