TOPIC: Does your state required a license?

I don't get that Jarrod, why would having fairly tough license requirements including education requirements and/or certain experience plus a passing grade of at least 80 on an examination bring in more inspectors and lower pricing. The more hurdles there are, the less that will make it thru. With all due respect, it (licensing) should do the opposite, weed out the non qualified, uneducated wannabees who are the ones that lower pricing. Without them pricing should go up and the field of available inspectors should be of a higher quality. Just my thoughts!!

Sorry  Joe it does not seem to work that way. that was my hope for here as well we are a very small state still with many inspectors and to little work,as a matter of fact we can no longer do walk inspections IE investor inspections unless you give a full written report and of course as you know investors do not want a full written report so we have lost work in some areas , so I guess you can say licensing did change things.

From what I hear, NJ comes in 4th or 5th. Don't forget Texas includes their mandatory report format and things like having to life roof tiles to see if they're attached!

Around me, California-No, Oregon-Yes, Washington-Yes, Arizona-Yes.

I would buy into Texas being the toughest. If NJ is #4 or 5, I am dying to know who is #'s 2 and 3!

Oklahoma requires a licenses for everything you mentioned except mold.

" and now we have over 4,000 people in it in NC. "

Jarrod you might want to check your numbers.  NC home inspector licenses are numbered sequentially.  They are just now issuing numbers 3000+.  You can go to the NCDOI website and get a list of all active licenses.  Currently there are about 1200-1400 active licenses in the state of NC.

NC has no currently accepted pre-licensing educational courses.  You must submit a resume of previous experience, or already be licensed as an architect, engineer, or general contractor.  The alternative is to apprentice under an exsiting licensed inspector as an Assoicate Inspector for 100 inspections for a years time frame.  Must perform both 100 inspections and wait a year and pass a second test to become a fully licensed inspector.  The Associate Inspector option will expire in 2012 and the alternative method will be to pass a 150-200 hr course of instruction that does not exist.

Several firms/inspectors offer Pass the Inspector Test classes.  Several community colleges offer Home Inspector classes (40 hrs).  Approximately 50% of those who take the NC home inspector test fail.  That number stays at 50% regardless of how many times the test is taken by the canidate.  The law was changed within the last year to restrict the number of times the test can be taken to once every 6 months.  This will delay entry for those unprepared.  The test is only offered 6 times a year. 

The current loophole is to become a general contractor.  To become a general contractor, you must pass the GC test and sign a document you have at least 17,000 in cash assets.  No previous experience, training, or schooling.  No continuing education requirements.  Up until the last law change, you did not have to keep the GC license. 

Licensing helps to reduce the number of ill-prepared enter the profession.  There is almost no followup on existing inspectors unless a complaint is filed.  There is mandatory 16 hr continuing education each year but it is usually very basic stuff that inspectors should already know.  The licensing board has the legal authority to perform periodic reviews of reports.  Never been done in the 12 years the board has been in effect.

The state HI association will perform a review of reports to see if they meet the state SOPs.  Only about 20 inspectors state wide have submitted reports.  Most of the reports are poorly written.  They are filled with grammatical errors, confusing language, rambling paragraphs, misspellings, and lack useful information for the client.  All of them have failed to contain 100% of the required information per the SOP.  Rumor has it the licensing board is hiring a consultant to perform random report audits.  Based on what has been submitted to the association, the board wil be swamped with inadequate reports. 

One of the big issues with the NC licensing board is it only controls licensed inspectors.  If someone is performing inspections without a license, it is a civil legal matter.  The licensing board and its laywer have stated on several occasions that they have no recourse against un-licensed inspectors. 

Illinois requires a license and your left testicle for home inspections, and nothing for mold, as far as I know.