The NHQA Part 1 Application is now OPEN!
Are you a builder that practices operational excellence? Do you want to be?
Apply NOW for the National Housing Quality Awards—the most prestigious recognition program in the housing industry—and get valuable feedback from your builder peers and industry experts.
Applying for the housing industry’s top business award will help your company improve profitability, achieve better customer satisfaction, and sell more homes...not to mention earning the distinction as one of the best-run home building companies in the country!
Your Part 1 application requires a fee of $2,500 for the entire program or (new this year) $500 per category, both to confirm your intent to complete Part 2, cover the costs of the initial evaluation of your application by a panel of previous NHQA Gold recipients (literally the best builders in the country), and other administrative costs.
Please APPLY ONLINE and submit Part 1 of the NHQA application by March 20, 2026, to indicate your intent to fulfill the application process.
Application Options
You can apply for NHQA in two ways:
The entire program (all 8 sections)
By category (up to 3)
Applying for the entire program is by far the best way to realize the full benefits of NHQA across your operations, but we created the category-specific application option this year to allow you to address particular challenges facing your home building business.
Please note that awards and public recognition will only be earned by builders that apply for the entire NHQA program. Category-specific applicants will receive a detailed Feedback Report with recommendations for improvement.
To decide which option is best for you, please review the NHQA Part 2 Workbook, which provides the breadth of the program by category.
How to Apply
To apply, please register for an account with your email and a password you create (at left) and then clicking on the “Entry Form” link at the top menu bar. Registering also allows you to return to this portal to submit your Part 2 application, among other activities related to your NHQA journey.
Upon receipt and acceptance of your Part 1 application and fee, you will receive a PDF of the Part 2 Workbook and instructions to prepare and submit Part 2 of your NHQA application by May 15, 2026.
Part 2 applicants of the entire NHQA program that display a high level of achievement upon initial review by the examination team will earn a two-day site visit by NHQA examiners to review your operations in person with members of your team. The site visit will incur an additional $2,000 fee.
Regardless of a site visit or a category-specific application, all applicants will receive a full evaluation by the examination team and a detailed Feedback Report outlining its recommendations for improvement.
Want to know more about the NHQA Award? Go to probuilder.com/nhqa for articles about past honorees, application tips and FAQs, and other insights, and check out this short video overview.
If you have questions on the program, please email Jeff Eschliman, NHQA executive director, at jeff.nhqa@gmail.com.
Good luck, and thanks for applying!
