CCPIA ComSOP: The Commercial Property Inspection Standard and How It Relates to ASTM E2018

Commercial property inspectors, many of them trained through the Certified Commercial Property Inspectors Association, follow the International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties, known as ComSOP. It is the inspector's counterpart to the residential standards of practice: a definition of what a commercial inspection covers, what the inspector must observe and report, and what is excluded.

What ComSOP covers

The standard walks the same systems E2018 does (site, structure, roof, exterior, interior, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, fire and life safety, conveyances) and tells the inspector what to observe in each, what to document and how to communicate findings to the client. It is a methodology standard: it governs the inspection and the report of observations.

How it differs from E2018

CCPIA itself frames the relationship: ComSOP governs the inspection methodology, while ASTM E2018 is the standard lenders require for a property condition assessment. The differences that follow from that:

• Document review and interviews are a required component of an E2018 assessment; ComSOP leaves them to the engagement.
• Opinions of cost with quantity, unit and source, segregated into immediate, short-term and long-term, are required by E2018 and are not part of a ComSOP inspection report.
• The reserve table exists only in the E2018 world.
• Report contents are prescribed by E2018 section 11; ComSOP prescribes what to report, not the document's structure.
• Lender acceptance goes to E2018.

Who uses which

Commercial inspectors serving buyers and tenants use ComSOP and, when the client has a lender, produce an E2018 report as well, citing both. Engineering and architecture consultancies generally write to E2018 only. See PCA vs commercial building inspection.

Using ComSOP alongside E2018

A firm that inspects to ComSOP already collects most of what an E2018 report needs; what it adds for the PCA is the document request, the interview record, the cost lines and the reserve schedule. Baseline PCR drafts that E2018 layer from the walkthrough evidence; it does not produce a ComSOP inspection report.