Georgia
Appraiser Continuing Education Requirements

Informational summary only, not legal advice — verify current requirements with the Georgia Real Estate Commission & Appraisers Board. Full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

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Georgia appraisers renew every year by the last day of their birth month and must complete 14 classroom hours of continuing education for each year of the renewal period, including the 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course in every two consecutive renewal periods.

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Georgia runs on individual renewal dates rather than one statewide deadline, which is the structural fact that shapes everything else on this page: your due date, your continuing education window, and the two-year point at which USPAP comes around are all keyed to your own birth month. The governing statute is O.C.G.A. Chapter 43-39A, the Real Estate Appraiser and Real Estate Appraisal Management Company Classification and Regulation Act. The operative rules are in Chapter 539 of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, published by the Georgia Secretary of State. Under Rule 539-1-.02(2), an appraiser classification lapses at midnight on the last day of the month of the individual's birthday unless the renewal fee is paid.

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Georgia appraiser CE at a glance

• Renewal deadline — the last day of your birth month, every year. There is no statewide appraiser renewal date in Georgia.

• Renewal window — opens 120 days before your renewal date and closes at midnight on it.

• Hours required — 14 classroom hours for each year of the renewal period, under Rule 539-1-.16(7). The statute sets a lower floor of 10.

• What the 14 hours are — the 7-hour National USPAP Update Course in every two consecutive renewal periods, counted within the 14 rather than on top of them, plus electives from the subject areas listed in Rule 539-2-.05(1)(b). In a non-USPAP year all 14 may be electives.

• CE completion window — the day after your previous renewal due date through your current renewal due date. The Board states that education completed before or after that range is not acceptable for that renewal period.

• Carryover — none. Hours completed early do not roll forward, which makes Georgia different from most states.

• USPAP edition — the current version of the 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course, or its AQB-approved equivalent. The 15-hour National USPAP Course does not substitute.

• Valuation Bias and Fair Housing — not required in Georgia. It is not in the rule, the Board's CE subject list, the renewal application, or the rulemaking docket.

• Repeating a course — restricted, and the rules state the restriction two different ways. Rule 539-1-.16(7) bars credit for the same course within the one year renewal period; Rule 539-2-.05(6) bars repeating until a full year has passed since completion.

• Course length — minimum two hours for credit. No more than 7.5 hours of instruction and testing per day without prior Board approval, held between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

• Approval model — Georgia approves schools, and courses are approved to those schools. Only an approved Georgia school can post credit to your Board record.

• Delivery — classroom instruction, distance education under Rule 539-2-.16, and asynchronous computer-based courses under Rule 539-2-.14. How synchronous live virtual instruction is classified is not expressly addressed in the rules.

• Renewal fee — by mail, $140 for Licensed, Certified Residential, and Certified General, which the Board states includes the $40 federal registry fee; $100 for State Registered and State Trainee. Online renewals are discounted $25.

• If CE has not posted — renew to inactive to avoid a late fee, then reactivate once credits appear. The Board states there is no fee to reactivate.

• Reinstatement — $50.00 plus the renewal fees that would otherwise have been due, under Rule 539-1-.02(3)(d), for a classification lapsed solely for nonpayment.

• Regulator — Georgia Real Estate Commission & Appraisers Board, governed by O.C.G.A. Chapter 43-39A and Chapter 539 of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia.

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How many CE hours do Georgia appraisers need?

Fourteen classroom hours for each year of the renewal period. The requirement is set by Rule 539-1-.16(7), which is worth locating precisely, because it is a single paragraph inside a rule titled "Appraiser Classifications and Their Education, Examination, and Experience Requirements" rather than a rule with continuing education in its name. The Board also posts its own copy of the rule as Chapter 539, Rule 539-1-.16 (PDF).

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The requirement applies to every appraiser holding an active classification, including State Trainee appraisers.

The statute sets a lower floor than the rule. O.C.G.A. § 43-39A-8(b) requires evidence of having completed or instructed board approved continuing education of not less than ten hours of in-class instruction for each year of the renewal period. The Board's rule requires fourteen. The rule governs in practice; the statutory figure is a minimum the Board is free to exceed, and it has.

