The Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) adopted changes to the education and experience criteria for real property appraisers with an effective date of May 1, 2018, and the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board adopted rules to implement these changes in Texas to coincide with the AQB effective date. Under the new criteria, no college-level education is required to obtain a Licensed Residential appraiser credential. The AQB added several options for applicants to satisfy the college-level education required to obtain a Certified Residential appraiser credential and retained the Bachelor’s Degree requirement to obtain a Certified General appraiser credential. The three charts below summarize the changes to the college-level education criteria:
College-Level Education |
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PREVIOUSJan 1, 2015 – April 30, 2018 |
NEWMay 1, 2018 |
Licensed Residential |
30 Semester Hours of College-Level Education |
No College-Level Education Required |
Certified Residential |
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher |
(See Chart of Options Below) |
Certified General |
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher |
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (No change) |
College-Level Education Options for Certified Residential |
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Option #1 |
Option #2 |
Option #3 |
Option #4 |
Option #5 |
Option #6 |
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Bachelor’s Degree in any field of study |
Associates Degree in a field of study related to: Business Administration Accounting Finance Economics; or Real Estate |
Successful completion of 30 semester hours of college-level courses that cover each of the following specific topic areas and hours: 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) |
Successful completion of at least 30 semester hours of College Level Examination Program®(CLEP®) examinations (see Equivalency Table below) |
Any combination of Option #3 and Option #4 that includes all of the topics identified in Option #3 |
No college-level education required. This option applies only to appraisers who have held a Licensed Residential credential for a minimum of five (5) years and have no record of any adverse, final, and non-appealable disciplinary action affecting the Licensed Residential appraiser’s legal eligibility to engage in appraisal practice within the five (5) years immediately preceding the date of application for a Certified Residential credential |
CLEP® Exam Equivalency Table |
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CLEP Exams |
CLEPSemester Hours Granted |
Applicable College Courses |
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College Algebra |
3 |
Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, or higher mathematics |
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College Composition |
6 |
English Composition |
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College Composition Modular |
3 |
English Composition |
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College Mathematics |
6 |
Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, or higher mathematics |
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Principles of Macroeconomics |
3 |
Macroeconomics or Finance |
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Principles of Microeconomics |
3 |
Microeconomics or Finance |
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Introductory Business Law |
3 |
Business Law or Real Estate Law |
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Information Systems |
3 |
Computer Science |
The AQB also adopted changes to the experience criteria. Under the new criteria, the number of experience hours required to obtain a Licensed Residential appraiser credential changed from 2,000 hours over a minimum of 12 months to 1,000 hours over a minimum of 6 months. Experience required to obtain a Certified Residential appraiser credential changed from 2,500 hours over a minimum of 24 months to 1,500 hours over a minimum of 12 months. Obtaining a Certified General appraiser credential still requires 3,000 hours of experience, including 1,500 hours of non-residential appraisal work, but candidates may obtain that experience over a minimum of 18 months instead of 30 months. The chart below summarizes the changes to the experience criteria:
Experience |
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PREVIOUS |
NEWEffective May 1, 2018 |
Licensed Residential |
2,000 hours in no fewer than 12 months |
1,000 hours In no fewer than 6 months |
Certified Residential |
2,500 hours in no fewer than 24 months |
1,500 hours In no fewer than 12 months |
Certified General |
3,000 hours, including 1,500 hours of non-residential appraisal work in no fewer than 30 months |
3,000 hours, including 1,500 hours of non-residential appraisal work in no fewer than 18 months |