looking for answers about becoming a home inspector

[Dan Kelley]

what is the average cost of a home inspector's state license?

[John Arnold]

Dan - Welcome to the board!

There is no license in Pennsylvania, and so, no license cost.
There is a Philadelphia license, which costs $300 every 3(?) years. But you only need that, obviously, if you're going to inspect in Philadelphia.

There IS a home inspection law in PA, which requires, among other things, insurance that runs about $ 3,000 - 4,000 per year.

[Markus Keller]

As a side note, that's a difficult question really. For those states that have licensing there are usually other costs involved. In order to maintain a license you usually have to do CE. CE hours and costs probably vary state to state. Then as John mentioned, insurance and local business licenses.

[Dub Smith]

In Oklahoma, there is a $250 application fee for the license then $100 for the license after you pass the state exam, then $100 per year after that to keep it active, in addition to 8 hours of continuing education credits each year....which is offered FREE at InterNachi and is accepted by most states that I am aware of. And, as mentioned, you will need liability insurance as well as Errors and Omissions insurance to protect yourself legally. Welcome aboard!!:)

[Ken Rowe]

In Minnesota there is no license requirements or laws pertaining to buyers inspections. Therefore no license fees or insurance requirements.

[Bruce Ramsey]

North Carolina requires a $35 application fee. Then you must pass a written test for $150 to get your license. Then pay the annual fee of $160 (up $10 from last year) plus CE which normally runs about $250-$350 per year. And you have to have $17,000 assets and General Liability insurance OR 1mil E&O insurance.

InterNachi training is NOT accepted by NC. They only accept proctored training where the course contents are approved by the licensing board for a $150 approval fee. Approved trainers and courses are listed on the licensing board website.

[Ted Menelly]

In TX it is about 480 hours which you can probably get for 1,500.00

You take tests as you go. Then you have to take a State test which is probably similar to the National Home Inspectors Exam.....that varies.

I think the application to take the test is about 100 (guessing here. It's been a while) Yes, you have to apply to take the test and then apply for your license....I am forgetting a figure here.

You can start as an apprentice but that is a whole other story.

Then you need a minimum of 100,000 worth of E+O insurance and you should by General Liability in case you drop your ladder on a sellers dog or clients head. That is all about 1,200.00 to 1,500.00 or much more if you do not shop around.

Then you need at least 16 ours a year or 32 for the 2 years that the license is good for. That could cost you from 400.00 and up depending on the class you take. That can be circumvented a bit if you join the different associations and then most of your hours can be obtained with classes they have throughout the year.

[Stuart Brooks]

All this about home inspector licensing is interesting. How about "Contractors" and "Realtors" in the same states? How much training, testing, and CE are they required to have. How about E&O insurance?

[Bruce Ramsey]

All this about home inspector licensing is interesting. How about "Contractors" and "Realtors" in the same states? How much training, testing, and CE are they required to have. How about E&O insurance?

North Carolina General Contractors must pass a proctored test for about $125-$150, not sure it has been a while. No training or experience required. $75 a year to renew the license. No ConEd requirements. No insurance requirements. The only potential stumbling block is you must submit a handwritten Assets & Liabilities statement that shows you have a min of $17,000 in cash assets, not equity. If you falsify the statement, I believe it is a misdeameanor and revoke of the license.

www.NCLBGC.net (http://www.NCLBGC.net) for any other details

[Stuart Brooks]

North Carolina General Contractors must pass a proctored test for about $125-$150, not sure it has been a while. No training or experience required. $75 a year to renew the license. No ConEd requirements. No insurance requirements. The only potential stumbling block is you must submit a handwritten Assets & Liabilities statement that shows you have a min of $17,000 in cash assets, not equity. If you falsify the statement, I believe it is a misdeameanor and revoke of the license.

www.NCLBGC.net (http://www.NCLBGC.net) for any other details

I wonder if the contractor "test" is like the class and test in VA? Covers Business Law 101 and basic business requirements like workman's comp and unemployment insurance, employee vs contractor, mechanics liens, building permits, ...

[Bruce Ramsey]

I wonder if the contractor "test" is like the class and test in VA? Covers Business Law 101 and basic business requirements like workman's comp and unemployment insurance, employee vs contractor, mechanics liens, building permits, ...

It is 200 multiple answer questions. Based on a bank of 400 questions. Includes a blueprint section where questions are asked like, on the south side of the garage, how many cubic yards of concrete are needed to pour a footing?

Yes, there are some general business questions but primarily it is on chapters 1-13 of the IRC. They list several other reference materials to prepare but in most cases it is only 1 or 2 questions from the entire book.

There are several different companies that offer Pass the Exam classes. I took a 2 day Pass the Exam class. They presented all known 400 questions, the answers, and the specific chapter, page, paragraph reference to the book. If I remember correctly you have 4 hours to answer the 200 questions. 240 minutes for 200 questions. The "math" and blueprint questions are designed to take 5-15 minutes each. Basic test taking strageies tell you to answer all the questions you know first, then go back and look up the ones you don't know, and leave all the math and blueprint until the end since all questions are weighted equally. On yeah, it is a open book test and you are allowed to bring in the IRC and the other 7-10 reference books. Books are rummaged through for notes by the proctor prior to the test.

I completed all the questions, reviewed, and scored 91 in less than 2 hours. The Pass the Exam class made the test easy. Worth the money to me.