Texas Home Inspector Regulations
This page is intended to help interest individuals learn how to become a home inspector in Texas. When it comes to the home inspection industry, Texas is one of the most regulated states in America.
Texas Real Estate Commission
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating real estate professionals in Texas, including home inspectors. TREC establishes the licensing requirements for home inspectors, ensuring that they meet specific educational, experience, and ethical standards. This includes setting the minimum standards for the qualifying education courses in the state. They are also responsible for administering the state licensing examinations.
Apprentice Home Inspectors in Texas
To become an “Apprentice” home inspector in Texas, applicants must meet a few qualifications set forth by TREC. The qualifications include:
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States or lawfully admitted aliens.
- Be a minimum of 18 years old.
- Be sponsored by a professional inspector.
- Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity.
Interested applicants must file an apprentice license application with TREC and pay the required fee. Before issuing a license, applicants must have fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for a background check. Candidates who cannot pass the background check will not be awarded their license.
After overcoming these obstacles, applicants must provide proof of professional liability insurance, usually fulfilled by their sponsor or inspection firm. Once licensed, apprentices work under their sponsor’s direct supervision, gaining practical experience. This stage is often the first step toward higher license levels, such as Real Estate or Professional Inspector.
Real Estate Inspectors in Texas
To become a Real Estate Inspector in Texas, applicants must meet a few more qualifications than apprentice inspectors. The qualifications include:
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States or lawfully admitted aliens.
- Be a minimum of 18 years old.
- Be sponsored by a professional inspector.
- Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity.
For Current Apprentice Inspectors:
- Have at least three months of active experience as a licensed apprentice inspector within the past year.
- Complete 25 real estate inspections under direct supervision.
- Complete 90 hours of specific courses.
Substitute Experience & Education
- Complete 154 hours of specific courses and a Texas Practicum.
Once the qualifications are met, candidates mail their application for a Real Estate Inspector License and the required fee to TREC, including education and experience documentation. As before, fingerprints and a background check are required.
Real Estate Inspector Licensing Exam
The examination requirement for a Real Estate Inspector license in Texas consists of a national exam and a state exam.
In order to take the national licensing examination, applicants must have completed the following courses:
- Property & Building Inspection I
- Property & Building Inspection II
- Business Operations and Professional Responsibilities
In order to take the state licensing examination, applicants must have completed the following courses:
- Texas Standards of Practice
- Texas Practicum
After meeting the experience and education requirements, candidates will be sent an exam approval notice. The notice comes with instructions for scheduling the exam and accessing a copy of the exam Candidate Handbook.
At that point, applicants must submit proof of professional liability insurance. This provides coverage for violations of Texas Occupations Code.
Professional Home Inspectors in Texas
To become a Professional Home Inspector in Texas, applicants must meet the following qualifications:
- Be a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien.
- Be a minimum of 18 years old.
- Meet TREC’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity.
For Current Real Estate Inspectors:
- Have at least 12 months of active experience as a licensed real estate inspector within the past two years.
- Complete 175 real estate inspections under indirect supervision.
- Complete 134 hours of specific courses.
Substitute Experience and Education:
- Complete 154 hours of specified coursework and the 40-hour Texas Home Inspector Practicum.
Applicants submit proof of education and experience to TREC and receive exam approval. After passing the exam, inspectors must provide proof of financial responsibility before starting work.
Choosing a Qualifying Home Inspector Education Provider in Texas
Texas has only 12 approved qualifying home inspector schools. With a little research, you can learn a lot about them.
For example, two of the schools are almost impossible to find. Even extensive online searches fail to help access information about the schools.
Of the remaining ten schools, three are not based in Texas. This creates challenges for offering the required practicum course. Coordinating ride-alongs from another state could be problematic. Also, why would someone want to learn about Texas inspections from instructors in Wisconsin? Students should consider the drawbacks of attending out-of-state schools.
Seven approved home inspector schools operate within the state of Texas. In-state schools are better equipped to provide practicum courses without issues.
Some schools offer classroom instruction. Others provide online courses or both options. One school offers “Correspondence” courses. Correspondence courses are self-paced programs that rely on textbooks rather than online resources.
Texas Home Inspector Qualifying Education Standards
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) sets an 80% passing rate as the standard for qualifying education providers. In short, schools should help at least 80% of their students pass licensing exams. Schools that fall below this standard face probation.
TREC’s website highlights some troubling statistics. Currently, only one school in Texas meets the 80% passing rate. That school boasts a 100% passing rate, but only one student from the school has taken the exam. Shockingly, no school even reaches a 70% passing rate. Only two schools have more than 60% of their students passing the exams. Two schools haven’t had a single student pass. Five schools fail to help 60% of their students succeed. Overall, the passing rate for approved Texas schools is 58.75%.
As a newest qualifying education provider, The Inspection Academy is not included in this data. However, these statistics inspired us to design The Inspection Academy with an improved educational design.
Traditional Home Inspector Education Providers
Who typically starts home inspector schools? The truth about qualifying home inspector schools is that home inspectors themselves start these programs. They likely mean well, but how much do inspectors know about education?
The data shows that home inspectors lack expertise in curriculum development. Unfortunately, the schools were not designed to help students learn and retain critical information. Instead, they focus on meeting TREC’s minimum approval requirements.
TREC sets basic standards for education providers. These standards focus on covering specific topics and spending a set amount of time on them. Schools must prove they cover all required topics, usually through textbooks or lecture notes. They also need to show that students spend a set number of hours on the material.
For example, a 40-hour class meets the time requirement if students attend for 8 hours a day over five days. Instructors then present material from 500-page textbooks. Students rarely retain enough of the information covered in such a short period of time.
Even worse, students cannot retake classes until they grasp the material. Once a school delivers the required class, their obligation ends. Sadly, this system fails to educate nearly half of Texas’s home inspector students.
This is also the reason there are so many companies selling a variety of study aides. A quick online search will reveal an abundance of companies offering sample tests and flash cards.
Why should a student pay thousands of dollars to attend a school that leaves them needing to purchase additional resources?
An Effective Home Inspection Education
A licensed professional home inspector in Texas, with a master’s degree in education, designed and developed The Inspection Academy. Our curriculum was designed using the principles of Adult Learning Theory, Instructional Design Models and an iterative approach.
This is important for potential students to understand. We know how to take students from not knowing about a subject to having a deep understanding of it. A series of purposeful steps helps accomplish this. Understanding the steps, their purpose and their effects on adult learners are what set us apart from the other qualifying education providers in the state.
Furthermore, our courses are always under development. We analyze data from our students’ activities to identify what works and what needs improvement. After all, we started The Inspection Academy with one goal: to help 100% of our students pass their licensing exam on their first attempt. To achieve that goal, we continuously review and improve our curriculum.
If you are considering pursuing your home inspector license in Texas, do your research. In the end, your best option is to enroll in a school developed by someone with expertise in Instructional Design.
Think about it. Would you hire a teacher to inspect your home? Why would you hire an home inspector to help your learn an abundance of information?
Until now, people did not have another option. You now have the ability to compare home inspector qualifying education programs. Now there is a better option. Join The Inspection Academy and experience the difference.
Because we are a new school, we are offering 25 new students a 25% discount on tuition. If you want to be one of the next 25 students to pass the licensing examination, enroll now. Your new career is closer than you think.
