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

How to Become a Licensed Residential Appraiser in Minnesota

Now let's take a more in-depth look at the steps recommended to really start your appraisal career as a licensed residential appraiser.

1. 1. Obtain Your Minnesota Trainee License

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

   Qualifying Education. Before you can become a licensed residential appraiser in Minnesota, you’ll need to complete 75 hours total of Minnesota Appraiser Qualifying Education (QE), 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, or an equivalent course

   You’ll also need to complete a 6-hour Appraiser Trainee/Supervisory Appraiser Course. Before signing up for this course, you need to find a supervisory appraiser who will act as your mentor through completion of your experience hours (Step 3).

   All Qualifying Education must be approved by either the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) or the Minnesota Commerce Department. You must complete all qualifying education prior to submitting your trainee application.

   You will need to apply through the state portal for your Trainee Appraiser license, which requires a $150 fee.

2. 2. Complete Appraiser Education

   After getting your Trainee Real Property Appraiser license, it’s time for the next step toward becoming a licensed residential appraiser in Minnesota: 150 total hours of Appraisal Foundation-approved appraiser education. (Please Note: You’ve already satisfied 75 of these hours through your trainee license – nice work!)

3. 3. Conduct Your Appraisal Work Experience

   Once you’ve finished your education, you must conduct and log at least 1,000 hours of actual appraisal experience. Those 1,000 hours must be completed:

   • Under the supervision of a state certified residential or general appraiser; and
   • Over a period of at least six months.

   This means that you must take no less than six months to complete your 1,000 hours of appraisal experience. To put things in perspective, if a trainee works 40 hours per workweek, they will complete their training in a little over six months. If, however, they put in any fewer than 40 hours per week, it would take longer. This experience must be completed under the guidance of a supervisor.

   There are many ways to find and enter into a working relationship with a supervisory appraiser. A great way to begin your search is to use the list of active certified appraisers in Minnesota found in the Appraisal Subcommittee’s National Registry of Appraisers.

4. 4. Submit Your Application for a Minnesota Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser

   Now that you've completed your education and logged your experience, it’s time to apply for your license. Generally, candidates can expect the entire application process to take four to six weeks. Factors that affect the processing time are the completeness of the application when filed and the number and nature of any character issues or questions with respect to fitness for licensure.

   Before you apply, you will have to create an account on the PULSE portal. You will also need to register for an examination account with PearsonVUE. They will give you an examination account number (the beginning of the account number will be the letters MNCOMM).

   Your account number is unique to you; do not give it to anyone else. You’ll use this account number as an identification number on your application. However, without submitting the application, you won’t be able to register for the exam.

   Here’s a list of what you’ll need to get started: 

   • Make an account on the PULSE portal and PearsonVUE
   • Gather all of your supporting documentation (e.g., transcripts; proof of coursework; experience log; etc.) 
   • Prepare the $230 application fee
   • All that’s left is to submit the application, supporting documentation, and the fee online

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

   After the Minnesota Commerce Department receives your application and determines it’s complete, you’ll be directed to take the National Uniform Licensing & Certification Exam.

   In Minnesota, the test is administered by PearsonVUE. There is a $25 fee to take the exam, and The Appraisal Foundation publishes tips on the exam structure that can help you prepare. Here’s an overview:

   • The exam is four hours long. The Licensed Residential Examination can take up to four hours to complete.
   • There are 125 questions on the test. The National Uniform Licensing and Certification exam 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 exam range between 0 and 110 points. Each question carries an equal weight of 1 point. In order 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 Minnesota

It’s important to understand how Minnesota classifies real estate appraisers across four separate categories, each with their own qualifications for licensure:

• Trainee Real Property Appraiser
• Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser
• Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser
• Certified General Real Property Appraiser

After receiving your Trainee license, you can “upgrade” to any of the subsequent license levels. Today, we’ll be focusing on how to get to your Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser license. But first, here’s a quick overview of the requirements for the first four licensing levels.

Trainee Appraiser

Minnesota, like most states, recommends a pilot program for potential appraisers to begin their path toward becoming fully licensed. Known as a trainee appraiser, this first level of licensure is recommended before you can become fully licensed and start appraising real estate on your own.

Here's a quick overview of everything you’ll need to become a trainee appraiser:

Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser

The next level up is a licensed residential appraiser. At this level, you can provide appraisal services in transactions with:

• 1-4 unit residential properties without regard to value or complexity
• Complex 1-4 unit residential properties (transaction value < $400,000)

Here’s a quick overview of everything you’ll need to become a licensed residential appraiser:

Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser

Certified residential appraisers may provide appraisal services in transactions with:

• 1-4 unit residential units or agricultural properties without regard to value or complexity
• Commercial properties (transaction value < $250,000)

Certified General Real Property Appraiser

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