Florida SB 360: Traveling Across County Lines to Commit a Burglary

Bill Text

360 
Home Inspectors 
2025-11-04T05:29:04Z 
Revising elements of the required course of study for home inspectors; revising home inspector disclosure requirements; requiring home inspectors to maintain an errors and omissions insurance policy in a specified amount, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 360 

 By Senator Martin 

 33-00203B-26 2026360__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to home inspectors; amending s. 
 3 468.8313, F.S.; revising elements of the required 
 4 course of study for home inspectors; amending s. 
 5 468.8314, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made 
 6 by the act; amending s. 468.8316, F.S.; revising 
 7 continuing education requirements for home inspectors; 
 8 amending s. 468.8321, F.S.; revising home inspector 
 9 disclosure requirements; amending s. 468.8322, F.S.; 
 10 requiring home inspectors to maintain an errors and 
 11 omissions insurance policy in a specified amount; 
 12 revising the required amount of general liability 
 13 insurance coverage home inspectors must maintain; 
 14 providing an effective date. 
 15 
 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 17 
 18 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 468.8313, Florida 
 19 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 20 468.8313 Examinations.— 
 21 (2) An applicant may practice in this state as a home 
 22 inspector if he or she passes the required examination, is of 
 23 good moral character, and completes a course of study of at 
 24 least 150 120 hours that covers all of the following components 
 25 of a home: structure, electrical system, HVAC system, roof 
 26 covering, plumbing system, interior components, exterior 
 27 components, and site conditions that affect the structure. The 
 28 course of study must also cover state insurance inspections, 
 29 wind mitigation, four-point inspections, and roof 
 30 certifications. A minimum of 8 hours must cover the basics of 
 31 the Florida Building Code and a minimum of 8 hours must cover 
 32 report writing, including a practical component. 
 33 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 468.8314, Florida 
 34 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 35 468.8314 Licensure.— 
 36 (3) The department shall certify as qualified for a license 
 37 by endorsement an applicant who is of good moral character as 
 38 determined in s. 468.8313, who maintains an insurance policies 
 39 policy as required by s. 468.8322, and who: 
 40 (a) Holds a valid license to practice home inspection 
 41 services in another state or territory of the United States, 
 42 whose educational requirements are substantially equivalent to 
 43 those required by this part; and has passed a national, 
 44 regional, state, or territorial licensing examination that is 
 45 substantially equivalent to the examination required by this 
 46 part; or 
 47 (b) Has held a valid license to practice home inspection 
 48 services issued by another state or territory of the United 
 49 States for at least 10 years before the date of application. 
 50 Such application must be made either when the license in another 
 51 state or territory is active or within 2 years after such 
 52 license was last active. 
 53 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 468.8316, Florida 
 54 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 55 468.8316 Continuing education.— 
 56 (1) The department may not renew a license until the 
 57 licensee submits proof satisfactory to the department that 
 58 during the 3 2 years before application for renewal the licensee 
 59 completed at least 20 14 hours of continuing education. Of the 
 60 20 14 hours, at least 4 2 hours must be in hurricane mitigation 
 61 training that includes hurricane mitigation techniques and 
 62 compliance with the uniform mitigation verification inspection 
 63 form developed under s. 627.711(2) and at least 2 hours must be 
 64 in Florida Building Code requirements. The department shall 
 65 adopt rules establishing criteria for approving continuing 
 66 education providers and courses. 
 67 Section 4. Section 468.8321, Florida Statutes, is amended 
 68 to read: 
 69 468.8321 Disclosures.—Before Prior to contracting for or 
 70 commencing a home inspection, a home inspector shall provide to 
 71 the consumer a copy of his or her license or license number to 
 72 practice home inspection services in this state and a written 
 73 disclosure that contains the scope and any exclusions of the 
 74 home inspection. 
 75 Section 5. Section 468.8322, Florida Statutes, is amended 
 76 to read: 
 77 468.8322 Insurance.—A home inspector shall maintain a 
 78 commercial general liability insurance policy and an errors and 
 79 omissions insurance policy in an amount of not less than 
 80 $500,000 per policy $300,000. 
 81 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.