How do I become a real estate appraiser with no experience?

Start with the Trainee Appraiser credential, which requires no experience: complete 83 hours of qualifying education plus a separate Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser course, and find a state-certified supervisor. Then log supervised experience toward Licensed Residential (1,000 hours over at least 6 months), Certified Residential (1,500 hours over at least 12 months), or Certified General (3,000 hours over at least 18 months). PAREA, a virtual training program, can replace up to 100% of required experience hours for the Licensed and Certified Residential levels.

You start as a Trainee Real Property Appraiser, a classification that requires no appraisal experience. Complete the qualifying education (83 hours of Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) courses plus a supervisory appraiser/trainee course), submit the $150 application, and pass the Trainee exam administered by PSI. You must also register with a Mentor, who must be a Certified Residential or Certified General appraiser certified for at least 3 years; until the Trainee/Mentor registration form is filed, your license is placed in Inactive status.

Yes, you can start with no experience by registering as a trainee appraiser with the Alaska Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers. You must document 83 classroom hours of qualifying education, covering basic appraisal principles, basic appraisal procedures, the 15-hour national USPAP course, and an 8-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing course, completed within the five years before applying. You also need a supervisory appraiser certified in Alaska for at least three years, and both of you must complete the supervisor/trainee course, which does not count toward the 83 hours.

You start by registering as a trainee, which requires no prior experience. Arizona trainees complete 83 hours of qualifying education (Basic Appraisal Principles 30, Basic Appraisal Procedures 30, the 15-Hour National USPAP Course 15, and Valuation Bias and Fair Housing 8), a fingerprint clearance card, and a $300 application fee. You then gain experience under a designated supervisory appraiser, or use a PAREA program, which is an alternative to the traditional supervisor-trainee model.

Start with the Registered Apprentice credential, which has no experience prerequisite. You must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, complete 83 hours of qualifying education (Basic Appraisal Principles 30, Basic Appraisal Procedures 30, Valuation Bias and Fair Housing 8, and the 15-Hour USPAP Course 15) plus a separate 4-hour Supervisor/Trainee Course, and find a supervisor before applying. The $200 application is filed through the board's online portal, and experience hours begin accruing only after the credential is issued.

You start at the Trainee Appraiser (AT) level, which requires no prior appraisal experience. Complete 83 hours of qualifying education (Basic Appraisal Principles 30, Basic Appraisal Procedures 30, National USPAP 15, and Valuation Bias and Fair Housing 8) plus California's added courses (a 4-hour Supervisor/Trainee course, a 4-hour Laws and Regulations course, and 1-hour Cultural Competency). File the REA 3001 application with the $930 fee and submit fingerprints, then gain experience working under a supervisory appraiser.

Colorado has no trainee credential, so you begin by qualifying for the Licensed Appraiser credential. Complete 158 hours of qualifying education (effective January 1, 2026), then log 1,000 hours of appraisal experience over no fewer than 6 months while working under an appropriately credentialed appraiser in good standing. You can also earn the experience hours through PAREA, which can satisfy 100% of the Licensed Appraiser experience requirement. You must finish all education and experience before taking the state exam.

You start with no experience by becoming a Connecticut Provisional Appraiser, the state's trainee-level credential. All provisional applicants must have a sponsor before applying, and a sponsor must be a certified appraiser who has held an active license in good standing for at least 3 years, with no disqualifying disciplinary action; each sponsor may supervise up to 3 provisional appraisers at a time. You and your sponsor each complete a supervisor and provisional education course, and the Department of Consumer Protection maintains a list of appraisers willing to serve as sponsors.

Start with Delaware's Appraiser Trainee license, which requires no experience and no exam. Complete 75 hours of qualifying education before January 1, 2026, or 83 hours on or after that date, plus an Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB)-approved Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser course. File in DELPROS with a Verification of Real Estate Appraiser Supervision form signed by your supervising certified appraiser.

To become a real estate appraiser in DC with no experience, start with the Appraiser Trainee credential: complete 83 hours of qualifying education (30 hours Appraisal Principles, 30 hours Appraisal Procedures, 15 hours Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), and 8 hours Valuation Bias and Fair Housing) plus a 4-hour supervisory course from a Board-approved provider, then apply to the DC Board of Real Estate Appraisers. After licensure, you log experience under a supervisory appraiser or complete a PAREA program instead.

