LOCAL RULES

Rhode Island home inspection report requirements

Your Rhode Island home inspection report has 12 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • Say so when an associate home inspector did the inspection
  • Any tie to the seller or the seller's agent disclosed in bold in the report
  • The materials and equipment the standards say to identify
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Rhode Island licenses home inspectors through the Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, and its rule 440-RICR-10-00-5 (in force since February 22, 2026) sets the standards of practice. Every report must carry your license number, a notice telling the client how to reach the Board with a complaint, on-site start and finish times and the weather. Here is each rule with a link to the official text, and how to turn field notes into a report that meets it.

Last reviewed October 14, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Home inspectionRHODE ISLAND / SAMPLE

Sample notes, 149 words

Client: Dana Whitfield
Inspector: Sam Ortega
Date: October 3, 2026
1408 Larkspur Lane, Providence, RI
Weather: clear, 74F. Occupied. Built 1987.
...
FREE PREVIEW OF THESE NOTES
62%of your draft is ready from these notes

We sorted 14 items into 8 sections and flagged 4 to fix first.

  • Fix firstElectrical

    Main panel has a double tapped breaker and an open splice in the attic junction box.

  • Fix firstElectrical

    No GFCI protection at the kitchen counter outlets.

  • Fix firstGarage

    Garage door opener did not reverse when it hit the test board.

12 Rhode Island rules on your checklist, including say so when an associate home inspector did the inspection.

Still to add

  • Rhode Island lawRhode Island home inspector license number
  • Rhode Island lawOn-site finish time
  • Rhode Island lawBoard's current address and telephone number

Filled in for you

Client nameDana Whitfield
Property address1408 Larkspur Lane, Providence, RI
Inspection dateOct 3, 2026
Home inspector's nameSam Ortega
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What Rhode Island requires

  • The report records the client's name, the address of the property, and the on-site inspection start and finish times440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (A) (6), (7)
  • The report records the weather conditions at the time of the inspection440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (A) (8)
  • The report indicates which systems and components were not inspected and records any obstruction or condition that prevented their inspection440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (A) (4), (9)
  • The report states whether each system or component observed needs repair or requires further evaluation or investigation; additional investigation is called for only when the scope of a repair is unknown, concealed damage is suspected, or the matter is beyond the inspector's expertise440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (B), (D)
  • The licensee's license number appears on every inspection report, contract, proposal, invoice and advertisement, displayed conspicuouslyR.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-6 (b) · 440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (D) (1)
  • Every written report includes a notice that complaints or claims about the inspection, or the home inspector or associate home inspector who performed it, may be directed to the Board, with the Board's current address and telephone numberR.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-6 (c) (1) · 440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (D) (2), (3)
  • Where an associate home inspector performed the inspection, the report discloses itR.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-6 (c) (2); 440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.3 (D) (4)
  • Any financial or family relationship with the seller, the seller's representative or the representative's office is disclosed in writing, including a statement in the report in bold print in an obvious location440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.9 (B) (4)
  • The inspector identifies the roof covering, drainage and chimney materials; wall cladding and deck materials; the foundation material, basement floors, attic lighting and collar and rafter ties; the electrical service type, interior wiring, main disconnect ampacity, panel locations and any aluminum branch wiring; the piping materials, water heater type and nameplate capacity and main shut-off location; the heating energy source, equipment and distribution; the cooling distribution; and any bathroom ventilation other than windows440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.5 (A) to (I)
  • The report notes the methods used to observe the roofing, under-floor crawl spaces and attics, signs of previous or active leaks, and signs of water penetration into the basement, crawl space and attic, including the presence of sump pumps and dehumidifiers440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.5 (A) (3), (C) (3)
  • The inspector operates attached garage doors and tests and reports on the visible safety reversing feature by interrupting the light beam, tests the polarity and grounding of a representative number of receptacles, and operates a sample of readily accessible ground fault circuit interrupters440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.5 (B) (3), (D) (3)
  • The inspector notes the absence of an installed heat source in habitable rooms including kitchens and bathrooms, exposed flues in a smoke chamber used by other appliances, abandoned oil tanks, and any observed evidence of underground fuel storage tanks440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.5 (F) (3)
  • Inspectors may not determine the cost of repairing any item noted in their report440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.7 (A) (4)
  • Inspectors may not report on market value, marketability or suitability for any use, advise on whether to buy, offer repairs or other licensed services on a home their firm inspected, or operate a system that is shut down or inoperable; for those, they recommend that the seller or the seller's representative demonstrate that they work440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.7 (A)
  • The written report goes, confidentially, only to the client unless the client directs otherwise, a written contract is required for every inspection, and inspectors keep a copy of every report for at least three years from its completion440-RICR-10-00-5, ss. 5.24.3 (A) (2), (C), 5.24.11
  • A home inspection is a written evaluation of the readily visible and accessible heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical systems, structural components, foundation, roof, masonry, exterior and interior components, unless the report clearly limits the scope in writing; it is not meant to identify code violations, and it must meet at least the Board's standards of practice. Radon, pests and environmental hazards are outside the standard inspectionR.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-2 (4) · 440-RICR-10-00-5, s. 5.24.6 (B)
  • Working as a home inspector without a license is a misdemeanor (up to one year and 1,000 dollars for a first or second offense, a felony after that), and the Board may fine a licensee up to 5,000 dollars for a first violation and up to 10,000 dollars for a second, including for failing to provide a written reportR.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-11 (a) (13), (c) · R.I. Gen. Laws s. 5-65.1-13 (a)

