Licensing: 225 ILCS 441 Articles 1 and 5, Part 1410 Subparts A, B and E 59
A first license is issued 60 days before the renewal deadline. What continuing education is due for that term?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.140(f)
A license expires while its holder is on active duty with the Armed Forces. What is waived at renewal?225 ILCS 441/5-16(c)
A license has been expired for 3 years. What does Section 5-16(b-5) of the Act allow?225 ILCS 441/5-16(b-5)
A licensed entity falls out of good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State. What happens to its license?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.110(e)(3)
A licensee moves. How soon must the Department be told of the new address of record?225 ILCS 441/1-12
A licensee owes a fine from a disciplinary matter. When may the license still be renewed?225 ILCS 441/5-16(e)
A licensee pleads guilty to forgery. How soon must the Department be told?225 ILCS 441/5-10(c)
A person is convicted a second time of practicing home inspection without a license. What is the offense?225 ILCS 441/5-5(a)
The Act defines a home inspection as an examination made in connection with what?225 ILCS 441/1-10
Show all 134 questions (125 more)
Licensing: 225 ILCS 441 Articles 1 and 5, Part 1410 Subparts A, B and E, continued
After receiving a passing examination score, how long does an applicant have to apply for the license?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.100(d)
An applicant withdraws an application a week after paying the fee. What does the rule say about the fee?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400(f)(1)
An entity loses its authority to transact business. How soon must it notify the Division?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.110(e)(2)
An LLC is owned only by a licensed home inspector and that inspector's unlicensed spouse. Does it need an entity license?225 ILCS 441/5-5(d)
An owner hires a remodeler to estimate repair costs. The remodeler needs no home inspector license, provided what?225 ILCS 441/5-5(c)(3)
As a condition of licensure, what must a home inspector entity designate?225 ILCS 441/5-12
The Division emails a notice to a licensee's email address of record, and it lands in a spam folder. When is service complete?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.230(b)
For how long after it expires may a license still be renewed with late fees and the missed education?225 ILCS 441/5-16(b)
For how long after the last report delivered must an inspector keep the required insurance?225 ILCS 441/5-50(d)
For how long is completed pre-license education valid?225 ILCS 441/5-25
For how long may a license be placed on inactive status?225 ILCS 441/5-16(g)
How does the Act describe the examination an applicant must pass?225 ILCS 441/5-10(a)(4)
How early before the expiration date may a license be renewed?225 ILCS 441/5-16(a)
How long does an applicant have to complete the application process?225 ILCS 441/5-10(d)
How many credit hours of pre-license instruction must an applicant complete before the examination?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.150
How many field inspection events does the pre-license field course include?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.150
How many hours of continuing education are due in each 2-year renewal cycle?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.160(a)
How many licensure candidates may one inspector supervise in a single field inspection event?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.10
How many of the continuing education hours must be mandatory courses?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.160(a)
How much does Section 1410.400 charge to apply for a first license as a home inspector?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400(a)(1)
May a home rule city run its own home inspector licensing program?225 ILCS 441/25-30
May a licensee with an inactive license perform home inspections?225 ILCS 441/5-16(i)
On what date is the Home Inspector License Act scheduled to be repealed unless the General Assembly extends it?225 ILCS 441/1-10
To whom is the fee for the written examination paid?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400(f)(3)
Under Section 5-10(b), which part of an applicant's criminal history is off limits to the Department?225 ILCS 441/5-10(b)(3)
Under Section 5-16(b-5) of the Act, after how long expired must a former licensee meet the requirements of a new license?225 ILCS 441/5-16(b-5)
Under the Act, a home inspection covers how many of the listed components of residential real property?225 ILCS 441/1-10
What does it cost to renew a home inspector license that has expired?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400(b)(3)
What does it take to move a license from inactive back to active?225 ILCS 441/5-16(h)
What happens to an application that is not completed in the time the Act allows?225 ILCS 441/5-10(d)
What is "residential real property" under the Act?225 ILCS 441/1-10
What is the fee to renew a home inspector license?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.400(b)(1)
What is the least general liability insurance an applicant or licensee must maintain?225 ILCS 441/5-50(a)
What is the minimum age for a home inspector license?225 ILCS 441/5-10(a)(2)
What is the processing fee to claim credit for a continuing education course taken in another state?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.160(d)
What may an address of record NOT be?225 ILCS 441/1-10
What may the Department waive for an inspector licensed in a state with substantially equivalent requirements?225 ILCS 441/5-20
What must an endorsement applicant submit from each state where the applicant is licensed?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.120(a)(3)
What must the insurance policy submitted with an application show?225 ILCS 441/5-50(c)
What offense is a first instance of acting as a home inspector without a license?225 ILCS 441/5-5(a)
What schooling must an applicant have completed?225 ILCS 441/5-10(a)(3)
When do Illinois home inspector licenses expire?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.140(a)
Which agency is "the Department" that licenses Illinois home inspectors?225 ILCS 441/1-10
Which business needs no separate home inspector entity license?225 ILCS 441/5-5(d)
Which of these is a component named in the Act's definition of a home inspection?225 ILCS 441/1-10
Who answers for the actions of an entity's unlicensed employees when it provides a home inspection?225 ILCS 441/5-12
Who is a "home inspector" under the Act?225 ILCS 441/1-10
Who is exempt from the licensing requirement?225 ILCS 441/5-5(c)(1)
