A biohazard cleanup business cleans after unattended deaths, crime scenes, trauma, hoarding and sewage, and disinfects spaces after illness. Calls come at any hour from families, property managers, police and funeral homes. The work needs training, protective gear and a licensed way to dispose of medical waste. Many start alongside a restoration or cleaning business.
- OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard requires an exposure control plan once you have employees.
- Biohazard waste goes to a licensed medical waste hauler, under your state's rules.
- Answer every call, day or night, with a calm voice.
- Families, police, funeral homes and property managers send the work.
1. Decide what you will offer
| Work | Who asks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Unattended death and trauma cleanup | Families, property managers | Emergency, sensitive |
| Crime scene cleanup | Families, police referrals | After the scene is released |
| Hoarding cleanup | Families, landlords, agencies | Days of work, careful sorting |
| Sewage and animal waste | Homeowners, landlords | Overlaps with restoration |
| Disinfection | Businesses, schools | Scheduled work |
Decide which work you take first. Hoarding cleanups are longer and steadier; trauma calls are urgent.
2. Check the license and permits
Some states register or license trauma scene and biohazard cleanup companies, and most regulate medical waste transport and disposal. Ask your state health and environmental agencies before your first job.
3. Follow the bloodborne pathogens rule
OSHA says an employer must implement an exposure control plan for the worksite to reduce or eliminate the hazards of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens. The plan must describe how the employer will use engineering and work practice controls, personal protective clothing and equipment, employee training, medical surveillance, hepatitis B vaccinations, and other provisions required by the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030.
4. Register the business and set up taxes
The SBA lists the launch steps in this order: pick a location, choose a structure, choose a name, register, get federal and state tax ID numbers, apply for licenses and permits, open a business bank account, and get insurance. For a biohazard cleanup business working out of a truck, the location is usually your home address and the area you will serve.
- Structure. A sole proprietorship is the simplest. An LLC keeps the business separate on paper. Ask an accountant which fits your state and your plans.
- Tax ID. The IRS gives out an employer identification number (EIN) online, and says you never have to pay a fee for one. Websites that charge for an EIN are not the IRS.
- Self-employment tax. The IRS lists the self-employment tax rate as 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. Income tax comes on top, so set money aside from every job.
- Bank account. Open it before the first payment lands, so every dollar in and out is easy to find at tax time.
5. Pick a name customers can say and find
Your name goes on the truck, the invoices, the Google profile and the yard signs, so pick it once. The free biohazard cleanup name generator gives 36 ideas for your town and style, each with a domain idea, and lists the checks to run before you commit: your state's business name search, a federal trademark search and the domain itself.
6. Get insured before the first job
The SBA describes general liability insurance as cover for financial loss from bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses and defending lawsuits. It says businesses with employees are required to carry workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance, and some states ask for more.
Ask your agent about general liability, contractors' pollution liability, commercial auto, and workers' compensation once you hire. Many property managers and insurers will ask for a certificate.
7. Gear up and add up your startup costs
No total here on purpose. What you spend depends on what you already own, new or used, and how much work you plan to take on. Price your own list with a local supplier, then put the numbers in the startup cost table of the free business plan generator, which adds them up for you.
- Respirators, suits, gloves and eye protection
- Disinfectants and an ATP meter or other testing
- Ozone or hydroxyl machines for odor
- Biohazard containers and a contract with a medical waste hauler
- An unmarked van, so neighbors are spared
Training and protective gear come first. Odor equipment and a waste hauler contract are the larger costs.
8. Set your prices
Price by the hour per technician with protective gear, chemicals, waste disposal by the container and equipment days. Our labor rate calculator sets your hourly cost, and the profit margin calculator turns cost into price.
9. Find your first customers
- Calls at any hour. Koira answers on your number, day or night.
- Funeral homes and police victim services. Families ask them who to call.
- Property managers. Commercial outreach writes to them on Front Office.
- Restoration companies. They pass on work they do not do.
10. Get paid and keep the customer
Many jobs are paid by homeowners' insurance. When the family pays, collect on completion with pay at the door, and keep the customer portal link simple for them to follow.
11. Grow past one truck
A second trained technician lets you take calls back to back and rest between them. Read how restoration companies run on Koira, which covers the same emergency calls.
Sources
- SBA: Launch your business (the launch steps), checked October 8, 2026
- SBA: Get business insurance, checked October 8, 2026
- IRS: Get an employer identification number, checked October 8, 2026
- IRS: Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes), checked October 8, 2026
- OSHA: Bloodborne pathogens, checked October 9, 2026
Last checked October 8, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state and city, so confirm with the agency named before you act.