Hawaii to Alabama: home inspector license reciprocity
Hawaii does not issue a statewide home inspector license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alabama's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Alabama home inspector license for an inspector licensed in another state
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Alabama has no reciprocity and no endorsement route, and the Division of Construction Management says so plainly in its own published answer: it does not have reciprocity with other states. An out-of-state license is not a qualification on the application, which offers only four categories and no out-of-state box, so an inspector moving here files the same application as a beginner. What does carry over is the work itself. The qualification Alabama calls Category D is a high school diploma or equivalent, at least one year of work experience as a home inspector and at least 100 home inspections completed for compensation, and neither the Act nor the rule limits any of that to Alabama. The 35 or 100 inspections you must have participated in under a qualified inspector also travel, because the Division's own verification form asks the supervising inspector whether they hold an Alabama license and, if not, accepts proof that they are licensed in their own state of practice. Both examinations must still be passed, and they must have been passed within 18 months before you apply, which is the trap most experienced inbound inspectors fall into.
Watch the 18-month clock. Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(c) requires both the National Home Inspector Examination and the ASHI Standards and Ethics Examination to have been completed within 18 months before the application is submitted, so an inspector who passed the NHIE years ago for another state's license will usually have to sit it again. Alabama does not write an examination of its own and does not add a state law and rules paper on top; the ASHI Standards and Ethics Examination is what the Division uses to test understanding of its Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics in Rules 355-18-1-.01 and -.02. Note also which qualification category will and will not work for you: Category C counts a general contractor, registered professional architect, registered professional engineer or residential home builder license only where it was issued in Alabama on or after 1 January 1998, so an origin-state contractor or engineer license does not satisfy it, while Category A membership in ASHI, the Housing Inspection Foundation, InterNACHI or the National Institute of Building Inspectors is open to anyone and is the category most inbound inspectors already meet. A military spouse, or the spouse of a relocated Department of Justice, NASA or Department of Defense civilian employee, can instead use the Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act. Licenses are issued by calendar year and expire on 31 December regardless of the issue date, so applying late in the year buys a short first license; renewals are due by 1 November of the preceding year. Applications can be filed online with card payment or mailed with a cashier's check or money order. The program contact is the Home/EIFS Inspections office on (334) 242-4802.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Work experience of at least one year as a home inspector plus at least 100 home inspections completed for compensation, together with a high school diploma or its equivalent, satisfies Alabama's qualification Category D. Neither the Act nor the rule requires that experience or those inspections to have been performed in Alabama, so an inspector arriving with a record of paid work in another state can qualify on it.This is one of four alternative qualifications and only one has to be met. The other three are membership in ASHI, the Housing Inspection Foundation, InterNACHI or the National Institute of Building Inspectors; approval or certification to inspect residential construction by the US Veterans Administration, HUD or the International Code Council as successor to the Southern Building Code Congress International and the Council of American Building Officials; and Alabama licensure on or after 1 January 1998 as a general contractor, registered professional architect, registered professional engineer or residential home builder. That last one is expressly limited to Alabama licensure and will not accept an out-of-state contractor, architect or engineer license.
- Home inspections you participated in under the supervision of an inspector licensed outside Alabama count toward the 35 or 100 supervised inspections. The supervising inspector must have been licensed in their own state of practice for the past five years, or, where they practice in a state that does not license, must have belonged to one of the listed professional bodies for five years.The Division's Verification of Qualified Home Inspector Participant Supervision form asks each supervisor "Do you hold an Alabama Home Inspector license?" and, where the answer is no, asks for an addendum proving qualification under Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(d). Every supervisor named on your Participation Log has to file one. The log records the property address, the inspection date and the supervising inspector's name for each inspection and carries no field restricting the address to Alabama.
