A Guide to Becoming An Appraiser

The Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board Requirements

Persons interested in becoming a real estate appraiser must be at least 18 years of age and have a high school education or equivalent. The entry level for appraisers is Registered Trainee Appraiser. Application cannot be made with the state until the minimum educational requirements have been satisfied.

Attend the Agora School of Real Estate

The educational requirement to become a Registered Trainee Appraiser is completion of course AB-I consisting of 75 hours of prescribed course material. This comprehensive course contains material taught by highly qualified industry experts in a comfortable classroom environment. A course final examination consisting of 100 questions must be passed with a grade of 75 ore more to obtain credit for the course. For class schedules, please click on our course schedules link.

Apply to Become a Registered Trainee Appraiser

Successful completion of the AB-I course entitles the student to apply for registration wtih the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board as a Registered Trainee Appraiser. No state examination is required.

You may register as a trainee with or without having an employer but may not perform appraisal services unless employed.

Complete Post License Education

The post license educational requirement consist of two courses totaling 45 hours: Course AB-II consisting of 30 hours of information designed to further the professional skills of the appraiser, plus 15 hours devoted to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. This materials covers various topics approved by the Florida Appraisal Board and can only be completed by live classroom instruction. Each course requires passage of an end-of-course school exam with a score of 75 out of a possible 100. To maintain your trainee status you will need to successfully complete this post license educational requirement wtihin the initial registration period, whether employed or not. There is no grace period beyond expiration of the registration period! We strongly recommend you complete this requirement as soon as possible after receiving your initial registration.

Building a Career

To become eligible for state certification a trainee must be employed and supervised by a state licensed or state certified appraiser for 2 years and satisfactorily complete post licensing education.

A trainee that has become eligible to apply for state certification but elects to continue employment as a trainee will be required to complete a 3 hour Florida specific law and rules course in addition to satisfying continuing education requirements. Subsequent to July 1, 2003 the state will no longer issue licenses to appraisers. The status is being eliminated.

Subsequent registration renewals (those following the initial license period) require completion of 30 hours of continuing education, which can be completed through live classroom attendance or distance learning.

Become a State Certified Residential Appraiser

During the 2 year trainee period, trainees that accumulate a minimum of 150 appraisal reports of one-to-four unit residential properties and satisfactorily complete post licensing educational requirements are eligible to apply to take a state examination to become a State Certified Residential Appraiser. Before making application to take a state examination, please refer to Step Eight. State Certified Residential Appraisers may appraise one to four unit residential properties without supervision.

Become a State Certified General Appraiser

It is not necessary to become a State Certified Residential Appraiser before qualifying to become a State Certified General Appraiser. It is only necessary to meet the educational and experience requirements.

In addition to courses AB-I, AB-II and the 45 hours post licensing education, applicants must satisfactorily complete the Florida Appraisal Board course AB-III consisting of 60 hours, which may be completed by live classroom instruction or by distance learning. Passage of a school examination with a score of 75 our of a possible 100 is required.  This course is only offered infrequently.

Specified experience in non-residential appraising must be accumulated in not less than 30 months. Some residential experience may be used to qualify, but not less than 50% or experience claimed can be in non-residentail appraisal.

Pass Your State Examination the First Time

Enroll in either of our exclusive Internet State Exam Prep Course for Residential Appraiser or for Certified General Appraiser. These intensive courses are designed to prepare you to apply the information learned in the pre-license courses to the state examination. The course you select may be taken as many times as desired over a 90 day period and is available to all applicants, even if they completed their pre-license courses with another school.

Out-Of-State Appraisers Requesting Florida Certification

If you have acquired education and experience as an appraiser in another state and desire certification in Florida, you must contact the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board. The Customer Contact Center for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regular is 850-487-1395 or www.myflorida.com.