Who may supervise a candidate's field inspection event?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.10
Whom must a home inspector entity's general liability insurance cover?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.235(b)
A buyer asks the inspector whether to go through with the purchase. How does the Act treat an answer?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(18)
A buyer's attorney asks the inspector for a copy of the report. What does the inspector need first?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(g)
A crawl space named in the contract was blocked and could not be inspected. What must the report do?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(5)(C)
A seller offers to pay the inspector for the same inspection the buyer already paid for. When may the inspector accept?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.300(d)
After a roof inspection, what does Section 1410.200(i) put in the report besides a description of the covering?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(i)(2)
An inspector also sells repair services for the homes inspected. What must come before the inspection?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(20)
An inspector cuts open drywall to see a pipe without asking anyone. What does the Act say?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(19)
An inspector holds an interest in the home to be inspected. What does the rule require?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.300(g)
An inspector leaves a home inspector entity. How soon must the managing home inspector notify the Division?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(e)
An inspector prints the insignia of a home inspection organization on a business card without being a member. What is that?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(15)
Are household appliances included with the property part of an Illinois interior inspection?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(n)(1)
At what point must inspector and client have an executed written contract in place?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(d)
Besides the signer's name and signature, what license details must the report carry?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(b)
The Department asks for an inspector's records. How soon must they be produced?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.240(d)
During an inspection the inspector finds a condition that threatens safety and needs emergency action. Who must be told?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.300(c)
For a system reported as significantly deficient, what must the report say besides the reason?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(5)
How may a system or component be excluded from an inspection?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(f)(3)
How soon after the completed inspection must the written report go to the client?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)
In the Illinois definitions, what is a "shut down" system?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(b)(21)
In what format must the record of home inspections be kept?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.240(c)
May a home inspection report be delivered in electronic format?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(1)
May a home inspector give a gift to a licensed real estate broker for each referral?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(30)
May an inspector use a client's inspection results in advertising?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(h)
May the report use photos of the systems and components?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(4)
What must the contract list about the home itself?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(d)(6)
What must the contract say about the Standards of Practice?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(d)(5)
When must limitations or exclusions of the systems being inspected be disclosed to the client?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.300(i)
When the electrical system is inspected, the report covers non-compliance with which Illinois laws?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(k)(4)
When the structure is inspected, which of these must be reported?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(g)(4)
Which advertising claim does the Act prohibit?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(28)
Which inspection assignment may a home inspector NOT accept?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(11)
Which item must the written contract contain?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(d)(4)
Which of these is unprofessional conduct under Section 1410.300?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.300(m)
Which of these must an Illinois home inspection report state?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(3)
Which two facts about the water heater belong in an Illinois report?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(j)(2)
Who adopts the standards of practice Illinois home inspectors must follow?225 ILCS 441/10-5
Who may sign a home inspection report on behalf of a home inspector entity?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(c)
Whom may a licensed home inspector entity use to conduct home inspections?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.250(a)
Whose name need NOT appear in the report?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(e)(6)
Whose signatures does the written contract need?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.200(d)(7)
With no court case involved, how long must contracts and inspection reports be kept?225 ILCS 441/10-10
Discipline and enforcement: Articles 15 and 25, 1410.320 to 1410.420 34
A circuit court finds a licensee subject to involuntary admission under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. What is the effect on the license?225 ILCS 441/15-10(g)
A cited licensee proves within the time allowed that the hours were finished before the renewal deadline. What becomes of the citation?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.375(a)
A cited licensee wants to dispute a citation. How long is there to request a hearing?225 ILCS 441/15-10.1(b)
A court finds that a licensee illegally discriminated while doing licensed work. After notice and a hearing, what must the Department do?225 ILCS 441/15-11(a)
A court holds an inspector liable for fraud. In the disciplinary case that follows, what may the inspector do?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(13)
A licensee who lives outside Illinois seeks judicial review of a Department decision. Where is venue?225 ILCS 441/15-20(d)
