Individual Appraiser Residential
Individual Appraiser License
Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA)
To meet the experience requirements for the Licensed Residential license level and the Certified Residential license level, license candidates can choose either the traditional supervisor/trainee model or the new PAREA option. Helpful information for appraisers looking for an approved PAREA program is available here.
Minnesota accepts PAREA to the same extent that it is allowed under the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria issued by the Appraiser Qualifications Board.
Trainee Real Property Appraiser
A Trainee Real Property Appraiser’s scope of practice is as defined in Minnesota Statute §82B.093.
- Complete the required pre-license education. Pre-license course providers can be found on www.pulseportal.com
- All education must be completed within the five-year period prior to the date of your application submission and must be electronically uploaded by your provider.
- Basic Appraisal Principals (30 hours)
- Basic Appraiser Procedures (30 hours)
- 15-hour National USPAP Course (15 hours)
- Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course (6 hours)
- Submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.
- Obtain a supervisor.
- You can obtain a list of licensed Certified Residential and Certified General Appraisers from the Minnesota Bookstore at 651-201-3206 (there is a fee for this service). PLEASE NOTE: You will need to contact one or more of the appraisers on the list yourself to see whether they will be your supervisor.
- You will need the name and license number of your approved supervisor when you apply for your license.
- Apply for your license on www.pulseportal.com
- After completing your online application, you must email your course completion certificates to the Department of Commerce. Please put "Appraiser Licensing" in the subject field. licensing.commerce@state.mn.us
Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser
A Licensed Real Property Appraiser licensee may perform appraisals for federally related transactions.
- Complete the required prelicense education. Course providers can be found on www.pulseportal.com. You will need to upload the course completion certificates during the application process.
- Basic Appraisal Principals (30 hours)
- Basic Appraiser Procedures (30 hours)
- 15-hour National USPAP Course (15 hours)
- Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course (6 hours)
- If you hold a valid Trainee Real Property Appraiser license you do not need to repeat the courses listed above.
- Market Analysis and Highest and Best use (15 hours)
- Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 hours)
- Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 hours)
- Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours)
- Complete the Experience Verification Form documenting 1,000 hours of licensed appraiser experience in no fewer than 6 months.
- You will need to upload this completed document during the application process.
- Pass the required examination (see this page for the required pre-authorization process).
- Submit the license application on Pulse Portal www.pulseportal.com.
Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser
A Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser licensee may perform appraisals for federally related transactions.
- Complete the required education. Course providers can be found on www.pulseportal.com. You will need to upload the course completion certificates during the application process.
- Basic Appraisal Principals (30 hours)
- Basic Appraiser Procedures (30 hours)
- 15-hour National USPAP Course (15 hours)
- Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course (6 hours)
- If you hold a valid Trainee Real Property Appraiser license you do not need to repeat the courses listed above.
- Market Analysis and Highest and Best use (15 hours)
- Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 hours)
- Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 hours)
- Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours)
- If you hold a valid Licensed Residential Real Property Appraiser license you do not need to repeat the courses listed above.
- Statistics, Modeling and Finance (15 hours)
- Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies (15 hours)
- Appraiser Subject Matter Elective (20 hours)
- In addition to the courses listed above, the applicant must obtain the college-level education specified in the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria. Refer to the Summary of Changes document to see the available options.
- You will email proof of meeting this requirement to licensing.commerce@state.mn.us after you apply for your license.
- Complete the Experience Verification Form documenting 1,500 hours of licensed appraiser experience in no fewer than 12 months.
- You will need to upload this completed document during the application process.
- Submit the license application on Pulse Portal
- Pass the required examination (see this page for the required pre-authorization process)
Certified General Real Property Appraiser
- Complete the required education. List of Required Core Curriculum Courses and Hours.
- You must email documentation of your pre-license education and a completed Experience Verification Form documenting 3000 hours of licensed appraiser experience (with at least 50 percent, or 1500 hours, in nonresidential appraisal work) to the Department of Commerce. Please put "Appraiser Licensing" in the subject field.
- Submit the license application on Pulse Portal www.pulseportal.com.
- Pass the required examination (see this page for the required pre-authorization process).
- After your education and experience have been reviewed and approved, you must pass the examination within 24 months.
Temporary Practice Appraiser
- Complete the license application online at PULSE Portal.
- You must email your Temporary Practice Appraisal Assignment form documenting the properties to be appraised to the department of Commerce. Please include “Temporary Practice Appraiser Processing” in the subject line of your email.
- A temporary practice appraiser license is valid for the lesser of (a) the time required to complete the assignment, or (b) 12 months. If more than 12 months is necessary to complete the assignment, a new temporary application and fee is required.
- A Temporary Practice Appraiser license is only valid for a single appraisal assignment within Minnesota; a single appraisal assignment may include one or more properties under one contract for a single client.
Reactivate an Expired License
Trainee Real Property Appraiser
- Complete the license application at PULSE Portal.
- If your license has been expired for less than 2 years, reactivation requires successful completion of all outstanding continuing education hours that would have been required if the license was in an active status, including the required most recent edition of a 7-hour National USPAP Update Course.
- If your license has been expired for more than 2 years, you must meet current hourly requirements for experience and pre-license education.
Licensed Residential, Certified Residential, or Certified General Real Property Appraiser
- Complete a new license application at PULSE Portal.
- If your license has been expired for less than 2 years, reactivation requires successful completion of all outstanding continuing education hours that would have been required if the license was in an active status, including the required most recent edition of a 7-hour National USPAP Update Course.
- If your license has been expired for more than 2 years, you must meet current hourly requirements for experience and pre-license education, and must attach original passing results, no more than two years old, for the appropriate level Appraiser examination.
