How To Become A Residential Building Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a residential building inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The purpose of a residential building inspector is to inspect residential buildings for compliance with the established state residential code, health and safety guidelines, and all other applicable codes and regulations. They provide quality and prompt service to contractors and residents requiring permitting and inspection information. They write and distribute correction orders, notices of violation, and stop-work orders.

Also, they maintain inspection records, including written inspection reports. Furthermore, they examine site-building or construction complaints from owners, citizens, or department staff, among others.

To become a residential building inspector, you need at least a high school diploma or GED with at least two years of relevant work experience. You must hold a current residential building inspector certification. You need to have communication, attention to detail, and multitasking skills. Also, you may be required to have a valid driver's license. Their salary ranges from $48,504 to $65,403, with an average base salary of $56,979.

ScoreResidential Building InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,597

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.88%

Asian 3.35%

Black or African American 8.06%

Hispanic or Latino 12.77%

Unknown 5.74%

White 69.19%

Gender

female 12.40%

male 87.60%

Age - 52

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 52

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a residential building inspector

Explore residential building inspector education requirements

Most common residential building inspector degrees

Bachelor's

44.9 %

Associate

25.4 %

High School Diploma

14.5 %

Start to develop specific residential building inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Sketch	39.18%
Windows	10.24%
Plumbing	10.08%
Residential Buildings	9.19%
Inspection Process	8.25%

Complete relevant residential building inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New residential building inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a residential building inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real residential building inspector resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed residential building inspector usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed residential building inspector in most of states. 12 states require residential building inspectors to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Colorado	-	State exam required	Asbestos Building Inspector
Florida	Specific course required	Third-party exam required	Building Code Administrator
Kentucky	Degree required	State exam required	Building Inspector, Level I
Maine	Specific course required	State exam required	Code Enforcement Officer
Michigan	-	-	Inspector, Building

Research residential building inspector duties and responsibilities

Lead site excavations, form structuring, and supervise concrete pours.
Perform residential building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical inspections.
Pass all require residential building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspector exams.
Conduct inspections of newly build or previously own homes, condominiums, town homes, manufacture homes.

Prepare your residential building inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your residential building inspector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a residential building inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable residential building inspector resume templates

Build a professional residential building inspector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your residential building inspector resume.

Apply for residential building inspector jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a residential building inspector job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do residential building inspectors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Residential building inspector reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2021

Pros

It gives me the opportunity to observe and evaluate systems I haven’t seen, and to set my own schedule. I like spontaneous situations so being a home inspector is perfect for my job choice.

Cons

Being a home inspector means at some point, an individual involved with the sell of the property, will try to influence the outcome.