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Home inspector license requirements by state

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 10, 2026

What home inspectors do and earn

Home inspectors look over houses, condos, townhomes and other homes, usually before a sale, and write a report on the structure and overall condition. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes they "may identify violations of building codes but do not have the authority to enforce compliance." That's the difference from a city building inspector.

BLS groups home inspectors with construction and building inspectors. That whole group had a median pay of $74,690 a year ($35.91 an hour) in May 2025, with 153,900 jobs. BLS projects "little or no change" in employment from 2025 to 2035. BLS doesn't publish a separate figure for home inspectors alone.

BLS also explains that "most states require home inspectors to follow defined trade practices or to get a state-issued license or certification," and that requirements "may require that inspectors have experience with inspections, maintain liability insurance, and pass an exam." [1]

Texas: apprentice, real estate inspector, professional inspector

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licenses inspectors in three steps. At each step you must be at least 18, pass a fingerprint background check and carry professional liability insurance of $100,000 per occurrence.

• Apprentice inspector: you train "under the direct supervision of a professional inspector," who must sponsor you.
• Real estate inspector: you may inspect for buyers and sellers, but under the "indirect supervision" of a professional inspector. Coming up from apprentice, you need at least 3 months as a sponsored apprentice in the past 12 months, 25 inspections under direct supervision, and coursework that includes 40-hour Property and Building Inspection Modules I and II and a 10-hour business operations module. Applicants who weren't apprentices use a substitute route that adds a 24-hour Texas Standards of Practice module and a 40-hour Texas Practicum. On either route, TREC says you must finish the Standards of Practice module and the Texas Practicum before you can take the state part of the exam.
• Professional real estate inspector: you work on your own and can sponsor others. You need at least 12 months as a licensed real estate inspector in the past 24 months and 175 inspections under indirect supervision, plus coursework that adds a 20-hour Texas Law module and the 24-hour Standards of Practice module.

Both licensed levels require "a national exam and a state exam," given by Pearson VUE. You have one year from filing your application to finish the requirements. [2][5][6]

Florida: a 120-hour course and an approved exam

Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) licenses home inspectors. State law requires you to pass an approved exam, be of good moral character, submit fingerprints, and complete "a course of study of at least 120 hours" covering the structure, electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), roof covering, plumbing, interior, exterior and site conditions.

DBPR doesn't give the exam itself. Its approved list includes the National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) and three other exams. Licenses expire July 31 of even-numbered years. To renew you need 14 hours of continuing education (CE, required refresher classes), including at least 2 hours on wind mitigation. [7][8][9]

North Carolina: 200 hours of education

In North Carolina you must be licensed by the Home Inspector Licensure Board "to perform a home inspection for compensation." State law (G.S. 143-151.51) requires a passing exam score and either a high school diploma plus a board-approved education program finished within three years of applying, equivalent education and experience, or at least six months as a licensed general contractor, architect or professional engineer.

The board's prelicensing program is at least 200 hours: at least 120 hours of classroom instruction and at least 80 hours of field instruction with at least 10 site visits. You also need $250,000 of general liability insurance. Licenses expire each September 30. The law caps the exam fee at $80 and the license or renewal fee at $160. [10][11]

Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia: the national exam plus state training

• Ohio: since November 1, 2019, you need a state license to do home inspections for pay. You must be at least 18, have a high school diploma or GED (General Educational Development test), finish board-approved education, and show experience through a board-approved curriculum or ten "parallel inspections" (inspections done alongside a licensed inspector). You must also have passed "the national home inspector examination" within two years before applying and carry general liability insurance. Licenses run three years, with at least 14 hours of continuing education each year. See Ohio Revised Code 4764.07.
• Tennessee: the Home Inspector Licensing Program requires you to be at least 18, have a high school diploma or GED, finish 90 hours of commissioner-approved training, and pass the NHIE (scores are good for five years). You also need at least $500,000 of general liability insurance and errors-and-omissions coverage. The application fee is $300.
• Virginia: the Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors licenses home inspectors. You must be at least 18, pass the NHIE, and earn at least 15 "qualifying points" from education and experience, with at least five from each. For example, a board-approved 70-hour prelicense course counts for 10 points. You also need general liability insurance of at least $250,000 per occurrence.

