Did you know that not all contractors have the credentials they claim to have, including inspectors?  This raises the question as to how to check on the credentials of the person providing your inspection services.  Aside from state licensing agencies, it appears there is little in the way of tools to quickly and cheaply verify a contractor’s credentials.  Although may list them such verification is often not provided by trade associations or business affiliation and, thus, relies on a buyer’s own due diligence to investigate.

If you Hire an Engineer
If you hire an engineer to provide your inspection as an engineer then they should be licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and should be able to provide you with a license number.  In Texas, an individual cannot hold themselves out as an “Engineer” or provide “Engineering Services” without a valid license or without a firm registration.  The board has set up access to a search tool on their web site which allows you to check the existence and status of an individual or company’s licensure status.  These credentials can be verified online at:

Search Texas Board of Professional Engineers Licensure

If you Hire a TREC Inspector
If you have hired an inspector licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission, you can visit their site and do a search for your inspector based upon their license number.  This will give you information on the status of a TREC inspector’s license.  If you have interest, you can also do a search of Realtor license numbers.  When doing your search be sure you select the correct search database with the options selection since Realtor and inspector databases are searched independently.  Incorrectly selecting a box will result in a blank search result.

Search TREC Licensure (page is slow)

Be careful of how an individual’s credentials are presented.  There are some TREC inspectors who may claim they have an engineering background or a degree in engineering, with no way to verify this information.  If an individual does not claim to be an “engineer” but only claims to have engineering education, they can elude the engineering boards’ interest.  There is no easy way to verify education credentials without doing a costly background check, and most schools in Texas do not appear to directly verify attendance or to pursue those who may misrepresent their school record.  Some degreed engineers will keep a copy of their transcripts for review, but I suspect this is rare.