What is a Certified Professional Inspector (CPI)?

InterNACHI's certification requirements page lists six steps, in this order:

1. Pass the Online Inspector Examination.
2. Join InterNACHI.
3. Complete the Code of Ethics course.
4. Complete the Standards of Practice course.
5. Submit four mock inspection reports.
6. Sign the enrollment agreement, an affidavit.

After step six, InterNACHI awards the CPI and calls the member an InterNACHI Certified Home Inspector. The two names go together. InterNACHI says its requirements can change, but existing members need only meet the ones in effect when they joined.

The exam in step one is free and open to anyone with a free InterNACHI login, members or not. It has 120 questions and a 60-minute clock. To pass, you need 80 overall and at least 50 on each of its 14 sections. You take it online at home, and you can retake it as often as you like. For how it compares with the licensing exam most states use, see the InterNACHI exam vs. the NHIE.

The CPI comes with upkeep. These are the rules InterNACHI lists for keeping the title once it's awarded:

InterNACHI's continuing education policy says the 24 hours apply whether or not the member holds a state or province license. Hours count one for one, and up to 24 extra hours roll over into the next year only. Chapter meetings, mentoring another inspector, and courses at other accredited schools count too.

The 12 first-year courses start with Safe Practices for the Home Inspector and 25 Standards Every Inspector Should Know. The other ten cover plumbing, electrical, roofs, HVAC, structure, exterior, attics and interiors, decks, moisture intrusion, and fireplaces and chimneys. They can be taken in any order.

The CPI itself has no fee. InterNACHI says the designation is optional and free to members, and its courses and exams are free to members too.

Membership is the cost. It runs $49 a month or $499 a year, and InterNACHI says there's no contract. The exam is free even before you join. A proctored sitting, which some schools and regulators ask for, carries a $25 proctoring fee. The CNM Community College Assessment Center runs it, in person or online.

37 states license or register home inspectors. In those states the license comes from the state, and the CPI doesn't replace it. InterNACHI says so on its CPI vs. state licensing page: the CPI requirements are likely different from the license requirements. It tells readers to check with their state on course hours, online learning, and field training.

A few states do name association titles. Utah asks for a current certification from ASHI, InterNACHI, or the International Code Council, and its licensing division names the CPI. Montana asks for membership in a national home inspection association, and InterNACHI is one it lists. For the general rule, see home inspector certification vs. license.

InterNACHI says every CPI is also, automatically, a Certified Residential Inspector (CRI) of NAHI, the National Association of Home Inspectors. By InterNACHI's own account, the old NAHI dissolved in December 2016, and InterNACHI's founder now controls its name.

The National Home Inspector Exam (NHIE) counts toward the license in 33 states. It plays no part in the CPI, and InterNACHI accepts no other exam in place of its own. So in a state that requires the NHIE, an inspector who wants both the license and the CPI passes two different exams.

Other titles treat the NHIE differently. ASHI's top title requires it, as what is ASHI explains. The NIBI Certified Inspector title accepts it in place of NIBI's own exam. For the group behind the CPI, see what is InterNACHI. The Certified Master Inspector® designation names no exam at all. For all four common titles in one table, see home inspector certifications compared.