- You must have passed a licensing exam in Hawaii that the destination considers comparable.The National Home Inspector Examination is developed and governed by the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors, an independent non-profit; it is an examination credential rather than a license and is not an agreement between Alabama and any other state. Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(c) names it as the examination that demonstrates adequate knowledge of performing home inspections, and names the ASHI Standards and Ethics Examination as the examination that demonstrates understanding of the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics in Chapter 355-18-1. Alabama registers the NHIE through PSI and the ASHI paper through Pearson VUE. Passing either one waives nothing else: the education and participation combination, the 25 reports, the insurance and the fee all still apply.
- A military spouse, or the spouse of a Department of Justice, NASA or Department of Defense civilian employee relocated to Alabama, may instead use the Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act. It asks for a valid, substantially similar license held in good standing in another state, no disqualifying conduct and no discipline or open investigation anywhere. The agency must then decide within 30 days, offer a temporary permit of at least 360 days meanwhile, and waive the initial licensing fee.Code of Ala. 1975, sec. 31-1-6 applies to every board, agency or commission issuing professional licenses in Alabama except the practice of law, Securities Commission registrations, APOST certifications and the pharmacy, optometry, dental, chiropractic, LP gas and medical boards. Home inspectors are not excluded. The Division of Construction Management publishes no separate page or form for this route on its home inspector pages, so call the program on (334) 242-4802 before relying on it.
What you'll do to get licensed in Alabama
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. The National Home Inspector Examination, developed by the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors and named by Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(c) as the written examination demonstrating adequate knowledge of performing home inspections. Alabama registers it through PSI at test-takers.psiexams.com/EBPHI or on 855-807-3992. It is required of every applicant, including one already licensed in another state, and it must have been completed within the 18 months before the application is submitted. The Division does not publish a Candidate Information Bulletin of its own; content information comes from the examination board..
- 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. The American Society of Home Inspectors Standards and Ethics Examination, named by Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(c) as the written examination demonstrating an appropriate understanding of the Standards of Practice in Rule 355-18-1-.01 and the Code of Ethics in Rule 355-18-1-.02. Alabama registers it through Pearson VUE on 1-800-274-8359. It stands in place of a state-written law and rules paper, and like the National Home Inspector Examination it must have been completed within the 18 months before the application is submitted. It is not waived for an out-of-state inspector..
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. Examination fees are paid directly to the organizations conducting the testing rather than to the Division of Construction Management, and Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(c) says so in terms. The Division publishes no examination fee amount on its licensing pages, so check the current price with PSI when you register for the National Home Inspector Examination and with Pearson VUE for the ASHI Standards and Ethics Examination. The Division does link a scholarship, the JD Grewell Education Scholarship, which can cover training, related expenses and the National Home Inspector Examination..
- 4Other. Approved home inspector education combined with participation in supervised home inspections, in one of two combinations: at least 120 hours of approved education with participation in 35 home inspections, or at least 35 hours of approved education with participation in 100 home inspections. Approved education must include instruction on writing home inspection reports, and courses count if they are approved by ASHI, the Housing Inspection Foundation, InterNACHI or the National Institute of Building Inspectors, or by the Alabama Home Inspectors Advisory Committee. The Division publishes a list of approved pre-licensing providers. The inspections are recorded on the Home Inspection Participation Log and each supervisor files a Verification of Qualified Home Inspector Participant Supervision form..
- 5Other. Twenty-five drafted home inspection reports, ten of which must have been reviewed and corrected by a qualified home inspector, certified to the Division on its Home Inspection Report Completion Form. A qualified home inspector is one licensed in their own state of practice for the past five years, or, where they practice in a state without licensing, one who has belonged to ASHI, the Housing Inspection Foundation, InterNACHI or the National Institute of Building Inspectors for the past five years. The reviewer does not have to hold an Alabama license..
- 6Application fee. Pay the application fee ($300). Registration fee of $300, set by Code of Ala. 1975, sec. 34-14B-5 and Rule 355-17-1-.13 and charged for an initial application and for each annual renewal alike. It is non-refundable, including where the application is denied. It can be paid online through the Division's portal, or by cashier's check or money order made payable to the Division of Construction Management; the Division will not accept cash, company checks or personal checks by post. The Division may adjust the fee only after certifying to the Legislative Council that the adjustment is needed to cover its costs..
