Become a Certified General Appraiser
A Certified General Appraiser is a person licensed by TALCB to perform real property appraisals. A Certified General Appraiser is authorized to appraise all types of real property without regard to complexity or transaction value for federally related transactions and non-federally related transactions.
Qualifications
- 18 years of age or older
- 300 hours of qualifying appraisal education outlined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and TALCB.
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- 3,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 18 months of which a minimum of 1,500 hours must be non-residential real property appraisal experience
- Meet TALCB's qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity
Requirements
Complete Qualifying Education Requirements
- 300 hours of qualifying appraisal education outlined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and TALCB.
Complete College Education Requirements
- In order to become a Certified General Appraiser in Texas you must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.
Complete Experience Requirement
- Gain 3,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 18 months of which a minimum of 1,500 hours must be non-residential real property appraisal experience
File Your Application
Apply Online
Submit your application to become a Certified General Appraiser using our Online Services. If you don't already have a username and password for My License Online Services, register now. If you have done business with TALCB or TREC online in the past, log in now. Once you have applied and made the application payment, submit your course completion certificates, experience log, experience affidavit, and any supporting background documents via email.
Apply by Mail
If you prefer, you can also apply for your Certified General Appraiser license using our paper application. This may take longer to process and you will need to include copies of your course completion certificates, experience log, experience affidavit, and any supporting background documents.
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. Fingerprints on file for other agencies will not be accepted. A license 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.
Take The Exam
License exams are administered by PearsonVUE, a testing service company.
After you pass the appraisal experience audit, you will be sent a notice with instructions for scheduling the exam. Information on exam design, content, timing, and practice questions can be found on the Appraisal Foundation’s website. The Candidate Handbook can be found on the PearsonVUE website.
Find information from the AQB on exam content, study tips, and more starting on page 70 of the AQB Criteria Q&As.
Information on exam topics and success rate for each topic can be found here. Applicants may find this information helpful in studying for the exam and determining areas of focus.
If you fail the exam three times, additional education will be required.
You will be notified to submit the National Registry fee once all requirements are successfully completed.