Who needs a license?
Anyone who provides appraisal services for all types of real property.
Education and experience requirements
To be eligible you must meet all of the following education and experience requirements.
Education
If you are a State-Licensed Appraiser, you can upgrade to a Residential Appraiser license with no college education under certain conditions. See Upgrade from State-Licensed Appraiser to Residential Appraiser below.
Option 1
Bachelor's Degree or higher in any field of study
Option 2
Associates Degree in a field of study related to:
- Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Economic, or
- Real Estate
Option 3
Successful completion of 30 semester hours of college-level courses in all of the following specific topic areas:
- English Composition (3 hours), and
- Microeconomics (3 hours), and
- Macroeconomics (3 hours), and
- Finance (3 hours), and
- Algebra, Geometry, or Higher Math (3 hours), and
- Statistics (3 hours), and
- Computer Science (3 hours), and
- Business Law or Real Estate Law (3 hours), and
- 2 Elective courses in Accounting, Geography, Agricultural Economics, Business Management, or Real Estate (3 hours each elective)
Option 4
Successful completion of at least 30 semester hours of College Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) examinations that cover all of the following:
- College mathematics (6 hours), and
- College algebra (3 hours), and
- College Composition (6 hours), and
- College Composition Modular (3 hours), and
- Principles of Microeconomics (3 hours), and
- Principles of Macroeconomics (3 hours), and
- Introductory Business Law (3 hours), and
- Information systems (3 hours)
Option 5
Successful completion of 30 semester credit hour combination of Option 3 (college) and Option 4 (CLEP®) to include at least 1 course or CLEP exam in each of the following:
- Composition, and
- Microeconomics, and
- Macroeconomics, and
- Business law, and
- Algebra, Geometry, or Higher Math
and
- Appraiser specific education: A total of 200 classroom hours of approved real estate appraisal courses, including all of the following (if upgrading from State-Licensed see list above instead):
Education requirements
| Subject | Hours required |
|---|---|
| Basic appraisal principles | 30 hours |
| Basic appraisal procedures | 30 hours |
| Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) | 15 hours |
| Residential market analysis and highest and best use | 15 hours |
| Residential appraiser site valuation and cost approach | 15 hours |
| Residential sales comparison and income approaches | 30 hours |
| Residential appraiser report writing and case studies | 15 hours |
| Statistics, modeling and finance | 15 hours |
| Advanced residential applications and case studies | 15 hours |
| Appraisal Subject Matter Electives | 20 hours |
Option 6
You don't need a college-level education to apply for a residential real estate appraiser license if you've been a state-licensed appraiser for at least 5 years. Doing so meets all necessary requirements.
Experience
Before you may take the exam, you must:
- Find a certified appraiser willing to supervise your work experience as a licensed registered appraiser trainee. See State-registered real estate appraiser trainee for more information.
- Work under the supervisory appraiser to get at least 2 years real estate appraiser experience (24 full months, first date to last date of experience log, and 2,500 hours).
Upgrade from a State-Licensed Appraiser to a Certified Residential Appraiser
If you're licensed as a State-Licensed Appraiser, you can upgrade to a Certified Residential Appraiser with no college education if:
- You've been licensed as a State-Licensed Appraiser for a minimum of 5 years, and
- Your license is in good standing and not subject to disciplinary action within the last 5 years affecting eligibility to practice, and
- You submit a new experience log reflecting 500 experience hours gained as a State-Licensed Appraiser in no fewer than 12 full months (first date through last date of experience log), and
- You have completed appraiser specific education that includes:
- Statistics, modeling, and finance, 15 hours, and
- Advanced residential applications and case studies, 15 hours, and
- Appraisal subject matter electives, 20 hours.
Before you apply for the exam
- Complete the Real Estate Appraiser Applicant Experience Log in chronological order. You won't be granted credit for restricted appraisal reports. Trainees won't be granted credit for review appraisal reports.
- Every page must be signed by you. All pages with experience obtained under a supervisor must also be signed by them. If you have multiple supervisors, separate logs must be maintained. If you are a returning appraiser using experience from when you were licensed, you do not need to sign twice.
- Request official college transcripts be sent to:
Real Estate Appraiser Section
Department of Licensing
PO Box 9021
Olympia, WA 98507-9021 - Gather your appraiser education course completion certificates.
- Be ready to answer legal background questions and provide documents, if needed.
How to apply for the exam
Online
Log in or sign up to apply to take the exam online.
By mail
Mail a completed Real Estate Appraiser Certification Application and the following documents to the address shown on the application:
- Copies of your appraiser education course completion certificates.
- Appraiser Applicant/Trainee Assignment Log(s). (We recommend you keep copies of your signed logs). We recommend you keep copies of your signed logs.
- An official college transcript if not sent directly by the college.
- Check or money order for the application fee (payable to the Department of Licensing). Fee is non-refundable.
Allow at least 2 weeks for processing. We'll review the application to determine if you're eligible for the exam. We'll notify you if you're approved to take the exam or explain why your application was denied.
After you're approved for the exam
Schedule your exam online, by phone, or by mail with PSI (goamp.com). For more information, see the Candidate Handbook.
After you've passed your exam
Online
Log in or sign up to submit your score and pay your fee online.
By mail
Mail your original passing score report from the exam vendor with a check or money order for the certification fee (payable to the Department of Licensing) to:
Real Estate Appraiser Section
Department of Licensing
PO Box 3777
Seattle, WA 98124-3777
For veterans, military personnel, and partners
Your military experience or training might help you meet licensing requirements. You may also be able to get a temporary license if you're moving here with a current license from another state. Learn more about using your military training to meet professional license requirements.
If you're a U.S. veteran, you may be eligible for partial reimbursement of your fees. Learn more about getting reimbursed for fees.