- 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). Errors and omissions insurance of $250,000, required by Rule 355-17-1-.06(1)(e) of every applicant and again at every renewal. Alabama does not offer a bond or net worth alternative to it. The cover is evidenced by an ACORD certificate of insurance and the license will not be issued until the Division has received it. Under Code of Ala. 1975, sec. 34-14B-8 the license is suspended if the cover lapses, the inspector must notify the Division, and the insurer is asked at the outset to notify the Division of any cancellation..
- 8Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance covering your home inspection operations, at limits of not less than $20,000 for injury or damage to property, $50,000 for injury or damage including death to any one person and $100,000 for injury or damage including death to more than one person. This is separate from and additional to the $250,000 errors and omissions cover. Code of Ala. 1975, sec. 34-14B-3(a)(3) requires the certificate to come from an insurance company licensed to do business in Alabama and allows the agency to prescribe greater limits. The certificate is filed on an ACORD form with the application and again at each renewal, and a lapse suspends the license..
- 9Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Fifteen hours of approved continuing education per year to renew, declared on the renewal application. Licensees keep proof for three years and the Division audits at random. Renewal applications are due by 1 November of the year before the license year and may be rejected for lateness alone. A renewing inspector can earn a $50 fee credit, up to two a year, for training an inspector who then becomes licensed in Alabama, which means reviewing and correcting that trainee's ten reports and supervising at least 35 of their inspections..
- 10Other. The Residential New Construction Designation, an optional add-on to the home inspector license earned by completing an eight-hour Residential New Construction training module approved by the Director no more than two years before applying. It is not a second license and not a higher tier. The Division states that the lack of the designation does not limit any licensee's rights and that it is not mandatory for inspecting residential new construction, although a home builder may ask to see proof that you have completed the training. (if applicable).
Published fees on this path total $300, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Trade exam
- Law / code exam
- Exam fee
- Other
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance · $250,000
- Insurance
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
- Other · if applicable
How Alabama licenses home inspectors
Alabama home inspector · “Home Inspector (optional Residential New Construction Designation)”
Statewide license
Alabama licenses home inspectors statewide under the Alabama Home Inspectors Registration Act, Title 34, Chapter 14B of the Code of Alabama. The program was run by the Alabama Building Commission until Act 2015-435 moved its rules to the Department of Finance, and it is now administered by the Division of Construction Management, which issues, renews, suspends and revokes the licenses and hears complaints. There is one home inspector credential and no junior grade: the license is issued to an individual and never to a business, and you must hold it to perform a home inspection for compensation anywhere in the state. The Residential New Construction Designation is an optional add-on earned with an eight-hour training module, not a second license, and the Division says in terms that the lack of it does not limit any licensee's rights. Every applicant passes two written examinations, the National Home Inspector Examination and the ASHI Standards and Ethics Examination, and every licensee carries both general liability cover and $250,000 of errors and omissions insurance. Licenses run by calendar year and expire on 31 December whatever month they were issued. The Division licenses EIFS inspectors separately, on different qualifications, under the same Act.