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Several mechanics determine whether a course will actually count:

• Two-hour minimum. Under Rule 539-2-.03(4), the Board grants credit toward a classroom hour for continuing education only where the course offering is at least two hours in length. An instruction hour means at least fifty minutes.

• Daily cap. Absent prior Board approval, no school may schedule a student for more than seven and one-half hours per day of classroom instruction and testing. Instruction must be held between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., with breaks totaling at least fifteen minutes every two hours.

• No credit for testing out. Rule 539-1-.16(8) states that no hours of credit are awarded for any education course completed solely by taking and passing an examination.

• The Board does not require a CE exam. The Board's Appraiser Continuing Education page states that the standard of completion for continuing education is the student being present for each hour of instruction, though a school may impose its own assessment. Rule 539-2-.05(5) separately reserves to the Board the discretion to require an examination at the end of any continuing education course.

• Teaching credit. Both § 43-39A-8(b) and Rule 539-2-.05(3) allow an appraiser who has taught approved courses totaling at least the required number of hours to meet the requirement, provided the appraiser still complies with Rule 539-1-.16(7).

• Repeat courses — two different measurements in the rules. Rule 539-1-.16(7) states that, apart from USPAP, appraisers may not receive credit for completion of the same continuing education course within the one year renewal period. Rule 539-2-.05(6) states that an appraiser may not repeat a course unless at least one full year has passed since completing it. Those are not the same test. If you are close to the line, confirm with the Board before registering.

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When must the hours be completed?

This is the Georgia requirement most often missed, and it is not in the rule text. The Board's Appraiser Education Requirements page states that a renewal period begins one year prior to the current renewal due date, and gives this example: for a renewal due date of March 31, 2022, board approved continuing education must be completed between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. The Board then states plainly that continuing education completed before or after that date range is not acceptable for that renewal period.

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Georgia gives no credit for working ahead. Hours completed early do not roll forward into the next renewal period. The codified rule contains no equivalent window provision, but the Board's published guidance is what is applied at the renewal desk, and it is the stricter of the two. Plan to the guidance.

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What is the Georgia USPAP requirement?

In every two consecutive renewal periods, an appraiser with an active classification must complete the 7-hour USPAP course, and it counts as part of the 14 hours rather than in addition to them.

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The 15-hour course does not substitute. Both the Board's Appraiser Education Requirements page and its appraiser renewal page state this explicitly. The 15-hour National USPAP Course is qualifying education; the 7-hour Update is the continuing education course.

Three official descriptions of the same requirement, and they do not match. Appraisers should be aware of the variation rather than assume any one phrasing is complete:

• Rule 539-1-.16(7) requires "the current version of the 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course (or its AQB-approved equivalent)."

• The Board's Education Requirements and renewal pages require "an AQB approved 7 hour USPAP course," adding that the 15-hour course is not a substitute.

• The Board's Appraiser Continuing Education page requires "a Board approved course in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice of at least seven hours," dropping both the word "Update" and the reference to the AQB.

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The rule is the narrowest of the three and the safest to plan against: take the current National USPAP Update Course from a Georgia-approved school.

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Does Georgia require a Valuation Bias and Fair Housing course?

No. As of the review date below, Georgia has no state-specific valuation bias or fair housing continuing education requirement. This was checked against every layer of Georgia authority:

• Rule 539-1-.16(7), the continuing education paragraph, contains no such requirement, and the Board's own posted copy of the rule matches the Secretary of State's compilation.

• Valuation bias and fair housing does not appear among the continuing education subject areas enumerated in Rule 539-2-.05(1)(b), nor on the Board's published list of approved CE subject areas.

• Neither the Board's renewal page nor the appraiser renewal application (PDF) references one.

• The Board's appraiser law and rule changes docket shows no proposed or pending amendment on the subject.

