Florida Appraiser License Requirements: Education, Experience, and Exams

To become a real estate appraiser in Florida, you need one of four credentials issued by the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board (FREAB) through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and the Florida appraiser license requirements depend on which credential you pursue. The entry-level Registered Trainee calls for 100 hours of coursework and no experience. The top-tier Certified General calls for 300 classroom hours, a bachelor’s degree, 3,000 hours of supervised fieldwork over at least 30 months, and two exams. The three steps up from Trainee each add more education, more experience, and a pair of exams on top.

The Four Credentials and What Each Lets You Appraise

Pick the credential before you start spending on coursework. Each one authorizes a different scope of work, and the requirements scale with that scope.

A Registered Trainee cannot appraise independently. The registration exists so you can work under a certified appraiser and log the hours you need for a higher credential. It stays active for up to four years.

A Licensed Appraiser can independently appraise non-complex one-to-four-unit residential properties where the transaction value is below $1,000,000. Complex residential assignments above $400,000 have to go to a certified appraiser.¹

A Certified Residential Appraiser handles one-to-four-unit residential properties with no cap on value or complexity.²

A Certified General Appraiser can appraise any property type, including commercial, industrial, and vacant land, at any value or complexity.

Education Hours You Need

Every credential requires qualifying appraisal coursework from an approved provider: a nationally or state-recognized appraisal organization, an accredited college, a career center, or a permitted proprietary school.³ Classroom and distance learning both count. One classroom hour is defined as 50 minutes out of each 60-minute segment.

Registered Trainee — 100 hours. Thirty hours of Basic Appraisal Principles, 30 hours of Basic Appraisal Procedures, the 15-hour National USPAP course, and 25 hours of appraisal electives that must include 3 hours of Florida laws and rules and 3 hours of a Supervisor and Trainee course. All coursework must be completed within five years of applying.⁴
Licensed Appraiser — 150 hours of AQB-approved qualifying education, building on the same core courses required for the Trainee with additional elective topics.
Certified Residential — 200 classroom hours of approved pre-licensing education.²
Certified General — 300 classroom hours, including the 15-hour National USPAP course.⁵

Supervised Experience Hours

Experience has to be gained under a certified appraiser, documented on completed appraisal reports, and compliant with USPAP. Only experience obtained after January 30, 1989, counts.²

Registered Trainee: none required. This credential exists so you can start logging hours.
Licensed Appraiser: 1,000 hours over at least six months.
Certified Residential: 1,500 hours on at least 150 appraisal reports, over at least 12 months.²
Certified General: 3,000 hours over at least 30 months, with at least 1,500 of those hours in non-residential work.⁵

The 30-month minimum for Certified General is a floor, not an average. Even if you log all 3,000 hours faster, you still have to wait out the full period before you can apply.

College Degree

Registered Trainee and Licensed Appraiser require only a high school diploma or equivalent. The two certified credentials add college-level requirements.

For Certified Residential, you can satisfy the requirement in any of these ways:

A bachelor’s degree or higher in any field
An associate’s degree from an accredited college or university
Thirty semester hours of college-level courses in subject areas identified by FREAB rules
Thirty hours of CLEP exams covering those same subject areas
Any combination of the college coursework and CLEP options above²

For Certified General, a bachelor’s degree is required. There is no associate’s or CLEP alternative at this level.⁵

Exams

Registered Trainees do not take an exam. Applicants for the other three credentials pass two: the Florida Supplemental exam on state laws and regulations, and the appropriate National Uniform exam (Residential or General, depending on the credential).⁶

Pearson VUE administers both. You schedule directly through Pearson VUE online or by phone.⁷ The Florida Supplemental exam requires 75% or higher. The National exam uses a scaled score from 0 to 110 with a minimum passing score of 75; you receive a pass/fail result rather than a numeric score. The content covers valuation principles, appraisal methodology, data sources, depreciation, capitalization, appraisal math, USPAP, and conduct that can trigger discipline, with depth scaling to the credential level.

Finding a Supervising Appraiser

This is usually the first practical obstacle. Each supervising appraiser can oversee no more than three registered trainees at a time, counting both primary and secondary roles.⁸ You may need to reach out to several before finding an open slot. Your supervisor has to hold a certified credential, not just a licensed one, and takes direct responsibility for the quality of the work you complete. Every experience hour has to be verified and signed off by your supervisor before you submit it with an upgrade application.

Applying and Paying

You file your application through the DBPR online portal or by mailing a printed application to the Central Intake Unit in Tallahassee.⁶ The application includes your personal information, proof of completed education, and, above the Trainee level, documented experience hours verified by your supervisor.

DBPR charges a one-time application fee and a biennial fee for maintaining the credential. Under Florida Administrative Code 61J1-2.001:

Registered Trainee: $50 application, $175 biennial
Licensed Appraiser: $175 biennial
Certified Residential: $58 application, $175 biennial
Certified General: $46 application, $175 biennial⁹

Budget for the extras too. The Appraisal Subcommittee charges a $40 annual National Registry fee that the state collects on your behalf.¹⁰ You pay Pearson VUE for the exams. Fingerprinting through a Livescan provider registered with FDLE is required for the background check, and the applicant pays. Results go directly to DBPR.

Military veterans, their spouses, and Florida National Guard members may qualify for a fee waiver, reimbursement, or discount on DBPR fees.²

Keeping Your Credential Active

Every Florida appraiser completes 30 hours of continuing education during each two-year renewal cycle.¹¹ At least 7 of those hours must come from a board-approved USPAP update course. All courses must be AQB-approved.¹² The biennial renewal fee is $175 at every credential level.⁹

Renewals go through the DBPR online portal, and you submit course completion certificates to prove you met the CE requirement. Miss the deadline and the credential reverts to inactive status. You can stay inactive for up to four years; after that, the credential expires entirely, and reinstating it generally means starting the application process over.

If You’re Already Licensed in Another State

If you hold an active appraiser credential in another state and need to complete a single Florida assignment that is part of a federally related transaction, you can register for a temporary practice permit instead of pursuing a full Florida credential. You must be a non-resident of Florida, and the permit covers only the time needed to complete the assignment.¹³

To register, file FREAB Form 13, pay the fee, and submit certified copies of your out-of-state credential plus records of any disciplinary actions (or certification that none exist). You also sign a notarized statement confirming you have read and will follow Florida’s appraisal laws and rules. DBPR issues a numbered temporary permit, and that number has to appear in any appraisal report you produce under it. For ongoing Florida work, you still need a full Florida credential.

1
eCFR. 12 CFR 34.43 – Appraisals Required; Transactions Requiring a State Certified or Licensed Appraiser
2
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Certified Residential Appraiser Initial Application
3
Florida House of Representatives. 2025 Florida Statutes Title XXXII Chapter 475 Section 617
4
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Registered Trainee Appraiser Initial Application
5
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Application for Certification as General Appraiser
6
MyFloridaLicense.com. Real Estate Appraisal – Licensure Information
7
Pearson VUE. Appraiser Examination Candidate Handbook
8
Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board. Rule 61J1-4.010 Supervision and Training of Registered Trainee Appraisers
9
Cornell Law School. Florida Administrative Code 61J1-2.001 – Fees
10
Federal Register. Modification of the Annual National Registry Fee
11
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Renewal Information for Real Estate Appraisers
12
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Real Estate Appraisal – Education
13
Cornell Law School. Florida Administrative Code 61J1-7.005 – Temporary Practice