How to Become a Licensed Home Inspector in Ohio
InterNACHI’s Ohio Home Inspector Pre-Licensing Program
Welcome to the Ohio Home Inspector Licensing Program. Ohio requires individuals who perform home inspections for compensation to be licensed by the Ohio Home Inspector Board, which operates under the Ohio Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing. Before beginning any pre-licensing education or applying for a license, you should familiarize yourself with the board’s licensing requirements, examinations, and application procedures.
You may find official licensing information at: https://com.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/com/divisions-and-programs/real-estate-and-professional-licensing/home-inspectors
To Become a Licensed Home Inspector in Ohio, You Must:
- Be at least 18 years of age and have graduated from high school or obtained a GED.
- Successfully complete 80 hours of inspector qualifying education from an approved education provider. InterNACHI® is a state-approved education provider.
- Successfully pass the National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE) within two (2) years prior to submitting a license application. To help practice or prepare for the exam, you may take InterNACHI's Online Home Inspector Exam (free and open to everyone), take the InterNACHI® Ultimate Home Inspection Practice Test (free and online for members), and take InterNACHI's accredited online courses (free and online for members).
- Satisfy one of the following experience requirements within 12 months prior to application:
- Complete 40 hours of home inspection work and successfully complete 1 peer review session; or
- Complete an approved interactive curriculum of experience and successfully complete 1 peer review session; or
- Complete 10 parallel inspections under the supervision of a licensed Ohio home inspector. Find an InterNACHI® Mentor near you.
- Maintain comprehensive or commercial general liability insurance with coverage of not less than $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate. InterNACHI members do receive a discount on insurance, and you can get a quote at nachi.org/insurance.
- Complete a state and FBI criminal records check, including electronic fingerprinting through an approved WebCheck® provider, within 10days of filing the application.
- Submit a completed application and pay the required application fee.
InterNACHI’s 80-Hour OHIB-Approved Pre-Licensing Program
View our program’s most current state approval on the state’s website HERE.
You may complete the courses below in any order.
Once you've completed the program in full, you will be able to download your certificate of completion.
Resources for Interactive Curriculum of Experience and Parallel Inspections
InterNACHI members have full access to the Mentoring database and can reach out to any licensed Ohio Inspector to complete their 10 parallel inspections.
You can find InterNACHI’s approved partner schools here: https://www.nachi.org/vendor-offers
After You’re Licensed — Keep It Active
Ohio home inspector licenses are issued for a three-year license term. Licensees are required to complete 14 hours of continuing education during each year of the license term, for a total of 42 hours over the three-year period.
A licensee may not receive continuing education credit for completing the same course more than once within a three-year license term. Continuing education completed in excess of 42 hours during a license term may not be carried forward to future reporting periods.
Continuing education certificates are submitted to the Division only at the time of license renewal, not annually. Each approved Ohio home inspector continuing education course is assigned a course certification number by the Division, which must appear on the course completion certificate issued by the education provider. InterNACHI provides state-approved CE.
You must retain proof of CE completion for your renewal cycle. InterNACHI® Certificates of Completion are available via the InterNACHI® dashboard FOREVER.
Need assistance with your pre-licensing or continuing education requirements? Contact our education team at [email protected].
