How to Become a Real Estate Appraiser in Hawaii: Your
5-Step Guide

How to Become a Certified Residential Appraiser in Hawaii

Now let’s take a deeper look at the steps recommended to really start your appraisal career as a certified residential appraiser in Hawaii.

1. 1. Obtain Your Hawaii Real Estate Appraiser Trainee License

   NOTE: Your state may accept PAREA or Practicum as an alternative to Trainee license with Trainee/Supervisory model.

   The best way to become a certified residential appraiser in Hawaii is to first get your Real Estate Appraiser Trainee license. But before you can apply, you need to complete the minimum 75 hours of Hawaii Appraiser Qualifying Education (which must be approved by The Appraisal Foundation). This coursework is broken up as follows:

   • 30 hours of appraisal principles
   • 30 hours of appraisal procedures
   • 15 hours of Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)

   Once your qualifying education is complete, Hawaii requires you to take an AQB-Approved Supervisor-Trainee Course (4 hours). Before signing up, you’ll need to find a supervisory appraiser who will act as your mentor through completion of your experience hours. (Your supervisory appraiser will also need to complete the AQB Supervisor-Trainee Course if they haven't already done so.) And finally, you will both need to fill out and submit the Supervisor Transfer of Appraiser Trainee License form.

   Purchase your required HI trainee courses »

2. 2. Complete Your Certified Residential Appraiser Education

   After getting your Appraiser Trainee license, it’s time for the next step toward becoming a certified residential appraiser: 125 hours of Hawaii-approved qualifying education. Hawaii requires a very specific breakdown of this coursework.

3. 3. Conduct Your Appraisal Work Experience

   Once you’ve finished your qualifying education, you must conduct at least 1,500 hours of actual appraisal experience. Additionally, those 1,500 hours must be completed:

   • Under the supervision of a licensed residential real estate appraiser; and
   • Over a period of at least 12 months.

   This means that you must take no less than 12 months to complete your 1,500 hours of appraisals. To put things in perspective, if a trainee works 30 hours per workweek, they will complete their training in a little over 24 months. If, however, they put in any fewer than 30 hours per week, it would take longer. Here’s a helpful table to give you an overview of the timeframes you’d be looking at.

   Number of Hours Per Week	Total Time to Complete 1,500 hours
   ≈24 Hours	≈24 Months
   ≈19 Hours	≈2.5 Years
   ≈16 Hours	≈3 Years
   ≈14 Hours	≈3.5 Years

   *Must be completed under the supervision of a certified Hawaii appraiser*

4. 4. Submit Your Application

   After you complete your required work experience hours, it’s time to apply for licensure in Hawaii. Here’s a list of what you’ll need to get started:

   • Read through the application carefully
   • Gather all of your supporting documentation (e.g., transcripts; proof of coursework; experience log; etc.)
   • Submit to a background check with fingerprinting
   • Prepare the $100 application fee

   All that’s left is to submit your application, supporting documents, and application fee either online, or by mail.

5. 5. Pass the National Uniform Licensing & Certification Examination

   Once your application has been submitted, the Board will review your application and, if acceptable to the Board, you will be approved to take the National Uniform Licensing & Certification Examination.

   You will need a sponsoring entity to take the exam. In Hawaii, the exam is administered by PSI. We’ve compiled a few handy pieces of information to help you prepare:

   • The exam is four to six hours long. The Certified Residential Examination takes four hours to complete, and the Certified General Examination takes six hours to complete.
   • There are 125 questions on the test. The National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination is composed of 125 total questions. Fifteen of these questions are considered practice and answering those questions wrong does not negatively affect your score.
   • A score of 75 points is passing. Scores for the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination range between 0 and 110 points. Each question carries an equal weight of 1 point. To pass, you must earn a minimum of 75 points.
   • You can take the test more than once. The Appraisal Foundation allows you to take the test up to three times.

Appraiser License Types in Hawaii

Hawaii recognizes three different levels of appraisal licensure, so it’s important to understand the differences as each has their own unique qualifications. The three license types are:

• Real Estate Appraiser Trainee
• Certified Residential Appraiser
• Certified General Appraiser

Hawaii Real Estate Appraiser Trainee

Like most states, Hawaii offers a pilot program to help potential appraisers begin their path toward becoming fully licensed. Known as an appraiser trainee, this is the first level you can achieve before you can become fully licensed and start performing valuation services on real property – including appraising homes – on your own. You must work under the direct supervision of a certified appraiser.

Hawaii Certified Residential Appraiser

Certified residential appraisers may provide appraisal services in transactions with 1-4-unit residential properties without regard to value or complexity. In some cases, they may also provide appraisal services on other types of property if in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and if they are cosigned by a certified general appraiser.

Hawaii Certified General Appraiser

A certified general appraiser license is the highest level of appraiser license you can achieve in Hawaii. They can provide appraisal services in transactions with all types of residential or commercial real property without regard to value or complexity.

State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser

State certified general real estate appraisers are the highest level of appraiser professionals. They can appraise all types of residential or commercial property without regard to value or complexity.