Minnesota to Delaware: home inspector license reciprocity
Minnesota does not issue a statewide home inspector license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Delaware'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.
Licensure by endorsement for an inspector licensed in another state
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Delaware calls this route licensure by endorsement and section 4111 of title 24 sets it out. If the origin state's standards are substantially similar to Delaware's, the board is directed to grant the license on proof of current licensure in good standing in another state, the District of Columbia or a United States territory. If they are not substantially similar, the applicant can still be licensed by endorsement in one of two ways: at least one year of practice, at least 75 fee-paid home inspections and a designation of inspector or certified inspector with ASHI or regular member or certified real estate inspector with NAHI, or simply five years of practice after licensure. The Division applies that second test in a practical way on its own page: an applicant who has practiced five or more years in a jurisdiction where they currently hold a license sends no documentation beyond the basics, while an applicant short of five years sends either proof of ASHI Certified or InterNACHI membership or copies of the origin jurisdiction's licensing law for the board to compare. The basics are the same for everyone: licensure verification sent directly to the board from every jurisdiction where the applicant holds or has ever held a license, and an insurance certificate sent directly by the carrier showing at least $50,000 of errors and omissions cover and at least $250,000 of liability cover. Good standing has a statutory meaning here, covering administrative penalties, drug or alcohol impairment, substantially related criminal convictions and pending complaints anywhere. Delaware asks an endorsement applicant for no examination score and writes no law and rules paper.
The endorsement route is only open to someone licensed by a jurisdiction that has a licensing board, which is why the Division's page carries the flat note that Pennsylvania does not have one. An inspector based in a state that licenses nobody uses licensure by experience instead, and that route does require the National Home Inspector Examination. The board publishes no service standard, but it reviews an application at the first meeting after the complete file arrives and meets six times a year, on the second Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September and November, so the practical timeline turns on how quickly the verifications and the insurance certificate reach the board office rather than on review time. An application left unfinished in DELPROS expires after six months. Delaware sets one application fee for the license whatever route it came through. Because 24 Del. C. sec. 4112 makes the Division recompute every fee each licensure biennium, and because the renewal fee is only quoted at renewal, treat the published figures as current rather than fixed. Nothing in the statute or on the board's pages requires a bond, a net worth figure or a financial statement.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Your Minnesota license must be active and in good standing.The requirement for an established licensing board is what excludes an inspector whose only credential is a private certification, and it is why Delaware notes on the endorsement page that Pennsylvania has no home inspector licensing board. An applicant from an unlicensed state is not shut out; they apply by experience instead.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.Set by 24 Del. C. sec. 4108(a)(4) to (a)(7), carried into the endorsement section by sec. 4111(a). The board may decide after a hearing or a review of documentation whether an administrative penalty is grounds to deny, and a substantially related conviction can be waived by a majority of the quorum under the factors in 29 Del. C. sec. 8735(x)(3) if a waiver would not create an unreasonable risk to public safety.
- Either the origin state's licensing standards are substantially similar to Delaware's, or the applicant qualifies on practice: one year of practice plus at least 75 fee-paid home inspections plus an ASHI inspector or certified inspector designation or a NAHI regular member or certified real estate inspector designation, or five years of practice after licensure.From 24 Del. C. sec. 4111(a) and (b). On its own page the Division treats five or more years of practice in a jurisdiction where the applicant currently holds a license as needing no documentation beyond the licensure verifications and the insurance certificate, accepts proof of ASHI Certified Membership or InterNACHI Membership from an applicant short of five years, and otherwise asks for copies of or links to the origin jurisdiction's licensing law so the board can compare it. The statute names ASHI and NAHI; the Division's current pages name ASHI, NAHI and InterNACHI.
- You must have passed a licensing exam in Minnesota that the destination considers comparable.24 Del. C. sec. 4108(a)(2) requires 'a written, standardized examination as designated by the Board' without naming it; the Division names the National Home Inspector Examination on both its licensure by examination page and its licensure by experience page, and on those routes asks for verification of the passing score sent directly from the examination service. The endorsement page asks for no examination score at all, which is consistent with the origin license standing in its place. Delaware has no separate state law and rules examination for home inspectors.
What you'll do to get licensed in Delaware
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($333). License application fee of $333, published on the Division's fee schedule and charged for the Home Inspector license whichever of the four routes the applicant used. It is paid with the application in DELPROS. Under 24 Del. C. section 4112 the Division recomputes each fee for every licensure biennium so that it approximates the cost of running the board, so check the fee schedule before paying..
- 2Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($50,000). Errors and omissions insurance of at least $50,000, held by the applicant or the applicant's employer. A certificate must be sent to the board office directly by the insurance carrier rather than filed by the applicant. Section 4108(a)(8) of title 24 makes this a licensure condition and requires that the cover be maintained, not merely held on the day of application..
- 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). Liability insurance of at least $250,000, held by the applicant or the applicant's employer and certified on the same carrier-issued certificate as the errors and omissions cover. Delaware requires both kinds together, which is unusual: several licensing states ask for general liability alone. There is no bond, no net worth test and no financial statement..
