(a) An applicant for licensure as a home inspector shall submit an application, under oath, upon a form to be prescribed by the Building Commission which shall include, as a minimum, the following information pertaining to the applicant:

(1) Social Security number for natural persons or employer identification number for other entities.

(2) The name and address under which the applicant conducts business, if an individual proprietorship; the name and address of each partner or venturer, if the applicant is a partnership or joint venture; or the name and address of the corporate officers and statutory agent for service, if the applicant is a corporation.

(3) A certificate issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Alabama that the applicant has procured public liability and property damage insurance covering the applicant's home inspection operations in the sum of not less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for injury or damage to property; and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for injury or damage, including death, to any one person; and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for injury or damage, including death, to more than one person; or at any greater limits of liability prescribed by the Building Commission; and, in addition, evidence of insurance against the errors and omissions of the home inspector in an amount and form to be prescribed by the Building Commission.

(4) Evidence of one of the following professional qualifications:

a. Membership in and adherence to the ethical standards of the American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc. (ASHI) or an equivalent professional body as determined by the Building Commission.

b. Approval or certification by one of the following agencies to inspect residential construction:

1. The United States Veterans Administration.

2. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

3. The Southern Building Code Congress International.

4. The Council of American Building Officials.

c. A high school diploma or its equivalent, work experience for at least one year as a home inspector, and completion of at least 100 home inspections for compensation.

d. Licensure on or after January 1, 1998, in Alabama as a general contractor, registered professional architect, registered professional engineer, or residential home builder. Renewals of licensure previously supported by evidence of an acceptable license shall not require the applicant to repeat proof of such licensing.

(5) Any and all other information prescribed and required by the Building Commission.

(b) The information contained in an application shall be a matter of public record and open to public inspection.