In Florida, you start by registering as a Registered Trainee Appraiser. You must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, have a valid Social Security number, complete 100 hours of qualifying education including the 15-hour National USPAP course, and submit an application, fee, and fingerprints to the state. No examination is required at the trainee level. As a registered trainee, you then gain experience under the direct supervision of a certified residential or certified general appraiser.

You start by registering as an appraiser trainee. Complete 83 hours of qualifying education (15-hour National USPAP, 30-hour Basic Appraisal Principles, 30-hour Basic Appraisal Procedures, and 8-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing) plus Hawaii's Supervisor/Trainee course, and retain a supervising appraiser who has held Hawaii certification for at least 3 years. Registration costs $85 if issued in the first year of the biennium and $65 in the second, and experience toward licensure counts from your trainee registration date.

You can start with the Associate Real Estate Trainee Appraiser credential, which requires no appraisal experience. You need only a high school diploma or GED, to be at least 18 years old, and 83 classroom hours of qualifying education effective January 1, 2026, plus the separate 3-hour AQB Supervisor/Trainee Course before the credential is issued. You must also secure an approved supervisor, file the SUP-2015 form to register the supervisory relationship, clear a fingerprint background check, and pay the $225 application fee. No exam is required at the trainee level.

Start with Indiana's Appraiser Trainee credential, issued by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA). Complete 75 hours of AQB-approved qualifying education plus a Board-approved Supervisor/Trainee course, pass the trainee exam through Pearson VUE after the PLA approves your application, and work under a supervisor who has held an Indiana license for at least 3 years. Experience toward a certified license is then logged on the job.

Start by registering as an associate real estate appraiser, Iowa's trainee-level credential. You must complete 83 hours of Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB)-approved qualifying education, including the 15-Hour National USPAP Course, pass a state and national criminal background check, and apply through the board's online system. Experience toward certification is then earned under the direct supervision of a certified appraiser, and an associate without at least one approved active supervisor is placed in inactive status.

You start in Kansas by working as a trainee, and no experience is required to begin. A trainee may work unlicensed under the supervision of a certified appraiser while accruing experience hours, and both the trainee and the supervising appraiser must complete the supervisory appraiser/trainee course before supervised experience begins. The Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board keeps a list of certified appraisers willing to supervise trainees, which you can request by emailing kreab@ks.gov. The trainee must also meet the same educational requirements as the credential sought.

You start by earning the Associate Real Property Appraiser credential, Kentucky's trainee level, which requires no prior appraisal experience. You must secure a Kentucky-licensed supervisor, complete 105 hours of qualifying education, complete a fingerprint background check through Identogo, and submit the Associate application, supervisor application, education certificates, and a $200 licensing fee. After licensure, you log supervised experience hours toward an upgrade to Licensed Residential or higher.

You start as an Appraiser Trainee, which has no experience prerequisite. Complete 83 hours of qualifying education, including the 15-Hour National USPAP Course, within the 5 years before applying, plus a separate supervisory/trainee course finished with your supervisor before the credential is issued. You must find your own supervisory appraiser, who signs the $245 registration application. Louisiana also accepts a Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) completion certificate in place of supervised experience for Licensed Residential and Certified Residential licensure.

Start with the trainee license, which has no experience requirement. You complete 83 hours of qualifying education under the Appraiser Qualifications Board criteria effective January 1, 2026, take the required Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser course, and arrange to work under a certified supervisor. The total application payment is $410. Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) offers a virtual alternative for earning experience toward higher credentials.

In Maryland you start with the Appraiser Trainee credential, which requires no prior appraisal experience. You must complete 75 tested hours of Commission-approved qualifying education within the 5 years before applying: 30 hours of appraisal principles, 30 hours of appraisal procedures, and 15 hours of USPAP. You then gain experience under a supervising certified appraiser, or use the PAREA program for the Licensed Residential and Certified Residential levels.

You start as a Trainee Appraiser, which requires no prior appraisal experience. Complete 75 hours of primary education from the Massachusetts Board's approved list, including a 15-hour USPAP course, and arrange for a supervisor who will sign the Supervisor Trainee Report Form. Then submit your application, education certificates, a notarized criminal background check form, and a photo through the eLIPSE portal, paying the $113 application fee and $113 license fee at that time.

Start at the Trainee level. Complete 83 hours of AQB qualifying education, effective January 1, 2026, plus the separate 6-hour Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course, submit fingerprints, and apply through Pulse Portal naming a supervisory appraiser. No state licensing exam is required for the trainee credential; you must only pass the end-of-course exams. A supervisor must be a certified residential or certified general appraiser in good standing for three years and may supervise no more than three trainees at one time.