- 4Other. State or jurisdiction licensure verification sent directly to the board office by each state or jurisdiction in which the applicant currently holds or has ever held a home inspector license. An applicant short of five years of practice adds either proof of ASHI Certified Membership or InterNACHI Membership, or copies of or links to the licensing law and regulations of the jurisdictions where they are licensed so the board can compare standards..
- 5Continuing education. Complete continuing education. 40 hours of approved continuing education during each full licensure renewal period, which runs from September 1 to August 31 of odd-numbered years. Courses must be approved by the Board, ASHI, NAHI or InterNACHI. A first renewal is prorated: nothing is due from someone licensed less than a year, and 20 hours from someone licensed more than one but less than two years. The same course cannot be taken more than twice in a renewal period; a ride along counts up to 2 hours as guest and 2 hours as host, and supervising a registered trainee as a board-approved supervisor counts up to 20 hours. The licensee attests to the hours at renewal and produces attendance verification if audited..
- 6Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). The National Home Inspector Examination, which Delaware designates as its written standardized examination. It is not asked of an endorsement applicant, but it is required on the licensure by examination and licensure by experience routes, where verification of the passing score must be sent to the board directly by the examination service. The examination fee is set and collected by the examination provider and is not published by the Division..
- 7Other. The routes for an applicant who cannot endorse. Licensure by experience, for an inspector living in a state that licenses nobody, asks for five years of experience and/or certified membership of ASHI, NAHI or InterNACHI, 140 hours of ASHI or InterNACHI approved classroom or online training, a passing NHIE score, a high school diploma or GED, and an experience log of at least 75 inspections backed by notarized Verification of Employment forms or W-2s for employed periods and tax documents and a business license for self-employed periods. Licensure by examination, for someone holding no license anywhere, requires registering first as a Delaware Home Inspector Trainee, then 75 supervised inspections that only count once the registration is issued, 140 hours of approved training and a passing NHIE score. (if applicable).
- 8Application fee. Pay the application fee (if applicable). The other two fees on the Division's schedule: a Home Inspector Trainee registration costs $186, and a Temporary Home Inspection Permit costs $40. The temporary permit is the option for an inspector who is not moving to Delaware but has been engaged for one property there: it needs a current license or certification in another jurisdiction, licensure verification sent directly from each jurisdiction where the applicant was first licensed by examination, expires ten days from the date of issue, covers only the assignment named on it, and is capped at five permits per year..
Published fees on this path total $333, 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 · $50,000
- Insurance · $250,000
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
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 · if applicable
- Other · if applicable
How Delaware licenses home inspectors
Delaware home inspector · “Home Inspector (the junior tier is the Home Inspector Trainee registration)”
Statewide license
Issued by Delaware Board of Home Inspectors (Division of Professional Regulation)
Delaware licenses home inspectors statewide. The Board of Home Inspectors sits in the Division of Professional Regulation under chapter 41 of title 24 of the Delaware Code, and nobody may inspect, advertise or hold themselves out as a home inspector in the state without its license. This is a professional license and should not be confused with Delaware's contractor position, which is a Division of Revenue business tax registration rather than a Division of Professional Regulation credential. The board licenses through four published routes: endorsement for an inspector already licensed elsewhere, experience for an inspector based in a state that licenses nobody, examination for a newcomer, and the Home Inspector Trainee registration that the examination route is built on. The trainee tier is a training registration rather than a second destination: a trainee practices only under the direct, personal supervision of a Delaware-licensed inspector, who reviews and signs every report and takes total responsibility for it, and a trainee may not be charged a fee or made to sign a non-compete by that supervisor. The full Home Inspector license is what an experienced inspector moving to Delaware applies for. Delaware designates the National Home Inspector Examination as its written examination, and it writes no law and rules paper of its own. Insurance is a real condition of licensure here rather than an afterthought: the applicant or the applicant's employer must carry at least $50,000 of errors and omissions cover and at least $250,000 of liability cover, certified directly by the carrier. Licenses expire on August 31 of odd-numbered years and renew on 40 hours of approved continuing education. Applications and renewals run through the DELPROS online system, and the board reviews a completed file at its next meeting, held on the second Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September and November.
