Arizona to Florida: home inspector license reciprocity
Florida has a specific endorsement rule for Arizona home inspectors.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Licensure by endorsement for Arizona licensees
The board reviews your out-of-state credentials case by case. Some exam is usually still required, often only a law or code exam.
Florida's Home Inspection Licensing Unit lists Arizona among the states whose home inspector licensees it will take through licensure by endorsement. This is not reciprocity and the department says so in the same document: it holds no reciprocal licensing agreement with Arizona or with any other state. The list records the jurisdictions whose licensing requirements the department has found substantially equivalent to Florida's, so a Arizona inspector applies as an out-of-state applicant on Form DBPR HI 0401, shows a current Arizona license and the licensing examination passed behind it, attests to a $300,000 commercial general liability policy, submits electronic fingerprints and pays the ordinary fees. Florida adds no examination of its own on this route, and there is no Florida law or rules paper for home inspectors at all. The department will not issue a license by endorsement while an applicant is under investigation in another state for anything that would breach chapter 468, part XV or chapter 455, Florida Statutes.
Being on the list does not by itself decide the application: s. 468.8314(3)(a), F.S. still asks that the education requirements behind the Arizona license be substantially equivalent to Florida's and that the examination passed be substantially equivalent to one Florida approves, and the department states that examinations are evaluated case by case. A Arizona inspector who has held the license for at least 10 years can rely on s. 468.8314(3)(b) instead, which asks for the years rather than the examination and can be used up to two years after the license was last active. The department does not publish how long an endorsement file takes.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your Arizona license must be active and in good standing.The department's list is published as its Home Inspectors Reciprocity List and is maintained by the Home Inspection Licensing Unit; the applicant supplies the license details on Form DBPR HI 0401.
- You must have passed a licensing exam in Arizona that the destination considers comparable.An applicant who already sat the NHIE for the origin license is presenting an examination Florida itself approves, which is the cleanest form of this condition. The department evaluates examinations case by case, so any other examination is judged on its content rather than on the origin state alone.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
What you'll do to get licensed in Florida
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($125). Application fee, fixed at $125.00 by Rule 61-30.102(1)(c), F.A.C. It is the same fee for an endorsement applicant as for anyone else and it is not refundable..
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). Licensure fee of $100.00 under Rule 61-30.102(1)(c), F.A.C. An active license then renews every two years; the department publishes the active biennial renewal fee as $105.00..
- 3Other. Unlicensed Activity fee of $5.00, collected with the application under Rule 61-30.102(1)(c), F.A.C. and used to fund enforcement against unlicensed practice. ($5).
- 4Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($300,000). A commercial general liability insurance policy of not less than $300,000, required by s. 468.8322, F.S. and expressly required of an endorsement applicant by s. 468.8314(3). The policy may be held by a company so long as the licensed individual is named on it. The department does not ask for a certificate with the application; the applicant attests to holding the cover by signing the application, and the cover must then be maintained. Florida does not require errors and omissions insurance..
- 5Background check. Complete a background check. A complete set of electronic fingerprints submitted with the application under s. 468.8313(6), F.S., forwarded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to the FBI for national processing. The applicant pays the processing cost, which is set by the vendor rather than published by the department. Good moral character is assessed against the criteria in Rule 61-30.102(4), F.A.C..
Published fees on this path total $225, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance · $300,000
How Florida licenses home inspectors
Florida home inspector · “Home Inspector”
Statewide license
Issued by Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)
Florida licenses home inspectors statewide under chapter 468, part XV of the Florida Statutes. There is no home inspector board: the Department of Business and Professional Regulation licenses directly and its Bureau of Central Intake and Licensure processes the applications. The license is personal and there is one tier, so a Florida home inspector either holds the license or does not; the only variation is whether it is on active or inactive status. A licensed home inspector must maintain a commercial general liability insurance policy of at least $300,000, and that is the only insurance the law requires. Florida writes no examination of its own and no law or rules paper; it approves examinations set by nationally recognized bodies and requires a 120-hour approved course from anyone qualifying by examination. The one-off grandfathering route for code-certified inspectors and Division I contractors closed to applications postmarked after 1 July 2012 and is no longer available.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Florida home inspector exam if I'm licensed in Arizona?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Arizona.
- What does it cost to get a Florida home inspector license from Arizona?
- Published fees on this path total $225, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Arizona work hours count in Florida?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Florida's eligibility requirements.
Sources
- Home Inspector Examinations - Florida DBPR · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspectors - FAQs - Florida DBPR · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspectors - Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspectors Reciprocity List - Florida DBPR Home Inspection Licensing Unit · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Other · verified September 17, 2026
- Rule 61-30.102, F.A.C. - License Requirements (Home Inspectors) · Rule 61-30.102, F.A.C. · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- s. 468.8313, Florida Statutes - Examinations (home inspection services) · s. 468.8313, F.S. · The Florida Senate · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- s. 468.8314, Florida Statutes - Licensure (home inspection services) · s. 468.8314, F.S. · The Florida Senate · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- s. 468.8322, Florida Statutes - Insurance (home inspection services) · s. 468.8322, F.S. · The Florida Senate · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- s. 468.8324, Florida Statutes - Grandfather clause (home inspection services) · s. 468.8324, F.S. · The Florida Senate · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.