Become an Appraiser Trainee
An Appraiser Trainee is a person who is authorized (approved, but not licensed) by TALCB to gain legal real estate appraisal experience under the supervision of a Certified General or Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser.
If you are thinking about becoming a Certified or Licensed Residential Appraiser, the first step is to obtain an Appraiser Trainee Authorization. Through this designation and your training you’ll learn about the role of the appraiser and work alongside a supervising appraiser. Your supervisor will teach you appraisal practices and approved techniques for assembling information about the property, analyzing this data, and developing opinions of value.
Qualifications
- Citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien
- 18 years of age or older
- 75 hours of qualifying appraisal education
- 4 hours the Board approved Appraiser Trainee/Supervisory Appraiser Course
- Meet TALCB’s qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity
Requirements
Find a Supervisor
- Find a certified appraiser to act as your supervisor.
Complete Qualifying Education
- 75 hours of qualifying appraisal education
- 4 hours the Board approved Appraiser Trainee/Supervisory Appraiser Course
All qualifying education must be completed not more than 5 years before the application date.
File Your Application
Apply Online
Submit your application and fee to become an Appraiser Trainee using our Online Services. If you don’t already have a username and password for our Online Services register now. If you have registered online with TALCB or TREC in the past, log in now. Once you have applied and made the application payment, submit your course completion certificates and applicable addition of supervisor form via email.
Apply by Mail
If you prefer, you can apply for an Appraiser Trainee authorization using our paper application. This may take longer to process and you will need to include copies of your education with the application.
Track the status of your application using the Application Status Tracker.
Get Your Fingerprints Taken and Pass Your Background Check
You are required by law to have fingerprints on file with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) so a background check can be performed. If you have previously submitted fingerprints for a TALCB or TREC license, no additional fingerprints are required. Fingerprints on file for other agencies will not be accepted.
An authorization will not issue if the background check has not been passed. Expect a delay if you are notified of an investigation into your background history.
Remember you cannot start working with your supervisor until TALCB has approved your application. When you begin to work with a supervisor, you are required to keep an Appraisal Experience Log to document your training and experience.
Work Product Review
During the course of your training with your supervisor, you have the opportunity to request feedback on your work experience by submitting an application for review of your work product.
Upgrade Requirements
Appraiser Trainee to Certified General Appraiser
Additional Education Requirements:
A Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university AND
- General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (30 hours)
- General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach (30 hours)
- General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (30 hours)
- General Appraiser Income Approach (Part I and II) (60 hours)
- General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies (30 hours)
- Statistics, Modeling and Finance (15 hours)
- Appraisal Subject Matter Electives (30 hours)(**may be satisfied with courses in Residential modules or overage hours taken for another required course)
Experience Requirements:
Provide 3,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 18 months (1 1/2 years) of which a minimum of 1,500 hours must be non-residential real property appraisal experience. Experience may be acquired anytime during the appraiser's career when that person had legal authority to perform real estate appraisals. Appraisals must comply with USPAP.
Appraiser Trainee to Certified Residential Appraiser
Additional Education Requirements:
One of six college-level education requirements set out by the AQB AND
125 hours required to upgrade in addition to the 75 hours required for an Appraiser Trainee
- 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 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)
Experience Requirements:
Provide 1,500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 12 months (1 year). Experience may be acquired anytime during the appraiser's career when that person had legal authority to perform real estate appraisals. Appraisals must comply with USPAP.
Appraiser Trainee to Licensed Residential Appraiser
Additional Education Requirements:
75 hours required to upgrade in addition to the 75 hours required for an Appraiser Trainee
- 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 Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours)
Experience Requirements:
Provide 1,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 6 months. Experience may be acquired anytime during the appraiser's career when that person had legal authority to perform real estate appraisals. Appraisals must comply with USPAP.