FHA Appraiser Roster: Requirements, Renewal, and Removal

The FHA Appraiser Roster is HUD’s official list of appraisers authorized to perform valuations for FHA-insured mortgages, and federal rules require lenders to pull from it for every FHA transaction.¹ To get on it, you need a state Certified Residential or Certified General credential, a matching entry on the Appraisal Subcommittee’s National Registry, a clean check against three federal exclusion databases, and an application submitted through the FHA Connection portal. Staying on the roster is a separate discipline: your state license has to remain current, you must complete a verification in FHA Connection every six months, and you have to keep up with HUD’s evolving appraisal standards.

Who Qualifies

You must be a state-certified appraiser. That means holding a Certified Residential or Certified General credential that met the Appraiser Qualifications Board standards when your state issued it. Licensed appraisers without a certified credential do not qualify.²

Your certification also has to be reflected on the Appraisal Subcommittee’s (ASC) National Registry. HUD uses the National Registry as its verification source both during the initial application and on an ongoing basis afterward.³ If the name or credential status in FHAC does not match the National Registry exactly, the automated checks will fail.

You also cannot appear on any of three federal exclusion lists:⁴

The System for Award Management (SAM), the government-wide list of suspended and debarred parties.
HUD’s Limited Denial of Participation (LDP) list.
The Credit Alert Verification Reporting System (CAIVRS), which flags delinquent federal debts, including defaulted government-backed loans.

A hit on any of these will produce an automatic rejection. If you have a possible match on any of them, clear it before applying.

How to Apply Through FHA Connection

Applications run entirely through the FHA Connection (FHAC) online portal. There is no paper form and no application fee. You first obtain an FHA Connection User ID and password, then complete and electronically sign Form HUD-92563-A, which collects your personal information, contact details, and state credential data.⁵

The heart of the application is the set of certifications you sign. You attest that you will comply with HUD Handbook 4000.1 (the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook), the FHA Single Family Appraisal Report and Data Delivery Guide, all applicable Mortgagee Letters, and any future updates to those standards.⁵ Those aren’t box-checking statements. A later violation of a certification you signed at application can become a basis for removal.

After submission, HUD verifies your credentials against the ASC National Registry and runs you against SAM, the LDP list, and CAIVRS. If HUD cannot confirm your eligibility, it issues a denial letter. If approved, your status is updated and you can begin accepting FHA assignments.

Keeping Your Roster Status Active

Placement is the easy part. Staying on the roster requires attention to a handful of ongoing requirements, and it is those requirements, not the initial application, that catch most appraisers out.

State Certification Renewal

Your FHA eligibility rides on your state certification. When the state credential expires, so does your FHA eligibility in that state. Under Mortgagee Letter 2025-24, FHA will invalidate your state credential in FHAC 30 days after the expiration date shown on the ASC National Registry if no updated renewal information has posted.⁶

That 30-day window is unforgiving. If your state board is slow to report your renewal to the ASC, you can lose FHA eligibility even though you renewed on time. Confirm that the renewal has posted to the ASC National Registry, and confirm that the name on record matches FHAC exactly. Small mismatches will stop the automated update.

If your last state credential has been expired for roughly six months (about 190 days), HUD removes you from the roster entirely, though system controls generally block FHA assignments well before that point.⁷

Six-Month FHAC Verification

Every six months you must log into FHAC and complete a required verification. You review and update contact information, confirm your email, and re-certify compliance with FHA appraisal standards by agreeing to the appraiser certification statement. The system runs your information against the LDP list and SAM during the update. A possible match holds the update for HUD review instead of processing it automatically.⁸

Continuing Education

Your state sets the continuing education hours required for certification renewal. A common baseline is the seven-hour National USPAP update course, which most states require every two years, and some states now add separate valuation bias and fair housing coursework. Meeting the state’s CE keeps your certification current, and your certification is what keeps you on the roster. HUD can also impose additional professional training on top of state requirements if it identifies specific deficiencies in your FHA work.⁹

Mortgagee Letters

HUD communicates FHA policy updates through Mortgagee Letters. Mortgagee Letter 2025-24, for example, updated procedures for roster management and clarified suspension and removal timelines.⁶ Mortgagee Letters take effect on their own timeline, ahead of the Handbook 4000.1 revisions that later fold them in, and you are expected to comply from the effective date. Questions about a specific Mortgagee Letter can go to the FHA Resource Center at 1-800-225-5342 or answers@hud.gov.