A licensee's check to the Department is returned unpaid. What penalty fee is added to the amount owed?225 ILCS 441/15-55
A suspended home inspector has served the full term. What can still block restoration of the license?225 ILCS 441/15-65
A written request for information arrives from the Department. Past how many days is silence a ground for discipline?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)(16)
After a citation is served, how long does the licensee have to show compliance and pay the fine?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.375
After a temporary suspension without a hearing, how soon must a hearing be held?225 ILCS 441/15-25
After notice of charges is served, how long does the person have to file a written answer under oath?225 ILCS 441/15-15
The Department issues a rule to show cause why a cease and desist order should not be entered. How long is there to answer?225 ILCS 441/15-60(d)
Does the Act give a home buyer a private right of action to enforce it?225 ILCS 441/15-36
During an investigation, what must a licensee give the Division on request?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.320(a)(1)
Evidence shows that public safety imperatively requires emergency action against a home inspector. Whose order suspends the license before any hearing?225 ILCS 441/15-25
How delinquent in child support must a licensee be before the Department may act on a certification of delinquency?225 ILCS 441/15-10(f)
How does the rule treat an administrative warning letter?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.320(c)
How far ahead of the hearing date must the Department give written notice of the charges?225 ILCS 441/15-15
How long after an alleged violation may action be commenced against a licensee?225 ILCS 441/15-30
How soon after the order takes effect must a civil penalty for unlicensed practice be paid?225 ILCS 441/15-5(c)
Into which fund are fees, fines and penalties under the Act deposited?225 ILCS 441/25-5(a-5)
The returned check and its penalty stay unpaid 30 calendar days after notice. What does the Department do?225 ILCS 441/15-55
Under what law does a court review the Department's final administrative decisions?225 ILCS 441/15-20(a)
What changes with a third citation for missing continuing education?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.375(d)
What does the notice of charges warn will happen if no answer is filed?225 ILCS 441/15-15
What is the largest fine the Department may impose for each violation?225 ILCS 441/15-10(a)
What is the largest penalty a continuing education citation may carry?225 ILCS 441/15-10.1(a)
What is the non-disciplinary fine for a first citation for missing continuing education?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.375(d)
What may the Department compel for an investigation or hearing?225 ILCS 441/25-27(a)
Which of these is a public record under Section 15-70?225 ILCS 441/15-70
Who may ask a court to stop a person from practicing home inspection without a license?225 ILCS 441/15-60(b)
Who may grant a variance from Part 1410?68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410.420
Whom does the Secretary appoint as the direct liaison between the Department and home inspectors?225 ILCS 441/25-15
How this list was compiled: Home Inspector License Act, 225 ILCS 441, as amended by Public Acts 104-746 (effective July 31, 2026) and 104-852 (effective August 21, 2026), on the Illinois General Assembly's site (https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=1359&ChapterID=24), and 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1410, Home Inspector License Act, as amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 2424, effective February 2, 2024 (https://www.ilga.gov/agencies/JCAR/EntirePart?titlepart=06801410), both read on October 16, 2026. For the format of the examination only: the candidate bulletin linked from the Department's home inspector page (https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/homeinspect.html), updated December 10, 2024, read the same day. Each question names its section and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the Act and the rules. Nothing comes from an examination, a candidate bulletin's sample questions, a course provider, a prep course or a question pool.
How it works
This unofficial Illinois home inspector exam practice covers one part, Illinois Law and Rules: 134 of our own questions on 225 ILCS 441 and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1410. Not affiliated with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Read the full guide
What the questions cover
The Home Inspector License Act with its 2026 amendments, and Part 1410 of the rules: who needs a license, education and renewal, insurance, the written contract, the report and its deadline, records, unprofessional conduct, citations and discipline.
What is left out
Building science, analysis and reporting, and business operations. The candidate bulletin gives those three parts 92 percent of the examination, and they come from the national examination, not from Illinois law.
The written report is due within 2 business days after the inspection, with the start time and the weather (Section 1410.200).
Licenses expire November 30 of even-numbered years; renewal takes 12 hours of continuing education (Sections 1410.140, 1410.160).
Contracts and reports are kept 5 years (225 ILCS 441/10-10).
Questions and answers
What is on the Illinois home inspector exam?
The candidate bulletin linked from the Department's page, updated December 10, 2024, lists four parts: Building Science 34 percent, Analysis and Reporting 38 percent, Business Operations 20 percent, and Illinois Law and Rules 8 percent.
How many questions are on the Illinois home inspector exam?
The bulletin describes the national examination Illinois uses as 200 multiple choice questions in four hours, 25 of them unscored. It is scale scored from 200 to 800, and 500 passes.
How much does the Illinois home inspector exam cost?
The bulletin and the Department's license fact sheet give an examination fee of $125, paid to the testing vendor. The bulletin sets a 30-day wait between attempts. The license application is a further $250 (Section 1410.400).
What do you need before taking the Illinois home inspector exam?
Be 18 with a high school education and finish a 60-hour pre-license course and a field course of 5 field inspection events with a final field examination. The education is valid for 2 years (225 ILCS 441/5-10, 5-25; Section 1410.150).
Does this practice test cover the whole Illinois exam?
No. It covers Illinois Law and Rules only. The 50-question test offered here is this site's own round on that part and copies no real examination.