About The Appraisal Foundation
The Appraisal Foundation (Foundation) is the nation’s foremost authority on the valuation profession. The organization sets the Congressionally authorized standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers as well as qualifications for personal property appraisers and provides voluntary guidance on recognized valuation methods and techniques for all valuation professionals. This work advances the profession by ensuring that appraisals are independent, consistent, and objective.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Foundation is directed by a Board of Trustees (BOT). The Foundation also ensures that the profession adapts to changing circumstances and continues to move forward through the work of its two independent boards: the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB). For more information on the Foundation, download An Overview of The Appraisal Foundation or visit our FAQs page.
The Appraisal Foundation: Background and History
In 1986, nine leading professional appraisal organizations in the United States and Canada formed an Ad Hoc Committee on the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in response to the crisis in the savings and loan industry. In 1987, the Committee established the Foundation to implement USPAP as the generally accepted set of appraisal standards in the United States. These organizations recognized the importance of ensuring that appraisals are based upon established, recognized standards.
In 1989, the U.S. Congress enacted the
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), which authorized the Foundation as the source of appraisal standards and qualifications. The Foundation is not a membership organization but rather is composed of other organizations. Today, with Sponsoring Organizations and Advisory Councils, close to one hundred organizations, corporations and government agencies are affiliated with the Foundation.