Becoming an appraiser in the state of Texas is a multi-faceted process consisting of education, training, examination, and a background check and history review. All these steps toward licensing or certification take place through the Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board (TALCB), the same agency that regulates and monitors licensed and certified appraisers for compliance with applicable laws. An appraiser license defense attorney can assist you with any impediments that you may encounter during the licensing or certification process, as well as with any disciplinary proceedings that you may face as a licensed or certified appraiser.
Qualifying as an Appraiser Trainee
An appraiser trainee must complete several steps with TALCB to qualify as an appraiser trainee. First, the appraiser trainee must work with a supervisory appraiser as a trainee. They also must complete the required education, which consists of 75 hours of qualifying appraisal education and 4 hours of a TALCB-approved Appraiser Trainee / Supervisor Appraiser Course. The appraiser trainee applicant must complete all required education within five years of applying for appraiser trainee status.
The other major portion of the appraiser trainee application process is the background history review and check. The purpose of this review is to assure the TALCB as to the applicant’s honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. As part of this review, the applicant must submit a set of fingerprints to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Furthermore, the applicant must submit an appraiser trainee application that requires the completion of certain questions about prior disciplinary actions concerning any occupational or professional license or certification, criminal background, and civil lawsuits. If the applicant answers in the affirmative to any of these questions, they must provide a written explanation of the events and attach appropriate documentary evidence. In some cases, the existence of these events may require the TALCB to perform a more in-depth background investigation. Information that the TALCB finds during such an investigation can be grounds for denying an appraiser trainee license.
Qualifying as a Licensed or Certified Appraiser
Licensed residential appraisers, certified general appraisers, and certified residential appraisers all have different scopes of practice in terms of the type and transactional value of the properties they can appraise. As a result, although all appraiser licenses and certifications require some degree of education, training, examinations, and background checks, these requirements differ.
The only consistent requirement among all three categories of appraisers is that all applicants must satisfy the TALCB as to their honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity through a background history review. This review requires the submission of fingerprints to the Texas DPS. As with the appraiser trainee application, applicants must complete certain questions and, if answering them in the affirmative, provide a written explanation and documentary evidence of each event related to a disciplinary action, criminal prosecution, or civil lawsuit.
Qualifying as a Licensed Residential Appraiser
In addition to the background history review, applicants must complete the following to qualify as a licensed residential appraiser:
- Complete 150 hours of qualifying appraisal education;
- Gain 1,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of six months; or complete the AQB-approved Licensed Residential Real Property PAREA training module; and
- Pass the National Licensed Residential Real Property exam.
Qualifying as a Certified General Appraiser
In addition to the background history review, applicants must complete the following to qualify as a certified general appraiser:
- Complete 200 hours of qualifying appraisal education;
- Complete one of the following college-level education requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree in any field of study;
- An associate’s degree in a field of study related to Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or Real Estate;
- 30 semester hours of college-level courses in each the following specific topic areas:
- English Composition – 3 hours
- Microeconomics – 3 hours
- Macroeconomics – 3 hours
- Finance – 3 hours
- Algebra, Geometry, or Higher Math – 3 hours
- Statistics – 3 hours
- Computer Science – 3 hours
- Business Law or Real Estate Law – 3 hours
- Two elective courses in any of the above subjects or in Accounting, Geography, Agricultural Economics, Business Management, or Real Estate – 3 hours each
- At least 30 hours of College Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations that cover each of the specific topic areas listed above;
- Any combination of college-level courts and CLEP examinations that cover all the topic areas listed above; or
- No college-level education requirement for appraisers holding a License Residential credential for at least five years with no record of adverse, final, and non-appealable disciplinary action within the previous five years.
- Gain 1,500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of six months; or complete the AQB-approved Certified Residential PAREA training module; or complete the AQB-approved Licensed Residential PAREA training module and gain 500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of six months; and
- Pass the National Certified Residential Real Property exam.
Qualified as a Certified Residential Appraiser
In addition to the background history review, applicants must complete the following to qualify as a certified residential appraiser:
- Complete 300 hours of qualifying appraisal education as outlined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board and TALCB;
- Hold a bachelor’s degree in any field of study or higher;
- Gain the following experience:
- 3,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of 18 months, of which a minimum of 1,500 hours must be non-residential real property appraisal experience; or
- Complete the AQB-approved Licensed Residential PAREA training module and 2,000 hours (1,500 nonresidential hours) of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of 12 months; or
- Complete the AQB-approved Certified Residential PAREA training module and 1,500 nonresidential hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience over a minimum of six months; and
- Pass the National Certified General Real Property exam.
Get Legal Advice and Defend Your Appraiser License or Certification
Barriers to your appraiser license or certification can be devastating, especially when you have worked so hard to reach that point in your career. Likewise, disciplinary proceedings with potentially adverse effects on your career can be devastating. Trying to handle disciplinary proceedings on your own before TALCB is risky when you have so much at stake. An appraiser defense lawyer at Bertolino LLP can evaluate your situation and determine the best strategy to protect your license. Call us today at (512) 515-9518 or get more information about us online.
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