New Jersey to Delaware: home inspector license reciprocity
Delaware has a specific endorsement rule for New Jersey home inspectors.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Licensure by endorsement for New Jersey 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.
New Jersey is the one origin state Delaware singles out as satisfying its endorsement test on its own. The Division's endorsement page lists two ways to avoid sending any documentation beyond the basics, and being licensed as a Home Inspector in New Jersey is one of them, standing alongside five or more years of practice in a jurisdiction where the applicant currently holds a license. A New Jersey inspector therefore does not need to have practiced for five years, does not need an ASHI, NAHI or InterNACHI designation and does not need to send Delaware a copy of New Jersey's licensing law for comparison. What is still required is the same for every endorsement applicant: licensure verification sent to the board office directly by New Jersey and by any other 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. Delaware asks a New Jersey applicant for no examination score.
This is an endorsement rule the Division publishes for a named state, not a signed reciprocity agreement: nothing on the board's pages or in 24 Del. C. chapter 41 describes an agreement between the two states, and the statutory test is still the Board's own comparison of standards under section 4111. The entry is directed, so how New Jersey treats a Delaware licensee is a separate question answered by New Jersey's own board. The fee is the ordinary $333 license application fee.
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 New Jersey license must be active and in good standing.Delaware names New Jersey specifically as a case where no further documentation is needed, which is the Division's way of saying it treats New Jersey's licensing standards as substantially similar to its own under 24 Del. C. sec. 4111(a).
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
What you'll do to get licensed in Delaware
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($333). License application fee of $333 from the Division's fee schedule, the same figure charged on every route to the Home Inspector license, paid with the DELPROS application..
- 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, certified directly by the carrier to the board office and maintained for as long as the license is held..
- 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). Liability insurance of at least $250,000, on the same carrier-issued certificate as the errors and omissions cover..
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
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.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Delaware home inspector exam if I'm licensed in New Jersey?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with New Jersey.
- What does it cost to get a Delaware home inspector license from New Jersey?
- Published fees on this path total $333, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my New Jersey work hours count in Delaware?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Delaware's eligibility requirements.
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. 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 - Home Inspector Trainee · Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · 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.