Texas Register

TITLE 22 EXAMINING BOARDS
PART 23TEXAS REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
CHAPTER 535GENERAL PROVISIONS
SUBCHAPTER RREAL ESTATE INSPECTORS
RULE §535.212Education and Experience Requirements for a License
ISSUE 03/01/2019
ACTION Final/Adopted
Preamble No Rule Available

(a)Educational Requirements for a Real Estate Inspector License. To become licensed as a real estate inspector a person must satisfy the 90-hour education requirement for licensure 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.

(b)Educational Requirements for a Professional Inspector License. To become licensed as a professional inspector, a person must satisfy the 130-hour education requirement for licensure by completing the courses required for licensure as a real estate inspector in subsection (a) of this section; and

  (1)8 additional hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing;

  (2)8 additional hours in non-elective coursework in legal, ethics, SOPs, and report writing as defined in §535.218 of this title; and

  (3)24 additional hours in any qualifying inspection subject(s).

(c)Experience Requirements. To meet the experience requirements for licensure 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:

  (1)An inspection of an improvement to real property that includes the structural and equipment/systems of the unit constitutes a single inspection.

  (2)The Commission may not give experience credit to the same applicant or professional inspector for more than three 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.

  (3)An applicant for a real estate inspector license must have:

    (A)been licensed as an apprentice inspector on active status for a total of at least three months within the 12 month period before the filing of the application; and

    (B)completed 25 inspections.

  (4)An applicant for a professional inspector license must have:

    (A)been licensed as a real estate inspector on active status for a total of at least 12 months within the 24 month period before the filing of the application; and

    (B)completed 175 inspections.

(d)Substitute Experience Requirements for a Real Estate Inspector License.

  (1)A person may satisfy the substitute experience requirements for licensure as a real estate inspector as follows:

    (A)complete a total of 32 additional hours of qualifying inspection coursework, which must include the following:

      (i)8 hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing;

      (ii)8 hours in non-elective coursework in legal, ethics, SOPs, and report writing as defined in §535.218 of this title;

      (iii)16 hours in any qualifying inspection subject(s); and

    (B)complete:

      (i)20 hours of field work through ride-along inspection course sessions as defined in §535.213(g) of this title; and

      (ii)12 hours of an approved interactive experience training module.

  (2)Exceptions. The Commission may award substitute experience credit to an applicant who has not met the additional qualifying course requirements under this subsection if:

    (A)the applicant:

      (i)has three years of 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

      (ii)provides to the Commission two affidavits from persons who have personal knowledge of the applicant's work, detailing the time and nature of the applicant's relevant experience; or

    (B)The applicant:

      (i)has at least two years of experience as an active practicing licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training and has completed 16 additional hours of qualifying inspection coursework, which must include the following:

        (I)8 hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and

        (II)8 hours in non-elective coursework in legal, ethics, SOPs, and report writing as defined in §535.218 of this title; and

      (ii)submits 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.

(e)Substitute Experience Requirements for a Professional Inspector License.

  (1)A person may satisfy the substitute experience requirements for licensure as a professional inspector as follows:

    (A)complete a total of 200 additional hours of qualifying inspection coursework, which must include the following:

      (i)30 hours in foundations;

      (ii)30 hours in framing;

      (iii)24 hours in building enclosure;

      (iv)24 hours in roof systems;

      (v)16 hours in plumbing systems;

      (vi)24 hours in electrical systems;

      (vii)24 hours in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems;

      (viii)6 hours in appliances;

      (ix)8 hours in non-elective coursework in legal, ethics, SOPs, and report writing as defined in §535.218 of this title;

      (x)8 hours in Standard Report Form/Report writing; and

      (xi)6 hours in any core inspection subject(s); and

    (B)complete:

      (i)40 hours of field work through ride-along inspection course sessions as defined in §535.213(g) of this title; and

      (ii)24 hours of an approved interactive experience training module.

  (2)Exceptions. The Commission may award substitute experience credit to an applicant who has not met the additional qualifying course requirements under this subsection if:

    (A)the applicant:

      (i)has five years of 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

      (ii)provides to the Commission two affidavits from persons who have personal knowledge of the applicant's work, detailing the time and nature of the applicant's relevant experience; or

    (B)The applicant has:

      (i)at least three years of experience as an active practicing licensed or registered architect, professional engineer, or engineer-in-training, who has completed a total of 16 additional hours of qualifying inspection coursework, which must include the following:

        (I)8 hours in Texas Standard Report Form/Report Writing; and

        (II)8 hours in non-elective coursework in legal, ethics, SOPs, and report writing as defined in §535.218 of this title; and

      (ii)submits 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.

(f)For purposes of this section:

  (1)"qualifying inspection coursework" means course work on the subject matters listed in §535.213(e) of this title; and

  (2)"interactive experience training module" means education that provides regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, either synchronously or asynchronously, and is delivered:

    (A)in-person to students in the classroom; or

    (B)through the use of one or more of the following technologies:

      (i)the internet;

      (ii)one-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communications devices;

      (iii)audio conferencing; or

      (iv)video cassettes, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassettes, DVDs, or CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in clauses (i) through (iii) of this subparagraph.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 13, 2019

TRD-201900513

Kerri Lewis

General Counsel

Texas Real Estate Commission

Effective date: March 5, 2019

Proposal publication date: December 7, 2018

For further information, please call: (512) 936-3092



Next Page Previous Page

Link to Texas Secretary of State Home Page | link to Texas Register home page | link to Texas Administrative Code home page | link to Open Meetings home page