How to Become a Real Estate Appraiser in Delaware: Requirements and Steps

To become a real estate appraiser in Delaware, you register as a Trainee Appraiser with the Council on Real Estate Appraisers, complete the qualifying education for that level (83 hours for applications on or after January 1, 2026), pass Delaware and FBI background checks, and attach a supervising certified appraiser, then work up to the Licensed, Certified Residential, or Certified General credential. Every application, fee, and renewal runs through the state's DELPROS online portal, and application fees run from $282 for a trainee to $333 for a licensed or certified credential.

Delaware follows the same path every state shares, which the national guide to becoming a real estate appraiser covers in full. The state conforms its licensing requirements to the criteria of the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and adds no education or experience hours beyond them, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1]. What Delaware does add is its own registration mechanics, fee schedule, a Delaware-specific continuing education course, and the supervisor, reciprocity, and temporary practice rules below.

Who licenses Delaware appraisers

The Council on Real Estate Appraisers, housed in the state Division of Professional Regulation, issues all four real property appraiser credentials in Delaware: Trainee Appraiser, Licensed Real Property Appraiser (RPA), Certified Residential RPA, and Certified General RPA. The Council also certifies assessors, licenses appraisal management companies, and issues temporary practice permits, according to its official board page^[2].

The Council meets the third Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m., except August and December, and reviews a complete application at its next scheduled meeting, so processing time depends on when your file becomes complete. Before that review, allow at least four weeks for the State Bureau of Identification to send your criminal history records to the Council, per the Delaware trainee licensure page^[3]. The federal Appraisal Subcommittee reviewed the Delaware program in September 2025, rated it "Good," and counted 574 state-credentialed appraisers on the national registry at the time, in its final compliance review^[4].

You start, submit, and pay for every application in DELPROS, the Division's online system. An application you begin must be submitted within six months or you restart it, and once submitted it stays valid for two years, according to the trainee licensure page^[3].

What each Delaware credential lets you appraise

Delaware's Licensed RPA credential is capped by transaction value, while the two certified credentials are not. A Licensed RPA may appraise non-complex 1-to-4 unit residential properties with a transaction value under $1,000,000 and complex 1-to-4 unit residential properties with a transaction value of $400,000 or less, under 24 Del. C. § 4002(17)^[5], the definition the Council's rules adopted in the amendment effective November 1, 2024. Licensed appraisers cannot appraise any property with a market value over $1,000,000.

The education and experience requirements behind each row follow the AQB criteria, with no Delaware additions, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1]. Certified Residential adds a college-level education requirement and Certified General a higher one, covered in the upgrade section below.

Registering as a Delaware trainee appraiser

Delaware requires trainees to register with the state before doing any appraisal work, under 24 Del. C. § 4007(c)^[6]. To apply, you complete 83 hours of qualifying education (75 hours if you applied before January 1, 2026), take the Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser course, pass the background checks, and submit the $282 application in DELPROS with your supervisor's signed verification form.

The education and paperwork requirements in detail, from the Delaware trainee licensure page^[3]:

• Qualifying education must come from the AQB core curriculum, with each course at least 15 classroom hours and including an exam. At least 15 hours must come from the National USPAP course, and applications on or after January 1, 2026 must include 8 hours of Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations. All qualifying education must have been earned within the five years before you apply.
• You must complete an AQB-approved Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser course before the license will be issued, and this course does not count toward the qualifying education hours.
• You must submit State of Delaware and FBI criminal background checks through IdentoGO using the Real Estate Appraisers service code 27S336, per the Delaware background check page^[7]. A new check is required even if you were recently fingerprinted for another purpose, and a Delaware check cannot be forwarded to another state or reused for employment.
• A Verification of Real Estate Appraiser Supervision form, completed and signed by your supervising Certified Real Property Appraiser, must be sent directly to the Council office by the supervisor, not by you.

Supervisor rules and how trainees log experience

A Delaware trainee works only under the direct supervision of a Certified Real Property Appraiser (General or Residential) who has been state-certified for at least 3 years, has not been disciplined by the Council within the preceding 3 years, and supervises no more than 3 trainees at the same time. Those limits appear in 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1] and on the Council's supervision verification form^[8], which the supervisor completes, notarizes, and submits directly to the Council along with a certificate showing completion of the AQB supervisory course.

