LicensebyState

Minnesota to Nevada: home inspector license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 17, 2026· 13 sources

Minnesota does not issue a statewide home inspector license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Nevada'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.

Out-of-state inspection reports accepted in place of the observation requirement (every state)

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

Nevada publishes no reciprocity and no endorsement for inspectors of structures: neither NRS chapter 645D nor NAC chapter 645D names a single partner state, and the Division's own certification checklist offers no shortcut for someone already certified elsewhere. What the regulations do give an out-of-state inspector is one origin-independent credit. Under NAC 645D.210(3), an applicant who has held a residential inspector certificate, or its equivalent, issued by another state may submit 25 inspection reports they completed in the two years before applying; if the Division finds those reports complete and credible against Nevada's own standards of practice, it may accept them instead of the 25 inspections a Nevada applicant must observe. Nothing else moves. You still complete 40 hours of Division-approved classroom instruction, sit and pass the Nevada inspector of structures examination through the Division's testing agent, show $100,000 of errors and omissions and $100,000 of general liability cover in your own name, clear a fingerprint background check and pay the full fee.

The credit is discretionary: the rule says the Division "may" accept the reports, and it judges them against NAC 645D.460 to .580, which are Nevada's own standards for what an inspection and an inspection report must cover. Read those sections before choosing which 25 reports to send. The rule asks that you have held the out-of-state certificate, not that you still hold it, and it sets no minimum number of years. A general Nevada statute, NRS 622.530, directs every occupational regulatory body in the state to adopt regulations for licensure by endorsement of someone holding a substantially similar out-of-state license, but the Division has adopted no such regulation in NAC chapter 645D for this certificate, so ask the Division directly rather than assuming an endorsement route exists. Applicants who are not Nevada residents may apply on exactly the same terms and simply add Form 656, the notarized consent to service of process. The Division does not publish how long it takes to process an application.

At a glance

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Required
Out-of-state hours
Count toward eligibility

What you must already have

  • Having held a certificate as a residential inspector, or the equivalent, issued by another state. On that basis you may submit 25 inspection reports you completed in the two years immediately before applying, and if the Division finds them complete and credible against NAC 645D.460 to .580 it may accept them in place of observing 25 inspections performed by a Nevada certified general or master inspector.NAC 645D.210(3). This is the only rule in either the statute or the regulations that turns on an out-of-state credential, and it names no state. It is permissive rather than automatic, sets no minimum period of licensure, and waives nothing beyond the observation requirement.
  • You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.NRS 645D.200(2). Form 573 asks separately about administrative proceedings on any professional or occupational license anywhere, about any license suspended or revoked by any public authority, about a surety declining a bond in the previous two years, about bankruptcy, and about any felony, gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor conviction. A certified inspector must also report a later felony or moral-turpitude conviction to the Division within 10 days under NRS 645D.235.
  • A high school diploma or its equivalent, and age: the Division will not accept an application from anyone under 17 or issue a certificate to anyone under 18. Applicants also give five years of employment history on the application and file the child support declaration required by NRS 425.520, which the Division cannot issue a certificate without.

