North Dakota to Arkansas: home inspector license reciprocity

1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($250). Initial registration fee of $250, set by rule 17 CAR 200-510(a)(1)(A) and payable with the application, which is filed through the Board's electronic licensing portal. Fees are not refundable except where the Board consents to a refund petition. An applicant receiving Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF or Lifeline assistance, approved for unemployment within the last twelve months, or with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines can apply for a waiver of the initial fee under the Workforce Expansion Act, with documentation and a signed affidavit..
2. 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($250). Annual renewal fee of $250 under rule 17 CAR 200-510(a)(1)(B), capped by statute at $300 a year. The Board's renewal page currently shows $185, being $250 less a $65 discount, and does not say how long that discount runs, so budget on the rule amount. Every registration expires on December 31 whatever date it was granted, and renewing late costs $50 for each month or part month of delay..
3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. National Home Inspector Examination, the first half of Arkansas's competency examination, taken directly with the test provider. A certified true copy of the result is uploaded with the application. It is not waived on any Arkansas route, including reciprocal registration, but an existing pass counts: scores are valid for five years..
4. 4Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. American Society of Home Inspectors Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics examination, delivered through Pearson, the second half of Arkansas's competency examination. Arkansas has no statute-based licensing examination of its own, but this paper does the same job, because the Board has designated the ASHI Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics as the standards and code of ethics Arkansas home inspectors must follow. Read those standards before sitting it. It is not waived on any route, and a pass is valid for five years..
5. 5Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($100,000). Professional liability or errors and omissions insurance of at least $100,000, evidenced by a certificate of insurance filed at registration and again every year before the policy expires. The certificate must name you personally as the insured rather than your company, because the Board registers individuals; give the local agent's name, business address and telephone number, the carrier, the coverage, the policy number, the start and end dates and the agent's signature, and name the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors at 900 W. Capitol Ave, Ste. 400, Little Rock, AR 72201 as certificate holder. Policies must provide at least ten days' written notice to the Board before cancellation or nonrenewal. Losing cover suspends the registration until it is reinstated or replaced, and the suspension is shown on the Board's public roster. Check that the carrier is admitted or surplus lines approved in Arkansas using the Arkansas Insurance Department's search tool..
6. 6Insurance. Carry the required insurance (if applicable). Workers' compensation insurance where it applies to you, which rule 17 CAR 200-504(b)(2)(E) and Ark. Code 17-52-315(a)(2) both list alongside the liability cover. It turns on whether you employ anyone rather than on the registration itself. Note also that Ark. Code 17-52-315(a)(2) words the filing as general liability insurance of at least $100,000 while Ark. Code 17-52-318 and rule 17 CAR 200-503 both say professional liability or errors and omissions; the Board's published instructions ask for professional liability, so ask the Board before buying a policy that satisfies only one of the two descriptions..
7. 7Other. Home inspection reports submitted as evidence of competence: two if you are registered in a state that regulates home inspectors, four if you come from a state that does not. They are reviewed by the Board rather than by an education provider, and they take the place of the 80 hours of Arkansas qualifying education..
8. 8Background check. Complete a background check. Arkansas does not publish a fingerprint requirement for home inspectors, but an applicant is ineligible if they have pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, any offense on the disqualifying list in rule 17 CAR 200-103(d) and Ark. Code 17-3-102, and an applicant on the automatic registration route must have no complaint, allegation or violation pending for home inspector activity. Anyone unsure whether a past conviction bars them can petition the Board for a prelicensure criminal background check determination before applying; that determination is not subject to appeal..
9. 9Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Fourteen hours of approved continuing education each year, of which at least eight must be mandatory courses, with no single offering shorter than two hours counting. Courses must come from the Board's approved continuing education list, or be submitted individually for credit with a course description and timed outline. Completion certificates are uploaded to your portal account at renewal; attendance verifications are not accepted. The Board may waive part or all of it for debilitating health, hardship or circumstances beyond your control. An inspector renewing after a lapse owes 14 hours for each year or part year expired plus anything outstanding, and must include the ASHI Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics course..

Published fees on this path total $500, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.