How Long Does It Take to Become a Home Inspector?

Home inspection is a field full of opportunity whether you’re beginning a new career, planning a money-making side hustle, or retiring into a second act. When you decide to become a home inspector, one of the first questions you’ll have is:

How long does it take to become a home inspector?

Great question! After all, the answer depends on a few factors, and it’s going to be different for everyone. Let’s look at these factors, so you can easily and confidently plan your new career journey.

How Long It Takes Depends on Your State Requirements

How long it takes to become a home inspector ultimately depends on your state licensing requirements.

States That Require Home Inspectors To Be Licensed

As of March 2024, 35 states have home inspector license requirements. These pre-licensing requirements involve completing some or all the prerequisites below before you can apply for your license.

• Complete an approved home inspector training program.
• Gain field experience performing home inspections.
• Pass the National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE).
• Pass a state exam.

For example, in Texas, you’re required to complete a 154-hour home inspection training course, earn 40 hours of field training, and pass the NHIE before you can become licensed. This process might take a few months to complete.

On the contrary, in Montana, you’re required to complete a 40-hour home inspection course, and that’s all. No field training. No home inspector exam. You could become a home inspector in Montana in a couple of weeks.

Be sure to check your state prerequisites and license requirements to get a better idea of how long it will take you to become a home inspector.

States That Don’t Require Home Inspectors To Be Licensed

As of March 2024, 15 states and Washington, D.C. don’t require home inspectors to be licensed, and they have no education requirements. Some of these states, however, have local regulations you’ll need to meet before working as a home inspector.

Even if your state doesn’t have education and/or experience requirements, you should still complete home inspector training.

Homebuyers and sellers want to hire qualified, trained home inspectors to inspect their homes. Real estate agents want to refer their clients to qualified home inspectors. If you’re going to inspect homes for a living, you should know what you’re doing. A reputable home inspector training program (like AHIT’s) will get you there.

How Long It Takes Depends on Whether You Train Part-Time or Full-Time

Your training schedule – and availability to train – also guides how long it will take you to become a home inspector.

Some students treat training as if it’s a full-time job. They’ll train eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday. At this rate, for example, Florida’s required 120-hour home inspector course will take three weeks to complete.

Planning to work full- or part-time and train? Many students do! You can still complete a course in about a month.

Your training time depends on your schedule and needs. The beauty of home inspector training is that it’s flexible and you can make it work for you.

How Long It Takes Depends on How You Train

How you train to be a home inspector is another factor that influences how long it will take to become a home inspector. You have choices in how you train and for the type of course you take. It’s beneficial to choose the type of course that fits your learning style.

So, think about how you learn best and consider the recommendations below.

Live Classroom Training

Live classroom training is just how it sounds. You’ll be in a classroom learning how to inspect homes with an instructor and fellow trainees.

Live home inspection training is ideal if you:

• Learn more effectively in person
• Want the opportunity to engage with an instructor and your classmates
• Can commit to a daily onsite training schedule

AHIT’s live training courses range anywhere from a few days to three weeks, depending on your state.

Online Courses

Online training refers to a fully online home inspector training course you can work through at your own pace from the comfort of your home.

Online home inspection training is ideal if you:

• Want to learn at your own pace
• Need more learning flexibility for your schedule
• Are comfortable learning skills with different types of resources, such as instructor-led videos, textbooks, and online reading material

AHIT’s online training courses teach you the step-by-step process of home inspection as well as how to build your home inspection business. The courses use instructor-led video presentations, reading material, and GoPro footage of actual home inspections.

Field Training

Hands-on home inspection field training is ideal for everyone whether you completed your course in person or online.

Field training gives you the opportunity to practice home inspections at real homes alongside an expert instructor. It’s one thing to learn and develop inspection skills in a classroom or online. It’s another thing to apply what you’ve learned and practice the craft in the real world. This way, you can be 100% ready and comfortable on your first day as a professional home inspector.

AHIT offers instructor-led field training sessions in various states. Students can also travel to participate in field training. Browse our courses to find a live field training class that works for you. We recommend this experience for every student.

Prepping For the National Home Inspector Exam

Some states require you to pass the National Home Inspector Exam, or NHIE, before you can apply for your license. Others don’t. That’s why it’s important to check your state’s requirements. Plus, even if your state doesn’t require you to take the NHIE, many home inspectors still do it as a way of differentiating their skills and business.

NHIE exam prep programs – like AHIT’s Home Inspector Exam Prep – make studying for, practicing for, and passing the NHIE easier. You’ll be a more confident test-taker, too.

Learn more about NHIE exam prep.

First Rule of Thumb: Always Follow Your State Requirements

Above all, when you’re working toward becoming a licensed home inspector, always follow your state requirements. Along with completing education and experience prerequisites, most home inspection license states also require you to:

• Have a high school diploma or GED
• Carry Errors and Omissions insurance
• Apply and pay a license application fee
• Complete a background check

Many states publish a helpful roadmap of prerequisites you can use as a guide. You can find this by visiting your state’s license board website or calling for information. Or you can easily research your state licensure requirements with help from AHIT.

Jump-Start Your Career With Best-In-Class Home Inspection Training by AHIT

You have lots of choices when it comes to planning your home inspection career. With live inspection training courses taught by experts to flexible online training, NHIE exam prep, field training experiences, and more – AHIT helps you get there. Sign up for a free webinar to learn more or get started on your journey today.