In California, 372 registrations are on the state's public list for this work. Most advertisers are not.

An independent guide to biohazard, trauma and sewage remediation in the United States. What it costs by scenario, who is actually registered to do it, what insurance usually covers, and how to check a company before you let it into a property.

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This is one of the few trades where a public register exists and nobody mentions it

Biohazard remediation is bought under pressure. Somebody has died, a property is contaminated, and the decision gets made in an afternoon from whoever answers the phone. That is exactly the situation in which verification is skipped.

In California there is something concrete to verify against. The Medical Waste Management Act requires any person or company paid to clean a trauma scene to register with the Department of Public Health, and the Department publishes the register. As of its July 20, 2026 list there are 372 registrations, held by about 346 companies.

It is worth knowing what that register is and is not. The Department states plainly that registration carries no expressed or implied endorsement of the quality of work, and that it does not require a practitioner to hold a contractor's licence. So registration is a floor, not a recommendation. This site tracks California's register and does not state what other states require, which is why the certification and insurance questions here are the ones that carry the weight.

Guides and resources

Biohazard cleanup cost by scenario

Published ranges for each kind of incident, what Bio Recovery says drives the cost, and what usually sits outside the quote.

Who's Registered for Biohazard Cleanup?

California's public register can be searched by company name: what it covers, what it doesn't mean, and what to check when a company cannot be looked up on one.

How to choose a remediation company

What to ask when the decision is being made under pressure, and the two questions that separate a remediation firm from a cleaning company.

Types of biohazard cleanup situations

Eight kinds of incidents that call for professional biohazard remediation, what makes each one hazardous, and where to read cost and insurance detail.

Vehicle biohazard cleanup

What counts as biohazard cleanup inside a car, van or truck, the published time estimate for the job, and where insurance and cost detail actually come from.

SERVPRO, BELFOR and ATI Restoration

Founding, headquarters, size and how locations operate: what SERVPRO, BELFOR and ATI Restoration each publish about themselves.

Biohazard vs general restoration company

What actually separates biohazard/trauma cleanup from general water, fire and storm damage restoration, and why the same company often does both.

Explore the topics

Guides and explainers across the subject.

Who is actually registered

California requires anyone paid to clean a trauma scene to register with the Department of Public Health, and publishes the list. There are 372 registrations on it, held by about 346 companies. Almost nobody tells you that list exists, what registration does and does not mean, or that the state explicitly says it is not an endorsement of quality.

See what to check