How to Become a Home Appraiser in Indiana: Tiers, Hours, and Exam

To become a home appraiser in Indiana, you start as a Trainee Appraiser: finish 75 hours of approved coursework, clear a fingerprint background check, apply through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, and then work under a certified supervising appraiser while logging hours toward the Licensed Residential or Certified Residential credential you want. The Real Estate Appraiser Licensure and Certification Board sets the requirements, and every path to signing your own residential appraisals runs through the trainee tier first.

The Four License Tiers

Indiana issues four credentials, and the one you hold decides what you can appraise on your own.

Trainee Appraiser: cannot sign reports alone; everything is cosigned by a supervisor.
Licensed Residential: can independently appraise residential properties; needs a certified appraiser’s cosignature for non-residential work.
Certified Residential: can independently handle all residential appraisals and review other appraisers’ residential reports, plus certain non-residential assignments.
Certified General: no restrictions; can appraise all types of real property.¹

For federally related transactions like mortgage lending, federal guidelines add limits based on property value and complexity. If your goal is single-family homes and small residential properties, the Licensed Residential or Certified Residential tier covers most of what you will see.

Step 1: Finish the 75-Hour Trainee Coursework

Before you apply for anything, you need 75 hours of qualifying education approved by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB):²

Basic Appraisal Principles — 30 hours
Basic Appraisal Procedures — 30 hours
National USPAP Course (or equivalent) — 15 hours

Indiana also requires a Supervisor/Trainee course approved by the board or the AQB. Course completion dates cannot be older than five years when you apply, so do not front-load your education and then wait.²

Step 2: Pass the Background Check and Get Your Trainee License

Every first-time applicant submits fingerprints for a national FBI criminal history background check. The board uses the results to decide whether to deny, grant, or conditionally grant your license.³ You only do this once; you will not repeat it when you upgrade tiers later.⁴

With the coursework done and the background check cleared, you apply for the Trainee Appraiser license through the PLA. The issuance fee is $110.⁵ The trainee tier has no experience requirement of its own; its purpose is to let you start accumulating supervised hours.⁶

Step 3: Work Under a Supervising Appraiser and Log Hours

All trainee work happens under the direct supervision of a Certified Residential or Certified General appraiser. The supervisor must inspect every property with you and cosign every report. They must have held their certification in good standing for at least three years, with no disciplinary action during that time, and must have completed the board-approved supervisor/trainee course before taking on any trainees.⁷⁸

A single supervisor can oversee no more than three trainees at the same time.⁷

Keep a detailed experience log throughout this period. Every entry records the property type, the hours spent, and the nature of the work, and every entry needs your supervisor’s signature. That log is the core of your next application. Indiana caps the hours you can claim per assignment by property type and size, so plan on real elapsed time rather than inflated per-job totals.⁹

Step 4: Meet the Requirements for Your Target Tier

Licensed Residential

The Licensed Residential tier requires 1,000 hours of appraisal experience accumulated over at least six months.¹⁰ The minimum time period keeps anyone from compressing a thousand hours into a few weeks.

Certified Residential

Certified Residential requires 200 total hours of qualifying education (building on the 75 you already have), 2,500 hours of appraisal experience over at least 24 months, and a college education component.²¹⁰ You can meet the college piece in one of three ways:

A bachelor’s degree in any field;
An associate’s degree in a business-related field; or
At least 30 semester hours of specified college-level coursework in areas like economics, finance, statistics, and real estate.

The additional appraisal coursework covers market analysis, highest and best use, site valuation, cost and income approaches, report writing, statistics, and advanced residential applications.

If you want to appraise commercial buildings, agricultural land, or large multi-unit developments, that is the Certified General tier, which has its own 300-hour education requirement, a bachelor’s degree requirement with no alternative pathway, and 3,000 hours of experience over at least 30 months.¹¹¹⁰

Step 5: Apply, Pay the Fees, and Pass the Exam

When your education and hours are in place, file your application through the PLA’s online portal. Include official transcripts, your signed experience log, and your social security number. The board reviews everything to confirm you meet the thresholds for the tier you are seeking.

The fees for a residential credential break down like this:⁵

Exam application paid to the board: $100
License issuance after you pass: $190 if issued in the first 12 months of the renewal cycle, or $150 if issued in the last 12 months
License renewal: $190 every two years

The exam provider charges a separate sitting fee on top of the board’s $100. Once the board approves you, you receive an eligibility notice to schedule the state examination. As of February 2025, Indiana moved its real estate appraiser exams to Pearson VUE, replacing PSI Services. You can book online through Pearson VUE or by calling 800-274-2717.¹²

The computer-based exam covers national appraisal standards and Indiana-specific regulations. Bring valid government-issued ID. If you do not pass, retakes are scheduled through Pearson VUE rather than at the testing center. One deadline to watch: you must pass within five years of completing your prerequisite courses, or those courses expire and you have to retake them.

Keeping Your License Active

Indiana appraiser licenses expire on June 30 of every even-numbered year, a two-year cycle. To renew in active status you need 28 hours of continuing education during the renewal period, including at least 7 hours in the current USPAP update course.² The renewal fee is $190.⁵ If your initial license was issued within the last 185 days of a renewal period, you are exempt from CE for that cycle. Miss the renewal and you cannot legally perform appraisals until the license is reinstated.

If You Are Already Licensed in Another State

You do not have to start over. If you hold a valid appraiser license or certification from another state whose exam, education, and experience requirements meet or exceed Indiana’s for the tier you want, you can apply through reciprocity. The reciprocity application fee is $100, plus the standard issuance fee.¹³ For a single Indiana assignment, out-of-state appraisers can instead apply for a temporary practice permit, limited to four per calendar year and lasting until the assignment ends or 12 months pass, whichever comes first.¹⁴

1
Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-2-3 – Types of Real Estate Transactions Not Governed
2
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Information
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 25-34.1-8-10 – Qualification of Applicants; Criminal Background Checks; Evidence of Compliance
4
Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-3-2.5 – Criminal History Background Check Requirement
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Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-2-7 – Fees
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eLaws. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-3-9 – Experience Requirements for Three Licenses Issued by the Board
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Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-6-9 – Indiana Licensed Trainee Appraisers; Supervision
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Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-6-10 – Indiana Licensed Trainee Appraisers
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Justia. Indiana Administrative Code 876 IAC 3 – Rule 3, Section 3-13.1 – Hour Value of Appraisal Work Established
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Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-3-9 – Experience Requirements for Three Licenses Issued by the Board
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Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Instructions for Obtaining a Real Estate Appraiser Certified General License
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Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Real Estate Appraisers Home
13
Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-3-19 – Individuals Licensed in Another State; Licensing Requirements; Reciprocity
14
Cornell Law School. Indiana Code 876 IAC 3-3-21 – Permit for Temporary Practice