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Georgia appraisers may encounter course catalogs and marketing describing a Georgia valuation bias and fair housing requirement taking effect January 1, 2026. Several other states have adopted such a requirement; Georgia has not. Rule 539-2-.05(1)(b)(16) permits the Board to approve other topics, and Rule 539-2-.02(4) requires prior written Board authorization for any continuing education course on a topic outside the enumerated list. A valuation bias and fair housing course may therefore be taken for elective credit if the Board has approved that specific course, but it is not mandatory in Georgia. Confirm any course's Georgia approval before you pay for it.

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Important Georgia deadlines

• The last day of your birth month, every year — your renewal deadline. Under Rule 539-1-.02(2) the classification lapses at midnight on that date if the renewal fee is not paid. There is no single statewide appraiser renewal date in Georgia.

• 120 days before your renewal date — the earliest you may renew. The Board states you can renew up to 120 days, or four months, prior to your renewal date.

• The day after your previous renewal due date — the earliest date continuing education can be completed and still count toward the current renewal period, under the Board's published window.

• Midnight on your renewal due date — online renewals must be processed by this time or a late fee applies. Mail-in renewals must be postmarked no later than the renewal due date.

• 30 days past due — the outer limit for reinstating online to active status, and only if the classification was active before the renewal date and all required CE is completed and posted. Otherwise reinstatement is to inactive status.

• One year past due — beyond this point online reinstatement is unavailable and a paper Appraiser Reinstatement Application is required, with a late fee.

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Because schools post course completions electronically and may not post until the next business day at the earliest, the Board recommends verifying that credits appear on your record before you renew. If they have not posted by your deadline, the Board recommends renewing to inactive status to avoid a late fee and then reactivating once the credits appear, for which there is no fee.

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Approved courses

Georgia approves schools, and courses are approved to those schools. Under Rule 539-2-.02, the Board acts on a completed school application within sixty days, and an applicant may not hold any course out as approved until the Board posts the approval or issues a certificate of school approval. An approved school must give the Board written notice at least fourteen days before offering a new course, stating the title, the credit hours, and whether the course is intended for continuing education credit; the Board then issues a course code.

Verify the school before you register. The Board publishes its Approved Schools List (PDF) with an effective date and a per-school breakdown of what each is approved to offer, including whether the school carries Appraiser CE and USPAP approval. A school not on that list cannot post continuing education to your Board record.

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Courses taken outside Georgia. Rule 539-2-.05(1)(c) recognizes a course approved by another appraiser regulatory licensing and certification agency in any state, district, territory, possession, or province of the United States or Canada, provided it meets Georgia's subject-matter requirements in Rule 539-2-.05(1)(b). Note an unresolved wrinkle: Rule 539-2-.01(2) states that courses approved by agencies in other states must be offered through classroom instruction or through computer-based instruction consistent with Rule 539-2-.14, and does not mention the distance education standards in Rule 539-2-.16. Confirm with the Board how a specific out-of-state delivery method will be treated.

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Nonresident appraisers. Rule 539-2-.05(7) provides that a nonresident appraiser has met Georgia's continuing education requirement if the appraiser has met the requirement in the state of residence and that state's appraisal regulatory program is not disapproved by the Appraisal Subcommittee. The Board's education page describes two ways to prove this: a copy of your current pocket card from the other state showing a renewal date later than your Georgia due date, or certificates showing 14 hours of continuing education approved by that state's appraiser board. The Board asks that documents be emailed with your Georgia classification number included, and to allow seven to ten days for posting.

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Stay on track with your Georgia CE

A candid note on Georgia specifically. Dennis Badger & Associates, Inc. does not currently hold Georgia approved-school status and does not appear on the Board's Approved Schools List. Because Georgia credit flows through approved Georgia schools, our courses cannot at present be posted directly to a Georgia appraiser's Board record. We would rather tell you that plainly than let you find out at renewal.