What you'll do to get licensed in Nevada

  1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. The Nevada inspector of structures examination, taken through Pearson VUE as the agent designated by the Division. It is one paper, not two: NAC 645D.250(2) requires it to cover the technical subjects for the certificate applied for and also NRS chapter 645D, its regulations and Nevada's standards of practice at NAC 645D.460 to .580. The content outline the Division's testing agent publishes for it is the national home inspector content outline used for the National Home Inspector Examination. A scaled score of 75 passes, and the paper carries 175 scored questions plus a few unscored pretest questions. Register and pay on the Division's portal first, wait for the Authorization to Test email, then book with Pearson VUE. Because the rule demands an examination administered by the Division or its agent and the Division publishes no substitute, an NHIE result obtained for another state's license does not replace sitting Nevada's paper. Results count only if the examination was taken in the year before you apply..
  2. 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($100). Examination fee of $100, set by NAC 645D.250(7) and payable each time the examination is taken. A retake costs the same as the first attempt. It is paid to the Division on registration, before the appointment is booked with Pearson VUE..
  3. 3Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Application fee of $100 under NRS 645D.240(1). It is non-refundable. The Division collects it together with the issuance fee and the technology fee as a single payment of $365.00 with Form 573..
  4. 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($250). Issuance fee of $250 under NRS 645D.240(1), collected with the application. The certificate then runs for two years from the first day of the month after it is issued, and renews for $265, which is the same $250 plus the technology fee. Renewing late but within a year costs 150 percent of the ordinary renewal; leaving it longer than a year means applying again as for an original certificate..
  5. 5Other. Technology fee of $15, added by NRS 645D.240(2) to every issuance and every renewal and paid into the Division's technology account. It is the difference between the statutory fees and the $365.00 the Division asks for with Form 573. ($15).
  6. 6Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($100,000). Errors and omissions insurance of not less than $100,000, required by NRS 645D.190 of every applicant for an original certificate and again at every renewal. Nevada requires it outright rather than as an alternative to a bond or a net worth test. The policy may be held by you or by your employer, but the certificate of insurance must carry your name exactly as it appears on your certificate. Proof goes to the Division every year even though the certificate itself runs two years, and under NAC 645D.335 your certificate expires by operation of law on the 60th day after you cease to be covered..
  7. 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($100,000). General liability insurance of not less than $100,000, required alongside the errors and omissions cover by NRS 645D.190 and confirmed on the Division's own insurance page and application checklist. It too may be held by you or by your employer, must name you personally on the certificate of insurance, must be proved to the Division annually, and its lapse ends your certificate 60 days later..
  8. 8Other. At least 40 hours of classroom instruction in subjects related to structural inspections, taken with a school the Division has approved, and covering the inspection of structures to the standard set by NAC 645D.480 to .580. The Division publishes its list of approved pre-certification schools as Form 725B and will not credit more than 8 hours of instruction in a day. Out-of-state experience does not shorten this: the regulations offer no credit against the classroom hours, only against the observation requirement. The general and master certificates need 50 and 60 hours respectively..
  9. 9Other. The observation of at least 25 inspections performed for a fee by a Nevada certified general or certified master inspector, or by an instructor approved by the Administrator, recorded on observation log Form 594. The Division will alternatively accept the certificate of completing its approved 25-inspection course. An applicant who has held a residential inspector certificate or the equivalent in another state may ask the Division to accept 25 of their own inspection reports from the previous two years instead, under NAC 645D.210(3). Whichever route you take, you must also show the Division that you can produce a complete and credible inspection report to Nevada's standards..
  10. 10Background check. Complete a background check. A fingerprint-based criminal history check through the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the FBI, required by NRS 645D.180. You arrange and pay for the fingerprints yourself, using a vendor on the Division's approved list (Form 619), and you sign the fingerprint background waiver before they are taken. Fingerprints expire six months after they are taken. The Division also charges a background investigation fee, which NAC 645D.165 caps at its actual cost and which the Division does not publish as a fixed figure; ask the Division what it currently is when you file..
  11. 11Other. Location of Records Form 575, filed with the application, telling the Division where your inspection records are kept. NAC 645D.620 requires those records to be maintained and makes them open to inspection and audit by the Division..
  12. 12Other. Form 656, the notarized consent to service of process, required only if you are not a Nevada resident. It appoints the Real Estate Administrator as your attorney within Nevada for service of legal process arising from your work here, and it stays in force until you attest by affidavit that you have become a bona fide Nevada resident. Non-residents otherwise apply on exactly the same Form 573 and the same terms as residents. (if applicable).
  13. 13Business license. Obtain a business license (if applicable). A Nevada state business license from the Secretary of State under NRS chapter 76. Form 573 asks every applicant to report whether they hold one, have applied for one or have none, and the Division states plainly that it is not the arbiter of whether you need one. If you trade under a fictitious name, the Division does want proof of the filing with the Nevada Secretary of State or the county clerk..
  14. 14Continuing education. Complete continuing education. 20 hours of Division-approved continuing education in the two years before each renewal, and it is not free-form: at least 3 hours must be on safety for the occupants of the structure and for the inspector, and at least 2 hours on NAC and NRS chapter 645D. The Division publishes approved providers as Form 725A. An inspector reinstating a certificate that expired more than 60 days but less than a year ago needs 30 hours on the same terms..

