How long does the termite inspection itself take?

Typically one to two hours for an average single-family home, longer for larger structures, multiple buildings, or difficult access (tight crawl spaces, heavy storage in the garage). The inspection covers all accessible areas, and areas that cannot be accessed are documented as inaccessible or recommended for further inspection.

How long until I get the written report?

This is where companies differ. The traditional workflow (handwritten field notes typed up back at the office) commonly delivers the report in two to five business days. Companies with streamlined workflows deliver same-day or next-day. The inspection takes hours; the wait is almost entirely report writing and office queue.

How long is a WDO report good for?

California does not put an expiration date on the report, but lenders and escrow treat a report as current for about 90 days. If the transaction runs past that, expect a re-inspection. Separately, the address of each inspected property must be reported to the Structural Pest Control Board within 10 business days of commencing the inspection.

What slows a report down?

The usual suspects: handwriting that has to be deciphered, the diagram (drawing the structure and placing every finding), findings that have to be classified and written up individually, photo organization, and the office backlog when one person types every inspector's reports. Each step is small; stacked up they add days.

Can a report be delivered the same day?

Yes, and in escrow situations it increasingly decides who gets the job. Same-day delivery requires collapsing the write-up step: either inspectors write on-site (slow, error-prone on a phone keyboard) or the write-up is generated from what the inspector captured in the field and reviewed before sending.

How does Serv AI change the turnaround?

The inspector dictates findings during or right after the inspection and photographs what matters. Serv AI drafts the full WDO report from that dictation (findings written up and classified, diagram started from the property's footprint, photos placed) so review-and-send happens the same day. The two-to-five-day report queue disappears.

How Long Does a WDO Inspection and Report Take?

The timeline, piece by piece

On site: 1 to 2 hours

An average single-family home takes one to two hours to inspect: exterior, interior, garage, attic, and subarea where accessible. Larger properties, multiple structures, or difficult access push it longer. Inaccessible areas get documented rather than opened.

Report delivery: same day to 5 business days

The spread is entirely workflow. Traditional shops (field notes typed up at the office, diagram drawn by hand) commonly deliver in two to five business days. Streamlined shops deliver same-day or next-day. The customer experiences the whole gap as "waiting for the termite report."

Useful life: about 90 days

Lenders and escrow typically treat a report as current for 90 days. Run past it and a re-inspection gets ordered. In California, the inspected property's address also has to be reported to the Structural Pest Control Board within 10 business days of commencing the inspection.

Where the days actually go

Nothing about the report legally requires days. The delay is an accumulation of small manual steps: deciphering field handwriting, drawing the structure and placing every finding on the diagram, writing up each finding and classifying it, organizing photos, and waiting in the office queue behind every other inspector's reports. Each step is minutes to an hour; together they routinely add up to most of a week.

In escrow work that lag is expensive twice. The transaction waits on the report, and a slow report ages against the 90-day window, occasionally forcing the re-inspection that a same-day report would have avoided.

1-2 hrs

on site, same as before

~2 min

of write-up, spoken not typed

Same day

report in the requester's inbox

Serv AI collapses the write-up step: the inspector dictates findings in the field, and the report drafts itself, diagram and photos included, ready for review and delivery the same day.

How long does a WDO inspection and report take?