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The California Office of Real Estate Appraisers (OREA) sets the minimum requirements for education and experience, ensuring that qualified individuals are licensed to conduct appraisals in federally related real estate transactions. As an Enforcement Unit, it investigates backgrounds of current and prospective California appraisers. Also, it investigates complaints of violations of national appraisal standards filed against licensed persons. Additional responsibilities include the accreditation of educational courses and providers for California appraisers. There are currently over 1,800 approved pre-licensing and continuing education courses and over 18,000 real estate appraisers.
The California Office of Real Estate Appraisers was created in response to Title XI of the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), which was adopted by congress mandating states to license and certify California appraisers who appraise property for federally related real estate transactions. The Real Estate Appraisers Licensing and Certification Law was enacted by the California Legislature in 1990, AB 527, Chapter 491. OREA as a Licensing Unit, was established within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and is funded entirely with licensing fees.
The OREA mission statement is, "To protect safety by ensuring the competency and integrity of licensed real estate appraisers."
The California Office of Real Estate Appraisers believes in:
- Excellence
- Leadership
- Loyalty
- Integrity
- Accountability
The Director of the Office of Real Estate Appraisers is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Director may appoint not more than four deputy directors as he or she deems appropriate.
The State of California has 58 counties.
| Alameda |
Alpine |
Amador |
Butte |
| Calaveras |
Colusa |
Contra
Costa |
Del
Norte |
| El
Dorado |
Fresno |
Glenn |
Humboldt |
| Imperial |
Inyo |
Kern |
Kings |
| Lake |
Lassen |
Los
Angeles |
Madera |
| Marin |
Mariposa |
Mendocino |
Merced |
| Modoc |
Mono |
Monterey |
Napa |
| Nevada |
Orange |
Placer |
Plumas |
| Riverside |
Sacramento |
San
Benito |
San
Bernardino |
| San
Diego |
San
Francisco |
San
Joaquin |
San
Luis Obispo |
| San
Mateo |
Santa
Barbara |
Santa
Clara |
Santa
Cruz |
| Shasta |
Sierra |
Siskiyou |
Solano |
| Sonoma |
Stanislaus |
Sutter |
Tehama |
| Trinity |
Tulare |
Tuolumne |
Ventura |
| Yolo |
Yuba |
|
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There are four California real estate appraiser levels.
- Trainee
- Residential Real Estate Appraiser
- Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser
- Certified General Real Estate Appraiser
Please read the following for a summarization of each.
1. Trainee
- May appraise any property which the supervising person is permitted to appraise.
- There are no experience requirements for the Trainee Appraiser.
- Must have 150 qualifying appraisal education hours.
- At least 15 of the 150 educational hours must be in respect to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) or its equivalent as determined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB).
2. Residential Real Estate Appraiser
- May appraise any non-complex 1-4 family property with a transaction value up to $1,000,000.
- May appraise non-residential property with a transaction value of up to $250,000.
- In respect to experience, must have 2,000 acceptable hours.
- Must have obtained the 2,000 experience hours in no less than 2.5 years (30 months).
- 150 qualifying appraisal education hours.
- At least 15 of the 150 educational hours must be in respect to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) or its equivalent as determined by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB).
3. Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser
- May appraise any 1-4 family property without regards to transaction value or complexity.
- May appraise non-residential property with a transaction value of up to $250,000.
- Must have 2,500 hours of acceptable appraiser experience.
- Must have obtained the 2,500 experience hours in no less than 2.5 years (30 months).
- Must have 200 qualifying appraisal education hours.
- At least 15 of the 250 educational hours must be in respect to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
- At least an associate degree, or higher, or 21 semester hours in specific courses.
4. Certified General Real Estate Appraiser
- May appraise all real estate without regard to transaction value or complexity.
- Must have 3,000 hours of acceptable appraiser experience.
- Must have obtained the 3,000 experience hours in no less than 2.5 years (30 months).
- At least 15 of the 300 educational hours must be in respect to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
- At least a bachelors degree, or higher, or 30 semester hours in specific courses.
All appraisal work must be in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
The following courses are acceptable for college semester units in lieu of an Associate Degree and/or a Bachelor Degree. Please semester units must be from an accredited college, junior college, community college or university.
- English Composition
- Economics
- Finance
- Algebra, Geometry or higher mathematics
- Statistics
- Introduction to Computers
If you would like to find a job as a California Real Estate Appraiser, please click here.
California Real Estate Appraiser - County Search U.S.A.
The Appraisal Process -
Overview of the on-site inspection, report generation, and respective guidelines. |
