Should home inspectors have a license? Many states don't require Home Inspectors to have licenses; however, there are associations which help create standards of practice. There is no licensing in our state,...
There is no licensing in our state, California, for home inspectors. There is actually no licensing in many states. I am not sure internationally what is going on. I know that home inspections are starting to boom here and in different countries that don't have licensing requirements. People are recognizing the value of having a home inspector before they buy. In the United States, there are only a handful of states that have licensing for home inspectors. We have no state oversight; there is no certification, so anybody can become a home inspector and that is where the bulk of the problems lie. There are lots of agents who like to use brand new home inspectors because they are not trained or experienced to find problems.
In order to protect the consumer against these inspectors who don't know what they are doing, the state of California has actually legally defined what a home inspector is and the job function. That is our business and professional code. This is just California, and that's all I know. I don't know about other states. In California, a judge in a court of law can determine whether or not an inspector is qualified. He or she would make sure they are members of one or several home inspection associations. One is the American Society of Home Inspectors, ASHI and you can find ASHI at, ashi.org. So the American Society of Home Inspectors, otherwise known as ASHI, ashi.org, they are a nationally recognized professional inspection association. It has been around for almost 30 years. That is considered to be the ultimate feather in the cap for a home inspector in terms of having credibility, being a member of that association. In California, we have a sister association, ASHI and CREIA, which is California Real Estate Inspection Association. If you become a member of CREIA, you can become a member of ASHI. If you are a member of ASHI, by paying the fee you can become a member of CREIA. You don't have to take the test to meet any other requirements. You're automatically given the opportunity to join the other. CREIA, the California Real Estate Inspection, which is creia.org, are the two in California that a judge would use in determining whether or not you have appropriate qualifications, as would many agents. Agents want to know that you are a member of one of these associations.
In our state we also don't have any sort of insurance requirements. You are not required to be insured or bonded. So, if you are looking for a home inspector in our state, you want to make sure you get somebody who is a member of either CREIA or ASHI and has a general liability insurance policy because the state does not require it.
