Home inspectors · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania home inspectors: no state license, but a state law
Pennsylvania issues no home inspector license. Its Home Inspection Law sets who may inspect in a sale, what the report must say and the insurance an inspector carries.
Who may inspect
- No state license
- Pennsylvania has no state home inspector license; a home inspection in a sale contract must be done by a full member in good standing of a national home inspection association.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Other qualified inspectors
- A licensed engineer or architect may also inspect, as may someone supervised by a full member who signs the report.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Association entry bar
- A qualifying national association admits full members only after more than 100 inspections and a recognized exam.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Insurance required
- Home inspectors must carry errors and omissions and general liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in total.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Liability limits void
- A contract clause limiting an inspector's liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct is void.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- One year to sue
- A claim over a home inspection report must be filed within one year of the report's delivery.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Repair ban, radon excepted
- Inspectors may not sell repairs on a house they inspected in the past 12 months, but the ban does not cover radon remediation.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
What the inspection and report cover
- What an inspection is
- A home inspection is a paid, noninvasive visual check of a home's mechanical, electrical, plumbing or structural systems, looking for material defects before a sale.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- What it excludes
- Checks limited to items such as air and water quality or environmental hazards are not home inspections under the law, so a radon test alone is not one.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Report must state scope
- The written report must describe the scope of the inspection and the systems it covers.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- Defects flagged
- The report must describe material defects found and clearly flag any that pose an unreasonable risk to people.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
- No warranty
- The report must state that it gives no warranty and does not cover hidden defects.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
Radon testing needs DEP certification
- Placing a test device
- Anyone who places and retrieves a radon test device for someone else, such as a home inspector in a sale, must hold DEP testing certification.Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, read October 15, 2026
- Certification required by law
- Under the Radon Certification Act, only people certified by the state may test for radon or mitigate it in a building in Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026
Sources
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026.
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, read October 15, 2026.
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, read October 15, 2026.
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