Nevada

Nevada Home Inspector

Nevada home inspectors are governed by the State Real Estate Division, a division of the Department of Business and Industry. It is the governing board of the state's real estate industry. The division regularly refers to a home inspector as an inspector of structures, or an IOS. The board also governs the regulations for credible and complete home inspections.

In order to be an IOS for the state of Nevada, certain guidelines must be followed. Candidates must first hold a high school diploma or its equivalent. They must provide proof of completion of a minimum of 40 hours in instruction in subjects related to structural inspections in courses that are approved by the division. They then must take and pass an in-class final examination.

Candidates must also show proof of passing a national exam approved by the division. They must submit a log of a minimum of 25 hours of observation of inspections performed by a certified general or certified master inspector or an instructor approved by the division.

With an application, a candidate must also submit a "fingerprint card," which is a complete set of fingerprints that a candidate must have previously obtained from a law enforcement agency or from a vendor authorized by the division. This fingerprint card needs to be submitted with the application, along with a money order or cashier's check for $51.25 made payable to the Department of Public Safety. The candidate is also responsible for any fees the law enforcement agency or vendor charges for their services. The card will be sent to the Nevada Criminal History Records Repository as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Finally, proof of insurance is needed for a complete application package. The information provided must contain the applicant's personal name on the insurance binder. Insurance coverage must contain 100,000 errors and omissions insurance as well as a minimum of 100,000 general liability insurance. A fee of $100 is collected with the application. In addition to the application fee, $250 must be paid for the actual IOS certificate issuance.

Recertification of an IOS certificate must be applied for every two years and costs $250. Throughout these two years, an IOS must have completed 20 hours of continuing education in the field, including three hours of safety and two hours of law as approved by the division.

While there are no certain state forms needed by a Nevada home inspector for the home inspection, the division has posted guidelines that must be followed, outlined in the Nevada Administrative Code as 645D.460 and 645D.580, respectively. The first section covers expectations of professional conduct of home inspectors while the latter outlines specific details of what home inspections should include.