Questions regarding terms: "certified", "licensed", and "registered"

Certified and registered by InterNACHI if they are, Alberta ACHI if they are, CAHPI etc. if they are, and they must be licensed by Service Alberta (provincial government) if they do home inspections for a fee, the regulation defines what is a home inspection and what needs to be done to qualify for a license.

A good association has much more to offer members than initials you put on your business card.

First off, associations that are registered under Canadian legislation will be owned by their members, so all members get to have a say, they elect an executive, and their fees are managed by the executive according to membership’s desires. This is done at meetings through a majority vote, so that you can’t please everyone will always be a factor.

Services they may offer, access to training, standards of practice, a code of ethics, a reputation for quality recognized by the industry they work in, opportunities for networking, conventions, member discounts, social gatherings etc… etc…

Members also vote with their feet. A good association maintains their membership by continuing to provide them with services they are willing to pay their membership fees for.

Belonging to an association, especially when it is not required, is an indication to clients and other interested parties that the member takes their profession seriously and is actively involved in their industry.

If you are going to be serious about your industry join an association, if there are more than one, using your shopping skills to find the one that suits you best and gives you the best bang for your buck. Once you join, participate, attend meetings, volunteer, if you have opinions, share them. And always remember, if you can’t get what you want, make sure you get what you need:cool:

Excellent post. Thanks.

Correct. And feel free to call yourself “registered” as well as “certified” if you are a member of InterNACHI.

Matthew… If I may expand on the explanations a bit. OAHI is the Ontario Chapter of the CAHPI Association. In 1994 the Ontario Government passed a Private Members Bill (Pr158 - Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act, 1994.) granting use of the designation Registered Home Inspector or RHI to members of OAHI that meet certain standards of that Association.
“Certified” is simply a formal recognition from an Association that you have met the Standards of that Association.
“Licensed” is formal (legal) recognition that you have met minimum standards set by the Government. It’s no different than getting your driver’s license. The Government sets a standard, you pass some tests and you get issued a License. In Ontario, the Government is looking at Licensing Home Inspectors, and are in the process of setting the Standards.
OntarioACHI is the Ontario Chapter of InterNACHI. There are 2 parts to OntarioACHI - the Forum (message Board) which is open to read, but you can’t post messages on the board unless you “sign in”. Just signing up for the message board does not make you a member. Full Membership is obtained by paying the yearly dues.

As Mr. Erik Schmidt said in Post #22 “If you are going to be serious about your industry join an association, if there are more than one, using your shopping skills to find the one that suits you best and gives you the best bang for your buck. Once you join, participate, attend meetings, volunteer, if you have opinions, share them. And always remember, if you can’t get what you want, make sure you get what you need.”

My opinion (biased) is that you will be hard pressed to find another Association that offers so much for free than InterNACHI. I’ve taken several courses over the years (at great expense). Albeit, the courses were good, you can get the exact same information for $0.00 at InterNACHI. It seems like a natural progression to also join OntarioACHI if you are an InterNACHI home inspector in Ontario. Theres strength in numbers as they say, and hopefully we can have an influence on the government’s “standards” when licensing is forced upon us.

Nick
Now I am confused. How can we in Canada call our selves Registered. Thought that was a registered trade mark. Personally I would rather be called a certified Master Inspector.

This is Section 12 of Bill Pr158 (Ontario) “Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act” - 1994.

  1. (1) Every member of the Association whose name appears in the register may use the designations “Registered Home Inspector” and “R.H.I.“

(2) Any person in Ontario who, not being a registered member of the Association, takes or uses the designation “Registered Home Inspector” or “R.H.I.“ alone or in combination with any other word, name, title, initial or description, or implies, suggests or holds out that that person is a registered home inspector is guilty of an offence.

(3) On conviction of an offence under subsection (2), a person is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000.

You can probably draw your own conclusion about using the term “Registered”. :shock:

Me too, sounds way better: http://certifiedmasterinspector.org/canadian-government-awards-certified-master-inspector-trademark/

Question has anyone ever seen a Logo for R.H.I

Nope.

Chris, thanks a lot. Yes, this does help.

Matthew I hope to see you at least signed into the OntarioAchi message board. Take your time shopping.

And to confuse the issue further don’t forget this organization:

http://www.phpic.ca/home.php

and their designation PHPI™(“Professional Home Property Inspector”) They also have a national certification credential but I can’t speak with any authority about how it is obtained or what its worth if you were to get it…

When I was deciding I looked at it this way(rightly or wrongly): Since the average consumer knows nothing about any of these organizations or their credentials, belonging to one versus the other comes back to a personal decision as opposed to a business decision (FYI at the time I joined Nachi I already had over 1200 fee paid inspections and none of them with clients who asked which org I was with…)

I went with internachi because they gave me the most for the least–simple as that.

Got to be careful what you say Stuart.
Most for the** least what?:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
Certainly not the
least** Education is my thought.

522

Slight error OAHI can control the Registered Home Inspector in Ontario but they have no control over R.H.I.

I owned Roy’s Home Inspection LTD. and used the RHI constantly .

I also understand OAHI has not ever challenged any one for using RHI .
Years ago OAHI did not even challenge a home Inspector for using Registered Home Inspector .
I understand it was one of the member’s who instituted a challenge and they had this inspector stop doing that .
I do not believe there has been a challenge since .
I understand two retired members are still not following the OAHI rules regarding Registered Home Inspector and nothing has been done .

Here’s the best answer you’ll get.

To be a Home Inspector in Ontario you don’t have to be a member of ANYTHING!

Registered means NOTHING
CPI means NOTHING
RHI means NOTHING

Unless of course YOU want it to. Trust me, association membership with the right group (InterNACHI), will benefit your education, business and your success greatly. But if you’re asking if you need to have these designations to go out and inspect homes…the answer right now is a simple NO.

I hope that helps and good luck with your career. It’s very good but you have to give it time. Don’t expect to quit your job…

…at least starting out.

That aside…Now where is that pesky link to membership benefits Nick always posts…

Is this the one you want…

http://www.nachi.org/articles.htm

Maybe nachi.org/benefits ?