Required on every Rhode Island report

Statute and rule agree on three items you cannot leave off: your license number, shown conspicuously; a notice that complaints or claims about the inspection may be directed to the Board, together with the Board's current address and telephone number; and, when an associate home inspector did the work, a disclosure saying so.

The standards add the client's name and property address, the on-site start and finish times, the weather at the time of the inspection, and any obstruction or condition that kept you from inspecting a system.

Repair, evaluate, or investigate further

For each system or component you observed, say whether it needs repair or requires further evaluation or investigation, and list what you did not inspect. The rule narrows when you send a client to someone else: only when the scope of the repair is unknown, concealed damage is suspected, or the issue is beyond a home inspector's expertise.

What to identify and how you looked

Rhode Island lists the materials and equipment to identify system by system, including two items many checklists skip: whether the attic has lighting, and whether collar ties and rafter ties are present. Note how you observed the roof, crawl space and attic, any sign of past or active leaks, and whether a sump pump or dehumidifier is in place.

Interrupt the light beam to test an attached garage door's reversing feature, check polarity and grounding at a representative number of receptacles, and test a sample of the accessible GFCIs.

Oil tanks and rooms without heat

Older Rhode Island homes often show a fill pipe or vent with no tank in sight. The standards require you to note abandoned oil tanks and any observed evidence of an underground fuel storage tank, along with any habitable room, kitchen or bathroom that has no installed heat source.

No prices, no value opinions, and conflicts in bold

You may not determine what a repair would cost, comment on market value or whether to buy, or operate a system that is shut down; ask the seller to demonstrate it instead. Any financial or family relationship with the seller or the seller's agent goes in the report in bold print where the client will see it.

Deliver the report confidentially to the client only, under a written contract, and keep a copy for at least three years. Inspecting without a license is a crime, and the Board can fine a licensee up to 5,000 dollars for a first violation, including for failing to provide a written report.

From field notes to a finished Rhode Island report

Write down the time you arrived and left, the weather, how you saw the roof and attic, the garage door beam test, and anything that looks like an old oil tank. ReportDraft puts your license number and the Board notice on the report, keeps repair prices out even when your notes mention them, and flags each finding as repair or further evaluation.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving off the Board notice or the Board's current address and phone number.
  • Recording a start time but no finish time.
  • Quoting a repair price in the report.
  • Not mentioning a fill pipe that suggests a buried oil tank.
  • No garage door reversing test with the light beam.

Sources

Last reviewed October 14, 2026. Next review due January 14, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.