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There is one route where our courses do reach a Georgia classification today. If you are a nonresident appraiser holding a Georgia classification while residing in another state, Rule 539-2-.05(7) lets you satisfy Georgia's requirement by meeting your home state's requirement, and the Board accepts a pocket card or home-state certificates as proof. Our courses are approved in a number of states, and if you hold a Georgia classification alongside a credential elsewhere, this is the path worth checking:

• 2026-2027 7-Hour National USPAP Course — the 7-hour National USPAP Update Course, taught by Dennis Badger, an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor and a former member of the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation, the board that writes the standards.

• Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations — seven hours. Not required in Georgia, but required in a growing number of states, and relevant if you hold credentials elsewhere.

• Appraiser's Guide to the New URAR — seven hours. a practical walk-through of the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report and the UAD 3.6 dataset.

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Before registering for any course intended for Georgia credit, confirm the offering school's current status on the Board's Approved Schools List, and confirm your own renewal due date and completion window through the Board's online services. Our current session dates are posted on our Education Calendar.

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Appraiser CE requirements in nearby states

Alabama · Florida · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · All state CE requirements

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Legal Authority / Compliance References

Statute. O.C.G.A. Chapter 43-39A is the Real Estate Appraiser and Real Estate Appraisal Management Company Classification and Regulation Act. O.C.G.A. § 43-39A-8 governs continuing education and the approval of schools and instructors; subsection (b) sets the ten-hour statutory floor per year of the renewal period and permits the requirement to be met by instructing as well as completing courses, and subsection (d) makes failure to complete the educational requirements grounds for denial of renewal without further hearing, with no refund of fees. O.C.G.A. § 43-39A-11 governs fees, reactivation, and reinstatement. The Georgia Code edition available through this legal repository is the 2024 compilation; § 43-39A-8 was last amended by 2019 Ga. Laws 241, § 3, effective July 1, 2019.

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Administrative rules. The official compilation is the Georgia Secretary of State's Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department 539, Rules of the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board. Chapter 539-1, Substantive Regulations, contains Rule 539-1-.02 (fees and renewals) and Rule 539-1-.16 (classifications, education, examination, and experience), whose paragraph (7) is the operative continuing education provision. The Secretary of State's administrative history shows Rule 539-1-.16 was last amended by a filing of September 19, 2018, effective October 15, 2018. Chapter 539-2, Standards for Appraisal Courses, contains Rule 539-2-.02 (approval of schools and courses), Rule 539-2-.03 (course standards, hour definitions, and scheduling limits), Rule 539-2-.05 (continuing education courses), Rule 539-2-.06 (facilities and instructors), Rule 539-2-.14 (computer-based courses), Rule 539-2-.15 (instruction in standards), and Rule 539-2-.16 (distance education courses). Rule 539-1-.16 cites O.C.G.A. §§ 43-39A-3, 43-39A-8, and 43-39A-13 as its authority.

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Instructor qualification — an unresolved conflict between statute and rule. O.C.G.A. § 43-39A-8(e) states that an instructor in any education course approved by the board must also be approved by the board. Rule 539-2-.06(3), however, requires Board approval under Chapter 539-5 only for instructors of pre-classification courses, and provides that continuing education courses may be taught by instructors with appropriate experience and knowledge of the content area, with the school maintaining resumes or other biographical documentation. The Board's Appraiser Continuing Education page follows the rule, stating that schools may hire and use qualified continuing education instructors without specific Board approval of each instructor. This page does not attempt to resolve the conflict. Anyone relying on it should ask the Board directly.

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Delivery method — a second unresolved point. The statute describes continuing education as in-class instruction. Rule 539-2-.02(1)(g) requires a school seeking approval to state that it will conduct approved courses in classroom style facilities, and Rule 539-2-.06(1) requires schools to conduct all in-class instruction in classroom style facilities. Rule 539-2-.16 separately authorizes distance education, defined as instruction in which teacher and student are separated by distance and sometimes by time, and approves such courses either where they meet all requirements of the chapter or where the International Distance Education Certification Center has certified the course and the content meets chapter requirements. Rule 539-2-.14 governs asynchronous computer-based courses. How synchronous live virtual instruction is classified is not addressed expressly in any of these provisions.

