Building inspector vs. home inspector

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts both jobs in one group, construction and building inspectors. Its job profile says home inspectors may spot building code violations but have no authority to enforce compliance. Building inspectors enforce it, most often for a city, county, or state.

BLS puts the median pay for the whole group at $74,690 in May 2025, and says local government employs 36% of it. For home inspector pay alone, see how much home inspectors make.

The International Code Council writes the International Codes, such as the International Residential Code, and gives certification exams on them. Two cover building inspection:

Both are open book and cost $320 each in the ICC store. You can test online through ICC's remote proctoring. An ICC certification lasts 3 years and renews with continuing education. ICC calls its certifications voluntary, so one is not a license by itself. Florida's state certification uses the ICC technical exam, as the next section shows.

The NHIE is the opposite in two ways: it is closed book, and it covers inspecting a house as it stands, not checking new work against a code.

Florida certifies building code inspectors and plans examiners through the Florida Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board, part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The law is Chapter 468, Part XII.

Under section 468.609, you must be 18 and meet one of seven routes. Two examples: 4 years of combined experience in construction, inspection, or plans review; or an approved training program of 200 to 300 hours plus 2 years of experience. You then pass two exams: the ICC technical exam and Florida's Principles and Practice exam, given by Pearson VUE, with 70% to pass.

A provisional certificate lets you work while you finish. It is good for 2 years, and no longer than 3 years in total. A building code administrator needs 10 years of combined experience, 5 of them as a supervisor.

The Florida home inspector license is a different law, Chapter 468, Part XV, with a 120-hour course and its own exam. See Florida for that path.

We found no Texas statute that sets a statewide building inspector license. Texas Local Government Code section 214.212 adopts the International Residential Code and lets each city set its own procedures for enforcing it. It names no inspector qualification, so the hiring city sets the requirements for the job.

Two Texas credentials are often mixed up with it. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation registers code enforcement officers, but calls that a title act, not a practice act. Its training covers zoning, nuisances, and housing. Plumbing inspectors are different: Texas law says no one may serve as one without a license from the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.

Texas home inspectors are licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission, with the NHIE plus a Texas section. See Texas.

North Carolina certifies building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire inspectors through the Code Officials Qualification Board, in the Department of Insurance. The Office of State Fire Marshal handles the applications.

Certificates come in Levels I, II, and III, set by the size and type of building. Every level covers one- and two-family homes. You take a 15-hour Law and Administration course plus the course for your area and level. For building, that is 48 hours for Level I and 40 each for Levels II and III, at a community college. Each level's exam takes 70% to pass.

The certificate is tied to the job. State law says it is valid as long as you are employed by the state or a city or county. A new inspector can start on a probationary certificate, which lasts 3 years and cannot be renewed.

North Carolina's home inspector license comes from a different board, the Home Inspector Licensure Board, with its own exam. See North Carolina.

If your goal is to inspect homes for buyers, you want the home inspector path, not the building inspector one. Start with how to become a home inspector, then your state's page. For what the license exam covers, see the National Home Inspector Exam guide.