How to Become a Home Inspector in Louisiana (2026)

Short answer: Louisiana requires a Home Inspector License from the Louisiana State Board of Home Inspectors (LSBHI). After a State Police background check, you complete 90 hours with a board-approved provider, 30 hours of platform training and 10 live inspections with an approved in-field trainer, a report writing seminar and the National Home Inspector Examination. You then carry $300,000 each of E&O and general liability and apply with a $200 fee.

Louisiana asks a lot of new inspectors. It sets $300,000 insurance minimums, three times the Texas figure, it requires hands-on training with a board-certified trainer, and it charges a $5 state fee on every inspection you perform. Everything below is as of November 2026 and comes from the LSBHI's licensing pages and its Professional and Occupational Standards and Standards of Practice, both dated August 2025.

Louisiana home inspector requirements at a glance

How to get licensed in Louisiana, step by step

The LSBHI sets the order. Step 1 comes first, step 2 comes next, steps 3 to 6 can be done in any order, and the application is always last. Everything must be finished within 36 months of starting.

1. Get a Louisiana State Police background check. Apply through the State Police fingerprint system, pay its costs and mail the results to the LSBHI. The check expires 365 days after issue, so do not do it too early. If anything in your history worries you, the board asks you to call before starting any education.
2. Complete 90 hours with an approved provider. The LSBHI publishes its list of approved providers, which includes online and classroom options. The board's rules say a trainee must first apply with the board before registering for the course work, then tell the board which provider and start date. Ask the LSBHI how that trainee filing fits with the final license application.
3. Pass the NHIE. The LSBHI says the exam costs $225 and you arrange it yourself.
4. Complete in-field training. The rules say this comes after the 90 hours. It is 30 hours of platform training plus 10 live home inspections, where a fee is paid and a report goes to a client, with an LSBHI-approved in-field trainer. The board lists approved trainers by name.
5. Attend the Report Writing Seminar. Since January 1, 2007 every applicant must attend the Standards of Practice and Report Writing Seminar given by an LSBHI-approved provider. The board's calendar lists dates.
6. Buy insurance. You need at least $300,000 a year of errors and omissions cover and $300,000 of general liability, each with a deductible of no more than $5,000. The LSBHI must be the certificate holder, and your insurer sends the certificate to the board directly.
7. Apply to the LSBHI. Create an account in the board's portal, upload your documents and pay the non-refundable $200 application fee.

What it costs to get started in Louisiana

Budget for the insurance early. At $300,000 each, Louisiana's minimum limits are three times the $100,000 that Texas and Arkansas require.

How long it takes

The board gives you 36 months from the start to finish everything, but most people move much faster. The 90-hour course is about two and a half weeks full time. The 10 live inspections depend on your trainer's schedule, since each one must be a real, paid inspection. The seminar runs on set dates. Remember that your background check is only good for 365 days, so plan the whole sequence inside a year.

What inspectors earn in Louisiana

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not publish a figure for home inspectors alone. It counts them inside construction and building inspectors (SOC 47-4011), a group that includes municipal building, electrical and plumbing inspectors. OEWS figures also exclude self-employed workers.

Louisiana's median is below the national figure, but its 10th percentile is slightly above it. For a self-employed inspector, the numbers that matter are your fee, your volume and your costs, including that $5 per-inspection fee. Our home inspector salary guide explains the BLS data.

Keeping your Louisiana license

Licenses renew every year and expire one year after the last day of the month they were issued. The board wants renewal forms at least two weeks before expiration. To renew you need:

• Continuing education. A first-time renewal needs at least 30 hours. After that, 20 hours a year in board-approved courses, with no more than 10 hours carried over to the next year.
• A sample report. The rules require a copy of a completed inspection report from the previous licensing period with each renewal. Client name, phone, email and fee can be removed.
• The $100 renewal fee and current insurance.

If you miss the deadline you can renew within 12 months by paying the renewal fee plus a $100 delinquent fee. After 12 months you must also pass the licensing exam again. After 36 months you must also retake the 90 hours, the 10 hours of in-field training and the seminar. Any inspection done while expired is a violation.

What is specific to inspecting in Louisiana

A $5 state fee on every inspection. Under LSBHI rule 117, each home inspection carries a $5 state inspection fee. You file an Inspection Reporting Form through the board's monthly reporting system by the 15th of the following month, even in a month with no inspections, and pay what is due. Late filing costs $25 plus $5 per inspection, and three or more late filings in a calendar year can lead to suspension. The board notes you may pass the $5 on to the client if you tell them.

Mold is in the standards. Louisiana's Standards of Practice require you to report the presence of suspected mold or microbial growth if you see visually observable evidence of it while inspecting.

Termites need a different license. The standards say you are not required to report on wood-damaging organisms, but you may note damage and recommend "further inspection by a licensed wood destroying insect inspector."

No repair solicitation. You may not advertise or offer to repair anything you reported as deficient in your inspection.

The Welcome Home Act. If you have held an active home inspector license in another state for at least one year, are in good standing and can prove Louisiana residency, you may qualify for a Louisiana license under Act 253. The board asks you to contact it for details.

Associations. ASHI has a Louisiana chapter that meets quarterly. Membership is optional; the LSBHI license is what lets you work.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• How to become a home inspector
• Home inspector license requirements by state
• How to become a home inspector in Texas
• How to become a home inspector in Arkansas
• How to start a home inspection business

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