Massachusetts to Arizona: home inspector license reciprocity

1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($145). Home Inspector application fee of $145, filed through the Board's applicant portal. The same fee applies to the universal licensure application. It rose from $100 on January 1, 2026 and is not refundable once an application number has been assigned. Payment by credit card carries a state surcharge of 2.2 percent or $2.00, whichever is greater..
2. 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). Registration fee of $100 to register the certification for one year once the application is approved, so the application and first year together come to $245. Certification is renewed annually at the same $100, with a delinquency penalty of $16.66 for each year or part year late. An applicant whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and who is applying for this certification in Arizona for the first time can ask the Board to waive the initial fee under A.R.S. 41-1080.01..
3. 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($100,000). Financial assurance, filed within sixty days after certification and before any fee-based home inspection. The usual form is errors and omissions insurance for negligent acts committed in the course of a home inspection, at $200,000 in the aggregate and $100,000 per occurrence, with the inspector named on the policy. The Board publishes a sample errors and omissions certificate showing what it checks. Proof has to be filed again at every annual renewal, and the Board will not renew without it. Losing cover suspends the certification immediately; if it is not replaced within ninety days the certification is revoked. The Board must be told in writing within five business days of any loss of or change in financial assurance..
4. 4Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($25,000) (if applicable). Alternative to errors and omissions insurance: a bond of $25,000 that is retroactive to the certification date, with the inspector named on it. The Board publishes required bond language. It satisfies the same financial assurance duty and is subject to the same sixty-day, renewal and ninety-day replacement rules..
5. 5Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility of at least $25,000 (if applicable). Second alternative to errors and omissions insurance: proof that minimum net assets have a value of at least $25,000. The statute allows it, and the Board does not publish a form or a valuation method for it, so ask the Board's financial assurance staff what evidence it accepts before relying on this instead of a policy or bond..
6. 6Background check. Complete a background check. A valid Arizona Department of Public Safety fingerprint clearance card, front and back, submitted with the application. The universal licensure statute does not waive it: fingerprint clearance cards are carved out of A.R.S. 32-4302 entirely, and no application is approved without a valid card. Apply through the DPS Public Services Portal. If a card is denied over a past conviction, the Arizona Board of Fingerprinting can grant a good cause exemption, which takes time, so start early. A card is required for initial certification only, because A.R.S. 32-122.02(E) bars the Board from requiring one at renewal, although Board staff still runs a criminal background check on every renewing inspector..
7. 7Other. Supporting documents specific to the universal licensure application: proof of Arizona residency, a verification of registration or certification sent to the Board directly from the board that issued it, and a copy of the statutes or rules under which that credential was issued, so the Board can confirm it is at the same practice level as Arizona's. The applicant requests the verification and pays any fee the other board charges. Applications are filed through the Board's applicant portal..
8. 8Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). National Home Inspector Examination, registered in Arizona through PSI. It is the Board's adopted written examination and is required on the standard route, where R4-30-247 asks for a pass within the two years before the date of application. It is not required again on the universal licensure route. It is also the only way back for an inspector who lets an Arizona certificate sit inactive for five years without practicing in a state that requires registration..
9. 9Other. Standard route only, for an applicant the universal licensure route does not fit: 84 hours of classroom training or an equivalent course from a school licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, or accredited by an agency approved by the US Department of Education, covering structural components, exterior, roofing, plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, insulation and ventilation, interiors, fireplaces and solid fuel-burning devices, swimming pools and spas, and professional practice; plus 30 logged parallel inspections on separate residential dwelling units supervised by an Arizona Certified Home Inspector, with an affirmation form and verification of experience form from each supervising inspector. The Board may hold an application for up to a year while the parallel inspections are completed. (if applicable).

Published fees on this path total $245, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.