II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3902 

To amend the National Housing Act to authorize State-licensed appraisers 

to conduct appraisals in connection with mortgages insured by the FHA 

and to ensure compliance with the existing appraiser education and 

competency requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2024 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the National Housing Act to authorize Statelicensed appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection 

with mortgages insured by the FHA and to ensure compliance with the existing appraiser education and competency requirements, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Appraisal Industry Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. APPRAISER STANDARDS. 

7 (a) CERTIFICATION OR LICENSING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(g)(5) of the Na2 tional Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)) is 

3 amended by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) be certified or licensed by the State in 

6 which the property to be appraised is located, except 

7 that a Federal employee who chooses to become 

8 State-licensed or certified real estate appraisers need 

9 to only be licensed or certified in 1 State or territory 

10 to perform real estate appraisal duties as a Federal 

11 employee in all States and territories; 

12 ‘‘(B) meet the competency requirements de13 scribed in the Uniform Standards of Professional 

14 Appraisal Practice before accepting an assignment; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(C) have demonstrated verifiable education in 

17 the appraisal requirements established by the Fed18 eral Housing Administration under this subsection, 

19 which shall include the completion of a course or 

20 seminar that educates appraisers on those appraisal 

21 requirements, which shall be— 

22 ‘‘(i) provided by the Federal Housing Ad23 ministration or a private or public organization 

24 with special competence in and knowledge of 

25 appraisal education through contracts, grants, 


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1 or other assistance provided by the Secretary; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(ii) approved by the Course Approval Pro4 gram of the Appraiser Qualification Board of 

5 the Appraisal Foundation or a State appraiser 

6 certifying and licensing agency.’’. 

7 (2) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (C) of sec8 tion 202(g)(5) of the National Housing Act (12 

9 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as added by paragraph (1), 

10 shall not apply with respect to any appraiser ap11 proved by the Federal Housing Administration to 

12 conduct appraisals on mortgages insured under title 

13 II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et 

14 seq.) on or before the date on which the mortgagee 

15 letter or other guidance or regulations take effect 

16 under subsection (c)(3). 

17 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH VERIFIABLE EDUCATION

18 AND COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS.—Effective beginning 

19 on the date on which the mortgagee letter or other notice 

20 or regulations take effect under subsection (c)(3), no ap21 praiser may conduct an appraisal for any mortgage in22 sured under title II of the National Housing Act (12 

23 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) unless— 

24 (1) the appraiser is in compliance with the re25 quirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of secVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Mar 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902

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1 tion 202(g)(5) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), 

2 as amended by subsection (a); and 

3 (2) if the appraiser was not approved by the 

4 Federal Housing Administration to conduct apprais5 als on mortgages insured under title II of the Na6 tional Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) before 

7 the date on which the mortgagee letter or other no8 tices or regulations take effect under subsection 

9 (c)(3), the appraiser is in compliance with subpara10 graph (C) of such section 202(g)(5). 

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than the 240 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Housing and Urban Development shall issue a mortgagee 

14 letter or other notice or regulations that shall— 

15 (1) implement the amendments made by sub16 section (a); 

17 (2) clearly set forth all of the specific require18 ments under section 202(g)(5) of the National 

19 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as amended by 

20 subsection (a), for approval to conduct appraisals 

21 under title II of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.), 

22 which shall include— 

23 (A) providing that, before the effective 

24 date of the mortgagee letter or other guidance 

25 or regulations, a demonstration of competency 


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1 and completion of training that meet the re2 quirements under subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

3 (C) of such section 202(g)(5), as amended by 

4 subsection (a), shall be considered to fulfill the 

5 requirements under such subparagraphs; and 

6 (B) providing a method for appraisers to 

7 demonstrate such prior competency and comple8 tion; and 

9 (3) take effect not later than the date that is 

10 180 days after the date on which the Secretary 

11 issues the mortgagee letter or other notice or regula12 tions. 

