How to Get a Residential Real Estate Appraiser's License in Texas

The many real estate transactions that occur in the state of Texas every month require knowledgeable individuals to determine the fair market value of that real estate. Banks want to lend money to buyers of homes, but only if those homes are worth the money being lent. Homeowners want to borrow money against the value of their homes and buyers want confirmation that the money that they're offering to buy their homes for are priced fairly. All of these parties use residential real estate appraisers who are licensed by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board.

In Texas, there are five different appraisal designations, each with their own educational and experience requirements. These designations are "Certified General Real Estate Appraiser," "Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser," "State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser," "Provisional Licensed Real Estate Appraiser" and "Approved Appraiser Trainee."

Every applicant for each of these five designations must meet the following qualifications:

· The applicant must be at least 18 years old.

· The applicant must satisfy the board as to his/her honesty, trustworthiness and integrity.

· The applicant must have completed the minimum number of classroom hours of study as required by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board.

· The applicant must successfully have completed the minimum number of experience hours within a specified amount of
time.

· The applicant must successfully pass the board-approved examination.

Each one of these different designations requires a different level of requirements.

Certified General Real Estate Appraiser may appraise all types of real property regardless of property value.
· 180 hrs of acceptable real estate appraiser courses including:
· 90 hrs of fundamental real estate appraiser courses
· 30 hrs of non-residential appraisal courses
· 15 hrs of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
· 45 hrs of approved related courses
· 3,000 hrs of acceptable real estate experience within 30 months, including:
· 1,500 hrs of non-residential real estate appraising
· 1,500 hrs of approved related experience
· Pass the Appraiser Qualifications Board-approved general certification exam

· Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser may appraise 1-4 unit residential property regardless of property value. Works with Certified General Real Estate Appraiser who must sign all appraisal reports of non-residential properties.
· 120 hrs of acceptable real estate appraiser courses including:
· 60 hrs of fundamental real estate appraiser courses
· 15 hrs of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
· 45 hrs of approved related courses
· 2,500 hrs of acceptable real estate experience within 24 months
· Pass the Appraiser Qualifications Board-approved general certification exam

· State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser may appraise 1-4 unit residential property valued at less than $1 million (non-
complex) or $250 thousand (complex). Works with Certified General Real Estate Appraiser who must sign all appraisal
reports of non-residential properties.
· 90 hrs of acceptable real estate appraiser courses including:
· 40 hrs of fundamental real estate appraiser courses
· 15 hrs of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
· 35 hrs of approved related courses
· 2,000 hrs of acceptable real estate experience within professional career

Pass the Appraiser Qualifications Board-approved general certification exam

Provisional Licensed Real Estate Appraiser may appraise 1-4 unit residential
property valued at less than $1 million (non-complex) or $250 thousand (complex).

90 hrs of acceptable real estate appraiser courses including:

40 hrs of fundamental real estate appraiser courses

15 hrs of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)

35 hrs of approved related courses

0 hrs of acceptable real estate experience, but must have 2,000 hrs within 60 months or Provisional License will be revoked

Pass the Appraiser Qualifications Board-approved general certification exam

Approved Appraiser Trainee must appraise real property while being supervised by a sponsoring Certified General Real Estate Appraiser.

Must be sponsored by one or more current Texas certified (only) appraisers who is responsible for the Trainee's actions.

All residential real estate appraiser's certifications and licenses expire two years from the last day of the month in which they were issued. As a condition of certificate and license renewal, all active certificate and license holders must complete continuing education requirements as following:

Continuing education courses or seminars must be at least 28 classroom hours in length.

Seven of those classroom hours must be the National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice course which was established by the Appraiser Qualification's Board (AQB) of The Appraisal Foundation as a national requirement for all States.