New Requirements for S.C. Certified Master Builder candidates announced

The Certified Master Builders of South Carolina Committee of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina recently approved changes to the requirements for becoming a Certified Master Builder (CMB). The new requirements, which go into effect on January 1, 2012, will ensure that all CMB candidates are taking classes according to an official curriculum, and will improve the integrity of the program.

“We’ve been working with the Education Committee to develop a curriculum that ensures all candidates enter the program with the same education background,” said James G. Graves, CMB Committee chairman.

The new curriculum is divided between core classes and elective classes, with the required number of education hours remaining at twenty. The following is a breakdown of the new requirements:

Core Classes

• NAHB Business Management for Building Professionals (8 CEUs) – If this class is exempted based on the BAR/PREP results, the candidate must show proof.
• Building Codes (4 CEUs)

Elective Classes

• Business Management Field (4 CEUs) – These classes must be pre-approved by the Education Committee.
• Technical Field (4 CEUs) – Classes must come from one or all of the following topics: Safety, Estimating, Project Management, and/or Insurance & Risk Management.

The original requirements were 20 CEUs, with 12 units in the business management field and eight in the technical field. With the old system, candidates could take any class, as long as it was an approved class and fell into one of the two categories.

“Our goal is to protect the integrity and the reputation of the Master Builder program and that’s what we’re doing by making these changes to the candidate requirements,” said Graves, “and I expect there to be changes in the future as the program grows.”

For those home builders association builder members who are currently seeking to become a CMB, any application packet received by the HBASC office after December 31, 2011 that does not meet the new requirements will be denied.

Certified Master Builder of South Carolina is an education-based designation program created by builder members at the Home Builders Association of South Carolina to help home buyers and home owners find builders and remodelers they can trust. Certified Master Builders must meet strict requirements that prove they have an excellent track record of stability, integrity and service to their buyers. For information on the CMB program, visit www.masterbuildersc.org.