What a supervisory appraiser must do under the AQB criteria

Who can supervise

• Certified and in good standing for at least 3 years. The supervisor must be state-certified (Certified Residential or Certified General). They don’t need to have held the credential in the trainee’s state for any minimum time.
• No disqualifying discipline in the last 3 years, in any state, that affected their legal eligibility to practice. Someone who was disciplined is back in good standing 3 years after the sanction ends. Purely administrative issues, such as paying a fee late or renewing late, don’t count.
• Competent for the work. The supervisor must meet the USPAP Competency Rule for the property type and the geographic area where the trainee is supervised.
• Course first. The supervisor must finish an AQB-compliant supervisor/trainee course before supervising a trainee.

What the supervisor is responsible for

The criteria make the supervisor responsible for the trainee’s training, guidance and direct supervision by:

1. Accepting responsibility for the appraisal by signing and certifying that it complies with USPAP
2. Reviewing and signing the trainee’s appraisal reports
3. Personally inspecting each property with the trainee until the supervisor decides the trainee is competent to inspect that property type

How many trainees

A supervisor may supervise no more than 3 trainees at one time, unless the state has a program with progress monitoring, supervisor qualifications and oversight requirements that allows more. A trainee may have more than one supervisor.

The joint experience log

The supervisor and the trainee keep the experience log together and are both responsible for making sure it is accurate and current. At a minimum it shows:

1. Type of property
2. Date of report
3. Address of the appraised property
4. What the trainee did, and the scope of the supervisor’s review and supervision
5. The trainee’s actual work hours on the assignment
6. The supervisor’s signature and state certification number

A trainee with more than one supervisor keeps a separate log for each.

States can add more

These are minimums. Many states add rules such as registering the supervision with the board, more years of experience, a state-specific course, or a set number of inspections the supervisor must attend. Compare 8 large states or open your state page.

Sources

• AQB Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, effective January 1, 2026, “Supervisory Appraiser Requirements,” Section I.A–F, pp. 17–18 (PDF copy hosted by the Alabama board): PDF
• The Appraisal Foundation, criteria page: https://appraisalfoundation.org/pages/criteria

Rules change. Always confirm with your state appraiser board. Nothing here is legal advice.