Home Inspection in Oregon
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Oregon · every field verified 2026-08-12<br>Home inspection in Oregon<br>A buyer, a seller, an agent and an inspector all need the same answer about the same rule.
Certification, permits, seller disclosure, the 2025 wildfire rule change and the inspections<br>Oregon houses actually need. One maintained reference, cited to the agency that writes the rule.
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SB 83 · Oregon Laws 2025 ch. 590<br>Oregon's wildfire rules changed, and most of the web hasn't caught up.
SB 83 repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map along with the building requirements,<br>defensible-space obligations and the disclosure question attached to it, and voided the<br>Department of Forestry hazard designations outright.
Section R327 survives as a local option , applying to new construction only,<br>and it is pinned by statute to the 2023 code edition. Six Oregon jurisdictions have adopted<br>it. Two of them do not appear on the state's own published list.
Open the R327 adoption tracker Read the full explainer
Adoption, by status<br>Adopted and in effect 6<br>Cannot adopt locally 7<br>Not adopted 5<br>No adoption record found 41
Jurisdictions with no local building department cannot adopt R327 at all. Absence of a<br>record is not the same as a decision not to adopt, and the tracker never conflates them.
Statewide<br>The Oregon record
Every field below carries its own source and its own verification date. Where a number is<br>still being traced to rule text rather than to a training provider, the field says so<br>instead of guessing.
Full statewide hub →<br>The two step<br>Certification and licensure are separate, cumulative steps, both at the CCB. ORS 701.445(1) states it in one sentence: an individual may not undertake, offer to undertake or submit a bid to do work as a home inspector unless the individual is certified by the Board AND is an owner of, or employed by, a business that is licensed by the board.<br>ORS 701.445(1) ↗<br>2026-08-05
Who must be certified<br>triggerInspecting TWO OR MORE of ten categories, for a fee, with a written report.<br>reachThe duty attaches to bidding and offering, not only performing.<br>The two-or-more threshold is precise and widely misstated. A single-system specialist, for example a roof-only or sewer-only inspector, may fall outside the certification requirement. Worth stating carefully on the type pages.<br>OCHI Consumer Notice; OAR 812-008-0205 through 812-008-0214 ↗<br>2026-08-07
Eligibility points<br>minimum20<br>rule last amendedCCB 1-2015, effective 2015-10-01<br>drafting artifactOAR 812-008-0040(3)(d) cross-references approved providers under 812-008-0074(2), but providers are actually approved under 812-008-0074(3).
OAR 812-008-0040(1)(d); OCHI Certification Application p.6 ↗<br>2026-08-05
Exam<br>nameNational Home Inspector Examination<br>administratorPSI, at seven Oregon locations<br>fee$225<br>format200 multiple-choice questions, four hours<br>ruleOAR 812-008-0050 names the exam and its sponsor (EBPHI) but states NO passing score. Do not publish a passing score.<br>grandfatheringExams passed before 2015-10-01 remain usable. Inspectors certified before 2015-10-01 are exempt from the exam requirement.
secure.sos.state.or.us ↗<br>2026-08-07
Fees<br>ochi application$150<br>ochi renewal$150<br>ochi cycleTwo years from the certification date<br>ccb business licence initial$400<br>ccb business licence renewal$400<br>ccb licence noteInitial application $400 from 2025-07-01; two-year renewal $400.<br>Initial application $400 from 2025-07-01; two-year renewal $400. Present exam, certification and BUSINESS LICENCE together. The $400 licence line is the one training-provider content consistently omits, because it belongs to the step they skip.<br>oregon.gov ↗<br>2026-08-12
Continuing education<br>hours30<br>unitcontinuing education units (CEUs)<br>cycleEach two-year renewal<br>corroborationOCHI Certification Application p.2, Oregon Secretary of State License Directory entry 631<br>exemption from general ceHome inspector certificate holders are EXEMPT from the regular CCB residential continuing education requirements.<br>military waiverCE is waived entirely if the inspector served on active duty in the US armed forces during the two-year period. OAR 812-008-0070(2).
OAR 812-008-0070(1)(c) ↗<br>2026-08-05
Ride along distinction<br>findingThe single CCB ride-along form has TWO separate boxes for two entirely different things, and they are routinely blurred.<br>consequenceAt most 3 of the 30 CEUs can come from trade-contractor ride-alongs. Hosting CEUs appear uncapped.<br>formhttps://www.oregon.gov/ccb/Documents/OCHI%20CE%20Ride-Along.pdf
oregon.gov ↗<br>2026-08-05
Standards of practice<br>locationOAR chapter 812, Division 8<br>range812-008-0200 through 812-008-0214<br>index urlhttps://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/displayDivisionRules.action?selectedDivision=3593<br>ccb full text pdfhttps://www.oregon.gov/ccb/Documents/Home%20Inspection%20Standards.pdf<br>scope framingOAR 812-008-0203: inspections undertaken in...