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How to become a home inspector in North Dakota

To become a home inspector in North Dakota, you register with the Secretary of State. You need to be 18, pass an exam from EBPHI (the NHIE), ASHI, InterNACHI, or the ICC, and carry $100,000 of errors and omissions insurance.

NHIE acceptedChecked on . Updated

North Dakota at a glance

North Dakota at a glance
ItemNorth Dakota
ExamA home inspection exam from EBPHI (the NHIE), ASHI, InterNACHI, or the ICC
EducationNone required
Field workNone required
InsuranceErrors and omissions of at least $100,000, covering all home inspection work
OtherAge 18. No background check or fingerprints.
Application fee$200
Renewal$50 every year, received by June 30. No continuing education.

The licensing body is the North Dakota Secretary of State, Home Inspectors. Fees and rules change, so check them with the state before you pay for anything.

Steps to a North Dakota registration

  1. 01

    Pass one of the four approved exams and keep a copy of the result.

  2. 02

    Buy errors and omissions insurance of at least $100,000 and get a certificate.

  3. 03

    Fill out registration form SFN 54381.

  4. 04

    Mail the form, exam proof, insurance certificate, and $200 to the Secretary of State in Bismarck.

Keeping the registration

Every registration expires June 30. The renewal, form SFN 58339 with $50 and current insurance proof, has to reach the office by June 30. A postmark does not count. If it is late, the registration is canceled and you start over at $200.

The 2024 registration form still lists a fifth exam, from the National Association of Home Inspectors. A 2021 law removed it, and the law and the Secretary of State's page list four.

Exams North Dakota accepts

North Dakota's law names four organizations, not four exams. Ask the Secretary of State which exam it accepts from each.

Licensing exams for North Dakota
ExamGiven byFormatFeeTo pass
National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE)PSI200 questions, 4 hours$225500, scaled from 200 to 800
InterNACHI Online Inspector ExaminationInterNACHI, online120 questions, 60 minutesFree ($25 proctored)80, and 50 on each section
An ASHI examNot statedNot statedNot statedNot stated
An ICC examICCNot statedNot statedNot stated
  • National Home Inspector Examination (NHIE). Content outline.
  • InterNACHI Online Inspector Examination. Open book. No source says whether the free, unproctored version counts. Content outline.
  • An ASHI exam. ASHI's own titles use the NHIE, and no separate ASHI licensing exam was found.
  • An ICC exam. The law does not say which ICC exam counts.

How long it takes in North Dakota

North Dakota asks for no education or field work. You pass one of four approved exams, buy $100,000 of errors and omissions insurance, and register with the Secretary of State. North Dakota sets no minimum time; the exam and insurance are the floor.

Home inspector pay in North Dakota

BLS puts the median pay for construction and building inspectors in North Dakota at $78,570 a year in May 2025, against $74,690 for the whole country. BLS counts about 180 people in that job in the state, and home inspectors are one specialty in the group, next to city and county code inspectors.

The number leaves out the self-employed. An inspector who owns the business is self-employed, so that pay isn't in it. For what owners report, see how much home inspectors make.

North Dakota next to the other states

  • NHIE required
  • NHIE accepted
  • State exam only
  • License, no exam
  • No state license
  • Adds a state section

North Dakota is ringed. Each square opens that state's page.

More on the exam

Questions people ask

Does North Dakota use the NHIE?

The NHIE is one of four exams North Dakota accepts. The others come from ASHI, InterNACHI, and the ICC.

Do I need a course to be a home inspector in North Dakota?

No. North Dakota asks for no course, experience, or background check. You need the exam, insurance, and the fee.

Do I have to live in North Dakota to register?

No. The law has no residency rule, and inspectors from neighboring states are on the registration list.

How long does it take to become a home inspector in North Dakota?

North Dakota asks for no education or field work. You pass one of four approved exams, buy $100,000 of errors and omissions insurance, and register with the Secretary of State. North Dakota sets no minimum time; the exam and insurance are the floor.

How much do home inspectors make in North Dakota?

BLS publishes no separate figure for home inspectors. It counts them with construction and building inspectors, whose median pay in North Dakota was $78,570 a year in May 2025. That figure leaves out the self-employed, which includes an inspector who owns the business.

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Becoming a home inspector

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