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

How to Become a State-Licensed Appraiser in South Dakota

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

1. 1. Obtain Your South Dakota State-Registered Appraiser 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 state-licensed appraiser in South Dakota, you’ll need to complete 75 hours total of South Dakota 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 South Dakota’s 4-hour Training Course for Supervisory Appraisers and State-Registered Appraisers. Note that only the Professional Appraisers Association of South Dakota (PAASD) offers this course. More info can be found here. Before signing up for the 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 the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and the South Dakota Real Estate Appraisers Board. You must complete all Qualifying Education prior to submitting your state-registered appraiser application.

   Before applying for your license, take a moment to read through South Dakota’s detailed state-registered appraiser application requirements.

   Once you’ve met all of the above requirements, you can apply for your state-registered appraiser license using South Dakota’s paper application. There is a $210 application fee.

2. 2. Complete Your Appraiser Education

   After becoming a South Dakota state-registered appraiser, it’s time for the next step toward becoming a state-licensed appraiser: 150 total hours of Appraisal Foundation-approved appraiser education. Take a look at the breakdown of coursework. (Please Note: You’ve already satisfied 75 of these hours through your State-Registered 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 an approved certified appraiser mentor; and
   • Over a period of at least six months.

   There are many ways to find a South Dakota-endorsed supervisory appraiser. You can use South Dakota’s appraiser roster to find certified residential and general appraisers who are endorsed to mentor trainees. You can also search the list of active certified appraisers in South Dakota found in the Appraisal Subcommittee’s National Registry of Appraisers.

   Once you’ve completed your appraiser education and experience requirements, you’ll need to submit proof of completion to the South Dakota Real Estate Appraisers Board for verification. Once approved, the board will notify you that you can schedule your licensing exam.

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

   After the South Dakota Real Estate Appraisers Board approves your education and experience, you can take the National Uniform Licensing & Certification Exam. You will receive a candidate handbook and instructions for contacting the testing company to schedule your exam. 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.

5. 5. Submit Your Application for South Dakota Licensed Appraiser

   After passing your exam, it’s time to apply for your license. Generally, candidates can expect this process to take up to six weeks, but it may vary.

   To fill out your application, you'll need to complete the application and submit it to the South Dakota Real Estate Appraisers Board. There is a $240 application fee, which includes a $40 National Registry fee.

   You’ll also need to complete a criminal history record and background check as part of your application. More info on this process can be found here.

   South Dakota appraiser licenses renew 9/30 every year. Continuing Education (CE) must be completed every odd-number year.

Appraiser License Types in South Dakota

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

• State-Registered Appraiser
• State-Licensed Appraiser
• State-Certified Residential Appraiser
• State-Certified General Appraiser

After receiving your state-registered license, you can “upgrade” to any of the subsequent license levels. Today, we’ll be focusing on how to become a state-licensed appraiser. But first, here’s a quick overview of the requirements for the first four licensing levels.

State-Registered Appraiser

South Dakota, like most states, requires a pilot program for potential appraisers to begin their path toward becoming fully licensed. Known as a state-registered appraiser, this first level of licensure is required 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 state-registered appraiser:

State-Licensed Appraiser

The next level up is a state-licensed appraiser. At this level, you can appraise:

• Non-complex 1-4 unit residential properties (transaction value < $1,000,000)
• Complex 1-4 unit residential properties (transaction value < $400,000)

Here’s a quick overview of everything you’ll need to become a South Dakota state-licensed appraiser:

State-Certified Residential Appraiser

State-certified residential appraisers may appraise:

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

State-Certified General Appraiser

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