This NHIE cheat sheet strips the National Home Inspector Examination down to the facts examiners test most, from defect cues across the ten home systems to the reporting and ethics rules. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free NHIE toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
NHIE exam at a glance
- Questions: 200 multiple-choice (175 scored + 25 unscored pretest)
- Time: 4 hours
- Passing score: 500 on a scaled 200-800 range (criterion-referenced, not curved)
- Cost: About $225 per attempt; verify with EBPHI, and 30-day wait between retakes
What’s on the NHIE cheat sheet
- Property & Building Inspection/Site Review (~70%) — the ten home systems — exterior, roofing, site, structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation/ventilation, interior, and fireplaces — with the defect and safety cues that repeat.
- Analysis of Findings & Reporting (~20%) — reading defects correctly, classifying material defects by effect, sorting by severity, and writing precise, actionable recommendations.
- Professional Responsibilities (~10%) — standards of practice, inspection scope and limitations, the pre-inspection agreement, conflicts of interest, and E&O versus general liability.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load the building systems — Property and Building Inspection/Site Review is roughly 70 percent of the exam, so the electrical, HVAC, plumbing, structural, and roofing lines on the sheet earn the most points.
- Burn in the safety numbers: GFCI trips near 5 mA of leakage, the TPR discharge pipe points down and stays full-size and open, guards run about 36 inches with a 4-inch baluster gap, and grade should fall about 6 inches over the first 10 feet.
- Read the reporting and ethics lines too — Analysis and Reporting plus Professional Responsibilities are about 30 percent combined, and a material defect is judged by its effect on the home, not repair cost.
- Pair each review pass with a short timed practice set so the four-hour, 200-question clock feels routine before test day.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your NHIE practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
NHIE cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the NHIE cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no sign-up and no payment. It sits alongside Career Employer's free NHIE practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole home-inspector prep stack costs nothing.
It condenses the highest-yield facts across the three EBPHI performance domains: the ten home systems in Property and Building Inspection/Site Review, plus Analysis of Findings and Reporting and Professional Responsibilities. Think safety thresholds, defect cues, and reporting rules — the details examiners return to again and again.
It's built from the current EBPHI content outline and the National Home Inspector Examination format, and we check it against EBPHI's published materials so the numbers stay accurate. Fees and policies still change, so confirm details with EBPHI before you register.
No — the sheet is a review and last-week cram layer, not a substitute for learning the home's systems and working practice questions. The NHIE is scale scored from 200 to 800 with 500 to pass, so use the sheet to lock in facts and the practice test to prove you're clearing that bar.
Tap the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens right away. Bookmark the page so it's one click away during your final week before the exam.
References
- 1.Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors (EBPHI). “Prepare for the Exam — National Home Inspector Examination.” nationalhomeinspectorexam.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors (EBPHI). “Frequently Asked Questions — NHIE and EBPHI.” nationalhomeinspectorexam.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors (EBPHI). “Register for the NHIE.” nationalhomeinspectorexam.org, 2026. ↑
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