Become a Certified Residential Appraiser

A Certified Residential Appraiser is a person that is certified by TALCB to perform residential real property appraisals.  A Certified Residential Appraiser is authorized for the appraisal of 1-4 unit residential properties without regard to transaction value or complexity of the appraisal for federally related transactions and non-federally related transactions.

Qualifications 

• 18 years of age or older
• 200 hours of qualifying appraisal education outlined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and TALCB
• One of the 6 required college-level degree requirements
• 1,500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 12 months
• Meet TALCB's qualifications for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity

Requirements

Complete Qualifying Education Requirement

• 200 hours of qualifying appraisal education outlined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and TALCB

Complete College Education Requirement

In order to become a Certified Residential Appraiser in Texas you must meet one of the following college-level education requirements:

• Option 1: Bachelor’s degree in any field of study;
• Option 2: Associate's degree in a field of study related to Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or Real Estate;
• Option 3: Successful completion of 30 semester hours of college-level courses in each of 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 topics or in Accounting, Geography, Agricultural Economics, Business Management, or Real Estate (3 hours each);
• Option 4: Successful completion of at least 30 hours of College Level Examination Program^® (CLEP^®) examinations that cover each of the specific topic areas in Option 3 (see Equivalency Table for applicable exams);
• Option 5: Any combination of Option 3 and Option 4 that includes all of the topics identified; or
• Option 6: No college-level education required for appraisers who have held a Licensed Residential credential for at least 5 years and have no record of adverse, final, and non-appealable disciplinary action affecting the Licensed Residential appraiser's legal eligibility to engage in appraisal practice with the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application for a Certified Residential Appraiser credential.

Complete Experience Requirement

• Gain 1,500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 12 months

File Your Application

Apply Online

Submit your application to become a Certified Residential 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 Residential 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.

Upgrading from Certified Residential Appraiser

Once you are a Certified Residential Appraiser, you may work towards meeting the requirements for a Certified General Appraiser. You can do this by associating with a Certified General appraiser, who must sign the appraisal reports, in order for you to appraise non-residential properties. To upgrade you need to meet the additional education, experience, and examination requirements.