Must Every Claremont Appraiser Follow USPAP? What the Standards Cover

Every California-licensed real estate appraiser must follow USPAP, and not only on mortgage work. Business and Professions Code section 11319 makes the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice the minimum standard of conduct and performance for a licensee "in any work or service performed that is addressed by those standards," so an estate, divorce or tax appeal report from a licensee in Claremont is held to them too. Outside the license, the answer depends on who is giving the opinion: some people who state values are not appraisers at all, and a few roles follow other rules.

What is USPAP?

The Appraisal Foundation describes USPAP as "the generally recognized ethical and performance standards for the appraisal profession in the United States." The Foundation was established in 1987 to implement USPAP, and USPAP was authorized by Congress in 1989. Its Appraisal Standards Board updates it on an as-needed basis, after exposure drafts of proposed changes and a public vote; the Foundation's USPAP page says the most recent update went into effect on January 1, 2024. On April 23, 2026, the Board adopted Advisory Opinion 41, guidance on an appraiser's USPAP responsibilities when using technological tools such as automated valuation models and generative artificial intelligence.

California's licensing law defines USPAP the same way, in section 11302: the standards of professional appraisal practice established by the Appraisal Foundation.

What does California law require of a licensee?

Three sections of the Business and Professions Code do most of the work:

• Section 11319 makes USPAP the minimum standard for a licensee in any work or service the standards address. The rule follows the license, not the lender, so a private assignment for an executor, a spouse or a homeowner on a tax appeal is held to the same standards as a loan appraisal.
• Section 11320 requires an active license for federally related real estate appraisal activity and for using the title of a licensed appraiser.
• Section 11321 bars anyone who is not a state licensed real estate appraiser from using that title or any title likely to create the impression of state licensure.

Licensees also keep studying USPAP. BREA's USPAP Requirements page says a renewal requires documentation of the seven-hour National USPAP Update Course, and The Appraisal Foundation says practicing appraisers complete that course, or its equivalent, once every two calendar years. An appraiser's BREA record lists those courses.

Does every appraiser everywhere have to follow it?

Not automatically. The Appraisal Foundation's own answer is that whether an appraiser must comply "depends on the laws, regulations, or policies of the state, agency, or client involved." State-licensed and state-certified real property appraisers must comply on federally related transactions, and other appraisers may be held to USPAP "through professional membership requirements, client contracts, or state law." California is one of the states where the law reaches past lender work, through section 11319.

Who gives value opinions without being held to it as an appraiser?

• Real estate agents. Section 11302 says an opinion given by a real estate licensee in the ordinary course of that business is not an appraisal "and the opinion shall not be referred to as an appraisal." An agent's CMA, an opinion of a likely list or sale price, is not an appraisal.
• Automated estimates. A Zestimate or other automated valuation model is a statistical estimate from records and nearby sales; it is not an appraisal.
• The county assessor. The county assessment is the taxable value under California's assessment rules; it is not an appraisal. Section 11319 adds that a licensee who is also certified by the Board of Equalization follows the Board's standards when fulfilling responsibilities for assessment purposes.
• The probate referee. Section 11302 says the licensing law does not apply to a probate referee acting under Probate Code sections 400 to 408 unless the appraised transaction is federally related. The referee's inventory valuation is a separate, court-appointed role.
• Personal property appraisers. USPAP contains standards for personal property, but California's appraiser license covers real estate. Whether a furniture, art or collectibles appraiser follows USPAP depends on membership, the client's contract or other law. Real estate appraiser or personal property appraiser? covers how to tell them apart.

What do the standards cover?

The Appraisal Foundation says USPAP contains standards for several appraisal disciplines: real estate, personal property, business valuation and mass appraisal. For a house, the part that matters is what the Foundation calls Standards 1-4, the standards "related to real property development, reporting, and appraisal review," which federal financial regulators reference when implementing Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). In plain words, that is three jobs:

1. Developing the appraisal: gathering the facts and analyzing the sales. On a Claremont house that means measuring gross living area, the finished above-grade space, checking permit history on additions and ADUs, and choosing comparables from the same pocket, whether that is the Village and the Colleges, the postwar ranch tracts, or Claraboya and Padua Hills.
2. Reporting it: a report a reader can follow. Reports here state the intended use, what the report will be used for; the intended users, the people entitled to rely on it; the effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to; and the scope of work, the type and extent of research and analysis.
3. Appraisal review: developing an opinion about the quality of another appraiser's work, which is its own assignment with its own standards. The appraisal review and second opinion page describes it.

USPAP's ethical side is where independence comes in: what independence means under USPAP covers it. California law adds its own rule in section 11323: no licensee may engage in appraisal activity if the pay depends on or is affected by the value conclusion. That is why the fee here is set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins, and does not depend on the value.

Does following USPAP make a report acceptable to a court or a board?

No. USPAP sets how the work is done and reported; it does not decide what a reader does with it. Admissibility is always the court's decision. On an estate, your CPA or attorney decides how a value is used; on a tax appeal, the assessor or the assessment appeals board decides. A report prepared in conformity with USPAP gives them reasoning they can check.

How do you check, and what if you think it was not followed?

Start with the license: the BREA search shows the level and status, and how to look up an appraiser on the BREA license search walks through it. If you believe a report broke the standards, BREA accepts complaints from any person, and its FAQ says a complaint "may, but need not, specify the provisions of law, regulations or USPAP alleged to have been violated." BREA also says it cannot act as a court of law, order refunds or award damages. The pillar, how to check a Claremont appraiser, sets out the license, competency and independence checks, and the Choosing an Appraiser in Claremont hub holds the series, including choosing an appraiser for an estate, divorce or tax appeal.

Next step

Every report here is prepared and signed by Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877, in conformity with USPAP, working Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties; the about page explains how assignments are accepted, and the Claremont area page describes the pockets the reports cover. To settle the intended use, the effective date and the scope before any work begins, request an appraisal or call (909) 324-6122.

Sources

• California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law, Business and Professions Code sections 11300-11425 (as of January 1, 2026): https://www.brea.ca.gov/pdf/bp_codes.pdf (accessed November 6, 2026)
• The Appraisal Foundation, USPAP overview and frequently asked questions: https://appraisalfoundation.org/pages/uspap (accessed November 6, 2026)
• California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, USPAP Requirements: https://www.brea.ca.gov/html/USPAPRequirements.html (accessed November 6, 2026)
• California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, Enforcement Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.brea.ca.gov/html/EnforcementFAQs.html (accessed November 6, 2026)
• California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, license record for Gordon Hall (BREA No. AR003877): https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601 (accessed November 6, 2026)

Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (lookup: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601). Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Nothing here is legal or tax advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.