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

New York licenses home inspectors statewide. The Department of State's Division of Licensing Services issues the license under Article 12-B of the Real Property Law, the home inspection professional licensing act, and the rules at 19 NYCRR Part 197, and no one may conduct a home inspection for compensation, or claim to be able to, without it. That is worth saying next to New York's contractor pages, because the two trades are opposites here: New York licenses no general or residential contractor at state level and leaves builders to New York City and other local departments, but home inspection is a single statewide credential with one standard and one examination. The license is personal and issued to an individual, and there is only one grade of it. No apprentice, associate or trainee tier exists, so an experienced inspector arriving from another state applies for exactly the license a New Yorker applies for. A home inspection is defined as observing and reporting in writing on the systems and components of a residential building of one to four dwelling units, and the statute expressly excludes inspecting for radon or pests. Architects and professional engineers regulated by New York, and code enforcement officials acting within their government employment, may perform home inspections without this license, although an architect or engineer who opens a home inspection business must hold it. Licenses run two years, every licensee files proof of general liability insurance with the Secretary of State and keeps it in force, and renewal depends on 24 hours of approved continuing education.