DSHS Regulatory Program Charge: License, Verification, and Disputes

A charge labeled “DSHS REGULATORY PROG” on your credit or debit card statement is a fee paid to the Texas Department of State Health Services, usually for a license, registration, certification, or renewal processed through the state’s online licensing portal. If you or your business holds any DSHS-issued credential, the DSHS regulatory prog charge is almost certainly a legitimate regulatory fee rather than fraud.1Texas DSHS. Payments – Online Licensing Help Center

The descriptor itself does not name the program. DSHS runs dozens of them under its Division for Consumer Protection, and they all route payments through the same system, so the line on your statement looks the same whether the fee was for a tattoo studio license or a CT scanner registration.

Which License Might This Be For

Think about whether you, a family member, or your business is tied to any of the activities DSHS regulates. The common ones include:2Texas DSHS. Business Compliance3Texas DSHS. Eligibility by License Type – Online Licensing Help Center

Many of these fees recur every one or two years, so a charge can surprise someone who wasn’t the one who set up the original registration.

How To Confirm the Charge Is Yours

The DSHS online system does not auto-bill. Someone has to log in and click “Pay Now” for a payment to go through.11Texas DSHS. Fees – Texas Radiation Control In a practice or small business, that person might be an office manager or billing staffer rather than the cardholder, which is often why the charge looks unfamiliar at first.

Three quick checks usually identify the fee:

  • Search your email, including spam, for a receipt from DSHS or texas.gov. The portal sends an automated receipt to the account holder whenever a payment is processed.1Texas DSHS. Payments – Online Licensing Help Center
  • Use the public license search on the DSHS website to see what credentials are tied to you or your business.
  • Check recent mail for an invoice. For radiation control fees, DSHS mails invoices about 60 days before the due date, which can help you match a specific charge to a specific registration.11Texas DSHS. Fees – Texas Radiation Control

You may also see a small separate line, roughly 2.25% of the payment plus $0.25, which is the texas.gov convenience fee on card transactions.12Texas DIR. Texas.gov Payment Services

Who To Call if You Still Don’t Recognize It

If the checks above don’t produce an answer, contact DSHS directly. The right number depends on what you suspect the fee is for:

  • Online payment or portal problems: texas.gov helpdesk, 877-452-9060, support@texasgovhelpdesk.com13Texas DSHS. Online Licensing Help Center Contact
  • Radiation control: Operations and Records Group, 512-231-562311Texas DSHS. Fees – Texas Radiation Control
  • Food licensing: 512-834-6626, foodslicensinggroup@dshs.texas.gov14Texas DSHS. Contact Us
  • General DSHS: 512-776-7111 or 888-963-7111, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday; customer.service@dshs.texas.gov14Texas DSHS. Contact Us

Disputing a Charge You Didn’t Authorize

If you have no connection to any DSHS-regulated license or business and nothing on the agency’s side matches your card, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. The issuer has to acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days, and you are not required to pay the disputed amount while it is being investigated.15Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges