Success 9 min read November 11, 2026

How to Become a Home Inspector in Illinois (2026)

Illinois home inspector license in 2026: a 60-hour course, a 5-inspection field course, the PSI exam, a $250 IDFPR fee, $100,000 liability cover, 12 CE hours.

Binsr Team

How to Become a Home Inspector in Illinois (2026)

Short answer: Yes, Illinois requires a home inspector license, issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). As of September 2026 you complete a 60-hour pre-license course and a separate field course with 5 supervised inspections, pass the Illinois exam through PSI, carry at least $100,000 of general liability insurance, and pay a $250 application fee. Licenses expire November 30 of even-numbered years.

Illinois regulates home inspection under the Home Inspector License Act (225 ILCS 441) and the rules in 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410. Two things stand out: a hands-on field course with its own final exam before you can sit for the licensing test, and a separate license for home inspection companies.

Illinois home inspector requirements at a glance

As of September 2026, from IDFPR's Home Inspection page, the Act and the rules.

Requirement	Illinois
License required	Yes. Home Inspector License. Companies also need a Home Inspector Entity license, with a single-owner exemption
Regulator	Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Real Estate
Pre-license education	60-hour pre-license course from an IDFPR-licensed provider
Field training	Pre-license field course: 5 field inspection events of at least 2 hours each, a final field exam (70% to pass), at least 15 hours in total
Exam	Written licensing exam through PSI. The PSI handbook IDFPR links to describes the NHIE with an Illinois law and rules section
Application fee	$250 (exam fee is separate)
Insurance	General liability of at least $100,000 (225 ILCS 441/5-50)
Other	Age 18 or older; high school diploma or equivalent
Renewal period	2 years. All licenses expire November 30 of even-numbered years. Renewal fee $400
Continuing education	12 hours per 2-year cycle, at least 8 of them mandatory courses, plus sexual harassment prevention training
Reciprocity	License by endorsement if your state's requirements were substantially equivalent when you were licensed

Step by step: getting an Illinois home inspector license

Meet the basics. You must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or an approved equivalent (225 ILCS 441/5-10).
Take the 60-hour pre-license course from a provider on IDFPR's approved list. Both the provider and the course must hold a current IDFPR license.
Complete the pre-license field course. IDFPR's curriculum sets 5 field inspection events at inhabitable residential properties, each at least 2 hours, supervised in person by an Illinois licensee with at least 5 years of experience. You may not take part in an inspection a client is paying for. The course ends with a final field exam, which includes writing a mock inspection report, and you need at least 70%.
Pass the licensing exam through PSI. Your pre-license education stays valid for 2 years after you finish it, and you must sit the exam inside that window (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.150). PSI's candidate handbook allows unlimited attempts during the 2-year eligibility period.
Buy general liability insurance of at least $100,000. The policy must show your name as it will appear on the license.
Apply to IDFPR. Send the application for licensure by examination with your PSI score report, both course transcripts and the $250 fee. IDFPR accepts online payment through ePay.
Set up your company correctly. If you form a corporation, LLC or partnership, it needs a Home Inspector Entity license ($250) and a designated managing licensed inspector, unless it is a single-owner company where you are the only person inspecting (225 ILCS 441/5-5(d)).

What it costs to get started in Illinois

Item	Cost	Source
License application	$250	68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400
Entity license (if you need one)	$250	68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400
Licensing exam	$125 per registration in PSI's handbook (updated December 10, 2024). Check the current figure with PSI	PSI candidate handbook
60-hour course and field course	Set by each licensed provider	IDFPR approved course lists
General liability insurance	Insureon says its home inspector customers pay a median of $45 a month ($545 a year)	Insureon, updated May 27, 2026
Tools and equipment	Varies with what you buy	Not published
Report software	Usually billed per inspector, which matters once your entity hires. Binsr Standard, for example, is $75 per inspector per month	Vendor price

The renewal fee is higher than the application fee: IDFPR charges $400 to renew, every two years. Budget for it from day one.

How long it takes

The fixed pieces are 60 classroom hours and a field course of at least 15 hours. How quickly you finish depends on how often your provider schedules field inspection events. After the exam, IDFPR reviews the application and emails a deficiency notice if anything is missing. The Act gives you 3 years from the date of application to finish the process before the application is denied and the fee forfeited.

