National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination

 
 

Who must take the exam?

Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989 requires all state licensed and certified appraisers to successfully pass an examination administered by a state or territory that is issued or endorsed by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) of The Appraisal Foundation. As a result, in 2008 the AQB launched the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination.

What is on the exam?

The National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination tests a candidate’s ability to apply the knowledge and experience they have obtained. The Exam Content Outline (ECO) contains broad conceptual topic areas, which are related to the Required Core Curriculum modules (topics) established by the AQB for each real property appraiser classification. Guide Note 1 in the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria includes suggested subtopics for each educational topic area required. Although candidates for an appraiser credential are not required by the AQB to obtain education covering each subtopic area, Guide Note 1 was issued to provide topics that would likely appear on the exam.

How long is the exam?

The Licensed Residential, Certified Residential, and Certified General examinations are comprised of 125 questions each. Of those examination questions, 110 items are scored and 15 items are pretest questions and will not be scored. Candidates are permitted up to the following length of time for the three examinations: 

  • Licensed Residential Examination: Four (4) hours 
  • Certified Residential Examination: Four (4) hours 
  • Certified General Examination: Six (6) hours 

Where can I take the exam?

State appraiser regulatory agencies and/or examination vendors can apply to become AQB-approved administrators for the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination. 

State appraiser regulatory agencies and examination developers may use the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination or develop “equivalent examinations.” Equivalent examinations must be reviewed and approved by the AQB before they can be administered to candidates for a state appraiser license or certification.

Read all requirements in the Administration Manual. 

How do I prepare for the exam?

The exam’s sole purpose is to evaluate whether or not candidates possess the minimally required knowledge and skills necessary to practice safely and establish public trust. Therefore, the exam contains questions and content that are representative of actual job performance and test on those content areas at the minimally competent level.

This content was the result of a thorough job analysis studies and subject matter expert panels to evaluate the appropriateness and difficulty level of that content. The exams are not meant to be a “capstone” exam for their education courses and are not directly linked to course content.

New Exam Content Outline (ECO)

As of January 1, 2022, there is a new Exam Content Outline (ECO) for all exams with the following changes. These Exam Content Outlines are revised based on job analyses surveys that let the AQB know what appraisers are doing in the field. Therefore, the changes to the ECO (listed below) should be more in line with appraiser work and education.

In order to effectively study for these topics, you can use the resources listed on this page, search for these topics, study the topics, and be sure to know how to apply each topic in your appraisal practice (with real world scenarios).

Changes to the ECO:

  • There are several small percentage changes from the 2015 outline.
  • The new ECO further breaks down the following main categories:
    • “Reconciliation of Value Indications,” content area 7, now has one subtopic:
      • Reconciliation of Approaches to Value
    • “Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice,” content area 8, now has 13 subtopics:
      • Definitions and Preamble
      • Ethics Rule
      • Record Keeping Rule
      • Competency Rule
      • Scope of Work Rule
      • Jurisdictional Exception Rule
      • Standard 1
      • Standard 2
      • Standard 3
      • Standard 4
      • USPAP Advisory Opinions and FAQs
      • Extraordinary Assumption
      • Hypothetical Condition
  • In the 2022 ECO there are two new sections (with their own subsections):
    • Emerging Appraisal Methods
      • Application of Online Property Information Database and Technological Tools
      • Appropriate Use and Limitations of the Hybrid/Bifurcated Appraisal Method
      • Use and Limitations of Automated Valuation Methods
    • Appraisal Statistical Methods
      • Statistical Measures of Central Tendency
      • Statistical Measures of Variation
      • Inferential Statistical Techniques Used in Appraising


Questions?

If you have any further questions, please contact Aida Dedajic.