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

How to Become a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser in Iowa

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

1. 1. Obtain Your Iowa Associate 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 real estate appraiser in Iowa is to first get your Associate Appraiser Trainee license. But before you can apply, you need to complete the minimum 75 hours of Iowa Appraiser qualifying education (which must be approved by The Appraisal Foundation and the Iowa Real Estate Appraisers Board. This coursework is broken up as follows:

   • 30 hours of appraisal principles
   • 30 hours of appraisal procedures
   • The 15-hour National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course

   Once your qualifying education is complete, Iowa requires you to take a 4-hour AQB-Approved Supervisor-Trainee Course. Before signing up, you’ll need to find a supervisory appraiser who will act as your mentor through completion of your experience hours.

2. 2. Complete Your Certified Residential Appraiser Education

   After getting your associate appraiser trainee license, it’s time for the next step toward becoming a certified residential real estate appraiser: 125 hours of Iowa-approved qualifying education. Iowa 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 certified appraiser; and
   • Over a period of at least twelve 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 12 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
   ≈30 Hours	≈20 Hours	≈15 Hours	≈10 Hours
   ≈12 Months	≈18 Months	≈2 Years	≈2.5 Years

   * Must be completed under the supervision of a certified Iowa appraiser. *

4. 4. Submit Your Application & Background Check with Fingerprinting

   After you complete your required work experience hours, it’s time to apply for your license! 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

   You’ll need to make an account on the online portal before you begin. Then, all that’s left is to apply online!

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

   After completing your courses and logging your appraisal experience, you are now eligible to take the National Uniform Licensing & Certification Examination.

   We’ve compiled a few pieces of handy information to help you prepare for the exam:

   • The exam is four to six hours long. The Certified Residential Examination takes up to four hours to complete, and the Certified General Examination takes up to 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 Iowa

Iowa 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:

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

Associate Real Estate Trainee Appraiser

Like most states, Iowa 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.

Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser

The next level up is a certified residential real estate appraiser. At this level, you can provide appraisal services for 1-4-unit residential properties without regard to value or complexity.

Here are the requirements to earn this license, at a glance. Later, we dive into the full picture a little deeper.

Certified General Real Estate Appraiser

Certified general real estate appraisers are the highest level of appraiser professionals in Iowa. They can provide appraisal services with all types of residential or commercial real property without regard to value or complexity.