Oregon Standards Of Practice For Home Inspectors
This is a summary of your rights and responsibilities when having
a home inspection done by an Oregon certified home inspector
• Part 1 explains home inspector certification and registration and
the role of the Construction Contractors Board.
• Part 2 explains the general requirements and limitations of an
inspection.
• Parts 3 and 4 are the Standards of Practice and Behavior that
list what an Oregon certified home inspector must, may and cannot do.
PART 1: WHO NEEDS TO BE CERTIFIED AND REGISTERED
AND HOW THE CCB CAN HELP
Oregon law requires individuals who perform home inspections of two
or more components to be certified by the Oregon Construction Contractors
Board (CCB) starting July 1, 1998. (Example: an inspection of a roof, the
electrical system and the plumbing system would be three components.)
Individuals who bid or offer to do this kind of inspection must
also be certified.
An individual must pass a comprehensive test to become certified
and must complete continuing education courses to renew his/her certification.
Each certified home inspector must be an owner or an employee of a business
registered with the CCB.
Registration and certification do not guarantee quality of work or
mean the inspector will not make a mistake. Registration offers some financial
protection for you, the customer.
To check out a home inspection business, first get the business’
registration number. CCB businesses are required to show their registration
number on individual’s business cards, in written contracts and inspection
reports, and in all newsprint and phone directory advertising.
Call the CCB to determine if the registration is active and if there
are any open claims filed against the business. You can also find out if
the person performing the home inspection is certified to do so.
Businesses that perform home inspections register with the CCB as
a General Contractor. This means they have a $10,000 bond and either a
$100,000 or $500,000 liability insurance policy. (A few registered general
contractors are allowed to do home inspections without being certified.
You can get this information from the CCB when you call to check on a business.)
The CCB provides consumer protection and regulates the home inspection
industry. When disagreements occur between consumers and home inspection
businesses, the CCB may be able to help.
Homeowners may file claims with the CCB if they think a registered
home inspection business has done negligent or improper work or breached
a contract. If your contract contains an arbitration clause, you may still
file a claim but the CCB may suspend its claims process to allow arbitration
to occur. The CCB may send a mediator/investigator to the site to
look at the claim issues and try to resolve the dispute. If the dispute
continues, the Construction Contractors Board offers a hearing process
to determine the validity of the claim and whether damages are due the
claimant.
You may file a CCB claim against a registered home inspection business
within one year of the inspection being performed. The CCB can process
claims only against registered businesses and only when there is a direct
contract between the claimant and registrant or when the claimant purchased
real estate conditioned upon the registration.
Claims filed against unregistered businesses or home inspection businesses
using uncertified individuals to perform inspections are sent to the CCB’s
Enforcement Section, but will probably not result in direct benefit to
the claimant. The CCB receives more than 1,200 calls a day. If you reach
a recording, please leave a message.
• To check if the business is registered and if individuals can legally
do inspections, call the CCB at 503-378-4621 ext. 4900.
• To request a claim packet, call 503-378-4621 ext. 4974.
• To ask general claims questions, call 503-378-4621 ext.4910.
• To request a free copy of a Looking for a Home Inspector? Here’s
What You Need to Know brochure, or this document, call 503-378-4621 ext.
4974.
• To order publications and for other information about CCB services,
visit http://www.ccb.state.or.us.
Mailing address: PO Box 14140, Salem, OR 97309-5052.
Location: 700 Summer St. NE, Suite 300, Salem.
Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Mark Pierce
Oregon Certified Home Inspector
Office: 800-995-4063 
Cell:503-757-7784
OCHI #345-NIBI
#143902RT-PCO #153495-WSDA WDO #61752
