New Jersey to West Virginia: home inspector license reciprocity

1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($25). Application fee of $25.00 per application submitted, set by 103-7-7.3. It is forfeited if the application is denied for failing to meet the minimum qualifications, and an applicant who later qualifies pays a fresh application fee as well as the certification fee. The Fire Marshal's packet asks for a single check or money order payable to WVSFMO for $150.00, which is this fee together with the $125.00 certification fee..
2. 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($125). Certification fee of $125.00, set by 103-7-7.1 and sent with the application. The Fire Marshal issues the certificate once the application is approved and this fee has been received. Renewal is $100.00 a year under 103-7-7.2, with a late renewal fee of $50.00 for each year late, and a duplicate certificate costs $10.00..
3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). The National Home Inspector Examination, offered by the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors. It is the only examination on the Fire Marshal's approved list, and 103-7-4.1.a requires it of an applicant qualifying by the ordinary route, alongside 'other, comparable examination, as determined or designated by the State Fire Marshal' for which no alternative has been published. The reciprocity rule at 103-7-10 does not repeat the examination requirement, so an applicant accepted as holding a substantially equivalent out-of-state credential should not have to sit it again; the single published application packet nevertheless asks for verification of a passing score, so confirm the point with the Regulatory and Licensing Division before filing. West Virginia writes no examination of its own and no law-and-rules paper..
4. 4Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). General liability insurance of not less than $250,000, required by 103-7-4.1.d of every certified home inspector and not waived on the reciprocity route. It may be the inspector's own policy or an employer's, and an inspector relying on an employer's policy files a letter of employment stating that the company carries the required cover. Proof of each renewal goes to the Fire Marshal's office before the current policy expires and must cover at least the period for which the certification is issued. West Virginia does not require errors and omissions insurance, a surety bond or a net worth test: general liability is the whole of the financial responsibility requirement..
5. 5Business license. Obtain a business license ($30). A valid West Virginia business registration certificate issued by the State Tax Division, required by 103-7-5.1.b as part of a complete application. Anyone carrying on business activity in West Virginia must register before starting, and the registration fee is $30.00, charged again on each reissue or reinstatement. An inspector moving in from another state will generally need this in hand before the Fire Marshal can act on the application, and the application form also asks for a West Virginia Tax ID number..
6. 6Background check. Complete a background check. A state and national criminal history record check, required by W. Va. Code 15A-10-5(b) and by 103-7-4.1.e: fingerprints examined by the West Virginia State Police Criminal Investigation Bureau and the FBI, with a signed authorization for the examining agencies to release the results. The applicant pays for the fingerprinting and the analysis. The Fire Marshal's office does not process fingerprint cards, so a third-party vendor such as IdentoGo is used, the results are returned to the applicant, and the applicant files them with the application. Fingerprints taken by the Fire Marshal within the previous 36 months may be accepted instead. The application also asks about felony convictions or pleas and pending criminal charges..
7. 7Continuing education. Complete continuing education. 16 continuing education units every year, proved on each renewal under 103-7-6.4. One unit is 1.0 hour for every 50 minutes of instruction, and all of it must relate directly to health, life safety, construction and maintenance of residential properties, on courses the State Fire Marshal approves. The office publishes a provider list but states that it may not include every organization that meets the requirements and invites applicants to ask about a particular course. A certificate lapsed for three years or less is renewed by filing the units for the expired period as well as for the last certified period, and no home inspection work may be done while a certificate is expired..
8. 8Other. At least 80 hours of instruction directly relating to the performance of professional home inspections, taken on a course the State Fire Marshal has approved for West Virginia, plus a high school diploma or its equivalent. The approved course list carries the notice that applicants must take the course specific to West Virginia and names nine providers. This is the education limb of the ordinary route in 103-7-4; the reciprocity rule does not repeat it, and an applicant whose out-of-state credential is accepted as substantially equivalent is asking the Fire Marshal to take that credential in its place. (if applicable).

Published fees on this path total $150, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.