Standards of Practice, Ethics, and Professional Conduct
This domain tests professional conduct: competence, objectivity, disclosure, and staying inside the standards and licensing limits.
Core duties
Work within your competence and scope. Follow the applicable standard of practice and state deviations in writing. Be objective: no undisclosed referral fees, no recommending a firm you own without disclosure, and no accepting work contingent on a favorable finding. Keep client information confidential. Do not practice engineering, architecture, or code enforcement without a license.
Conflicts and limits
Disclose financial interests, prior relationships, and any compensation from contractors. Decline work you cannot perform competently or that requires destructive testing or design. Document verbal instructions and scope changes.
Worked example
You own 10% of a commercial roofing company. A client's roof has active leaks, and you are asked to inspect and recommend a roofer. Reasoning: this is a conflict of interest. Disclose the ownership in writing before the inspection; offer to exclude roof recommendations or have the client select a roofer; do not steer the repair to your company. If the conflict cannot be managed, decline the roof portion.
Traps
Accepting a fee from a contractor; using "no visible deficiencies" as a guarantee; performing an inspection outside your license; and failing to document a scope reduction requested by the client.