How to choose a plumbing inspector

What to ask before booking, what you should receive afterwards, and the conflict of interest worth naming out loud.

Plumbing is a licensed trade in every state, though the licensing body and the classifications differ. Licence status is the baseline check, and it is publicly verifiable through your state board.

If you're weighing a local plumber against booking through a national home-inspection franchise, check whether that franchise's own quote already includes a sewer scope rather than assuming either way; HouseMaster, AmeriSpec and WIN Home Inspection each publish this differently.

Before booking

• Confirm the licence, and confirm it is current rather than merely held at some point.
• Ask whether they carry their own camera equipment or subcontract it.
• Establish whether your property has a cleanout, and get the price quoted for your actual situation. This is the difference between $125 to $500 and $175 to $750.
• Ask whether the price includes creating access if none exists, and what putting the toilet back is priced at.
• Ask what you receive afterwards: a verbal summary, a written report, or the recorded footage.
• If this is a purchase, confirm they can turn the report around inside your inspection window.

Source: HomeGuide, Sewer Camera Inspection Cost, 2026

The conflict of interest, stated plainly

A plumbing contractor who inspects your sewer line is also the contractor who would be paid to repair it. That is not a reason to avoid them, and in most cases the person best qualified to assess a line is someone who repairs them for a living.

It is a reason to ask for the footage rather than only a verdict, and to get a second opinion before authorising anything in the five-figure range. A contractor confident in their assessment will hand over the recording without hesitating.

What a good report contains

• The recorded footage, provided to you rather than described.
• Distances from the access point to each defect, so a second opinion can find the same spot.
• Pipe material and diameter.
• A clear split between defects needing action now and items to monitor.
• Where a repair is recommended, what kind: spot repair, lining, or full replacement. These differ by an order of magnitude.

What the footage and the written summary look like once you have a report in hand, and what to check when you open one, is covered in what does a sewer scope report look like.