Home Inspection Requirements for Wisconsin

  • Home Inspection Regulated:
    Yes
  • License Type:
    Home Inspector
  • License Renewal Cycle:
    12/14 of even numbered years
  • Distance Education Allowed:
    No
  • Field Training and Experience Required:
    No
  • Experience Required:
    N/A
  • CE Required:
    Yes
  • CE Hours Required:
    20 hrs per year/40 per renewal period
  • CE Distance Education Allowed:
    Yes
  • Pre-Licensing Required:
    Yes
  • Pre-licensing Hours Required:
    40 hrs w/20 hrs hands-on instruction
  • Regulating Body:
    Department of Safety and Professional Services
  • Rules and Regulations:
    Chapter 440.97 subtitle X
  • Exam:
    Two exams required*

Ordinance and Contacts

Applicants for a home inspector license must take and pass the National Home Inspector Examination and an exam on the Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Rules that relate to home inspectors.

Wisconsin Certification ( Chapter 440.97 enacted in 1998

Under Wisconsin’s law, home inspectors must register with the State and pass an examination approved by the Department of Regulation and Licensing. The law instructs the Department to consider the use of an examination modeled after the National Home Inspector Examination. The law also requires that a home inspector perform a “reasonably competent and diligent” inspection; however, the inspection is not required to be technically exhaustive. Home inspectors are prohibited from limiting their liability from damages resulting in a failure to conduct a “reasonably competent and diligent” inspection. Also, inspectors are prohibited from performing repairs, maintenance, or improvements to a structure that they have inspected within the last two years.

For more information, contact the Department of Regulation and Licensing at –

Phone: (608) 266-2112
Fax: (608) 267-0644 fax

Address: 1400 East Washington Ave.
P.O. Box 8935
Madison, WI 53703

Website:  https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/HomeInspector/Default.aspx
WI Home Inspector Application Materials: https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/RulesStatutes/HomeInspectors.aspx

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