Published fees on this path total $450, 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
  • Exam fee · $100
  • Other

Liability insurance

Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.

  • Insurance · $100,000
  • Insurance · $100,000

Business registration

If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.

  • Business license · if applicable

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

  • Continuing education

How Nevada licenses home inspectors

Nevada home inspector · “Certified Residential Inspector (Inspector of Structures)”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry

Nevada certifies home inspectors statewide and calls them inspectors of structures. The Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry issues the certificate under NRS chapter 645D, and working as an inspector without one is a misdemeanor. Nevada genuinely tiers the credential. A certified residential inspector, which is the home inspector's certificate and the one an inbound inspector applies for, may inspect residential buildings of up to four units and commercial buildings of up to 10,000 square feet on their own; above that, a certified general or certified master inspector may inspect any structure, and a residential inspector may only assist on a larger building under the direct, on-site supervision of one of them. The two upper tiers are earned in Nevada rather than applied for on arrival, because they require 200 and 400 fee-paid inspections already performed as a Nevada certified inspector. Below the residential certificate there is no junior certificate at all, but there is a junior stage: before you may be certified you must observe 25 inspections performed for a fee by a certified general or master inspector, or take the Division's approved 25-inspection course. Every certificate holder carries $100,000 of errors and omissions cover and $100,000 of general liability cover, and the certificate expires by law 60 days after that cover lapses.

Moving to NevadaLeaving Nevada

Why Minnesota has nothing to transfer

Minnesota home inspector · “Truth-in-Sale of Housing Evaluator”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 13 sources

Issued by No Minnesota state home inspector license; Twin Cities municipalities license pre-sale housing evaluators

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.

Moving to MinnesotaLeaving Minnesota

Common questions

Do I have to take the Nevada home inspector exam if I'm licensed in Minnesota?
Yes. Nevada requires the trade exam on this path, plus a law or code exam.
What does it cost to get a Nevada home inspector license from Minnesota?
Published fees on this path total $450, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Minnesota work hours count in Nevada?
Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Nevada's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Nevada to Minnesota?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Nevada to Minnesota, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. National Home Inspector Examination - Exam Overview Packet · Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  2. NAC Chapter 645D - Inspectors of Structures · NAC 645D.100, .110, .120, .130, .150, .165, .180, .210, .220, .230, .245, .250, .335, .350, .390, .460-.580, .620 · Nevada Real Estate Division / Nevada Legislature · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  3. NRS Chapter 622 - General Provisions Governing Regulatory Bodies · NRS 622.060, 622.510, 622.520, 622.530 · Nevada Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  4. NRS Chapter 645D - Inspectors of Structures and Energy Auditors · NRS 645D.040, .060, .080, .100, .110, .120, .160, .170, .180, .190, .200, .230, .240 · Nevada Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  5. State of Nevada Real Estate Candidate Handbook (Pearson VUE, the Division's designated examination agent) · Pearson VUE for the Nevada Real Estate Division · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  6. Nevada Real Estate Content Outlines - National Content Outline for Inspector of Structures Exams · Pearson VUE for the Nevada Real Estate Division · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  7. Form 573 - Inspector of Structures Checklist and Original Licensing Application · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  8. Form 656 - Consent to Service of Process (out-of-state applicants) · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  9. Inspectors of Structures - Initial Certification Requirements · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  10. Inspectors of Structures - Insurance Requirements · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  11. Inspectors of Structures - Nevada Real Estate Division · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  12. Inspectors of Structures - Renewals · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  13. Exam Registration and Scheduling - Nevada Real Estate Division · Nevada Real Estate Division, Department of Business and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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