Start as an Appraiser Trainee, which Mississippi calls an "Appraiser Intern" on the application. You need 87 hours of qualifying education, the completed application with the $50 application fee, the MAB Supervisory Appraiser Affidavit, and your course certificates; there is no exam at this stage. You then gain experience hours under a state-certified supervisor before upgrading to a Licensed Residential, Certified Residential, or Certified General credential.

You start at the trainee level. The Montana Board of Real Estate Appraisers issues a Trainee Appraiser credential after you file the trainee application with a fingerprint and background check and complete the required qualifying education. You then gain experience working under a board-approved Mentor Appraiser, and the board publishes an Approved Mentors list. The Licensed, Certified Residential, and Certified General credentials each require qualifying experience hours plus additional education and a passing exam score.

You can start by earning a Trainee Appraiser credential, which requires no prior experience and no national exam. Under the AQB criteria effective January 1, 2026, trainees need 83 hours of qualifying education, plus a Supervisory/Trainee course that is not counted in those hours. You then log supervised experience hours, which can also come from a practicum course or a PAREA program. In Nebraska, applicants must be at least 19 years old and free of felony convictions unless civil rights have been restored.

You start by registering as an Apprentice Appraiser, which requires no prior experience. Complete at least 75 classroom hours of apprentice core curriculum, then work under a New Hampshire certified appraiser who has been certified for at least 2 years. Submit the paper Universal Application for Initial Licensure with your supervisor's signed acknowledgement letter, a criminal history check, and the $275 application fee.

Start with qualifying education: 75 classroom hours (Basic Appraisal Principles 30, Basic Appraisal Procedures 30, and the 15-Hour National USPAP Course 15) completed within 5 years, plus a Trainee/Supervisor course that counts separately from the 75 hours. New Jersey's trainee program is voluntary, though trainees who join must hold the $100 annual permit, which can be renewed at most 3 times. You work under a supervising appraiser, who must hold Certified Residential or Certified General certification. Completing the trainee program does not itself grant licensure or certification.

You start as a registered trainee appraiser, which requires no prior experience. New Mexico requires 83 board-approved qualifying education hours completed within the five years before you apply: 30 hours of basic appraisal principles, 30 hours of basic appraisal procedures, 8 hours of valuation bias and fair housing, and the 15-hour national USPAP course. You must also pass the board's open-book jurisprudence exam (70% or better), complete a fingerprint-based background check, and either declare a supervisor or enroll in a PAREA program. The trainee application fee is $200.

Start with the Appraiser Assistant credential, which New York issues with no experience requirement. You must complete 87 hours of qualifying education (effective January 1, 2026), file an application with the $250 fee, and work under a Department of State-approved supervisory appraiser who cosigns your reports. New York also accepts an AQB-approved Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) program as an alternative to the supervisor-trainee experience model for later credentials.

North Carolina offers two entry points that require no prior appraisal experience. You can register as a trainee by completing 83 hours of core qualifying education plus a 4- or 7-hour NC Supervisor/Trainee course, then work under a certified supervisor. Alternatively, a Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) program qualifies you for Licensed or Certified Residential without a supervisor or trainee registration, provided you complete all qualifying education before beginning the program.

Start at the apprentice level, which requires no experience. You must be at least 18, have a high school education or its equivalent, complete 83 hours of board-approved qualifying education plus a supervisor and apprentice course, and pass an open-book exam on North Dakota appraiser law. Before the permit issues, you must register a supervisory appraiser with the board. The application fee is $300.

Start as a Trainee Appraiser, which requires no experience. Under the 2026 criteria, you must complete 83 hours of qualifying education (the 15-hour National USPAP course, Basic Appraisal Principles, Basic Appraisal Procedures, and 8 hours of Valuation Bias and Fair Housing) plus a 4-hour Trainee Supervisor course. You then file the application with a Report of Supervisory Relationship (REA-8), two fingerprint cards, and a $300 credentialing fee plus $55 for the OSBI/FBI background check.

You start by registering as an Appraiser Assistant, Oregon's trainee credential, which requires no prior appraisal experience. You must be at least 18, pass a background check, complete 87 hours of qualifying education (including the 8-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing course effective January 1, 2026), and arrange with a Board-endorsed supervising appraiser before you apply. Experience hours count only after your registration, so line up the supervisor as part of your planning.

