Home Inspector job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

10

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$74,690

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Construction and Building Inspectors (O*NET-SOC 47-4011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Approve building plans that meet required specifications. importance 4.5 of 5
2. Review and interpret plans, blueprints, site layouts, specifications, or construction methods to ensure compliance to legal requirements and safety regulations. importance 4.5 of 5
3. Issue permits for construction, relocation, demolition, or occupancy. importance 4.3 of 5
4. Monitor installation of plumbing, wiring, equipment, or appliances to ensure that installation is performed properly and is in compliance with applicable regulations. importance 4.2 of 5
5. Inspect and monitor construction sites to ensure adherence to safety standards, building codes, or specifications. importance 4.1 of 5
6. Confer with owners, violators, or authorities to explain regulations or recommend remedial actions. importance 4.1 of 5
7. Measure dimensions and verify level, alignment, or elevation of structures or fixtures to ensure compliance to building plans and codes. importance 3.9 of 5
8. Maintain daily logs and supplement inspection records with photographs. importance 3.8 of 5
9. Conduct inspections, using survey instruments, metering devices, tape measures, or test equipment. importance 3.7 of 5
10. Train, direct, or supervise other construction inspectors. importance 3.6 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Communicating with People Outside the Organization and Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Monitor construction activities to ensure that environmental regulations are not violated.
• Evaluate project details to ensure adherence to environmental regulations.
• Inspect facilities or installations to determine their environmental impact.
• Examine lifting or conveying devices, such as elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, hoists, inclined railways, ski lifts, or amusement rides to ensure safety and proper functioning.
• Conduct environmental hazard inspections to identify or quantify problems, such as asbestos, poor air quality, water contamination, or other environmental hazards.
• Estimate cost of completed work or of needed renovations or upgrades.

Knowledge areas: Building and Construction, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Customer and Personal Service and Design.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Autodesk AutoCAD, Intuit QuickBooks. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists 5 years or more of work experience in a related occupation as typical.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a home inspector.

In O*NET's data, “high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged)” and “post-secondary certificate” were reported equally often (36% each) by O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation, so no single level is the most common.

Job title: Home Inspector
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Home Inspector to inspect structures using engineering skills to determine structural soundness and compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Approve building plans that meet required specifications.
- Review and interpret plans, blueprints, site layouts, specifications, or construction methods to ensure compliance to legal requirements and safety regulations.
- Issue permits for construction, relocation, demolition, or occupancy.
- Monitor installation of plumbing, wiring, equipment, or appliances to ensure that installation is performed properly and is in compliance with applicable regulations.
- Inspect and monitor construction sites to ensure adherence to safety standards, building codes, or specifications.
- Confer with owners, violators, or authorities to explain regulations or recommend remedial actions.
- Measure dimensions and verify level, alignment, or elevation of structures or fixtures to ensure compliance to building plans and codes.
- Maintain daily logs and supplement inspection records with photographs.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists 5 years or more in a related occupation as typical; adjust to this role]
- Strength in reading comprehension, critical thinking and active listening
- Working knowledge of Building and Construction and Public Safety and Security
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $74,690 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $35.91. BLS estimates about 146,720 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Construction and Building Inspectors to show no change from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,800 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full home inspector salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real home inspector posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Approve building plans that meet required specifications”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only home inspector work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and critical thinking); home inspector interview questions turns them into practice questions.