West Virginia
Appraiser Continuing Education Requirements

Informational summary only, not legal advice — verify current requirements with the West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board. Full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

​

West Virginia appraisers renew every year by September 30 and must complete 14 hours of Board-approved continuing education inside the October 1 through September 30 renewal term. For 2026-2027 the Board requires two specific courses — the 2026 7-Hour National USPAP Update and the 7-Hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course — which together are the full 14 hours.

​

If you hold a West Virginia appraiser credential or apprentice permit, you renew every year. The West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board (WVREALCB) runs a renewal term of October 1 through September 30, and your continuing education must be completed inside that same window. All 2025-2026 certifications, licenses, and permits expire September 30, 2026.

​

For the 2026-2027 renewal, the Board has named two mandatory courses: the 2026 version of the 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course and the 7-Hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course. Together those two courses account for the full 14-hour requirement.

​

West Virginia appraiser CE at a glance

• Renewal deadline — September 30, every year. All 2025-2026 credentials expire September 30, 2026.

• Current CE window — October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Education submitted for this cycle must have been taken on or after October 1, 2025.

• Hours required — 14 classroom hours, or classroom hours of distance education, every renewal term. Apprentices renew on the same 14-hour standard.

• What the 14 hours are this cycle — the 2026 7-Hour National USPAP Update Course and the 7-Hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course. Together they are the entire requirement.

• USPAP edition — the 2026 update, required this cycle even if you took the 2024 update last year. The Board has stated 2024-2025 USPAP courses will not be accepted.

• Valuation Bias and Fair Housing — the AQB-outline 7-hour course. The Board also accepts the 8-hour version with exam. Prior 3-hour and 4-hour bias courses do not satisfy it.

• West Virginia law course — no longer a recurring renewal requirement. It may still be submitted as elective CE if unused in the prior three licensing cycles, and remains required for initial licensure and for reactivation from inactive status.

• Repeat coursework — barred for three renewal cycles on the same topic, except the 7-hour USPAP update course.

• Minimum course length — two hours.

• Delivery — classroom, or distance education carrying IDECC, AQB, and Board approval. A live virtual class from a provider approved for classroom delivery counts as classroom.

• Teaching credit — up to seven hours for teaching a Board-approved course.

• First-cycle exemption — a credential issued after April 1, 2026 is exempt from CE for the 2026-2027 cycle, but must still be renewed.

• Renewal fees — $210 licensed residential, $250 certified residential, $375 certified general, $150 apprentice, $120 inactive. A National Registry fee set by the Appraisal Subcommittee is collected separately.

• Late fee — $80 delinquent fee for applications postmarked after September 30.

• Regulator — West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board, governed by W. Va. Code Chapter 30, Article 38, and legislative rules 190CSR2 and 190CSR3.

• ​

How many CE hours do West Virginia appraisers need?

West Virginia requires 14 classroom hours, or classroom hours of distance education, of Board-approved continuing education during each renewal term. That requirement appears in the Board's Education page and in the current renewal rule, 190CSR3 (PDF), at § 190-3-4.1. Apprentices renew on the same 14-hour standard under 190CSR2 § 11.5.a.

​

Several details in the rule and in Board guidance are easy to miss:

• Repeat coursework is barred. Except for the 7-hour USPAP update course, 190CSR3 § 4.1 says a licensee must wait three renewal cycles before receiving credit again for a course on the same topic. The Board's approved-course list states the same restriction as three years, and the Board's 2026-2027 renewal instructions state it as the prior three licensing cycles. The three formulations are close but not identical; if you are near the edge of that window, ask the Board before you register.

• Two-hour minimum. Under 190CSR3 § 5.2 the Board may grant classroom-hour credit only where the course runs at least two hours.

• Teaching credit. 190CSR3 § 4.4 allows up to seven hours of credit to a licensee who teaches a Board-approved course, and the Board's renewal instructions confirm instructors may claim seven hours for teaching a WVREALCB-approved course.

• Supervisor/Trainee coursework counts. The Board's Education page and renewal instructions both state that a Supervisor/Trainee course taken inside the CE window will count toward continuing education.

• Consent decree education does not count. The Board's 2026-2027 renewal instructions state that education taken to comply with a Consent Decree may not be used for continuing education credit.

• First-cycle exemption. 190CSR3 § 4.1.d excuses the CE requirement for the initial renewal where fewer than 180 days fall between the effective date of the initial credential and the start of the first renewal term. The Board states the same rule operationally: a license or permit issued after April 1 is exempt from providing continuing education for that cycle, though the credential must still be renewed. For this cycle that date is April 1, 2026.

​

What is the West Virginia USPAP requirement?

