Are Home Inspections Public Record? Do Sellers Get a Copy?

No — a home inspection is not a public record. It's a private document prepared by a licensed inspector at the buyer's request and paid for by the buyer. It belongs to the buyer.

But the question of who gets to see it — and whether the seller has a right to a copy — comes up regularly in real estate transactions and matters more than most buyers realize.

Who Owns the Inspection Report

The buyer who commissioned and paid for the inspection owns it. The inspector is their agent for that purpose. The report is not filed with any government agency, not recorded with the county, and not part of any public database.

This is different from, say, property permits or tax records, which are public records. A home inspection is a private professional service document, no different in principle from hiring a plumber to assess a drainage problem and receiving their written assessment. The report goes to you; it doesn't go anywhere else.

Does the Seller Have a Right to See It?

No. Sellers have no legal right to see the buyer's inspection report. The buyer does not have to share it with the seller under any circumstances.

In practice, things are more nuanced. When a buyer submits a repair request based on inspection findings, they typically include relevant sections of the report — or the full report — to document the specific defects they're asking to be addressed. Without that documentation, a repair request is just a demand for money without a basis, and sellers and their agents won't take it seriously.

So buyers often share the report as a practical matter of negotiation, not because they're required to.

Should You Share Your Inspection Report With the Seller?

This depends on your strategy.

If you're submitting a repair request and want the seller to understand the specific findings and their severity, attaching relevant report pages strengthens your position. It shows you're asking based on documented defects, not making up problems to extract money.

If you're in a multiple-offer situation and the seller has competing buyers, sharing a detailed inspection report can sometimes work against you — it reveals your concerns and gives the seller information about what might come up if they sell to someone else. Some buyers prefer to send a repair request with a summary of findings and share the full report only if pressed.

If you end up walking away from the deal, you have no obligation to share the report with the seller. Some buyers choose to do so as a courtesy, but the seller cannot compel it.

Does the Seller Get a Copy After the Sale?

No — unless the buyer provides one. Once the transaction closes, the inspection report is still the buyer's private document. There's no automatic transfer of the report to the seller or to the new owner (who is the same buyer after closing, anyway).

If you're on the sell side in a future transaction and the prior buyer had an inspection done, you don't have access to that report. You would only have seen it if the buyer shared it during negotiations.

What Happens to Old Inspection Reports

Because inspections are private, there is no public archive of past inspection reports for a given property. When you buy a house, you don't know what the prior buyer's inspector found unless:

• The prior buyer shared the report with the seller during negotiations
• The seller disclosed material findings from a previous inspection in their seller disclosure statement
• You specifically ask whether a previous inspection was done and request to see any reports

This last point matters. If you're buying a home that was previously under contract and fell through, ask whether an inspection was done and request to see the report. The seller isn't required to provide it, but many will, and it saves you duplicating a paid inspection on a house where findings are already documented.

Inspection Reports and Seller Disclosure Requirements

Even though the inspection report itself isn't public or required to be shared, inspection findings can trigger disclosure obligations.

In most US states, sellers are required to disclose known material defects in the property. If a seller commissioned a pre-listing inspection and it found a horizontal foundation crack or polybutylene piping throughout, they are generally required to disclose those findings to prospective buyers — even if they'd rather not.

Sellers who do a pre-listing inspection and then try to bury the findings take on significant legal exposure. If you later buy the house, discover the defect, and find evidence that the seller knew about it, that's the basis of a non-disclosure claim.

As a buyer, you can ask the seller directly: "Have you had any inspections done on this property?" and "Are there any existing inspection reports you can share?" Their answers — and how forthcoming they are — tell you something about how transparent this transaction is likely to be.

The Practical Takeaway

Your inspection report is yours. You don't have to share it, but you'll usually share relevant portions to support a repair request. The seller has no right to demand it. Once you close, it stays with you.

Use the report carefully — it's one of the most important documents in the buying process. The Home Inspection Checklist helps you track findings systematically during the inspection so your report review and repair request are organized around the defects that actually matter.