The Home Inspector Professional Licensing Act took effect December 31, 2005. Prior to this, home inspectors were not required to have a license to perform home inspections. This act ensured that inspectors were fully trained and licensed, confirming that they had proper knowledge to perform these inspections.
Home inspectors in New York passing the certifications are then licensed for two years. An initial fee of $250 and a smaller renewal fee of $100 is also required. The requirements for an inspectors license include classroom and on-site inspection training, testing to verify appropriate knowledge, and development of SOPs, or standards of practice, for their clients.
Applicants for a home inspectors license must complete 140 hours of training from an approved facility or trainer. Forty of those hours must be unpaid or intern inspection experience training directly under a licensed inspector. Completion of these training hours are not required if the applicant has more than 100 hours of paid or unpaid or intern inspection experience training directly under a licensed inspector. A written exam (the National Home Inspector Exam) is the last step in the licensing process.
A grandfather clause was included in the Home Inspector Professional Licensing Act that allowed for current inspectors to bypass some of the requirements for licensing. To qualify for this exemption, an inspector must have at least two years experience inspecting at least 100 homes within that period. The inspector must still pass a written exam before certification will be given.
Participating training providers for the state of New York can be found at the American Home Inspectors Training Institute website. Classes will include both 12 days of classroom training and the required 40 hours of field training.