The Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board has a formal procedure for approving Educational courses, seminars and instructors for licensure and continuing education requirements. For courses taught in Alabama, the Board must approve courses/instructors for a 24-month period or any portion thereof, with approval expiring September 30th every even year.  Approval for one cycle does not automatically mean approval for any other cycle.

Any approved licensure course must meet the Appraiser Qualification Board (AQB) criteria adopted by the Board for the education cycle submitted for approval and must be at least fifteen hours in length with an exam.

In order for an appraiser to be given credit, for a course/seminar taken out of Alabama, it must be appraisal related as outlined in the Administrative Code, and the course and instructor must be approved by the appraiser regulatory board in that State.

The Board may grant approval for appraisal and appraisal-related courses offered by schools accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) that are taught as part of the college, junior college, community college or university’s curriculum without application and payment of fees for approval by the institution. Course and instructor or adjunct instructor are automatically approved. The student must, however, provide transcripts of course grades or Uniform Request for Licensure and Continuing Education Credit forms, at the time of application or renewal to the Board.

If the school is not accredited by SACS, course and all instructors must be approved by the board, in writing, prior to teaching the course, for approval of the credit for licensure and continuing education.

Approval may also be granted for courses and/or seminars offered by Community or Junior Colleges. If school is accredited by SACS and the course is part of the curriculum, the course is automatically approved, but the instructor requires approval by the Board.

Approval may also be granted for courses from Real Estate Appraisal or related organizations, State or Federal agencies or commissions, proprietary schools or other providers approved by the Board. The Board may waive application and payment of evaluation fees for approval of courses taught by these entities.  For appraisers to receive credit, each course must have prior approval.

The Board begins accepting applications August 1st of every even year for instructor and course/seminar approval for courses taught from October 1st of that year through September 30th of the next even year. Instructors must complete the Instructor Qualification Form and the Instructor Acknowledgement Form and forward to the Board along with the course application and the required fees.

Biennial Application fees are:

  1. Evaluation of each instructor for each course

(Minimum 15 hours) for Licensure – $50.00

  1. Evaluation of each instructor for each course

(Minimum 2 hours) for Continuing Education – $25.00

  1. Review of each course or seminar

$5.00 per instruction hour (Licensure and Continuing Education)

Approved instructors must have education experience preferably a BS degree and record of having taught the course twice or courses substantially similar in content to the course for which he/she is seeking approval. If the instructor has not taught the course before, he/she could be approved after teaching the course four times as an assistant instructor. The Board must approve all assistant instructors.

All licensure or continuing education courses not addressed in the above description must have both the course and the instructor approved by the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board. Any approved licensure course must meet AQB criteria and must be at least fifteen hours in length, with an exam.

Any approved continuing education course must be at least two hours in length and approved by the Board. It should be noted that 7 hours of the appraiser’s required 28 hours of continuing education each two-year period must be Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) update.

All approved courses are subject to review at any time after approval by the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board for compliance with AQB criteria.  In the event of such a review, school or course provider official shall make available to the authorized representative of the Board all records requested which is necessary to the review.

Beginning August 1, 2007, all courses submitted for approval as a licensure course must comply with the AQB module for approved licensure education.  Courses will continue to be approved for two-year cycles.

In conjunction with the education approval process, approved instructors will be required to distribute to their students a signed Uniform Request for Licensure and Continuing Education Credit Form. The student will file the completed form with their original application for license or renewal.

Occasionally, appraisers take appraisal related courses not approved by the Board and ask to use them for continuing education credit. The Board will consider approving these requests for continuing education credit IF the appraiser submits the course content, timeline and syllabus and a non-refundable review fee of $35. The Education Committee will review the course information to determine if the content meets the Appraisal Foundation continuing education criteria. If the course meets all requirements a maximum of 7 hours credit will be granted.