To become a real estate appraiser in California, you must complete a minimum of 150 hours of appraisal-related education covering the specific topics required by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB), with at least 15 hours on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

These classes can be taken from licensed instructors. Appraiser Training provides a variety of specialized courses taught by Barry R. Cleverdon. He is certified by the Appraisal Foundation to teach the 7- and 15-hour USPAP courses, is certified by the National Association of Independent Fee Appaisers (NAIFA), teaches at Sacramento-area colleges (Sierra College and Cosumnes River College), and is approved by the Office of Real Estate Appraisers (OREA). Barry is currently teaching a Real Estate Appraisal course at Cosumnes River College.

The purpose of providing these courses is to facilitate the appraiser's knowledge of how to do the appraisal process. This includes USPAP criteria, FNMA requirements, laws and regulations, and generally accepted appraisal practices.

These are practical application courses. Courses that are 15 hours long include a written test and are approved by the states of California and Nevada for Basic Education; courses less than 15 hours long do not include a written test and are approved as Continuing Education only.