13 SEC. 3. ANNUAL REGISTRY FEES FOR APPRAISAL MANAGE14 MENT COMPANIES. 

15 Section 1109(a) of the Financial Institutions Reform, 

16 Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 

17 3338(a)) is amended, in the matter following clause (ii) 

18 of paragraph (4)(B), by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘If the Appraisal Subcommittee determines that the fees 

20 established under clause (i) or (ii) result in adverse con21 sequences or are otherwise not appropriately tailored to 

22 meet the functions of the Appraisal Subcommittee under 

23 this Act, the Appraisal Subcommittee may establish a new 

24 formula to decrease the amount of the fees.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATE CREDENTIALED TRAINEE APPRAISERS. 

2 (a) MAINTENANCE ON NATIONAL REGISTRY.—Sec3 tion 1103(a) of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recov4 ery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3332(a)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘and State credentialed 

8 trainee appraisers’’ after ‘‘licensed appraisers’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (4); 

12 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

13 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

14 (4) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘year. The report shall also 

16 detail’’ and inserting ‘‘year, details’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘provide’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘provides’’; and 

19 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

20 inserting ‘‘; and’’. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REGISTRY FEES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1109 of the Finan23 cial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement 

24 Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3338) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘OR

2 LICENSED’’ and inserting ‘‘, LICENSED, AND

3 CREDENTIALED TRAINEE’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (a)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, 

6 and in the case of a State with a super7 visory or trainee program, a roster listing 

8 individuals who have received a State 

9 trainee credential’’ after ‘‘this title’’; 

10 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) transmit reports on the issuance and re13 newal of licenses, certifications, credentials, sanc14 tions, and disciplinary actions on a timely basis to 

15 the national registry of the Appraisal Sub16 committee;’’; and 

17 (iii) in paragraph (4)(A)— 

18 (I) by inserting ‘‘including State 

19 credentialed trainee appraisers,’’ after 

20 ‘‘transactions,’’; and 

21 (II) by inserting ‘‘and from State 

22 credentialed trainee appraisers, an an23 nual registry fee of not more than 

24 $20,’’ after ‘‘$40,’’. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

2 amendments made by paragraph (1) shall require a 

3 State to establish or operate a program for State 

4 credentialed trainee appraisers, as defined in para5 graph (12) of section 1121 of the Financial Institu6 tions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 

7 1989, as added by subsection (d) of this section. 

8 (c) TRANSACTIONS REQUIRING THE SERVICES OF A

9 STATE CERTIFIED APPRAISER.—Section 1113 of the Fi10 nancial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement 

11 Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3342) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘In determining’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In determining’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) USE OF STATE CREDENTIALED TRAINEE AP16 PRAISERS.—In performing an appraisal under this sec17 tion, a State certified appraiser may use the assistance 

18 of a State credentialed trainee appraiser or an unlicensed 

19 trainee appraiser.’’. 

20 (d) DEFINITION.—Section 1121 of the Financial In21 stitutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 

22 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3350) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(12) STATE CREDENTIALED TRAINEE AP2 PRAISER.—The term ‘State credentialed trainee ap3 praiser’ means an individual who— 

4 ‘‘(A) meets the minimum criteria estab5 lished by the Appraiser Qualification Board for 

6 a trainee appraiser credential; and 

7 ‘‘(B) is credentialed by a State appraiser 

8 certifying and licensing agency.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR WORKFORCE AND TRAINING. 

10 Section 1109(b) of the Financial Institutions Reform, 

11 Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 

12 3338(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(7) to make grants to State appraiser certi19 fying and licensing agencies to support the carrying 

20 out of education and training activities or other ac21 tivities deemed appropriate by the Appraisal Sub22 committee for purposes of addressing appraiser in23 dustry workforce needs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. APPRAISAL SUBCOMMITTEE. 

2 Section 1011 of the Federal Financial Institutions 

3 Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3310) is 

4 amended, in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘the Depart5 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Rural Housing Service of 

6 the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Hous7 ing and Urban Development,’’ after ‘‘Financial Protec8 tion,’’. 

Æ 


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