The short answer: no
A roofing contractor cannot issue a LeakFREE® Roof Certification unless that individual is an accredited NRCIA member in good standing. LeakFREE® is our federally registered trademark. Only NRCIA members can issue a LeakFREE® certification.
Any document using the name that did not come from an accredited member through the NRCIA system is not a LeakFREE® Roof Certification, whatever it says on the page.
What a LeakFREE® roof certification actually is
It is a record. A LeakFREE® Roof Certification states that a specific roof, at a specific address, on a specific date, met the published LeakFREE® criteria following a LeakFREE® Check across five zones: interior, attic, exterior, perimeter and rooftop.
Its term is set by what the inspection found, together with the slope, the materials and the condition of the assembly. The maximum is ten years, and the expiration is printed as a date. The term is never extended to help close a sale.
It is not insurance, and it is not a service contract.
Why it is issued by a person, not a company
Accreditation belongs to the individual who trained for it and who performed the inspection. A business entity cannot hold it and cannot issue the certification. That rule keeps accountability attached to the person who was on the roof and who signed the findings.
Every certificate is generated and registered through InspectionPLUS®. A certificate produced outside that platform is not valid, which gives homeowners, agents and buyers a way to confirm what they are holding is genuine.
How to check before you hire
Ask three questions of anyone offering to certify your roof.
- Are you an NRCIA member, and what is your accreditation designation?
- Will the certificate be generated through InspectionPLUS®?
- What term will the certification carry, and what determines it?
An accredited member answers all three without difficulty. You can also confirm membership yourself through the NRCIA member directory before you book anything.
What happens after the roof is certified
Keep the certificate with your property records. It travels well in a sale, and it gives a buyer a dated professional assessment instead of an opinion.
Note one condition that catches people out. If repairs are performed on the roof by anyone other than an NRCIA member, a re-inspection is required. Work done outside the accredited network changes the roof after the certification was written, so the record has to be brought back up to date.
NRCIA sets the standard, trains and accredits members, and administers the LeakFREE® certification system. Members inspect the roofs and issue the certifications.
Find an accredited NRCIA inspector near you.
LeakFREE®, Forensic ROOF®, Mr. RoofCheck®, InspectionPLUS®, Today’s Inspection… Tomorrow’s Protection®, and Got Leaks?® are registered trademarks of Field Gate FLP, used by permission. RoofGUARD™, ForensicGUARD™, DisasterGUARD™, E3GUARD™, and Think Like a Raindrop™ are trademarks of Field Gate FLP.