What FHA Appraisals Require You to Check

FHA appraisals go beyond a value opinion. You are also responsible for identifying whether the property meets FHA’s Minimum Property Requirements and Minimum Property Standards, which focus on the health and safety of future occupants and the property’s durability as collateral. The observation is limited to readily observable conditions and is not a home inspection, but the consequences of missing something are significant.¹⁰

Structural soundness: foundation, walls, and roof free of defects that compromise stability, with a roof that keeps moisture out.
Utilities: safe and functional electrical, plumbing, and heating systems, and operable appliances that remain with the property and contribute to your value opinion.¹⁰
Water and sewage: well water testing is required when you observe deficiencies with the well or its water, and septic systems must be sufficient.
Safety hazards: exposed wiring, missing handrails, damaged steps, and peeling paint on pre-1978 homes because of lead-based paint concerns.

When you find conditions that don’t comply, you note the necessary repairs and estimate the cost to cure. The report is issued “subject to” those repairs, and the loan cannot close until they are resolved and you re-inspect.¹⁰ Missing or understating a required repair is one of the most common ways an appraiser ends up in HUD’s enforcement queue.

How You Can Be Removed or Suspended

HUD can remove an appraiser from the roster for cause at any time. The regulation lists specific grounds but is not exhaustive. The most common are:⁹

Significant appraisal deficiencies, including failing to report property conditions accurately, not following FHA instructions and standards, and non-compliance with civil rights requirements.
Prosecution for committing, attempting, or conspiring to commit fraud or another offense reflecting on your character or integrity.
Failing to honor a certification you made during the application, or any other agreement between you and HUD.
Failing to maintain eligibility, whether by letting your state certification lapse or by not meeting HUD-imposed education requirements.

Some events trigger consequences with no discretionary review. If your state certification is revoked, suspended, or surrendered because of disciplinary action in any state, you are automatically suspended from the roster nationwide and cannot perform FHA appraisals anywhere until the state-imposed sanction is lifted.⁹ If a certification simply expires in one state while remaining active elsewhere, the suspension is limited to that state.

The most severe automatic consequence is outright removal. A final debarment, suspension, or limited denial of participation removes you from the roster automatically, without the notice-and-response process that applies to other removals.⁹

Getting Back on After Removal

Reinstatement follows the same application process as initial placement. There is no expedited path. Before you can reapply, any remedial training HUD imposed must be complete and the period of your removal must have fully expired.⁹ HUD also retains authority to pursue additional remedies beyond roster removal, including actions under federal debarment regulations.

Verifying an Appraiser’s Roster Status

The roster is publicly searchable through HUD’s website. Lenders, borrowers, and other parties can look up any appraiser by name, license number, or geographic location to confirm active FHA eligibility.¹¹ Ineligible appraisers do not appear in lender search results, which is how HUD’s system blocks their assignment to FHA work.⁷ Inclusion on the roster is not an endorsement of the appraiser or a warranty of any appraisal they perform. It confirms only that the appraiser has met the qualifications HUD prescribes for FHA appraisal work.¹

1
eCFR. 24 CFR 200.200 – What Is the Appraiser Roster?
2
Federal Register. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Appraiser Roster – Appraiser Qualifications for Placement on the Roster
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA Roster Appraisers Getting Started
4
eCFR. 24 CFR 200.202 – How Do I Apply for Placement on the Appraiser Roster?
5
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Appraiser Roster Application – FHA Connection
6
HUD Clips. Updates to FHA Appraiser Roster Management
7
HUD Office of Inspector General. HUD’s FHA Appraiser Roster Is Generally Reliable but Opportunities to Improve Data Management Exist
8
FHA Connection Single Family Origination. Appraiser Roster Update/Renewal – Processing – Help – FHA
9
eCFR. 24 CFR 200.204 – What Actions May HUD Take Against Unsatisfactory Appraisers on the Appraiser Roster?
10
HUD. FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook
11
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Appraisers – HUD: Appraisers