To check an Illinois home inspector, search IDFPR’s License Look Up for a Licensed Home Inspector record and confirm it reads Active with an expiration date after your inspection. If the inspector works through a company set up as a corporation, LLC or partnership, look up the company’s Home Inspector Entity license too. Illinois has required both since January 1, 2003, according to IDFPR’s Home Inspector License Act summary.
The date matters this fall. Every Illinois home inspector license expires November 30 of even-numbered years, and in IDFPR’s Professional Licensing data 1,413 of 1,691 active inspector licenses (83.6%) were due on November 30, 2026. At the last deadline, in 2024, about 1 in 4 licenses up for renewal was not renewed, by our count.
At a glance: the license rules from IDFPR and what the state data showed on October 24, 2026.
| Item | Illinois home inspector license |
|---|---|
| Issued by | IDFPR, real estate professions licensing |
| Who needs one | Every home inspector, plus an entity license for a corporation, LLC or partnership |
| To qualify | 60 hours of pre-license education, at least 5 field inspection events and a state exam |
| Renewal | November 30 of even-numbered years; 12 hours of continuing education per renewal; $400 renewal fee |
| Active inspector licenses | 1,691; 1,413 (83.6%) expire November 30, 2026 |
| Not renewed at the 2024 deadline | About 23.8% of licenses up for renewal (our estimate) |
| Ever-disciplined flag | 8.2% of active licenses |
| Active entity licenses | 162; 124 expire November 30, 2026 |
How to check an Illinois home inspector
- Open the IDFPR License Look Up (also linked from IDFPR’s home inspector page) and search by the inspector’s name or license number.
- Pick the Licensed Home Inspector record and confirm the status reads Active.
- Compare the expiration date with your inspection date. An inspection booked in early December 2026 needs a license renewed for the 2026–2028 period.
- If the report or agreement names a company, search that name for a Licensed Home Inspector Entity record as well.
- Check the discipline flag, then search IDFPR’s enforcement actions by name to read any order.
- Match the name and license number on the inspection agreement and report to the lookup.
What 1,691 active Illinois home inspector licenses show
We downloaded every home inspector record (10,224, including entities, education providers and courses) from the IDFPR Professional Licensing data on October 24, 2026 (updated October 23). These are our calculations. The file shows status, dates, address and a yes/no discipline flag; insurance and complaint details are outside it.
- A renewal wave on November 30: 1,413 active licenses (83.6%) expire November 30, 2026. The other 277 already show November 30, 2028.
- About 1 in 4 lapsed last time: 449 licenses that expired November 30, 2024 now read Not Renewed, against 1,439 active licenses first issued before that date. That is about 23.8% of those up for renewal, by our estimate. At the 2022 deadline, 500 lapsed.
- Experience is spread out: the median first issue year is 2018. 393 active inspectors (23.2%) were first licensed before 2010, 771 (45.6%) since 2020, and 143 (8.5%) in the past 12 months.
- Discipline flag: 139 active licenses (8.2%) are flagged as ever disciplined. Among inspector records last changed in the past five years, 34 are suspended, revoked or refused renewal.
- Where they are: Cook County lists 483 active inspectors (28.6%). 96 (5.7%) have an address outside Illinois, led by Wisconsin (26), Indiana (25) and Iowa (19).
- Companies: 162 home inspector entity licenses are active, and 124 of them also expire November 30, 2026.
The renewal rule (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.140) sets the same November 30 date for inspector and entity licenses, and renewal requires proof of the continuing education.
Checklist before you book an Illinois home inspection
- Licensed Home Inspector record Active in the IDFPR lookup, under the name on the agreement.
- Expiration date after your inspection day, especially for inspections in late November and December 2026.
- Entity license Active for the inspection company, if it is a corporation, LLC or partnership.
- Discipline flag checked, and any order read on IDFPR’s enforcement page.
- Proof of insurance and the scope of the inspection in writing before the visit.
- Separate checks for the house itself: open permits, roof work and the roofer’s license.
For the permit side of a purchase, our permit lookup by address guide compares how major places publish records. If the inspection flags the roof, our Illinois roofing contractor license lookup covers the roofer, and our contractor license lookup guide covers other trades and states.
Counts are our calculations from IDFPR’s Professional Licensing data on data.illinois.gov (license type Home Inspector, updated October 23, 2026, downloaded October 24, 2026). The renewal figure compares two groups in the current data and is an estimate. IDFPR’s home inspector summary and the renewal rule checked October 24, 2026.