To become a licensed appraiser, you must first register with a regulatory agency, meet educational requirements, work as a trainee, and then pass a licensing exam. Property appraisal standards differ by country. The United States and the United Kingdom, for example, have adopted minimum standards and licensing procedures for appraisers. The entire industry is moving toward international standards and credentialing, which will make it easier to appraise property in a global context.
Appraiser licensing is a recent development in the valuation industry that began in the 1990s. If you want to become a licensed appraiser, you should contact the government agency or other organization that sets the licensing standards to find out the specific requirements for the jurisdiction where you want to practice. The only certainty is that appraisal licensing, like any other type of licensing, will require education, training, and testing across jurisdictions.
Because American organizations have been at the forefront of the push for international appraisal standardization, you can use the licensing requirements in the United States as a general guide to the types of criteria you’ll have to meet in most jurisdictions. Appraiser licensing is handled by each state in the United States. The Appraisal Foundation’s Appraiser Qualification Board (AQB) establishes minimum standards, which states must at least meet in their licensing procedures. Some states’ licensing procedures go beyond the bare minimum.
If you want to work as an appraiser, you must first register with the agency in charge of appraiser licensing in the jurisdiction where you want to work. You must first apply for a trainee’s license and then complete the educational requirements, which typically include at least 60 hours of basic appraisal principles and procedures and 15 hours of professional ethics education for appraisers, as set forth by the AQB. A college or university, a community or junior college, a real estate organization, or a specialized appraisal school can all provide these educational hours. Meanwhile, over the course of two years, you must work as an appraiser trainee under the supervision of a licensed appraiser for 2,000 hours.
To become a licensed appraiser, you must pass the AQB appraisers exam after completing the education and experience requirements. There are three levels of appraiser credentials: licensed appraiser, certified residential appraiser, and certified general appraiser. This is the first level exam. You can apply to change your trainee’s license to a regular license after passing the licensed appraiser exam.