Free inspection checklist template
Free inspection checklist template
Walk the property once, mark every item Pass, Fail, or N/A, and leave the client a report they can act on. A checklist records what you found; an estimate prices the fix.
Your company
Inspection Report
Property and client
Client name
| Item | Result |
|---|
Findings and recommendations
Scope and limitations
Inspector signature and date
Client signature and date
This template records your own service inspection. It is not a code-compliance, safety, or statutory inspection, and it does not replace an inspection by a licensed or certified inspector where one is required. Rules on who may inspect what, and on what the report must contain, differ by jurisdiction.
What's included
- Your business details in the header, so the report shows who inspected the property
- The property address and the client the report goes to
- Report number, inspection date, and the date to follow up by
- One line per item with a result of Pass, Fail, or N/A
- Findings and recommendations in prose, in order of priority
- Scope and limitations, so the report states what was not inspected
- Signature lines for the inspector and the client
Fields in this inspection report
- Business name, email, phone, and address
- Client name and property address
- Report number, inspection date, follow-up date
- Inspection items, each with a result: Pass, Fail, or N/A
- Findings and recommendations
- Scope and limitations, including what was not accessible
How to use it
- Build the list before you drive out Write the items at the desk, in the order you walk the property. Deciding what to check while you are standing on a roof is how items get skipped.
- Keep every item a single question One component, one result. An item that reads "plumbing and electrical" cannot be marked Pass or Fail honestly, and it is the line that gets argued about later.
- Walk the same route every time Exterior, roof, attic, mechanical room, then interior. A fixed route means you notice a missing item, because the rhythm breaks.
- Mark N/A instead of leaving a blank A blank looks like you forgot. N/A with the reason in the findings — locked, blocked, unsafe — shows you looked and could not reach it.
- Photograph every Fail while you are there One wide shot for location, one close shot for the defect. A second trip for photos costs more than most of the repairs you are documenting.
- Write the findings in priority order Safety first, then active water damage, then wear. Most clients read the top two items and stop, so the expensive risk goes at the top.
- Recommend, and do not diagnose past what you saw State what you observed and what you advise. Guessing at the cause behind a wall is the claim that comes back at you.
- Get both signatures before you leave Yours and the client. A signed report fixes the date and the condition, which is the whole reason the document exists.
Formats
- PDF, ready to email or print for the file
- Print it blank at any size and carry it on a clipboard
- Reusable in the Workly app, where a failed item becomes an estimate or a work order
Questions about the inspection report template
What is the difference between an inspection checklist and an inspection report?
The checklist is the blank list you carry and mark up on site. The report is the same document once the results are filled in, signed, and handed over. This template prints both: leave the results empty for the field copy, fill them in for the client copy.
What do I do with an item that fails?
Mark it Fail, photograph it, and write the recommendation in the findings. Then quote the fix as a separate estimate. Repairing on the spot without a priced approval is how an inspection turns into unpaid work.
Should I attach photos?
Yes, for every failed item — one wide shot showing where it is, one close shot showing the defect. Photos settle most arguments about condition, and they are the part the client forwards to a landlord or an insurer.
How detailed should the checklist be?
Detailed enough that another technician could repeat the inspection from the list, short enough that you finish it on every visit. Fifteen to thirty items covers most residential work. A checklist of a hundred lines gets marked Pass in bulk, which is worse than no checklist at all.
Is a signed inspection report legally binding, and is it an official inspection?
A signature confirms that the client received the report and saw the results on that date. It is not a warranty, and it does not make you responsible for what you did not inspect — the scope and limitations paragraph carries that weight, so do not delete it. It is also not an official inspection: building, safety, and statutory inspections are done by licensed or certified inspectors under the rules where you work, and they issue their own paperwork.
Is this inspection checklist template free?
Yes — fill it in, download the PDF, hand it over. No account and no email required. Carrying the checklist on your phone, attaching photos to a failed item, and turning that item into an estimate is what the Workly app adds.