Supervision is personal. The supervisor must actively and personally supervise the trainee, review and sign each appraisal report, accept total responsibility for it, and review and approve the trainee's experience log; the supervisor must also notify the Council in writing when supervision ends. A trainee may have more than one supervisory appraiser, but if supervision ends, the trainee may not appraise again until a new license showing a new supervisor is issued.

Delaware also requires a co-signed checklist on every assignment the trainee touches. Effective December 11, 2023, the trainee and supervising appraiser must both sign the appraiser trainee checklist^[9], which itemizes the trainee's assistance, and the completed checklist must be made part of the appraisal report submitted to the client. The Council cannot grant experience hours for assignments in which the trainee is not properly acknowledged in the report.

Can you satisfy experience through PAREA in Delaware?

Yes. Delaware accepts AQB-approved Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) programs as an alternative to supervised experience, capped by the credential you are pursuing, with no partial credit for an unfinished program, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1].

No PAREA hours count toward the Certified General non-residential experience requirement, and you must submit a certificate of completion for the entire program. The Appraisal Foundation notes on its PAREA overview page^[10] that programs are available for the Licensed Residential and Certified Residential levels and delivered by independent education providers.

Upgrading to a licensed or certified credential

You upgrade by examination: submit the additional qualifying education, your experience log, transcripts if the target credential requires a degree, and the upgrade application in DELPROS, then pass the national exam. The additional qualifying-education hours Delaware requires for applications on or after January 1, 2026, per the licensure by examination page^[11], are shown in hours below.

For applications filed before January 1, 2026, the additions were 125 hours from trainee to Certified Residential, 225 from trainee to Certified General, 50 from Licensed to Certified Residential, and 150 from Licensed to Certified General; the 100-hour step from Certified Residential to Certified General is the same in both periods.

The college-level education requirements come with alternatives. Certified Residential requires an Associate degree or higher, or a minimum of 21 college semester hours in specified coursework in lieu of a degree, while Certified General requires a Bachelor's degree or higher, or 30 college semester hours in specified coursework in lieu, per the licensure by examination page^[11]. One Delaware-specific exception exists: a Licensed RPA with at least 5 years of licensure and a clean disciplinary record may upgrade to Certified Residential without the college-level education requirement, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1].

Two rules govern the experience side of the appraisal certification application. Experience cannot be proven by affidavit, and the state validates it against AQB criteria with a representative sample of your work product, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1]. After you pass the exam, the Council requests sample appraisal reports, notifies you of the number, and gives you 15 days to submit them, per the licensure by examination page^[11].

The Delaware appraiser exam: Pearson VUE administration

Delaware administers the AQB National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination through Pearson VUE, and you may sit for it only after the Council approves your complete application and sends an exam authorization letter, per the Delaware examinations page^[12]. There is no alternative exam path, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-3.0^[13].

What to expect at the test center, from the National Appraiser Candidate Handbook^[14]:

• Each exam has 110 scored questions plus 15 unscored pretest questions. You get 4 hours for the Licensed Residential and Certified Residential exams and 6 hours for the Certified General exam.
• Passing is a scaled score of 75 on a 0-to-110 scale. Candidates who pass receive no numeric score; candidates who fail receive a score and diagnostics.
• You must present two forms of ID and the Council's authorization letter, and a 30-minute break is built into the session.
• Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance, and changes or cancellations require 48 hours' notice or the fee is forfeited.
• You may test an unlimited number of times during your two-year approval period. After a failed attempt you must wait 24 hours before booking a retake and submit a "Request for Re-Examination" service request in DELPROS.

The exam fee is not published on the state's pages. The handbook directs candidates to the state approval letter for the fee amount, which you pay by card or voucher when you reserve. After passing, allow up to two weeks for the Board office to receive your official score before the license issues, per the Delaware examinations page^[12]. You can register and schedule through the Pearson VUE Delaware appraisers page^[15].

What a Delaware appraiser license costs

The application fees are $282 for an Appraiser Trainee and $333 for a Licensed, Certified Residential, or Certified General Real Property Appraiser, with an upgrade from an active Licensed or Certified Residential credential at $55, according to the Council's fee schedule^[16]. All fees are processed in DELPROS, with no cash or checks by mail, and processing fees are non-refundable.

