From the March 2023 article, Are Home Inspectors Regulated (Licensed) in Hawaii?, it is highly recommended to hire certified Home Inspectors.
BY OSCAR LIBED
What is Certification vs. Licensing?
A Certification verifies that a professional has met a certain set of criteria for a skill or job as measured by a third-party assessment, usually a non-government body like a Trade Association.
For Home Inspectors, there are 2 national trade associations offering Certifications: ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) and NACHI (National Association of Certified Home Inspectors). They provide Standards of Practice for conducting Home Inspections and a Code of Ethics.
A License is verification by a government agency that a professional can perform a particular occupation in a particular location, such as a certain State.
Which states do not require a home inspection license to perform home inspections?
14 states do not require a license to perform home inspections.
They are California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming.
Why worry?
Excerpt from the Hawaii State Auditor’s Report No. 19-09 dated March 2019:
“Although certification programs are offered to home inspectors in Hawaii, we found indications that there are an undetermined number of non-certified individuals who are conducting home inspections in the State.”
So, in order to prevent this problem, view the list of active members in ASHI and NACHI as of October 2023.
For any questions on this topic, please call Oscar Libed of Inspect Hawaii at 808-728-5707 or send an email to oscar@inspecthawaii.com
