LicensebyState

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

Ohio has reciprocity agreements with 7 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: endorsement.

Ohio home inspector · “Licensed Home Inspector

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Ohio Home Inspector Board (Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing)

Ohio licenses home inspectors statewide, which is the reverse of how the state treats builders: Ohio issues no general or residential building contractor license at all and leaves house building to local building departments, yet since 1 July 2021 nobody may perform a home inspection in Ohio for compensation without a state license. The seven-member Ohio Home Inspector Board sets the standards and the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing issues and renews the licenses, under R.C. Chapter 4764 and Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 1301:17-1. There is one tier and no apprentice, associate or trainee grade to arrive into; an unlicensed person may work only as a supervised candidate completing parallel inspections toward an application of their own. The license is held by the individual, and every licensee carries a commercial or comprehensive general liability policy of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 in the aggregate. Ohio's only examination is the National Home Inspector Examination and the state writes no paper of its own. Licenses run three years, and renewal depends on 14 hours of continuing education a year and on the insurance staying in force.

States Ohio reciprocates with

Every origin state

Reciprocity 7Endorsement 29No credit 14
Every state's path into Ohio
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsement2026-09-17
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-17
ArizonaEndorsement2026-09-17
ArkansasEndorsement2026-09-17
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
ColoradoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
ConnecticutReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
DelawareReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
District of ColumbiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
FloridaEndorsement2026-09-17
GeorgiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
HawaiiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
IdahoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
IllinoisEndorsement2026-09-17
IndianaEndorsement2026-09-17
IowaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
KentuckyEndorsement2026-09-17
LouisianaEndorsement2026-09-17
MaineNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MarylandEndorsement2026-09-17
MassachusettsReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
MichiganNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MinnesotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MississippiEndorsement2026-09-17
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MontanaEndorsement2026-09-17
NebraskaEndorsement2026-09-17
NevadaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
New HampshireEndorsement2026-09-17
New JerseyEndorsement2026-09-17
New MexicoReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
New YorkEndorsement2026-09-17
North CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-17
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-17
OklahomaEndorsement2026-09-17
OregonEndorsement2026-09-17
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-17
South CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-17
South DakotaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
TennesseeEndorsement2026-09-17
TexasReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
UtahEndorsement2026-09-17
VermontEndorsement2026-09-17
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-17
WashingtonEndorsement2026-09-17
West VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-17
WisconsinEndorsement2026-09-17
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17

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