Under 190CSR3 § 4.1.a, a licensee shall complete the 7-hour National USPAP Update Course every two years and within eight months of a newly adopted version of USPAP. The rule also permits a licensee to take an update course released ahead of the effective date of the new standards and apply it in that licensing cycle. The Board's Education page adds that the 7-hour USPAP course may be submitted every year even though it is only required every two years.

​

For 2026-2027 the Board has gone further. Its renewal instructions (PDF) state that the 2026 USPAP Update Course is required for this renewal regardless of whether you completed the 2024 update course last year, and that 2024-2025 USPAP courses will not be accepted. Executive Director Jeffrey Burrell's written clarification in that document explains the reasoning: although West Virginia is still operating under the 2024 edition of USPAP, the Guidance and Reference Manual was updated, so the content of the update course changed. The only USPAP update course that will be applied to this year's renewal is the 2026 update.

​

What is the Valuation Bias and Fair Housing requirement?

This is the item most likely to cost a West Virginia appraiser a rejected renewal, because the codified rule and current Board guidance do not read the same way.

​

What the rule says. 190CSR3 § 4.1.b provides that, effective January 1, 2025, appraisers must complete a 7-hour course meeting the content requirements of the AQB Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations Outline by December 31, 2025. It then provides that after completion of that initial 7-hour course, and as a condition of subsequent renewals, appraisers must complete a 4-hour course meeting the same AQB content requirements every two years beginning January 1, 2026.

​

What the Board says for this renewal. The Board's home page, its Education page, and its 2026-2027 renewal instructions all name the 7-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course as the required course for 2026-2027. The renewal instructions add three points that the rule text does not contain:

• WVREALCB will also accept the 8-hour version of the course (7 hours of instruction plus the exam).

• A previously completed bias or fair housing course that was not the AQB-approved 7-hour or 8-hour course will not satisfy the requirement. The Executive Director's clarification says this directly: prior three-hour and four-hour courses on the topic do not meet it.

• If you completed the 7-hour course for another state before October 1, 2025, the Board will accept that as evidence the requirement has been met. You would then submit 14 hours of other education taken on or after October 1, 2025, along with the bias course certificate.

Read together, the rule points toward a 4-hour course from January 1, 2026 forward, while the Board is currently requiring the 7-hour course of every credentialed appraiser. Board guidance is what is applied at the renewal desk, and the Board has stated its position in writing more than once. Take the 7-hour course for this cycle, keep the certificate, and if your situation is unusual, confirm with the Board before you submit.

​

Is the West Virginia law course still required?

The 3-hour West Virginia law course is no longer a recurring renewal requirement. The Board's 2026-2027 renewal instructions state that the WV Law course is no longer required every four years, but may still be submitted for continuing education credit if it has not been used in the prior three licensing cycles. The Board's Education page no longer lists it among the renewal requirements.

​

The law course has not disappeared from West Virginia's scheme. It remains a qualifying-education requirement for initial licensure and certification under 190CSR2 (PDF) §§ 5.3.b and 6.3.b, which require an applicant to complete and pass a three-hour West Virginia law course by Board-approved examination. It also reappears on the way back from inactive status: 190CSR2 § 12.5.b requires an appraiser reactivating a credential to document the current West Virginia law course along with the missed USPAP cycles and CE hours.

​

Can West Virginia continuing education be taken online?

Yes. West Virginia's distinction turns on whether instruction is synchronous, not on whether it is delivered over the internet.

The Board's Approved Continuing Education Courses (PDF) list carries the delivery guidance. Per the AQB, offerings approved for classroom presentation for CE credit are approved for synchronous presentation for CE credit where the instructor and students interact simultaneously online or virtually. Hybrid courses combine in-person and online interaction. Asynchronous offerings are self-paced, with non-simultaneous instructor and student interaction. A live virtual class from a provider approved for classroom delivery therefore counts as classroom instruction in West Virginia.

​

Asynchronous distance education carries an additional approval gate. 190CSR3 § 2.4 defines a classroom hour of distance education as course time approved by the International Distance Education Certification Center (IDECC) delivery certification, the AQB, and the Board. A self-paced course lacking that delivery certification will not produce classroom-hour credit.

​

Important West Virginia deadlines

• September 30, 2026 — all 2025-2026 certifications, licenses, and permits expire. Renewal applications must be submitted online or postmarked by this date to avoid the $80 delinquent fee.

• October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 — the window in which this cycle's continuing education must be completed. The Board states that other education submitted for 2026-2027 must have been taken after October 1, 2025.

• April 1, 2026 — a license or permit issued after this date is exempt from providing continuing education for the 2026-2027 cycle, but the credential must still be renewed.

