November ended our 2019 school year. Class 23 saw bright future inspectors score 90% and higher on their final exams. After 120 hours of classroom education our students are on the path to their new careers. Are you thinking about joining us in a 2020 class? Here are the basic steps you need to take to get your Washington State home inspection license.
Attend 120 hour course “Fundamentals of Home Inspection”
Classroom education is your first and most intense step towards obtaining your license. (see upcoming classes here) Washington state requires that every candidate must attend 120 hours of in-person education. Our sessions are held every 6-8 weeks. Each class is 12 days long and lasts 10 hours a day. There is a wealth of information.
40 Hours of Field Training
The next step is to train in the field with a qualified home inspector. At SOPHI, we provide every graduate with a list of successful, highly trained, professional inspectors who provide on the job, hands-on training. Many of these inspectors started out in our classroom and have thriving businesses.
Fill out 5 Inspection Reports
Report writing is a vital key to completing your inspector training. You must fill out 5 reports and get them signed and reviewed by the inspector/s who trained you in the field. These reports are for you to practice your report writing skills. The more thorough you are and the more you practice writing reports, the better prepared you are for the future. We provide every student a free demo copy of the Digital Inspection Assistant, this allows them to complete the five reports required.
Submit and Schedule
After you have completed the above steps, you apply to sit for the Home Inspector Exam. Once everything is approved, you will set the date to take your exam.
Your first step toward becoming a Licensed Home Inspector in Washington State is to download the “Candidate Handbook”. This outlines the eligibility requirements to receive your Home Inspection License in addition to valuable information about passing the exam.
Take your Exam
Your exam is the determining factor to determine whether or not you will become a licensed inspector. The test questions are chosen at random from a pool of thousands. To ensure your success in this final step, you must be confident and prepared. SOPHI has many online quizzes and resources to assist you in your test prep and studies. (Take the practice exam here) Make sure you are scoring well on these practice tests consistently before you schedule your state exam. Once you pass, you are then able to obtain your home inspector license.
Obtaining your License
This final step solidifies all the hard work you have put in over the past several weeks or months. You will be assigned a license number. This number will not change. Make sure to put your license number on your business cards, any other advertising materials, and all documents pertaining to a home inspection.
Maintaining your License & Education
Washington state requires that every inspector must take 24 hours of continuing education credits every two years. These continuing education credits can be obtained online as well as by attending conferences and classes that have been approved by the department of licensing for continuing education credits.
Now that you know the steps to success, we invite you go online or call us to register for the upcoming 2020 school year! We hold classes every 4-6 weeks on average and our school has one of the highest pass rates in the state. It all starts by knowing the steps to success.
