| (a) To become licensed as a real estate inspector or professional inspector, a person must satisfy: (1) the education and experience requirements outlined in §1102.108 and §1102.109 of Chapter 1102; or (2) the substitute education and experience requirements established by the commission pursuant to §1102.111. (b) Effective September 1, 2011, a person may satisfy the 90-hour education requirement for licensure as a real estate inspector pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section by completing the following coursework: (1) 10 hours in foundations; (2) 8 hours in framing; (3) 10 hours in building enclosure; (4) 10 hours in roof systems; (5) 8 hours in plumbing systems; (6) 10 hours in electrical systems; (7) 10 hours in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; (8) 8 hours in appliances; (9) 4 hours in Texas Standards of Practice; (10) 4 hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and (11) 8 hours in Texas Legal/Ethics. (c) Effective September 1, 2011, a person may satisfy the 128-hour education requirement for licensure as a professional inspector pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section by completing the following coursework: (1) the courses required for licensure as a real estate inspector in subsection (b) of this section; (2) 8 additional hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; (3) 6 hours in Texas Standards of Practice/Legal/Ethics Update; and (4) 24 additional hours in any core inspection subject(s). (d) For the purpose of measuring the number of inspections required to receive a license or to sponsor apprentice inspectors or real estate inspectors, the commission considers an improvement to real property to be any unit capable of being separately rented, leased or sold. Subject to the following restrictions, an inspection of an improvement to real property that includes the structural and equipment/systems of the unit constitutes a single inspection. (1) Half credit will be given for an inspection limited to structural components only or to equipment/systems only. (2) No more than 80% of the inspections for which experience credit is given may be limited to structural components only or to equipment/systems components only. (3) A report addressing two or more improvements is considered a single inspection. (4) The commission may not give experience credit to the same applicant or professional inspector for more than three complete or six partial inspections per day. No more than three applicants may receive credit for the inspection of the same unit within a 30 day period, and no more than three apprentice inspectors may receive credit for an inspection of the same unit on the same day. (e) For the purpose of satisfying any requirement that an applicant hold a license for a period of time in order to be eligible for a license as a real estate inspector or professional inspector, the commission shall not give credit for periods in which a license was on inactive status. An applicant for a real estate inspector license must have been licensed on active status for a total of at least three months within the 12 month period prior to the filing of the application. An applicant for a professional inspector license must have been licensed on active status for a total of at least 12 months within the 24 month period prior to the filing of the application. (f) Substitute requirements for a real estate inspector license. A person may satisfy the substitute education and experience requirements to become licensed as a real estate inspector as follows: (1) A person who does not have two years of experience as an architect, engineer, or engineer-in-training must: (A) complete a total of 120 hours of core inspection coursework. Effective September 1, 2011, these hours must include the following: (i) 90 hours of coursework as outlined in subsection (b) of this section; (ii) 8 additional hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; (iii) 6 hours in Texas Standards of Practice/Legal/Ethics Update; and (iv) 16 additional hours in any core inspection subject(s); and (B) satisfy the substitute experience requirement by: (i) completing 60 hours of an approved interactive experience training module presented by a licensed professional inspector and submitting a certificate of completion; (ii) accompanying a licensed professional inspector eligible to sponsor for 60 hours of inspections and submitting a letter from the professional inspector certifying that the applicant attended 60 hours of such training; or (iii) having three years of personal experience in a field directly related to home inspection, including but not limited to installing, servicing, repairing or maintaining the structural, mechanical and electrical systems found in improvements to real property and providing two affidavits from persons who have personal knowledge of the applicant's work, detailing the time and nature of the applicant's relevant experience. (2) A person who has at least two years of experience as an active practicing licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training must: (A) complete a total of 104 hours of core inspection coursework. Effective September 1, 2011, these hours must include the following: (i) 90 hours of coursework as outlined in subsection (b) of this section; (ii) 8 additional hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and (iii) 6 hours in Texas Standards of Practice/Legal/Ethics Update; and (B) submit a license history from the regulatory agency that issued the license or registration documenting the period of practice as a licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training. (g) Substitute requirements for a professional inspector license. A person may satisfy the substitute education and experience requirements to become licensed as a professional inspector as follows: (1) A person who does not have three years of experience as an architect, engineer, or engineer-in-training must: (A) complete a total of 328 hours of core inspection coursework. Effective September 1, 2011, these hours must include the following: (i) 128 hours of coursework as outlined in subsection (c) of this section; (ii) 30 additional hours in foundations; (iii) 30 additional hours in framing; (iv) 12 additional hours in building enclosure; (v) 25 additional hours in roof systems; (vi) 25 additional hours in plumbing systems; (vii) 25 additional hours in electrical systems; (viii) 25 additional hours in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; (ix) 6 additional hours in appliances; (x) 8 additional hours in Standards of Practice/Legal/Ethics; (xi) 8 additional hours in Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and (xii) 6 additional hours in any core inspection subject(s); and (B) satisfy the substitute experience requirement by: (i) completing 120 hours of an approved interactive experience training module presented by a licensed professional inspector and submitting a certificate of completion; (ii) accompanying a licensed professional inspector eligible to sponsor for 120 hours of inspections and submitting a letter from the professional inspector certifying that the applicant attended 120 hours of such training; or (iii) having five years of personal experience in a field directly related to home inspection, including but not limited to installing, servicing, repairing or maintaining the structural, mechanical and electrical systems found in improvements to real property, and providing two affidavits from persons who have personal knowledge of the applicant's work, detailing the time and nature of the applicant's relevant experience. (2) A person who has at least three years of experience as an active practicing licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training must: (A) complete a total of 142 hours of core inspection coursework. Effective September 1, 2011, these hours must include the following: (i) 128 hours of coursework as outlined in subsection (c) of this section; (ii) 8 additional hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and (iii) 6 hours in Texas Standards of Practice/Legal/Ethics Update; and (B) submit a license history from the regulatory agency that issued the license or registration documenting the period of practice as a licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training. (h) Not more than two persons may accompany a licensed professional inspector on any inspection used to meet the experience requirement of §1102.111(a) of Chapter 1102. |
