Welcome to the Office of Real Estate Appraisers of the State of California

OREA News and Announcements

Documenting Education and/or Experience

Effective January 1, 2005, affidavits are not acceptable for claiming appraisal education or work experience. This directive, from the Appraisal Subcommittee, affects all applicants including those claiming Category 9 experience as delineated in OREA's Licensing Requirements Handbook. All Category 9 applicants must submit experience on the Log of Appraisal Experience form, REA 3004. In addition, they must also submit two work samples demonstrating compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

Broker Experience Clarification

California Code of Regulations, Title 10, section 3541(d) provides that the Office of Real Estate Appraisers may issue appraiser licenses to holders of current real estate broker licenses who are able to document 1,000 hours of residential real estate appraisal experience. However, the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) of the Appraisal Foundation requires a minimum 2,000 hours of documented experience for the state license level. Consequently, licenses issued with the broker experience credit allowance are not in full compliance with minimum AQB requirements. Because of this discrepancy, the Appraisal Subcommittee classifies such licenses as non-AQB compliant on the National Registry. Some federally regulated lenders may not accept appraisals performed by those licensees. Those licenses, however, can become fully compliant with AQB requirements with a subsequent submission of an appraisal log documenting the necessary hours to achieve the minimum 2,000-hour requirement. AL licensees in this category must submit their additional experience for compliance on the Log of Appraisal Experience REA 3004 form.

The 2006 Edition of USPAP became effective on July 1, 2006.

New Regulation Effective 6/5/06 - California Code of Regulations Title 10, Section 3528, Minimum Requirements

6/13/06 - OREA is providing notice of changes to proposed regulations that were the subject of a rulemaking published on November 25, 2005, in the California Regulatory Notice Register. Changes to the proposed regulations are identified by double strikeout and double underline notation in the text of the proposed regulations. Comments on the changes to proposed regulations are due to OREA by 5:00 p.m. on July 1, 2006.

All Distance Education Courses Require IDECC Approval

6/1/05 - Important Changes to Appraiser Qualifications Effective January 1, 2008

3/23/05 - Article: "Truth or Consequences - The Certification Statement"

1/1/05 - Important USPAP Notice

Effective January 1, 2005, the 15-hour National USPAP Course may NOT be used to satisfy the 7-hour National USPAP Update Course continuing education requirement.

Therefore, only the 7-hour National USPAP Update Course may be taken to satisfy the continuing education USPAP requirement after January 1, 2005. If the 15-hour National USPAP Course is taken on or after January 1, 2005, as continuing education, the course can be applied towards the overall continuing education hours only.

Reciprocal Agreements

OREA now has reciprocal license agreements with many other states for licenses above the Trainee Level.