Why Hawaii has nothing to transfer
Hawaii home inspector
No individual license at this level
Hawaii issues no home inspector license, certificate or registration. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs licenses occupations through its Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, and the division publishes the full directory of what it issues: boards for accountancy, acupuncture, barbering and cosmetology, boxing, chiropractic, contractors, dentists and dental hygienists, electricians and plumbers, elevator mechanics, engineers, architects, surveyors and landscape architects, massage therapy, medicine and osteopathy, the motor vehicle industry, motor vehicle repair, naturopathic medicine, nursing, optometry, pest control, pharmacy, physical therapy, private detectives and guards, psychology, real estate, speech pathology and audiology and veterinary medicine; and programs for activity desks, appraisal management companies, athletic trainers, behavior analysts, cemeteries and pre-need funeral authorities, collection agencies, condominium property regimes, dispensing opticians, electrologists, employment agencies, hearing aid dealers and fitters, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, midwives, mixed martial arts contests, nurse aides, nursing home administrators, occupational therapy, port pilots, real estate appraisers, respiratory therapists, social workers, subdivisions, time shares, travel agencies, athlete agents and veterinary technicians. Home inspection is on neither list. The Legislature looked at adding it: Senate Bill 2403 of 2018 would have required licensure for home inspectors and established a board of home inspectors, but the Senate Housing Committee deferred the measure on February 13, 2018 and no home inspector practice act has been enacted since. An inspector arriving from another state therefore has no Hawaii credential to apply for, no examination to sit and nothing to transfer, and because Hawaii holds no home inspector examination the National Home Inspector Examination has nothing to stand in for here; any "certified" designation an inspector advertises comes from a private trade association rather than from the state. What binds a Hawaii home inspector instead is general law. Section 480-2 makes unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce unlawful, and section 480-13 lets an injured consumer sue for the greater of $1,000 or threefold damages plus attorney's fees and costs, with a $5,000 floor where the consumer is an elder. The Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act at section 481A-3 separately reaches causing a likelihood of confusion about the approval or certification of a service, claiming a status or affiliation one does not have, and representing that a service is of a standard, quality or grade it is not. Hawaii has enacted no statutory standard of care for home inspectors, so the written inspection agreement and ordinary contract and negligence law set the duty owed, and the Regulated Industries Complaints Office takes complaints only about work a board actually licenses. Hawaii does regulate one inspection closely, and it is the one most often ordered alongside a home inspection. Under chapter 460J, identifying an infestation, inspecting a structure to identify one, and making inspection reports, recommendations, estimates or bids about it are all pest control, which no one may perform, offer or advertise for hire without a pest control license; the branches are Branch 1 fumigation, Branch 2 general pest and Branch 3 termite, each earned by examination. Section 460J-19 requires the written termite inspection report to be on the board's PC-9 form and to carry the date of inspection and the name of the inspector, the name and address of whoever ordered it, any party in interest due a certified copy, the address of the property, a general description of the building and the location of visible infestation, and it forbids guarantees or warranties on the report; section 460J-20 requires any later document expressing an opinion on the presence or absence of termites to refer back to that report. So the wood-destroying-pest part of a Hawaii pre-sale inspection is licensed work with a prescribed report form, even though the rest of the home inspection is unregulated. The other adjacent credentials are the Contractors License Board's general engineering, general building and specialty licenses under chapter 444, which define a contractor by the construction work performed rather than by examining and reporting on a building, so there is no inspector classification there, but every repair that comes out of a report belongs to a licensed contractor; alongside them sit the Board of Electricians and Plumbers, the Board of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects, the Real Estate Commission and the Real Estate Appraiser program.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alabama home inspector exam if I'm licensed in Hawaii?
- Yes. Alabama requires the trade exam on this path, plus a law or code exam.
- What does it cost to get a Alabama home inspector license from Hawaii?
- Published fees on this path total $300, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Hawaii work hours count in Alabama?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alabama's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Alabama to Hawaii?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alabama to Hawaii, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Ala. Admin. Code ch. 355-17-1 - Alabama Home Inspectors Registration Program · Ala. Admin. Code r. 355-17-1-.01 to -.14 · Alabama Legislative Services Agency / Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Code of Alabama 1975, sec. 31-1-6 - Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act · Code of Ala. 1975, sec. 31-1-6 · Alabama Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Code of Alabama 1975, Title 34, Chapter 14B - The Alabama Home Inspectors Registration Act · Code of Ala. 1975, secs. 34-14B-1 to 34-14B-10 · Alabama Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions, Home/EIFS Inspections - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspector Application (2026) - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspectors / EIFS Inspectors Licensing Division - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- State of Alabama Home Inspector Participation Log - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Inspector Renewal Application (2026) - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Verification of Qualified Home Inspector Participant Supervision - Alabama Division of Construction Management · Alabama Department of Finance, Division of Construction Management · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- National Home Inspector Examination - Exam Overview Packet · Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors · Other · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.