One timing detail is worth knowing. Because every Illinois license expires on November 30 of an even-numbered year, your first license period can be short or long depending on when it is issued. IDFPR's 2026 CE fact sheet says a license first issued on or after September 1, 2026 expires November 30, 2028, and no CE is required for that first cycle.

What home inspectors earn in Illinois

BLS does not publish pay for home inspectors alone. The nearest category, SOC 47-4011 construction and building inspectors, also includes municipal and trade inspectors.

BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 47-4011	Illinois	United States
Employment	2,560	146,720
Median annual wage	$78,340	$74,690
Mean annual wage	$80,320	$77,730
10th percentile	$47,600	$47,140
90th percentile	$119,650	$114,200

Illinois pays above the national figure at the median and the top end for this occupation. OEWS does not count self-employed workers, so use these numbers as context, not a forecast. The home inspector salary guide shows how fees and volume drive what an owner-operator takes home.

Keeping your Illinois license: renewal and CE

Renewal date: every license expires November 30 of even-numbered years. A license first issued on or after September 1, 2026 runs to November 30, 2028.
Continuing education: 12 hours per 2-year cycle, at least 8 in courses approved as mandatory, taken from an IDFPR-licensed education provider. The 2026 CE fact sheet also lists sexual harassment prevention training, which can count toward elective hours when taken through an approved provider.
Out-of-state CE: you can apply for credit with a $50 per-course processing fee before your license expires (1410.160).
Fines: Section 15-10.1 of the Act lets IDFPR, by rule, issue citations of up to $2,000 for CE hours not completed by the renewal deadline. A citation does not excuse the missing hours.
Late renewal: an expired license can be renewed within 2 years by paying the lapsed renewal fees plus a $50 late fee.

For how CE works across states, see our continuing education guide.

Illinois specifics: entity licensing, radon and recent changes

Company licensing

Illinois licenses the inspection company as well as the inspector. The entity must name a managing licensed home inspector, who shares responsibility for everyone doing inspections on its behalf. The current text of 225 ILCS 441/5-5(d) exempts a company owned by one licensed inspector, alone or with an unlicensed spouse, as long as that owner is the only person inspecting. IDFPR publishes a single-owner entity verification form for this case. If you plan to hire, read our guide to starting a home inspection business with the entity license in mind.

Radon testing needs a separate IEMA license

Radon has its own disclosure law in Illinois. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act requires sellers to give buyers the state's radon pamphlet and a radon hazard disclosure. Anyone who performs radon measurement for the public must be licensed by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) under the Radon Industry Licensing Act. The path is an approved qualification course, a passing score on an NRPP or NRSB measurement exam, and then an application to IEMA-OHS for a measurement license. See our radon testing guide before you add the service.

Recent changes

The pre-license education rule (1410.150), which requires the 60-hour course plus the field course, was last amended effective February 2, 2024.
Public Act 104-746 (Senate Bill 3897, effective July 31, 2026) moved the Act's sunset date from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2032, so the license program continues. It also reworded the sections on unlicensed practice, the single-owner entity exemption, renewal, endorsement and discipline. It did not change the education, exam, insurance or fee requirements on this page.
With most sections now scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2032, expect the legislature to review the Act again before then.

Associations

ASHI lists NIC ASHI (Northern Illinois) and a multi-state Great Lakes chapter. If you also work across the border, Wisconsin and Indiana both use the NHIE, and Ohio's Board lists Illinois as a substantially similar state for its out-of-state route.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Under 225 ILCS 441/5-5 it is unlawful to act as a home inspector, prepare a home inspection report or advertise as a home inspector without an IDFPR license. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

A 60-hour pre-license course plus a pre-license field course of at least 15 hours that includes 5 supervised field inspections and a final field exam.

A written licensing exam through PSI. IDFPR does not name the NHIE on its page, but the PSI candidate handbook it links to carries EBPHI's NHIE material and lists an Illinois law and rules section worth 8% of the exam. See our national exam guide.

$250 to apply and $400 to renew every two years, plus the exam fee, your courses and your insurance. A company that needs an entity license pays another $250.

November 30 of every even-numbered year. Licenses issued on or after September 1, 2026 run to November 30, 2028.

You can apply for a license by endorsement. IDFPR checks whether your state's requirements and exam were substantially equivalent to Illinois's when you were licensed, and asks for a certification of good standing from each state.

Yes. Radon measurement for the public requires an IEMA-OHS radon license, which is separate from your home inspector license.

Sources and verification

Keep reading

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