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Provider obligations. Under Rule 539-2-.02(5), an approved school must notify the Board in writing at least fourteen days before offering a new course. Under Rule 539-2-.08(3), the school must issue each passing student a Board-provided educational certificate and file a signed student roster-letter with the Board no later than fourteen days after completion of each course. Under Rule 539-2-.03(5), the school coordinator or director must notify the Board within twenty-four hours after the first session of any class having fewer than six or more than forty students. Rule 539-2-.15 requires every approved continuing education course to cover the current editions of USPAP and the Board's Standards for Appraisals as they relate to the course subject matter, and requires the school either to instruct students on accessing USPAP online or to supply a copy of the latest annual edition. Rule 539-2-.12 restricts how an approved school may reference the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board in advertising.

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Pending rulemaking. The Board's appraiser law and rule changes page lists a proposed amendment to Rule 539-1-.16 concerning appraiser qualifications and the Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal program. The Notice of Intent (PDF) is dated September 25, 2024, with a public hearing set for November 20, 2024. The proposal would add PAREA as an experience option and would reduce the experience hours and time periods required for the Licensed, Certified Residential, and Certified General classifications. It would not change paragraph (7), the continuing education paragraph. As of the review date below the amendment is still listed as proposed and pending, and it does not appear in the codified rule at the Secretary of State. A separate Notice of Intent on experience requirements dated May 18, 2022 is also still listed as pending. Appraisers relying on PAREA for experience credit should confirm the current status with the Board.

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Board guidance. Published guidance appears on the Board's Appraiser Education Requirements, Appraiser Continuing Education, and appraiser renewal pages, in the appraiser renewal application (PDF), and on the Approved Schools List (PDF). Where the Board's guidance is stricter or more specific than the codified rule, as it is on the continuing education completion window, the guidance is what is applied at renewal.

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State Appraisers Board Contact Information

Georgia Real Estate Commission and Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board
Website: grec.state.ga.us
Contact page and message form: Contact Us
Online services and license verification: GREC and GREAB online services
Phone: 404-656-3916
Email: grecmail@grec.state.ga.us
Address: 229 Peachtree Street, N.E., International Tower, Suite 1000, Atlanta, GA 30303-1605
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays

For education documents specifically, the Board's Appraiser Education Requirements page directs submissions to an education mailbox and asks that you include your Georgia classification number. Note that on that page the displayed education address and the underlying link address differ from one another; confirm the correct address with the Board before sending documents you need to arrive. The Board recommends contacting it by telephone or email before visiting the office.

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How to Renew

Georgia appraisers renew annually, by the last day of their birth month. Renewal is available 24 hours a day, up to 120 days before the renewal date.

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Online. Renew through the Board's online services system, reached from the login link on the Board's home page. The Board states that online renewals are discounted by $25 relative to mail-in renewal and must be processed by midnight on the last day of the month or a late fee applies. Licensee records were migrated to the current database in December 2019, so appraisers who have not registered since then must create a new username and password; a single login provides access to multiple records.

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By mail. Use the appraiser renewal application (PDF). Mail-in renewals must be postmarked no later than the renewal due date. The Board states that incomplete applications are returned unprocessed and result in a $25.00 charge.

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Mail-in renewal fees, as stated on the Board's renewal page and on the renewal application:

• State Registered or State Trainee appraiser — $100.00

• Licensed, Certified Residential, or Certified General appraiser — $140.00, which the Board states includes the $40.00 federal registry fee payable to the Appraisal Subcommittee

• Online renewals — discounted by $25.00 from the mail-in figures, per the Board's renewal page

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A fee discrepancy worth knowing about. Rule 539-1-.02(3)(c) provides that the Board collects the $40.00 federal registry fee at each renewal for all classifications except the state registered real property appraiser, which on its face would include State Trainee appraisers. The Board's renewal application charges State Trainee appraisers $100.00 with no registry fee. If you are a Trainee, use the figure the Board's own application and portal present, and raise any difference with the Board rather than assuming.

