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What do you need to become an appraiser trainee?
Your state sets the rules, and the AQB's Criteria set the least it can ask for. The Criteria call for 83 hours of qualifying education, including the 15-Hour National USPAP Course, finished within the five years before you apply. Check your state's appraiser board before you enroll.
By State Cert GuideChecked against the sources listed below.
The steps, in order
Read your state's rules
A state may ask for more
Finish the 83 hours
USPAP course included
Take the trainee course
It sits outside the 83 hours
Apply to your state
Within five years of the classes
Steps: read your state board's rules, finish 83 hours of coursework, take the trainee and supervisor course, and apply to your state.
What the rule says
Who sets the rules?
States must set rules no less stringent than the AQB's Criteria. A state can ask for more, so your state board has the last word.
reab.alabama.gov · checked Nov 13, 2026 (opens agency website)
How many hours do the Criteria require?
83 hours of qualifying education in the Criteria's Required Core Curriculum, before you apply. The 15-Hour National USPAP Course and its exam are part of the 83, and all of it must fall within the five years before you apply.
reab.alabama.gov · checked Nov 13, 2026 (opens agency website)
What counts as a class hour?
A course counts only if it runs at least 15 hours and ends with a proctored, closed-book final exam. The Criteria make one exception to the length rule: the 8-hour course on valuation bias and fair housing laws.
reab.alabama.gov · checked Nov 13, 2026 (opens agency website)
Is the trainee course part of the 83 hours?
No. Trainees must also take a course on the duties of trainees and supervisors before they get the credential, and that course does not count toward the 83 hours.
reab.alabama.gov · checked Nov 13, 2026 (opens agency website)
Where people go wrong
- You count the trainee and supervisor course toward the 83 hours. The Criteria say it does not count.
- You take a 15-hour course that has no proctored, closed-book final exam. Class hours count only with one.
- You finish your classes and wait. Your coursework must fall within the five years before you apply.
Questions
Is there an exam for the trainee credential?
The Criteria set no exam requirement for the Trainee classification. You still have to pass the end-of-course exam in each qualifying course to earn credit for it.
I hold a Licensed Residential credential. Do I need the coursework?
No. The Criteria say a valid Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser credential satisfies the education rules for the Trainee credential.
What can a trainee appraise?
The properties that the state-certified Supervisory Appraiser is permitted to appraise by credential and is competent to appraise.
Can I take the courses online?
Yes, if the course meets the Criteria's distance education rules. Among them, a self-paced course must offer interaction with the instructor and get content approval from the AQB, a state appraiser board or an accredited college. Any distance course used as qualifying education must also include a written, closed-book final exam.
Which edition of the Criteria is this page based on?
The AQB's Real Property Criteria, effective January 1, 2026. Ask your state board which edition applies to you.
Your next step
Read your state appraiser board's trainee rule, then match each course to it. The Appraisal Foundation posts the Criteria.
Sources we read
- reab.alabama.gov › 20260325 RPAQC Web March 2026 1 · read Nov 13, 2026
Who publishes this guide
State Cert Guide is an independent guide to what each state requires. If a fact on this page is wrong, tell us and we fix it.