Real Estate Appraisers

Regulation Authority:

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-20.7-4
5-20.7-6

Purpose and Reason:

• § 1.1 – Deleted redundant content. 
• § 1.2 – Updated definitions for consistency with RI Gen Laws § 5-20.7-2 and the federal requirements in the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria. Deleted definitions for terms that are not used in the regulation (Dodd-Frank Act and Part-time). Added a definition for a new program, Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (“PAREA”). 
• § 1.4 – Simplified and consolidated the fee section by putting the fees in a chart. Deleted the $10 fee for a “certificate of licensure” which is letter of good standing that licensees may request to get a reciprocal license in another state. 
• § 1.5 (old numbering) – deleted and relocated this content to § 1.6(A) & (B) with no substantive changes. 
• § 1.6 (new numbering) – consolidated content from old §§ 1.7 and 1.8 and added content to explain existing procedures for obtaining and upgrading an appraiser credential. Organized the content in the order that the applicant would complete the requirements, starting with education, then experience and finally the exam. These amendments also include an alternative option to obtain experience for licensed residential and certified residential appraisers adopted by the federal regulator, Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (“PAREA”). The RI Real Estate Appraisal Board accepted PAREA because it is part of the Appraisal Foundation’s Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (“RPAQC”). This is consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.7-10, which states: “The experience shall be of the type of appraisal for which the applicant is seeking certification/licensing and shall meet the minimum standards of the Appraisal Foundation and/or applicable federal regulations.”
• § 1.6.1 – Updated the existing core education requirements by adding information for PAREA applicants and clarifying in § 1.6.1(C)(1) that the 5-year limitation period for education only applied to trainees for consistency with federal requirements. 
• § 1.6.2 – Updated the existing requirements by adding information for PAREA applicants, making the list in (C)(1) match the order and wording in the RPAQC. 
• § 1.6.3 – Deleted the limit on the number of times an applicant can take the exam. This is a relic of when the state administered exams. Exams are national and administered by testing centers. With the variety of test questions and security measures in place, the Board recommended deleting this limitation. DBR recently deleted a similar requirement from the Professional Engineering regulation. Updated § 1.6.3(C) consistent with federal RPAQC requirements that scores are valid for 2 years. 
• § 1.6.4 – Added a new application procedures section to reflect existing DBR practices and current state and federal laws. No change to status quo. Appraiser licensing is unusual because appraisers generally start as a trainee and then apply to upgrade their credential. This is unique among the licensing procedures of DBR and it benefits DBR staff, the Board, licensees, and applicants to clarify these procedures in the regulation. DBR also added procedures for PAREA applicants, a new program for which we have yet to receive any applicants. 
• § 1.6.5 – Relocated existing content for reciprocal licenses from § 1.12 and added existing application procedures in the last 2 paragraphs. 
• § 1.6.6 – relocated content from old section § 1.7(A) with no substantive changes. 
• § 1.6.7 – Relocated and updated content from old section § 1.7(B) – (E). Distinguished between renewal, late renewal, and reinstatement (which is when a license has been expired for more than 2 years). 
• § 1.6.8 – Added procedures for reinstatement of a credential after consulting with the ASC, reviewing the RPAQC and standard DBR procedures. Note that 1.6.8(A)(1)(b) is the exact requirement set forth in the RPAQC. 
• § 1.6.9 – relocated and updated the content from old § 1.7(A)(4). 
• § 1.7 (new numbering) – deleted redundant licensing process for trainees in paragraph A, and incorporated it above in § 1.6. Added content in paragraphs A and B (new numbering) for consistency with the RPAQC and reorganized some of the paragraphs for clarity. 
• § 1.9 (new numbering) – clarified and updated continuing education requirements consistent with 2023 statutory changes and RPAQC. Removed unnecessary repetition of statute to simplify this section. 
• § 1.13 (new numbering) – Updated consistent with the statutory provision for disciplinary actions based on criminal convictions in § 5-20.7-20(c)(4). 
• § 1.14 (new numbering) – Minor updates consistent with existing practices, DBR’s Rules of Procedure for Administrative Hearings (230-RICR-10-00-2), and removal of redundant content.