Moving to Kentucky as a home inspector: every state's rule

1. 1Pre-license course. Complete the required pre-license course. A Board-approved pre-licensing course of at least 64 credit hours with a Board-approved provider, covering manufactured housing (2 hours); standards of practice, Kentucky home inspection law and regulations, contracts, report writing and communications (12); exterior, roofing, insulation and ventilation (6); structure and interior (9); electrical and plumbing (9); heating and air conditioning (6); field training (16, no more than 8 of them in a laboratory); general residential construction (3); and environmental hazards and indoor air quality (1). It also includes the three supervised inspections and an exit examination with a passing score set by the provider. Online pre-licensing courses are not accepted. The Board publishes its list of approved providers on its Licensing page, and course fees are set by the providers. You file the completion certificate with your application..
2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. A Board-approved home inspection examination; the one the Board links from its Licensing page is the National Home Inspector Examination, which PSI gives for the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors. You register with the test provider and file your passing score with the application. Kentucky adds no separate state law exam..
3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($225). Paid to the test provider, not to the Board. The Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors lists the NHIE fee as $225 per attempt in most states and says to confirm it when you register. It is charged again for each retake..
4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($250). Nonrefundable $250 fee filed with form KBHI-1, payable by check or money order to the Kentucky State Treasurer. There is no separate fee when the license is issued..
5. 5Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). General liability insurance of at least $250,000 from an insurer authorized to do business in Kentucky, shown on a certificate that lists the Kentucky Board of Home Inspectors as certificate holder and states that cancellation or nonrenewal does not take effect until the Board has at least ten days' written notice. Kentucky does not require errors and omissions insurance or a surety bond..
6. 6Background check. Complete a background check. Two criminal background checks, each completed no more than ninety days before the Board receives your application. The first is a state check: Kentucky residents use the Kentucky State Police name-based check, which costs $20 by check or money order to the Kentucky State Treasurer; nonresidents use a comparable law enforcement agency in their home state. The second is an FBI Identity History Summary requested at edo.cjis.gov, which costs $18 plus any fee charged for taking your fingerprints, and the original hard copy goes in with the application. If the FBI cannot finish within thirty days you may file form KBHI-6 and send the result within fourteen days of receiving it, but not if you have ever had a felony conviction, have had a misdemeanor conviction in the past five years, or have a pending charge..
7. 7Other. If you do not live in Kentucky, check the non-resident box on form KBHI-1 and file form KBHI-8, a consent to jurisdiction: lawsuits arising from your Kentucky work may be brought in the county where the events happened, and you name an agent for service of process in Kentucky or accept the Board as your agent. (if applicable).

Published fees on this path total $475, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.