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Renewing to inactive status. If your required continuing education is not posted to your record by the deadline, the Board recommends renewing to inactive status to avoid a late fee. Once the credits post, you return to active status by submitting an Appraiser Change Application, for which the Board states there is no fee. Rule 539-1-.07 provides that an appraiser activating from inactive status who is not current on continuing education must complete the courses necessary to become current, while a nonresident appraiser who is current in the state of residence is not required to take additional courses.

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If you miss the date. Rule 539-1-.08 and the Board's renewal page both address lapsed classifications. Within 30 days past due, online reinstatement to active status is available only if the classification was active before the renewal date and all required continuing education is completed and posted; otherwise reinstatement is to inactive status. Beyond one year, a paper Appraiser Reinstatement Application is required. Under Rule 539-1-.08(4), an appraiser whose classification lapsed for failure to complete continuing education must furnish evidence of completing courses totaling at least 14 classroom hours for each year of the renewal period. Under Rule 539-1-.08(3), a lapse longer than two years but less than five years for nonpayment requires 90 classroom hours of Board approved courses including the current 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course, taken within one year prior to application and at a Board approved school.

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Pro-Tips for 2026

• Do not bank hours early. This is the Georgia trap. Continuing education completed before the day after your last renewal due date does not count toward the current renewal period under the Board's published window. In most states early completion is simply prudent; in Georgia it can be wasted money.

• Know your own date, not a statewide one. Georgia has no common renewal deadline. Your classification expires at the end of your birth month, and your entire continuing education window is keyed to it. Confirm the date on your record through the Board's online services rather than working from memory.

• Track which year is your USPAP year. The 7-hour Update is required in every two consecutive renewal periods, so on an annual cycle it falls in alternating years. Because it counts within the 14 hours rather than on top of them, missing the year it is due leaves you short on the requirement, not merely on the topic.

• Do not bring the 15-hour course to a renewal. The Board states in two places that the 15-hour National USPAP Course does not substitute for the 7-hour Update.

• Verify the school, not just the course. Georgia approves schools, and only an approved Georgia school can post your credit. Check the Board's Approved Schools List and its effective date before you register, and confirm the school carries Appraiser CE approval for what you are taking.

• Watch your record, not your certificate. Schools post completions electronically and often not until the next business day. The Board asks you to confirm credits are posted before renewing, and to contact the school directly if they are missing. A certificate in your hand is not credit on your record.

• Inactive is a legitimate safety valve. If credits will not post in time, renewing to inactive avoids the late fee, and reactivating afterward carries no fee. That is a better outcome than a lapse.

• Ignore marketing that tells you Georgia requires a valuation bias and fair housing course. Several national catalogs say so. Georgia's rules, the Board's education pages, the renewal application, and the rulemaking docket all say otherwise. Such a course can count as an elective only if the Board has approved that specific course.

• If you hold credentials in more than one state, check the nonresident route first. Rule 539-2-.05(7) may let your home-state compliance satisfy Georgia outright, evidenced by a pocket card or home-state certificates. Allow the Board seven to ten days to post the documentation.

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Important Disclaimer

This page is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Continuing education and renewal requirements change. Georgia's published authorities are not fully consistent with one another: the statute sets a ten-hour annual floor while the Board's rule requires fourteen hours; the statute requires Board approval of instructors in any approved course while the Board's rule and guidance exempt continuing education instructors; the rules state the repeat-course restriction two different ways; the Board's guidance imposes a continuing education completion window that the codified rule does not contain; and the Board's renewal application and its fee rule differ on whether a State Trainee appraiser pays the federal registry fee. Where sources differ, this page presents both rather than choosing between them. Appraisers should verify current requirements directly with the Georgia Real Estate Commission & Appraisers Board before relying on any statement here.

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Dennis Badger & Associates does not guarantee this summary reflects every requirement applicable to every appraiser, credential type, or individual circumstance.

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Last reviewed by Dennis Badger: August 3, 2026.

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