[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Arizona, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Washington

• Arizona certifies home inspectors. Under A.R.S. 32-122.02 you must be at least 18, pass a board-approved exam within two years before applying, finish a board-approved course of study, get a fingerprint clearance card, and file financial assurance: $200,000 aggregate / $100,000 per occurrence of errors-and-omissions insurance, or a $25,000 bond or net assets.
• Illinois: the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) requires you to be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED, complete a 60-hour prelicense course and a field course of at least 15 hours with 5 field inspections and a field exam, and pass a licensing exam. The application fee is $250.
• New York: under Real Property Law 444-e you need a high school diploma or equivalent, a passing exam score ("the National Home Inspector examination or an examination offered by the secretary"), and either a 140-hour approved course that includes at least 40 hours of unpaid supervised field inspections, or at least 100 home inspections done under direct supervision. The course must be approved by the Secretary of State. If you plan to report on mold, New York also requires a mold assessor license.
• New Jersey: under N.J.S.A. 45:8-68 you need good moral character, a high school diploma, a passing score on an exam the Home Inspection Advisory Committee approves, and either a 180-hour approved course with at least 40 hours of unpaid supervised field inspections, or at least 250 fee-paid inspections under a licensed inspector's direct supervision. (This is the statute text as published by the state's Division of Consumer Affairs.) The Home Inspection Advisory Committee licenses inspectors and requires renewal every two years; confirm current requirements with the Committee.
• Washington: under RCW 18.280 (Revised Code of Washington) you have needed a license since September 1, 2009. You must show at least 120 hours of board-approved classroom instruction, "up to forty hours of field training" supervised by a licensed inspector, and a passing score on the written exam, which includes a Washington section. Licenses last two years, and renewal takes at least 24 hours of approved courses.

[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

California and Pennsylvania: rules in law, but no state license

California's home inspector law doesn't create a state license. Instead, Business and Professions Code sections 7195 to 7199 define a "home inspector" as "any individual who performs a home inspection" and set rules every inspector must follow. You owe clients "the degree of care that a reasonably prudent home inspector would exercise." You can't offer, for an extra fee, to repair a home you inspected in the past 12 months. You can't give an opinion of the property's value. And contract clauses that limit your liability to the cost of the report are invalid.

Pennsylvania's home inspection law (Act 114 of 2000, now Title 68, Chapter 75) doesn't create a state license either. A home sale agreement that gives the buyer a right to an inspection must call for the inspection to be done by "a full member in good standing of a national home inspection association." The other options are a licensed engineer or architect, or someone supervised by a full member who signs the report. The law defines that kind of association as one whose full members have done more than 100 home inspections and passed a recognized exam. Pennsylvania inspectors must also carry errors-and-omissions and general liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in total. [3][4]

The National Home Inspector Examination

Many states use the same test. The National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) is named in the rules or official pages of Florida (one of its approved exams), New York (or a state exam), Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. Each state still issues its own license. Ohio wants a pass within two years before you apply; Tennessee accepts scores for five years. [8][13][15][17][21]

If you're licensed in another state

Some states give credit for an out-of-state license:

• Florida has an "Out-of-state Applicants (Endorsement)" application.
• Virginia's board may waive its exam and education-and-experience requirements for a home inspector licensed in a state with "substantially equivalent" standards. Virginia also has a Universal License Recognition application for home inspectors.
• Tennessee accepts a letter of good standing from your current state plus either 90 hours of qualifying education or 32 hours of continuing education, an NHIE pass and proof of insurance.
• New York issues a license to an applicant who pays the fees and holds a valid home inspector license from a state with standards "substantially equivalent" to New York's, as the Secretary of State determines.
• Washington licenses inspectors from states whose requirements "meet or exceed" its own, if they pass the Washington part of the exam.

Confirm the details with the state board before you move. [7][15][18][21][25][26]

Coming from construction or another career

Construction experience can shorten the path. North Carolina lets licensed general contractors, architects and engineers with at least six months of licensure skip the education program. Texas gives course credit for 3 years of experience in a field directly related to home inspection. Without that kind of background, the full training hours and supervised field work above apply. If you'd rather build than inspect, see how to become a general contractor and our guide to changing careers into the trades. [6][10]

Questions people ask