What is USPAP?

USPAP (pronounced "YOOS-pap") is the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. It sets the standards for how real estate appraisals should be done and what it takes to be a professional appraiser, and it’s regulated by the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of the Appraisal Foundation, a non-governmental entity charged by Congress with implementing appraisal standards.

USPAP is revised periodically, usually every year, and is made up of several sections:

• A list of Definitions
• A Preamble defining the mission of the document
• A list of 5 general appraisal Rules: Ethics, Competency, Scope of Work, Jurisdictional Exception, and Supplemental Standards
• A list of 10 appraisal Standards, each with it's own rules to detail the tasks performed in developing and reporting an appraisal
• Statements that help clarify or supplement those Standards
• Advisory Opinions dealing with the application of USPAP in various real-life scenarios and how they should be governed

USPAP may be considered the Bible of appraisal practice. Every appraiser is required to know and follow USPAP, usually according to state law, and must complete Continuing Education periodically to relearn the basics and become familiar with new Advisory Opinions and annual changes to USPAP.

Before 1987, consumers had no way of verifying the quality of their appraisal — they simply had to trust that the appraiser they chose followed the unspoken appraisal rules during the appraisal process. USPAP was created to hold appraisers to a standard that their customers could trust. As long as the appraiser is USPAP certified or licensed, you can be sure that their work is held to a rigorous standard.