Oklahoma to Washington: home inspector license reciprocity

1. 1Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. The Washington state portion of the home inspector examination — 24 questions in one hour, testing Washington laws and rules for home inspector licensing, with a scaled score of 70 required to pass. This is the part RCW 18.280.180 never waives: every inbound licensee sits it. The examination is delivered by PSI, at a test center or under remote proctoring, once the Department has verified your eligibility and issued an approval letter. A passing score is valid for one year, and the license must be obtained within that year or the examination is taken again. You may retake it after 24 hours' notice to the vendor and a 30-day wait, with no limit on attempts..
2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). The national portion — 175 questions in three hours, on general home inspection practice, scaled score of 70 to pass. Washington's national portion is the National Home Inspector Examination, produced by the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors, which RCW 18.280.080 contemplates when it lets the board adopt an exam prepared by a national entity and requires a Washington-specific section to be added to it. It is marked optional here because the out-of-state route under WAC 308-408A-040 removes it: a qualifying inbound licensee sits the state portion alone. Anyone who does not meet the two-in-four-years test takes both portions. Note that the waiver runs off your out-of-state license rather than off a previous NHIE score, and the Department publishes no way to transfer a result from another state's sitting..
3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($125). Examination fee, paid to the testing vendor when you schedule. Washington's published schedule is $125 for the state portion only, $250 for the national portion only and $300 for both, so an inbound licensee approved to sit the state portion alone pays $125 where a new applicant pays $300. Re-examination is charged at the same rates. The fee is not refundable or transferable, and it is forfeited if you do not test within one year of the vendor receiving it. Payment is by card, e-check, cashier's check, certified check, money order or voucher..
4. 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($720). First home inspector license, set by WAC 308-408A-090 and covering both the application and the initial license. It is paid after you pass, with a copy of your pass report, either online through a SecureAccess Washington account or by check or money order to the Department. Printing a copy of the license from your own account is free; a mailed copy costs $5..
5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($415). License renewal, due every two years. The license expires on your second birthday following issuance, so the first term is often shorter than two full years and only the second is a full cycle. The Department mails a renewal notice about 60 days ahead. Late renewal costs $485 in total, which is the $415 renewal plus a $70 penalty. A license not renewed within one year of expiration is canceled, and reinstatement within two years of cancellation costs a further $150 penalty on top of the back fees, plus 24 hours of coursework completed in the preceding year including at least three hours on Washington home inspector law..
6. 6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. 24 clock hours of instruction in courses approved by the Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board, every two years, as a condition of renewal. The hours must be commenced within the 24 months before your renewal date and cannot be commenced before your first license is issued. Washington is strict about the source: unused hours do not carry over into the next period, continuing education from another profession does not count, and continuing education taken in another state does not count unless the course itself was approved by the Washington program. Approved courses may be repeated in later renewal periods, but instructors earn no credit for teaching or developing a course. Renewal carries an attestation, and a false attestation is a disciplinary matter..
7. 7Other. The education and training an inbound licensee does not repeat: an approved Fundamentals of Home Inspection course of at least 120 clock hours, which Washington requires be taken in a classroom rather than online, plus 40 hours of field training on actual inspection sites supervised by a licensed inspector with at least four years of licensure, including at least five complete home inspections with a written report for each, reviewed and certified by the supervisor as compliant with the standards of practice. Travel, meals and report-writing time do not count toward the 40 hours. Both must be completed within the two years before the examination application. WAC 308-408A-050 also lets the director substitute equivalent higher-education coursework, with 60 hours of fundamentals plus a supplemental course able to meet the 120. (if applicable).
8. 8Insurance. Carry the required insurance (if applicable). Washington requires none. The Department answers the question directly: there is no requirement to obtain insurance or to be bonded to be a home inspector, and neither chapter 18.280 RCW nor chapter 308-408A WAC imposes errors and omissions cover, general liability cover, a surety bond or any financial responsibility test. Cover is a commercial decision here rather than a licensing condition, which is unusual for this trade and worth weighing against what RCW 18.280.120 already puts on you: you and your company may do no work other than inspection-related consultation on a house you inspected for one year from the date of the report..

Published fees on this path total $1,260, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.