​

One point of tension worth knowing about. W. Va. Code § 30-38-11(e) (PDF) states that a renewal application must be filed no earlier than 120 days nor later than 30 days prior to the expiration date, which for a September 30 expiration would put the statutory filing deadline at the end of August. The Board's renewal application and website set the deadline at September 30 itself. The safe course is to file well before the end of August rather than testing which controls.

​

Section 30-38-11(f) also allows the Board to extend a credential for up to six months, on payment of a fee, where the renewal requirements were not met because of mistake, misunderstanding, or circumstances beyond the applicant's control. Section 30-38-11(g) permits late renewal on payment of a late fee, provided the appraiser can demonstrate the ability to resume practice with reasonable skill and safety.

​

Approved courses

West Virginia publishes an official Approved Continuing Education Courses (PDF) list. The current edition is revised July 13, 2026, and it is organized by provider, with each course showing its hour value, its approval expiration date, and in many cases the specific dates on which the provider is approved to offer it. Verify your course on this list, by provider, before you register.

​

Stay on track with your West Virginia CE

Dennis Badger & Associates, Inc. appears on the Board's July 13, 2026 approved list with three courses, all approved for Synchronous (Classroom/Hybrid) delivery:

• 2026-2027 7-Hour National USPAP Continuing Education Course — 7 hours, approved through December 31, 2027. This is the 2026 update course the Board requires for the 2026-2027 renewal. It is taught by Dennis Badger, an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor and a former member of the Appraisal Standards Board — the board that writes the standards.

• Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations — 7 hours, approved through January 18, 2027. This is the AQB-outline 7-hour course the Board is requiring for 2026-2027.

• Appraiser's Guide to the New URAR — 7 hours, approved through October 1, 2027. A practical walk-through of the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report and the UAD 3.6 dataset.

For a West Virginia appraiser renewing this cycle, the first two courses together are the complete 14-hour requirement. Current session dates are posted on our Education Calendar.

​

Appraiser CE requirements in nearby states

Virginia · Ohio · Kentucky · Maryland · All state CE requirements

​

Legal Authority / Compliance References

Statute. W. Va. Code § 30-38-11, Applications for license or certification; renewals, governs the renewal application, the requirement that it be accompanied by evidence of completed continuing education in the form the Board prescribes, the six-month extension, and late renewal. W. Va. Code § 30-38-9, Rulemaking, is the Board's rulemaking authority and expressly covers experience, education, and continuing education requirements and the approval of courses; it also requires that the rule governing appraiser qualifications meet or exceed the education, experience, and examination requirements issued or endorsed by the AQB.

​

Legislative rules. 190CSR3 (PDF), Renewal of Licensure or Certification, filed and effective May 2, 2025, with a sunset date of August 1, 2030, sets the October 1 to September 30 renewal term, the 14-hour requirement, the repeat-topic bar, the USPAP timing rule, the Valuation Bias and Fair Housing provision, the first-cycle exemption, teaching credit, the Board's course-approval procedures, and the documentation and random-audit provisions. 190CSR2 (PDF), Requirements for Licensure and Certification, filed and effective May 20, 2025, with the same sunset date, sets the fee schedule at § 190-2-10, the West Virginia law course requirement for initial licensure, apprentice renewal, inactive status, and reactivation. Both rules are indexed on the Board's Legal Framework page.

​

Instructor qualification. 190CSR3 § 5.5.b sets a narrow test for teaching USPAP in West Virginia. The instructor must have completed the 15-hour national USPAP instructor training course and examination adopted by the AQB, or its equivalent; must complete the 7-hour national USPAP update course and examination, or its equivalent, every two years to maintain the teaching credential; and must be a state certified appraiser in good standing.

​

Pending rulemaking — watch this. Amendments to both 190CSR2 and 190CSR3 are moving. The Board has posted both proposed rules for public comment on its Legal Framework page (190CSR2 proposed (PDF), 190CSR3 proposed (PDF)). The Secretary of State's rulemaking docket for 190-03 shows the in-progress version with a Notice filed June 10, 2026 and an Agency Approved filing on July 30, 2026. Under West Virginia's process a legislative rule does not take effect until the Legislature authorizes it, so nothing on this page changes yet — but the Valuation Bias and Fair Housing paragraph and the fee schedule are both live candidates for amendment. Check the docket before relying on the current text in 2027.

