How much continuing education do home inspectors need?

Each licensing state sets its own count, its own renewal period, and sometimes its own required topics. These are the rules on the state pages of this site, checked against each state's statute or board in October 2026.

Some states hold off for new licensees. Maryland and Connecticut start the hours at the second renewal, and Wisconsin starts 40 hours at the third. Topic rules also differ. New Hampshire asks for 20 hours every two years, and since July 2024 one of them has to cover building regulations.

Washington's rule on continuing education asks for 24 hours in board-approved courses started within 24 months of the renewal date. A course counts only if it starts after the first license is issued. An approved course can be repeated for credit in a later renewal period. Under the course approval rule, a CE course runs at least two hours, and a clock hour is 50 minutes of actual instruction.

Oregon counts more than classroom time. Its rule on earning CEUs gives one CEU per clock hour of ride-along training for an applicant. It also gives one CEU for going along on a licensed plumbing, electrical, or heating and air conditioning contractor's job of at least four hours, capped at one per trade and three per renewal period. A year as an officer of a home inspector trade association earns one more. The requirement is waived for a period spent on active military duty.

Pennsylvania has no home inspector license. Its Home Inspection Law, Chapter 75 of Title 68, has the inspection in a home sale done by a full member of a national home inspectors association, someone a full member supervises, or a licensed engineer or architect. To qualify, the association has to require continuing education as an ongoing condition of membership. The law sets no hour count, so the association's rule is the one that applies. See the Pennsylvania page for the rest of the law.

Both large associations set their own CE rule on top of any state license.

InterNACHI's policy says the hours apply whether or not the member holds a state license. For what each association asks of new members, see ASHI vs. InterNACHI.

State hours keep a license active. Russ Motyko's view is that the training an inspector picks beyond the minimum is what changes how the work gets done. He suggests three habits:

• Choose topics tied to defects you see often in your market, over a course that repeats what you learned for the license.
• Favor courses with field work or photo case studies over slide lectures.
• Add one specialty course each cycle that can become a service, such as radon measurement or thermal imaging. If the state has approved it, it counts twice: once for renewal and once for the business.

For which specialties pay, see home inspector specializations that pay and whether thermal imaging is worth it.

A renewal asks for proof, so the paperwork matters as much as the hours. These steps keep it simple:

• Put each renewal date on the calendar, with a reminder months ahead.
• Confirm a course is approved in your state before you pay for it.
• Save each completion certificate the day you finish.
• Track hours by state if you hold more than one license.

Spreading courses across the cycle beats cramming them into the last month. The material sticks better, and a missed deadline gets much less likely.