Are you Interested in Getting an Illinois Real Estate Appraisal License?

One may think that with the current housing and mortgage crisis, it might be too late to pursue a career in Real Estate Appraisal. But the opposite is true.  All “old” appraisers are going to have to comply with the new rules and regs recently enacted, so the playing field is level again. You can enter this exciting, lucrative field at a unique time in history when the entire industry is looking for new, freshly trained appraiser licensees who have taken the newest curriculum. What that means to you is, lots of opportunities and lots of new doors opening.

If you are interested in enrolling in a real estate appraisal course you should know that it will be necessary to meet licensing and/or certification requirements that are different depending on the State, but you can be sure that they will include real estate appraisal education, working as a trainee, and passing one or more license exams.

Some more good news is that no specific college degree is needed to get a real estate appraisal license, but most people working in the field of appraisal have at least a bachelor’s degree. You will need to attend a real estate appraisal school and completed the mandated real estate appraisal education requirements for your state.

Illinois Licensing Requirements
The Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate has established the minimum educational requirements for an appraisal license. The minimum educational requirements include the following:

Associate Real Estate Appraiser (157)
Courses in the following topics are required to take the Associate Real Estate Appraiser examination:

• At least 75 hours of appraisal education and training, including 15 hours of ethics and standards of practice, and passing the Level A licensing examination.
• No appraisal experience is required.
• College-level requirements: None

Certified Residential Appraiser (156)
Courses in the following topics are required to take the Certified Residential Appraiser examination:

• At least 200 hours of appraisal education and training, including 15 hours of ethics and standards of practice; 2,500 hours (including 1,500 hours non-residential) of appraisal experience across at least 30 months; and passing the Level B licensing examination.
• Twenty-five hundred hours of appraisal experience during no fewer than 24 months
• College-level requirements: Associate degree or higher. In lieu of the required degree, 21 semester credit hours covering the following subject matter courses: English Composition; Principles of Economics (Micro or Macro); Finance; Algebra, Geometry or higher mathematics; Statistics; Computer Science; and Business or Real Estate Law.

(If an applicant is upgrading from a 154 or 157 license, they only need to submit proof of curriculums 4 and 5 above.)

Certified General Appraiser (153)
Courses in the following topics are required to take the Certified General Appraiser examination:

• At least 300 hours of appraisal education and training, including 15 hours of ethics and standards of practice; 3,000 hours (including 1,500 hours non-residential) of appraisal experience across at least 30 months; and passing the Level C certification examination.
• Three thousand hours of appraisal experience during no fewer than 30 months, of which 1,500 hours shall be in non-residential appraisal work
• College-level requirements: Bachelors degree or higher. In lieu of the required degree, 31 semester credit hours covering the following subject matter courses: English Composition; Principles of Economics (Micro or Macro); Finance; Algebra, Geometry or higher mathematics; Statistics; Computer Science; and Business or Real Estate Law; and 2 elective courses in accounting, geography, ag-economics, business management, or real estate.

(If an applicant is upgrading from a 157 license, they only need to submit proof of curriculums 4 through 9 above. If an applicant is upgrading from a 156 license, they only need to submit proof of curriculums 6 through 9 above.)

IMPORTANT: For detailed information on understanding the 2008 Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, please follow this link to the Appraisal Foundation.

State Regulatory Agency

Illinois Division of Professional Regulation
Mr. Michael Brown: Appraisal Director
310 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 2130
Chicago, IL 60604-4278
(312) 814-4500
Click for State Website