Frequently Asked Questions
About the Home Staging Institute
The Home Staging Institute was founded in 2007 and has been offering online home staging certification continuously since then. We’re one of the longest-running online home staging education providers in the industry.
More than 6,000 students from 49 countries have completed our certification programs. Our students include career changers, interior design enthusiasts, and real estate agents from brokerages like Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Century 21, Berkshire Hathaway, and Sotheby’s.
Our curriculum was developed by working home staging professionals and has been refined continuously since 2007 based on feedback from graduates who have gone on to run their own staging businesses.
Choosing the Right Course
The Realtor Course ($197) is designed specifically for real estate agents who want to advise their own clients on staging or offer basic staging as part of their listing services. It covers staging fundamentals in a condensed format.
The Professional Course ($247) is our most popular option and covers everything you need to start a home staging business, including staging techniques, buyer psychology, business setup, pricing, client consultations, and marketing.
The Advanced Course ($498) includes everything in the Professional Course plus additional units on blogging, digital marketing, SEO, and email marketing strategies. It’s designed for students who want comprehensive business and marketing training alongside their staging education.
Yes. Our Realtor Course was designed specifically for agents who want to understand staging principles, advise sellers on preparing their homes, or offer light staging as part of their services. Many agents take this course to differentiate themselves in their market.
No. Our courses assume no prior design background. We teach staging from the ground up, starting with buyer psychology and working through specific techniques for every room in a home. Many of our successful graduates came from completely unrelated fields.
The Professional Course is our most popular choice for beginners. It assumes no prior knowledge and takes you from understanding buyer psychology through running client meetings to marketing your business. You’ll finish with everything you need to start taking on clients.
The Advanced Course is designed for stagers who want to strengthen their business and marketing skills. If you’re comfortable with staging techniques but struggling to find clients or grow your business, the marketing and SEO units in the Advanced Course will be most valuable.
Yes. Some agents choose the Professional Course because they want to offer full staging services as a side business or additional revenue stream. The Realtor Course is designed for agents who want to advise clients on staging rather than do it themselves.
What's Included
The Professional Course covers staging techniques and buyer psychology, the staging workflow from consultation to completion, how to set up your business including insurance and legal structure, pricing your services and running client meetings, handling difficult conversations with homeowners, and marketing your business to real estate agents. The Advanced Course adds units on blogging, content marketing, SEO, and building an email list.
Every course includes downloadable business templates you can customize and use immediately. These include a home staging contract template, client proposal template, consultation checklist, business plan template, income report template, wholesale vendor list, agent contact form, business mileage form, and a printable room-by-room staging checklist you can take to jobs.
Both. Our curriculum dedicates significant time to the business side of home staging, including how to register your business, get insurance, price your services, run client consultations, handle objections, and market to real estate agents. Many competing courses focus only on design principles. Ours prepares you to actually run a profitable staging business.
Yes. The Professional Course includes a full unit on networking with real estate agents, creating marketing materials, and getting your first clients. The Advanced Course adds three additional units covering blogging, content marketing, SEO, email automation, and lead generation.
Yes. The course includes a comprehensive room-by-room staging checklist in printable PDF format. It covers lawn and garden, curb appeal, every interior room, and odor control. You can bring this to consultations or give it to clients as part of your service.
Yes. The business templates include a home staging contract template and a client proposal template. Both are customizable documents you can adapt for your own business.
Registration & Payment
Home staging certification programs range widely in price, from under $200 to over $2,000 depending on the provider and what’s included.
At the Home Staging Institute, we offer three certification levels. The Realtor Course is $197 and is designed specifically for real estate agents who want to advise their clients on staging. The Professional Course is $247 and covers everything you need to start a home staging business, including staging techniques, business setup, pricing, client consultations, and marketing. The Advanced Course is $498 and adds comprehensive training on blogging, SEO, email marketing, and digital client acquisition.
All three courses include lifetime access to course materials, downloadable business templates, the certification exam, and lifetime email support. There are no hidden fees, renewal costs, or required textbooks.
When comparing certification costs, pay attention to what’s actually included. Some lower-priced courses offer only basic design content with no business training. Some higher-priced programs charge $1,500 or more but include content you may not need, like in-person workshops in distant cities or inventory management systems for large staging companies.
For most people starting out, the key question is whether the course teaches you how to actually get clients and run a profitable business, not just how to arrange furniture. Our Professional Course at $247 covers both the design and business sides, which is why it’s our most popular option.
Yes, on the checkout page you’ll see a payment plan option.
Immediately. Once your payment is processed, you’ll receive login credentials and can begin the course right away. There’s no waiting period or scheduled start date.
No. Everything you need is included in your enrollment. There are no required textbooks, software subscriptions, or hidden fees.
We offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the course for any reason, contact us within 90 days of purchase for a full refund.
Lifetime access. Once you enroll, you can revisit the course materials, templates, and any future updates for as long as the Home Staging Institute exists. There are no annual renewal fees.
Taking the Course & Certification
Yes. The course is entirely self-paced. There are no deadlines, no scheduled class times, and no penalty for taking breaks. Life happens, and the course will be there when you’re ready.
Fully online. You can complete the entire course from home on your own schedule.
Most students complete their home staging certification in 4 to 8 weeks of part-time study, though the exact timeline depends on which course you choose and how much time you can dedicate each week.
The Realtor Course typically takes 1 to 2 weeks to complete. It’s a condensed program designed for real estate agents who want to understand staging fundamentals without committing to full certification.
The Professional Course takes most students 4 to 6 weeks studying a few hours per week. It includes 10 units covering staging techniques, buyer psychology, business setup, pricing, client meetings, and marketing.
The Advanced Course takes 5 to 8 weeks for most students. It includes everything in the Professional Course plus additional units on blogging, content marketing, SEO, and email automation.
All of our courses are completely self-paced. There are no deadlines, no scheduled class times, and no penalty for taking longer if life gets busy. Some students finish in a week of focused study. Others spread it over several months while working full-time. Your access never expires, so you can move at whatever pace works for your schedule.
The certification exam is available whenever you’re ready. Most students complete it in under 30 minutes. It includes multiple-choice questions plus photo submissions showing rooms you’ve staged, so you’ll want to complete the practical assignments before attempting the exam.
You can reach us by email anytime. We provide lifetime email support to all students, both during the course and after you’ve completed your certification.
No. There’s no deadline to complete the course or take your exam. Some students finish in a few weeks, others take several months. Your access never expires.
Yes. The certification exam includes multiple-choice questions testing your understanding of staging principles and business concepts, plus photo submissions showing rooms you have staged with before and after images. This ensures graduates have both knowledge and practical experience. Most students complete the exam in under 30 minutes.
You can retake the exam. We want you to succeed and will work with you to ensure you meet the certification requirements.
You receive a digital certificate that you can print and frame if you wish, plus a digital badge for your website and marketing materials.
Graduates receive the Certified Staging Expert (CSE) designation, a digital certificate of completion, and a badge you can display on your website and marketing materials.
No. Your Certified Staging Expert (CSE) designation does not expire and does not require renewal fees. Once you’ve earned it, it’s yours permanently.
Career Questions
No. Home staging is not a licensed profession in any US state. You do not need a license, permit, degree, or government certification to work as a home stager or start a home staging business.
This is different from professions like interior design, which requires licensure in some states, or real estate, which requires passing a state exam. Home staging has no regulatory requirements. Anyone can technically call themselves a home stager and start taking clients tomorrow.
So why get certified if it’s not required?
Certification matters because it differentiates you in a crowded market. When a real estate agent is choosing between two stagers, one with professional training and credentials and one without, the certified stager wins that comparison. Certification signals that you’ve invested in your skills and take your business seriously.
Certification also gives you confidence. Many people interested in home staging have natural design talent but feel uncertain about the business side. How much should I charge? What should my contract say? How do I handle a difficult client? A good certification program answers these questions so you’re not guessing when real money is on the line.
You’ll also want business insurance before working in clients’ homes, and a business license from your city or county. These are standard requirements for any small business, not specific to staging. Our course covers how to set up your business properly, including insurance, registration, and legal structure.
Certification signals to clients and real estate agents that you’ve invested in professional training. It helps you stand out from hobbyists, justify higher fees, and gives you confidence when pitching your services. Many graduates report that certification paid for itself within their first few jobs.
Yes. The course covers business setup, registration, insurance, pricing, client meetings, and marketing. You’ll have the knowledge and templates to start taking clients as soon as you’re certified.
Rates vary by location and service type. Consultation fees typically range from $150 to $500, while hands-on staging projects can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the scope. The course covers pricing strategy in detail, including how to research your local market.
You have to earn it. Our certification requires passing an exam that tests your knowledge and submitting photos of rooms you have actually staged. We review these submissions before issuing your certification. The Home Staging Institute has maintained these standards since 2007, and our course content is regularly updated based on feedback from working stagers. This isn’t a certificate mill where you pay and automatically receive credentials.
International Students
Yes. Students from 49 countries have completed our certification. The course is fully online and accessible anywhere with an internet connection.
The core staging principles, buyer psychology, and design techniques apply universally. Some business content like insurance and legal structure is US-focused, but the marketing, pricing, and client management strategies work in any market. Many international graduates have successfully adapted the curriculum to their local markets.
