How to Get a
Texas Appraiser License

An Appraiser Trainee is someone who is authorized by the TALCB to gain appraisal experience while working under the supervision of a Certified General or Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser. Once this first step is completed, one can work towards becoming a Licensed Residential Appraiser or Certified Residential Appraiser.

Appraiser Trainee Program (79-Hours):

Courses must be completed before submitting application for approval as an Appraiser Trainee to TALCB.

• Appraisal 1 (30-Hours AQE) - Basic Appraisal Principles
• Appraisal 2 (30-Hours AQE) - Basic Appraisal Procedures
• 15-Hour National USPAP or Equivalent (15-Hours AQE) - Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice - This course must be completed within 24 months of filing your TALCB application. Students must pass with a 74%; re-takes are allowed and can be taken at any campus.
• Texas Appraising for the Supervisor and Trainee (4-Hours AQE)

Licensed Residential Appraiser Program (154-Hours):

In addition to the hours needed for the Appraisal Trainee Program, an additional 75-hours are needed to become a Licensed Residential Appraiser.

• Appraisal 3 (15-Hours AQE) - Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use
• Appraisal 4 (15-Hours AQE) - Residential Site Valuation and Cost Approach
• Appraisal 5 (30-Hours AQE) - Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches
• Appraisal 7 (15-Hours AQE) - Residential Report Writing and Case Studies

Provide 1,000 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 6 months. Courses can be completed during 1000-hour experience accrual.

Certified Residential Appraiser Program (204-Hours):

In addition to the hours needed for the Licensed Appraisal Program, an additional 50-hours and one of six college-level education requirements set by the AQB are needed to become a Certified Residential Appraiser.

• Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies (15-Hours AQE)
• Statistics, Modeling, and Finance (15-Hours AQE)
• Specialized Residential Appraisal Topics (20-Hours AQE)

Provide 1,500 hours of acceptable and verifiable appraisal experience acquired over a minimum of 12 months (1 year). Courses can be completed during 1500-hour experience accrual.

Once you have completed your courses with Champions School of Real Estate, gather your course completion certificates and go to www.talcb.texas.gov, click on "Appraiser Trainee" in the "Become Licensed" dropdown menu at the top of the page.

• Under "File Your Application," click "Register Now."
• On the login screen, under "New User," click "Begin Here for Sign-Up."
• Fill out all the required information to set up your account and follow the instructions. Once an account is created, you will apply for a new license. The application fee for an Appraiser Trainee license is $255.
• Get Your Fingerprints Taken and Pass Your Background Check

• An Appraiser Trainee applicant must have a Texas licensed Certified General or Certified Residential Appraiser to act as a supervisor. The application must be completed and signed by the Appraiser Trainee applicant and by each supervisor.
• While a trainee is not limited to a specific number of supervisors, a supervisor may not supervise more than three trainees at one time
• 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. If you have previously submitted fingerprints for a TALCB or TREC license, no additional fingerprints are required. Fingerprints on file for other agencies will not be accepted.

The TALCB requires that you legally complete 1,000 hours of experience supported by written reports prior to becoming a Licensed Residential Appraiser. This generally equates to 250-300 residential appraisals. You must be supervised by a Certified Residential or Certified General Appraiser.

If working towards becoming a Certified Residential Appraisal the TALCB requires that you legally complete 1,500 hours of experience over a minimum of 12 months (1 year). You must be supervised by a Certified Residential or Certified General Appraiser.

*Educational courses for the license can be completed during appraisal experience hour accrual.

As you undertake your experience hours as an appraisal trainee, you will also complete the required qualifying education courses. To become a licensed residential appraiser, you'll enroll in Champions School of Real Estate's 75-Hour Licensed Residential Appraiser Program and complete the following courses: Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use, Residential Valuation: Site Valuation and Cost Approach, Residential Valuation: Sales Comparison Approach and Income Approach, and Residential Valuation: Report Writing and Case Studies.

Submit completed application, experience log, signed affidavit, and a $350 application fee to the TALCB.

Once you have submitted your license application, it can take them as long as four weeks to review your application and education. During this review period, we highly recommend that you complete the Appraisal Exam Prep course to ensure that you are prepared for the licensing Exam. This class will take the guesswork and stress out of testing. You may repeat the course as many times as you want for a full year at no additional cost to you! We recommend taking the Prep class at least two times and passing with an 80% or better before taking the actual exam.

• Your State Exam will consist of 125 multiple choice questions with a total of 4 hours to complete the exam.
• Scores are reported to candidates as scaled scores that range from 0 to 110, with 75 representing a passing score. A scaled score is not a percentage score, but an adjusted raw score based on the number of questions answered correctly and the overall difficulty level of the exam.
• The cost of the exam is $55 payable to Pearson Vue.
• Appointments can be made by calling 800-997-1248 or visiting pearsonvue.com/tx/appraisers. You will know if you have passed the exam before you leave the testing center.