Why Minnesota has nothing to transfer
Minnesota home inspector · “Truth-in-Sale of Housing Evaluator”
Licensed by cities and counties
Minnesota issues no statewide home inspector license, so there is no state credential to apply for, no state examination and nothing to transfer from another state, and a buyer's home inspection can be performed anywhere in Minnesota by anyone. Chapter 326B of the statutes carries every construction credential the Department of Labor and Industry issues — the state building code and its building officials and construction code inspectors, elevators, electrical, plumbing, water conditioning, high pressure piping, boilers, contractor registration, and the residential trades licenses for residential building contractors, remodelers, roofers and manufactured home installers — and no section of it creates a home inspector license; a 2006 bill that would have added one was not enacted. Where a credential does exist it is issued by a city, not by the state: Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Bloomington each require a pre-sale evaluation of the home before it can be marketed, and each will accept that evaluation only from an evaluator it has licensed itself. Saint Paul's license is the demanding one and it is the one place in Minnesota where the National Home Inspector Examination counts: an applicant must already hold a passed NHIE before being admitted to the city's own written test, then pass a practical evaluation of a test house, carry insurance and pay an annual license fee. What binds an inspector doing ordinary unlicensed work is general law: the Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act makes unlawful any fraud, unfair or unconscionable practice, false promise, misrepresentation or deceptive practice in connection with the sale of merchandise, which the statute defines to include services, and Minn. Stat. section 8.31, subdivision 3a lets an injured person sue for damages, costs, investigation costs, reasonable attorney's fees and equitable relief. Beyond that it is the written pre-inspection agreement and ordinary contract and negligence law that set the duty owed, because Minnesota has enacted no statutory standard of care for home inspectors and no statute governing the content or form of a private inspection report. Two adjacent credentials matter in practice. Radon is licensed: since January 1, 2019 the Minnesota Radon Licensing Act has required an annual license from the commissioner of health for anyone who tests for radon for compensation, as a measurement professional, and separately for mitigation professionals, mitigation companies and analysis laboratories, so an inspector cannot add a radon test to the job without one. And any repair, remodeling or roofing work that comes out of a report belongs to a licensed residential building contractor, remodeler or roofer under chapter 326B, or to the state's licensed electrical, plumbing, mechanical and high pressure piping trades.
How local licensing works in Minnesota
No Minnesota city licenses "home inspectors" as such, and no license of any kind is needed to perform a private buyer's home inspection anywhere in the state. What several Twin Cities municipalities license is the evaluator who performs the pre-sale housing evaluation their own ordinances make compulsory, and each license is good only in the city that issued it — there is no reciprocity between them and none of them substitutes for another. In Minneapolis the seller must schedule a Truth in Sale of Housing evaluation before the house is shown, must hire an evaluator licensed by the City, and must display the report at showings; the City licenses evaluators on a January-to-December year, requires a certificate of insurance to receive the license and 18 approved continuing education credits each year to keep it, holds evaluators to a published code of ethics, and can suspend or revoke a license for breaching it. Evaluations performed on an expired license or without current insurance are rejected and returned. The program and the evaluator's duties sit in Title 12 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, chapter 248, alongside chapter 244 (maintenance code) and chapter 250 (condominium conversions). In Saint Paul the evaluation must be completed before the property is marketed, it covers single family homes, duplexes, condominiums and townhomes, and it may only be done by an evaluator licensed by the City. Saint Paul is the one Minnesota authority that uses the National Home Inspector Examination: an applicant must already have passed the NHIE before being admitted to the city's own process, which is a $200 application, a closed-book written test of roughly 100 questions with a 75 percent pass mark, and then a practical evaluation of a test house judged as though it were a real client's. Passing both parts only makes the applicant eligible; the license itself also requires proof of insurance and a $110 annual fee that is not pro-rated. The requirements sit in Saint Paul Legislative Code chapter 189, and failing to comply with that chapter is a misdemeanor. Bloomington runs the same idea under a different name: a Time-of-Sale housing inspection and evaluation report must be filed for every single and two-family dwelling, condominium, townhouse and mobile home offered for sale, and a seller may use a City inspector or an independent evaluator holding a City of Bloomington Time of Sale license. That license is issued by the City Clerk's Business Licensing office, requires a Minnesota or federal business tax identification number and proof of workers' compensation coverage or a stated exemption, and requires the building official to verify 18 continuing education credits every year before renewal, with suspension, revocation or a civil penalty for working without them. Other metropolitan cities operate comparable pre-sale evaluation programs, and some, such as Richfield, use their own staff inspectors rather than licensing private evaluators at all, so an inspector planning to work across the metro should check each city's own program before taking the work. Outside those programs no Minnesota city license is required to inspect a home.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Delaware home inspector exam if I'm licensed in Minnesota?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Delaware home inspector license from Minnesota?
- Published fees on this path total $333, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Minnesota work hours count in Delaware?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Delaware's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Delaware to Minnesota?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Delaware to Minnesota, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- 24 Del. C. sec. 4108 - Qualifications of applicant · 24 Del. C. sec. 4108 · Delaware Code Online, Delaware General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- 24 Del. C. sec. 4109 - Home inspector trainee; requirements of supervision · 24 Del. C. sec. 4109 · Delaware Code Online, Delaware General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- 24 Del. C. sec. 4110 - Temporary license · 24 Del. C. sec. 4110 · Delaware Code Online, Delaware General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- 24 Del. C. sec. 4111 - Endorsement · 24 Del. C. sec. 4111 · Delaware Code Online, Delaware General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- 24 Del. C. ch. 41 - Home Inspectors · 24 Del. C. ch. 41 · Delaware Code Online, Delaware General Assembly · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Continuing Education and Audit Information · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Licensure by Endorsement · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Licensure by Examination · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Licensure by Experience · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Fee Schedule · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware Board of Home Inspectors · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector License Renewal · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Temporary Home Inspection Permit · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Delaware DPR - Home Inspector Trainee · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · 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.