The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report: what it records, who can issue it and what it cannot find.
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The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report is the written record of visible wood-destroying organism infestation, set by Alabama Administrative Code Rule 80-10-9-.18. Only a qualified inspector may inspect, and only someone certified and permitted in the wood-destroying organisms category may complete and issue it. It is often required as a condition of sale financing or refinancing.
Most people meet the Alabama wood infestation report when a house is being sold or refinanced, and the lender or the closing paperwork asks for it. The report is a specific document with a specific purpose. It records visible infestation by wood-destroying organisms, which means termites and other insects and fungi that damage wood, in the areas that can be seen and reached. It is not a general health check of the building, and it does not claim to find everything hidden in the walls.
The rule that sets the report is Rule 80-10-9-.18 of the Alabama Administrative Code, part of Chapter 80-10-9, Professional Services. The rule names the Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report as the written instrument. It also sets who may do the work: only a qualified inspector may inspect, and only a person certified and permitted in the structural pest control category for wood-destroying organisms may complete and issue the report. A report from anyone outside that category is not the official document.
The report is most useful when a homeowner or buyer understands what it covers and what it does not. Phones are answered 24/7, and a technician can be arranged when one is free, but no arrival time is promised for an inspection that a closing date depends on. Start early, and ask at the first call what the inspection will cover.
The visible, accessible areas of the building, under accepted procedures. It records visible active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms.
Rule 80-10-9-.18 sets the report as the record of visible infestation, and the scope of the inspection is the visible and accessible parts of the building. The inspector looks at the sill, the foundation, the sub-floor where it can be entered and the framing that can be seen, and records what is found in each.
A qualified inspector may inspect, and only a person certified and permitted in the wood-destroying organisms category may complete and issue the official report.
The distinction matters because a report signed by someone without the right certification is not the official document, whatever the paperwork looks like. A homeowner or buyer can ask any company at any time on the phone for its ADAI credential and its wood-destroying-organism permit category. That is a simple question, and it should be answered before the inspection is booked.
Under the rule, a licensee must treat an infested structure free of charge if an infestation from which apparent freedom was certified is found within ninety days of issuance.
The rule sets a ninety-day period from the issue of the report, during which an infestation found in an area the report certified as free must be treated at no charge. The rule sets different standards for subterranean termites, powder post beetles and wood-decaying fungi. This page describes the rule as it is written, and does not describe any individual company's terms.
It does not mean the building is free of termites. It means the inspector saw no visible active infestation in the accessible areas at the time of the inspection.
A report can be accurate and still miss an infestation hidden in a wall, under a finished floor or in a part of the crawl space that could not be reached. The homeowner or buyer should read the report for the areas it covers and the areas it leaves out, and should not assume that the absence of a finding is a guarantee of the whole building.
The size of the building, its construction, how much of it can be reached and whether an official report is required by a lender. No figure is given here, and the price is approved before the inspection starts.
A small house with easy access to the sub-floor is quicker to inspect than a large farmhouse with stored material in the crawl space and outbuildings to include. The distance out of town adds travel, which matters in a spread-out area like this one, and a house on a pier foundation takes longer to inspect than a slab house with the same floor area.
Do not rely on a report that was not issued by a person holding the required category, and do not treat the report as a substitute for a closer look at a part of the building that was not reached. Keep the signed report with the closing papers, and note the date it was issued, because the rule's time limit runs from that date. Do not alter a report, and do not sign a waiver or report for an area that was not inspected.
The homeowner or buyer asks what the inspection will cover before it is booked. The scope is the visible, accessible areas under accepted procedures, and the technician explains what that means for the house in question, including any parts that cannot be reached.
The inspector moves through the accessible parts of the building, including the foundation, the sill, the sub-floor where it can be entered and the framing that can be seen. Signs of active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms are noted where they are visible and reached.
Findings are recorded on the official form. The report says what was seen, where, and whether it was active or previous, and it does not claim anything about areas the inspector could not reach. A report that leaves out an area should be read as silent on that area, not as clear.
Only a person certified and permitted in the wood-destroying organisms category may complete and issue the official report. The issuing person signs it, and the report then goes to the party who asked for it, such as the seller, the buyer or the lender.