The National Registry fee funds your listing on the federal Appraisal Subcommittee's registry. It is $40 per appraiser per year under the Federal Register fee modification effective January 1, 2012^[17], and Delaware collects $80 if your license is approved between July 1 of an odd year and October 31 of an even year, or $40 if it is approved between November 1 of an even year and June 30 of an odd year, per the fee schedule^[16].

The state does not publish the renewal fee amount; you are notified of it at the time of renewal. One cost the state does not impose: Delaware does not require licensed or certified appraisers to carry errors and omissions insurance, per the Council's FAQ page^[18].

Renewal and continuing education in Delaware

Delaware appraiser credentials renew on a two-year cycle that expires October 31 of each odd-numbered year, and each full cycle requires 28 hours of continuing education, including a 2-hour Delaware Law, Rules & Regulations course the state adds to the national requirements. Renewal notices go out by email in September of odd-numbered years, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1].

The required courses each cycle, from the Council's continuing education page^[19]:

• The 7-hour National USPAP Update course.
• The 2-hour Delaware Law, Rules & Regulations course.
• Between January 1, 2026 and October 31, 2027, 7 hours of Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations, dropping to 4 hours beginning November 1, 2027.

Appraiser Trainees must complete the same 28 hours as licensed and certified appraisers. First-cycle requirements are prorated by your issue date within the November 1 (odd year) to October 31 cycle: 28 hours if licensed on or after November 1 of an odd year, 14 hours if licensed on or after November 1 of an even year before May 1, 0 hours if licensed between May 1 and July 1 of an odd year, and 28 hours if licensed on or after July 1 of an odd year.

All continuing education may be completed online, since the Council removed its 14-hour live-classroom requirement in 2019. Enforcement is real: at least 25% of licensees are audited at each renewal, and anyone renewing during the late period is audited automatically, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1]. In 2023 the state audited 10% of credential holders and 14% of the audited continuing education affidavits failed to meet minimum AQB criteria, a lapse the ASC compliance review^[4] flagged; the state has since disciplined the non-compliant licensees and committed to audit samples between 10% and 25%.

Renew late and it costs you. A renewal submitted after the October 31 expiration date carries a late fee of 50% of the renewal fee, on top of the renewal fee itself, per the fee schedule^[16]. You may renew within 60 days after expiration; after 60 days you must reapply as a new applicant, and you may not perform appraisals after the license expires, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-2.0^[1].

Reciprocity and temporary practice permits

Appraisers already licensed in another state can obtain a Delaware credential by reciprocity when they hold current licensure or certification in the same classification they want in Delaware, or work a single Delaware assignment on a $40 temporary practice permit valid for six months. Reciprocity requires that the other state's standards be substantially similar to Delaware's; an appraiser from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have practiced for at least 5 years after licensure, under 24 Del. C. § 4011^[6].

Reciprocity applicants must submit Delaware and FBI criminal background checks through IdentoGO using the profession-specific service code; checks completed for any other purpose, including licensure in other states, will not meet the requirement, per the Delaware reciprocity page^[20]. The Council verifies licensure through the national registry before issuing the credential.

The temporary practice permit is assignment-specific. The property must be in Delaware, the business must be temporary and limited to a single engagement by a single client, and the appraisal must comply with USPAP, per the temporary practice permit page^[21]. Permits expire six months from the date of issue and end with completion of the assignment, under 24 Del. C. § 4010^[6], and an extension may be requested by email. No more than 3 permits will be granted to the same individual in any 12-month period, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 2930-5.0^[22].

Your first steps as a Delaware appraiser

Start your Delaware appraisal career at the Council's trainee licensure page^[3], and work through these steps in order:

1. Create a DELPROS account and open your trainee application, keeping in mind the six-month submission deadline.
2. Enroll in 83 hours of qualifying education from the AQB core curriculum, including the 15-hour National USPAP course and the 8-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing course.
3. Get fingerprinted through IdentoGO using service code 27S336, allowing at least four weeks for the records to reach the Council.
4. Find a supervising Certified Real Property Appraiser who has been certified at least 3 years, is free of Council discipline for 3 years, and has fewer than 3 trainees, and have that supervisor send the notarized verification form directly to the Council.
5. Submit the $282 fee in DELPROS, then time your follow-up around the Council's meeting calendar: it reviews complete applications the third Tuesday of each month, except August and December.

Because Delaware adds no hours to the AQB minimums, how long it takes to become an appraiser tracks the national one-to-two-year span, set by your experience hours and exam date rather than by any state backlog.