Alaska to New York: home inspector license reciprocity

1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($250). A nonrefundable $250 fee set by Real Property Law section 444-f(2), which covers both the first application and the license itself; the license then runs for two years. Renewal is $100 for a further two-year term, and the Department mails the renewal application about three months before the license expires. Payment is by check or money order payable to the Department of State, or by MasterCard or Visa on a credit card authorization form. Cash is not accepted, and a check returned by your bank costs a further $20 and delays the application until both are paid..
2. 2Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($150,000). General liability insurance of at least $150,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in the aggregate, required by Real Property Law section 444-k and 19 NYCRR section 197-1.1. A copy of the certificate goes in with the application and the cover must then be kept in force and on file for as long as you inspect. The certificate must show the name of the insured (your name alone if you apply as an individual, your name and the business name if you apply as a business entity), the insurer's name, business address and telephone number, the policy number and expiration date, and it must name the Secretary of State as certificate holder. It must also provide that cancellation or nonrenewal does not take effect until the Secretary has had at least ten days' written notice. This requirement is not waived for an out-of-state applicant. New York requires no errors and omissions cover, no surety bond and no financial statement..
3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). The New York State Home Inspector Licensing Examination, or the National Home Inspector Examination in its place. It is waived where the Department finds your out-of-state license substantially equivalent, and an applicant who already holds a passing national result does not sit New York's paper at all. New York's own paper is multiple choice, drawn from the 140-hour pre-licensing curriculum, and covers license law, report writing, heating, cooling and plumbing systems, insulation and ventilation, structural, exterior and interior components and electrical systems. Candidates get two and a half hours. It is a walk-in examination: you register at the test center on the day, seats are first-come first-served, latecomers are not admitted, and it is offered at sites around the state in English plus Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian and Chinese. Results come by mail as pass or fail with no numerical score, and the original pass notice goes in with the application..
4. 4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($50) (if applicable). The $50 examination fee set by Real Property Law section 444-f(2), paid at the test center on the day of the New York State written examination by check, money order, MasterCard or Visa. Cash is not accepted, the fee is nonrefundable and it is payable again for each attempt. It is not charged to an applicant who uses the National Home Inspector Examination instead, or whose examination requirement is waived on a substantially equivalent out-of-state license..
5. 5Other. The qualifying education, waived where the Department finds an out-of-state license substantially equivalent. It is a Department-approved course of study of at least 140 hours, of which at least 40 must be unpaid field-based inspections carried out in the presence of and under the direct supervision of a New York licensed home inspector, professional engineer or architect who takes full responsibility for the inspection and the report. 19 NYCRR section 197-2.3 fixes the syllabus as four classroom modules of 25 hours each, every one with its own final examination: structural, exterior and roof; interior, insulation and ventilation, and electrical; heating, cooling and plumbing; and an overview of the profession with New York license law and report writing. The fifth module is the 40 hours of field training. Instead of the whole course, an applicant may qualify on at least 100 home inspections, paid or unpaid, performed under that same direct supervision and evidenced on the form's Attachment B. (if applicable).
6. 6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. 24 hours of Department-approved continuing education within the two-year period immediately before renewal, required by 19 NYCRR section 197-3.1(a); no renewal license is issued without it. No single course counts for credit more than once within the same two-year renewal cycle, and the Department publishes the list of approved continuing education providers alongside the list of approved qualifying schools. New York licensed architects and professional engineers who hold a home inspector license are exempt from the continuing education requirement, as they are from the coursework and the examination..
7. 7Background check. Complete a background check. The application asks whether you have ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony, whether criminal charges are pending against you in any court, and whether any license or permit issued to you or to a company in which you are or were a principal has ever been revoked, suspended or denied. Each yes must be explained in writing with the court records or the agency determination attached, and a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities, Certificate of Good Conduct or Executive Pardon should be attached if you have one. Applicants must be free of disqualifying criminal convictions, and Real Property Law section 444-h names conviction of a felony involving fraud, theft, perjury or bribery among the grounds on which the Secretary may refuse, suspend or revoke a license. New York publishes no fingerprint requirement for this license..

Published fees on this path total $250, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.