You can start with no experience by applying for a Licensed Appraiser Trainee license. Pennsylvania requires 87 classroom hours of qualifying education (30 hours Basic Appraisal Principles, 30 hours Basic Appraisal Procedures, 15 hours of the National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course, 8 hours Valuation Bias and Fair Housing, and the 4-hour Trainee/Supervisor course), a $75 application fee, and a criminal background check. There is no exam and no experience requirement. You must register a supervisory appraiser with the Board before logging experience.

Start at the trainee level, which requires no appraisal experience. You must complete 83 hours of qualifying education and obtain a qualifying supervisory appraiser before applying. All trainee qualifying education must be completed within the 5 years before your application. Rhode Island also accepts Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB)-approved PAREA programs for some or all qualifying experience at higher levels, and no experience is required to enroll.

You begin at the apprentice level. Complete 83 hours of Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) Core Curriculum qualifying education effective January 1, 2026, plus the state's supervisor/trainee course, find a certified appraiser to supervise your work, and apply to the South Carolina Real Estate Appraisers Board. Later, a Board-approved PAREA program can replace supervised experience for the Licensed and Certified Residential credentials.

Tennessee's entry credential is the Registered Trainee, and no previous experience is required to register. Complete 87 hours of qualifying education within five years before applying, including the 15-hour National USPAP Course and the 4-hour Trainee and Supervisory Course. File the $125 application online at core.tn.gov with your course certificates and electronic fingerprint receipt, then work under the direct supervision of the sponsor you have on file with the Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission.

You become a real estate appraiser with no experience by starting at the Appraiser Trainee level, which requires no experience hours. You must complete 83 hours of qualifying education plus a 4-hour Appraiser Trainee/Supervisory Appraiser Course, find a Texas Certified Residential or Certified General appraiser to supervise you, pass a background check, and apply to the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB). For higher credentials, the PAREA training module can replace 50% to 100% of the required experience, depending on license type.

You start by registering as an appraiser trainee, which requires no experience. The Trainee Appraiser credential calls for 83 hours of qualifying education (Basic Appraisal Principles, Basic Appraisal Procedures, the 15-Hour National USPAP Course, and Valuation Bias and Fair Housing), completed within the five years before you apply. Utah requires trainees to hold a state registration and to be fingerprinted for a background check. PAREA, a virtual training program, is an alternative for gaining the required experience hours.

Start by registering as an appraiser trainee with the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation. You must complete 83 hours of qualifying education (effective January 1, 2026), pass the end-of-course exams, and pay the $115 trainee fee, then work under a supervising appraiser who holds a Certified Residential or Certified General license in good standing for at least 3 years. The supervisor reviews and signs every appraisal you produce, and a trainee may have more than one supervisor.

Start with the Appraiser Trainee credential, which has no experience requirement. Complete 83 hours of qualifying education, including the 15-hour National USPAP course and an 8-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing course, plus an Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB)-approved supervisor/trainee course. You also need a supervising appraiser who is Virginia-certified and in good standing. Experience hours count only after you complete the courses and obtain the trainee license.

In Washington, you start as a state-registered real estate appraiser trainee. Complete 87 classroom hours of qualifying education, then submit the trainee registration application with the $400 fee and your course completion certificates. You cannot begin gaining experience hours until the Department of Licensing approves a certified appraiser as your supervisor.

West Virginia's entry credential is the appraiser apprentice permit, which requires being at least 18, a high school diploma or equivalent, 75 hours of board-approved qualifying education completed within the prior 5 years, a state and national criminal history record check, and a board-approved supervisor. You then gain experience under a certified supervisor's direct supervision. You may instead complete an AQB- or board-approved PAREA program, a virtual training alternative that meets the experience requirement.

Wisconsin does not require a trainee or apprentice license, so you can begin the path without prior experience or a credential. Complete the 150 hours of core curriculum courses for the Licensed Appraiser credential, then gain 1,000 hours of experience over at least 6 months under a supervising appraiser, who signs your experience roster for each report. A PAREA (Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal) program can instead satisfy all 1,000 experience hours. You then pass the national and Wisconsin state examinations and complete an FBI background check.

Wyoming's entry credential for people with no experience is the Certified Appraiser Trainee permit. You submit a Trainee Permit Application, a Trainee Log, fingerprint cards for a background check, and a notarized Supervisor Declaration from a certified residential or certified general appraiser in good standing who has taken a supervisor/trainee course and has a clean recent disciplinary record. Your supervisor must personally sign and review all of your appraisals for the hours to count toward certification.