State-certified residential real estate appraiser

Education and experience requirements

Before you are eligible to become a state-certified residential real estate appraiser, you must meet all of the following education and experience requirements.

There is no specific order required to gain this education and experience. After you have completed these requirements, you are eligible to take the state-certified residential appraiser examination.

Experience

Before you may take the examination, you must:

  • find a certified appraiser willing to supervise your work experience as a trainee.
  • work under the supervisory appraiser to get a minimum of 2 years’ real estate appraiser experience (24 months and 2,500 hours). Hours may be treated as cumulative in order to achieve the necessary hours of appraisal experience.

Education

To be eligible to take the examination, you must successfully complete:

  • an associate degree or higher in any field or 21 semester hours in specific subject matter courses, including:
    • English composition
    • Principles of economics (micro or macro)
    • Finance
    • Algebra, geometry, or higher mathematics
    • Statistics
    • Introduction to computers: Word processing/spreadsheets
    • Business or real estate law
  • AND
  • a total of 200 classroom hours of approved real estate appraisal courses, including all of the following:
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
Electives 20 hours

How to apply to take the certification examination

  1. Complete a Adobe PDF iconReal Estate Appraiser Certification Application. If you are an applicant from outside Washington State, please complete the Consent of Service form included in the application.
  2. Attach copies of all education documentation.
  3. Enclose a completed experience log. No credit will be granted for restricted appraisal reports.
  4. Enclose the $246 application fee as a check or money order payable to “Washington State Treasurer.” Fees are non-refundable.
  5. Mail the application, documentation, and fee to us at the address shown on the application.
  6. Allow a minimum of 2 weeks for processing. We will review the application and determine if you are eligible to take the examination. We will send you an examination approval letter notifying you that you are approved to take the examination, or a letter explaining why your application was denied.
  7. Call the toll-free number provided in your approval letter to schedule the examination date and location. Examinations are by appointment only. You must have an approval letter from the Department of Licensing to be admitted into the examination.