Fingerprinting
Under Minnesota law, an individual applying for an initial resident real estate appraiser license must consent to a criminal history record check and submit a fingerprint card. There are two options for having your fingerprints taken: you may be fingerprinted electronically at a PSI test center, or you may go to any local police station or similar facility with manual fingerprinting capability to have your fingerprints taken manually.
Manual fingerprinting
You may go to any local police station or similar facility with manual fingerprinting capability to have your fingerprints taken manually. The facility will charge a processing fee. After your fingerprints are taken, the fingerprint card will be given back to you. Do not fold it. Mail it along with a fully completed “Resident Insurance Producer/Insurance Adjuster/Real Estate Appraiser License Background Check Consent Form” and a check for $33.25 made out to “Minnesota Department of Commerce” to:
Administration Division
Attn: Licensing
Minnesota Department of Commerce
85 – 7th Place East, Suite 280
St. Paul, MN 55101
Who is required to submit fingerprints?
Any individual applying for an initial resident real estate appraiser license.
What will my fingerprints be used for?
The Minnesota Department of Commerce (“Commerce Department”) will have the criminal history record check performed by requesting searches of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Computerized Criminal History system and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Justice Information Services system. The purpose of the criminal history record check is to assist the Commerce Department in determining your qualifications and eligibility for the license that you are applying for.
If you refuse to consent to a criminal history record check, your license application will not be processed.
I will be applying for a resident real estate appraiser license. What should I do to meet the requirement to submit fingerprints?
There are two options for having your fingerprints taken: you may be fingerprinted electronically at a PSI test center, or you may go to any local police station or similar facility with manual fingerprinting capability to have your fingerprints taken manually (see “Manual Fingerprinting” above).
If you take your license examination at a PSI test center in Minnesota, your fingerprints will be taken electronically at the test center after you sit for and pass the exam and sign a background check consent form.
If you take the license examination elsewhere—for example, because you are licensed as an adjuster in another state based on an adjuster examination and will establish legal residency in Minnesota and make application within 90 days to become a resident adjuster licensee
If you are exempt from the examination requirement— you may have your fingerprints taken electronically at a PSI test center. You may visit a PSI test center during the designated times listed below. Appointments cannot be scheduled in advance; walk-in fingerprinting services are provided on a first come, first served basis.
PSI Test Center Locations and Walk-in Fingerprinting Hours
BLAINE 2155 Missouri Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449
Mondays, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
BRAINERD 501 W. College Drive, Brainerd, MN 56401
Tuesdays, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
DULUTH 416 West Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802
Fridays, 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
EAGAN 175 Yankee Doodle Rd, Eagan, MN 55121
Tuesdays, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM; Thursdays, 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
MANKATO 3030 Airport Rd, Mankato, MN 56001
Tuesdays, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
ROCHESTER 3155 Superior Dr NW, Rochester, MN 55901
Thursdays, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
ST. PAUL 1935 County Road B2 West, Suite 402A and 402B, St. Paul, MN 55113
Mondays and Thursdays, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WILLMAR 2101 15th Avenue NW, Room A-146, Willmar, MN 56201
Mondays, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
WOODBURY 6053 Hudson Road, Suite 210, Woodbury, MN 55125
Wednesdays and Fridays, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
What is the cost for the electronic fingerprinting performed at the test center?
The total cost is $65.00. This includes charges for background checks conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI as well as PSI vendor processing fees.
Do I need to wait to submit my license application until the results of my background check have been received?
No. You can submit your application as soon as you have passed the examination and submitted your fingerprints.
Will the background check process delay the issuance of my license?
Yes. The FBI background check can take several weeks. Based on federal requirements governing real estate appraiser licensing, the Commerce Department will not issue a real estate appraiser license before receiving the background check results.
How long will my background check authorization and fingerprints remain valid?
Before your fingerprints are taken, you will need to sign a background check authorization form that expires one year after it is signed. Accordingly, if more than a year passes between the day your fingerprints are taken and the day you apply for your license, you will need to be fingerprinted again and pay another fee. Once you have become licensed, your fingerprints will remain valid as long as you hold an active appraiser license.
What happens if my fingerprints are not sufficiently legible or are rejected for some other reason and need to be retaken?
If the FBI rejects a set of fingerprints, the Commerce Department will be notified that the fingerprints are illegible, erroneous, or incomplete. The Commerce Department will then notify you that you must be reprinted.
What forms of payment for fingerprinting are accepted?” item with this as the text:
The fee may be paid by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.
I am going to reactivate my license. Do I need to get fingerprinted?
Yes.
I am applying to upgrade my license. Do I need to get fingerprinted?
You do not need to get fingerprinted as part of the license upgrade process; however, if you have not previously submitted your fingerprints to the Commerce Department as part of an appraiser license application process, you will be required to get fingerprinted when you apply to renew your upgraded license.
My company has in-house fingerprinting services. Will you accept electronic fingerprinting directly from my firm?
No. Due to security requirements and data privacy concerns, fingerprints taken for Minnesota real estate appraiser licensing purposes may only be submitted electronically via the single transmission network authorized for the Commerce Department by the FBI.
Is my fingerprint data kept on file?
Under the law, your fingerprints and any criminal history record information obtained as a part of this licensing process must be treated and maintained as confidential, and security measures that are consistent with the standards specified by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division for the electronic storage of fingerprints and necessary identifying information must be applied.
The data obtained from the criminal history record check will be confidential and, therefore, accessible only to the following: personnel who determine your eligibility for the license you are applying for; any appropriate person(s) or agency, if the Commissioner of Commerce determines that failure to make the data accessible is likely to create a clear and present danger to public health or safety; person(s) authorized by a court order; or any other person authorized by state or federal law.