​

State Appraisers Board Contact Information

West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board (WVREALCB)
Website: appraiserboard.wv.gov
Email: wvappraiserboard@wv.gov
Phone: (304) 558-3919
Fax: (304) 558-3983
Physical office: 405 Capitol Street, Suite 906, Charleston, WV 25301
Application mailing address (USPS only): P.O. Box 40267, Charleston, WV 25364
Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Executive Director: Jeffrey B. Burrell  |  Board Chair: Russel Rice

​

How to Renew

You may renew online through the Board's licensing portal, linked from the Board's home page, or by mail using the 2026-2027 Renewal Application (PDF). Mailed applications go by USPS only to P.O. Box 40267, Charleston, WV 25364. The Board's renewal instructions note that when you pay online you should enter the appraiser's name in the customer-name field so the payment links to the application, and that you should confirm your application shows Pending rather than Editing status — an application left in Editing status has not been received, and processing time does not begin until it is.

​

Renewal fees, set by 190CSR2 § 190-2-10.2 and confirmed on the 2026-2027 application:

• State Licensed Residential Appraiser — $210

• State Certified Residential Appraiser — $250

• State Certified General Appraiser — $375

• Apprentice Permit — $150

• Inactive status — $120 (a completed Request for Inactive Status Form must accompany the application; apprentices are not eligible for inactive status)

• Delinquent fee — an additional $80 for applications postmarked after September 30

​

Separately, 190CSR2 § 190-2-10.3 requires the Board to collect an annual National Registry fee established by the Appraisal Subcommittee and remit it to the FFIEC. That amount is not published in the fee rule. If your renewal total does not match the figures above, ask the Board what the difference represents before you send a short payment — an underpaid renewal is a rejected renewal.

​

Documentation. Under 190CSR3 § 4.2 the licensee applying for renewal is responsible for documenting all required education with the application, and all renewals are subject to random audit by the Board. Submit the certificates issued by your education provider. Any affirmative answer to the legal and disciplinary questions on the application requires supporting documentation, including the final disposition of the matter.

​

If you are on, or coming off, inactive status. The Board requires 14 hours of continuing education annually even while inactive, either submitted with the Inactive Status Request each year or gathered at reactivation. A credential may remain inactive for a maximum of five years. Returning to active status requires certificates for each USPAP cycle that passed during the inactive period, 14 hours of CE for each inactive year, the current West Virginia law course, the reactivation fee, and a new background check ordered through IdentoGo. Licensees returning from qualifying military deployment may return to active status within 90 days pending completion of continuing education.

​

One administrative note: 190CSR3 § 6.1 requires the Board to send a renewal application before your expiration date, by mail or electronically, but expressly provides that not receiving it does not relieve you of the obligation to renew.

​

Pro-Tips for 2026

• This cycle, the two required courses are the whole requirement. The 2026 7-Hour USPAP Update and the 7-Hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations course total exactly 14 hours. If you have already satisfied the bias requirement with a 7-hour course taken for another state before October 1, 2025, the Board will accept it — and you then owe 7 hours of other education taken on or after October 1, 2025, plus your USPAP update.

• Last year's USPAP update will not carry you. The Board has stated that 2024-2025 USPAP courses will not be accepted for this renewal and that only the 2026 update applies, because the Guidance and Reference Manual changed even though the 2024 edition of USPAP remains in force.

• An older bias elective is not a substitute. Three-hour and four-hour bias or fair housing courses do not satisfy the requirement. Only the AQB-outline 7-hour course, or the 8-hour version with exam, will be accepted. The rule text pointing to a 4-hour course from January 1, 2026 has not been what the Board is enforcing this cycle.

• Stop treating the WV law course as a recurring requirement. It is no longer required every four years. It can still be submitted as elective CE if you have not used it in the prior three licensing cycles, and it is still required for initial licensure and for reactivation from inactive status.

• File in August, not on September 30. W. Va. Code § 30-38-11(e) reads as though renewal applications are due 30 days before expiration, while the Board's own materials set September 30. Filing early sidesteps the question and the $80 delinquent fee.

• Check the July 13, 2026 approved list before you register, and check it by provider and course title. Approval expiration dates vary widely, and a course approved for one provider is not approved for another.

​

Important Disclaimer

This page is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Continuing education and renewal requirements change, and West Virginia currently has amendments to both 190CSR2 and 190CSR3 in the rulemaking process. West Virginia's published guidance and its codified rule text do not currently agree on several points addressed above — among them whether this cycle's Valuation Bias and Fair Housing requirement is the seven-hour course named in Board guidance or the four-hour course the rule points to from January 1, 2026, whether the renewal filing deadline is the statutory thirty-days-before-expiration date or the September 30 date the Board applies, and how the repeat-topic bar is measured. Where the Board's published guidance and the codified rule text differ, this page presents both. Appraisers should verify current requirements directly with the West Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board before relying on any statement here.

​

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

​

Last reviewed by Dennis Badger: August 3, 2026.