If infestation is found, the report is the starting point for a treatment plan, and the findings may affect the sale or the loan. The technician explains what the findings mean for the structure and what treatment would be needed, and the price for that work is explained and approved before it starts.
A sale is the most common reason for the report. A lender may make it a condition of financing or refinancing, which is why the trigger is the lender rather than a general requirement on every sale. The buyer and seller should both know who ordered the inspection and who receives the report, and the date should be agreed well before closing.
A refinance can require the same report, because the lender wants a written record of the building's condition before it extends new financing. The homeowner should ask the lender what it requires and in what form, and make sure the inspection is booked with enough time for the lender's deadlines to be met.
Where the building has been treated before, the inspector needs the record of that treatment to describe what was found and what was done. A previous treatment does not make the report easier to pass or harder to issue. It gives the inspector context, and it helps the new owner understand the history of the structure.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Many houses around West Blocton are older frame houses and farmhouses on piers or vented crawl spaces, and a report on that kind of house depends heavily on what can be seen under the floor. Sub-floor access is often limited by stored material, so the inspector's note on what was not reached is especially important for a buyer.
Manufactured homes on acreage are a large share of the housing across Bibb County and the back roads of the surrounding counties. Skirted under-floor space and utility penetrations make the inspection of those homes different, and a buyer should ask how the skirting affects what can be seen. Mid-century brick ranch houses in the small towns and newer slab houses on the edges of the area are also common sale properties, and the report for a slab house focuses on the perimeter and the points where plumbing comes through.
The rural roads around the town are long, and a sale on a farm or a large acreage may need the inspector to cover outbuildings as well. Ask at the first call whether those are included. Phones are answered 24/7, and the closing date should be shared at the first conversation, so the inspection can be planned around it.
What a termite bond is, how Alabama's termite-contract rules shape it, and the questions to ask before signing for reinspection.
Subterranean termite control for houses in West Blocton and the rural country around it, from inspection through colony-level treatment.
How damp under-floor space feeds wood decay and draws termites, roaches and spiders, and what a technician checks under the house.
Pest control for slab-built houses, where the perimeter, bath traps and plumbing penetrations replace the crawl space as the main inspection points.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
No price appears on this page, because no published figure fits a rural quote in West Blocton.
A termite swarm is a normal dispersal event in which winged reproductives leave an established colony to start new ones.
The Official Alabama Wood Infestation Inspection Report is the written record of visible active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms, set out in Alabama Administrative Code Rule 80-10-9-.18.
Structural pest control in Alabama is regulated by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, usually called ADAI, under Chapter 80-10-9 of the Alabama Administrative Code and the professional services law in Title 2 of the Code of Alabama 1975.
It is the written instrument named by Alabama Administrative Code Rule 80-10-9-.18 for recording visible active or previous infestation by wood-destroying organisms. It is issued on an official form, after an inspection of the visible and accessible areas. It is not a general inspection of the whole building, and it should be read for the areas it covers.
Not as a blanket rule. The report is commonly required as a condition of sale financing or refinancing, which means the lender is usually the one asking for it. Ask the lender or the closing agent what is needed for the specific loan before the inspection is booked.
A qualified inspector may inspect, and only a person certified and permitted in the wood-destroying organisms category may complete and issue the official report. The homeowner or buyer can ask any company at any time on the phone for its credential and its wood-destroying-organism permit category before booking.
No. It records what was visible and accessible at the time of inspection. Concealed infestation in inaccessible areas may not be found, and the inspector is not required to examine those areas. The report should be read as a record of the visible areas, not as a promise about the whole building.
Under the rule, if an infestation from which apparent freedom was certified is found within ninety days of issuance, the licensee must treat the infested structure free of charge. The rule sets different treatment standards for subterranean termites, powder post beetles and wood-decaying fungi. Ask exactly which areas the certification covers and when the period starts.
The party who orders the report depends on the sale and the lender, and the answer should be settled before the inspection is booked. The buyer and seller should both know who ordered it and who will receive the report. The closing agent or the lender can say what they require.