California CodesBusiness and Professions Code - BPCDivision 4 — Real EstatePart 3 — Licensing and Certification of Real Estate AppraisersChapter 4 — Licenses and Certification ApplicationSection 11340

The director shall adopt regulations governing the process and the procedure of applying for a license that shall include, but not be limited to, necessary experience or education, equivalency, and minimum requirements of the Appraisal Foundation, if any.

(a) For purposes of the educational background requirements established under this section, the director shall do both of the following:

(1) Grant credits for any courses taken on real estate appraisal ethics or practices pursuant to Section 10153.2, or that are deemed by the director to meet standards established pursuant to this part and federal law.

(2) Require the completion of a course on state and federal laws regulating the appraisal profession, as approved by the bureau every two years. The course shall include an examination that requires an applicant to demonstrate the applicant’s knowledge of those laws.

(b) For the purpose of implementing and applying this section, the director shall prescribe by regulation “equivalent courses” and “equivalent experience.” The experience of employees of an assessor’s office or of the State Board of Equalization in setting forth opinions of value of real property for tax purposes shall be deemed equivalent to experience in federally related real estate appraisal activity. Notwithstanding any other law, a holder of a valid real estate broker license shall be deemed to have completed appraisal license application experience requirements upon proof that the applicant has accumulated 1,000 hours of experience in the valuation of real property.

(c) The director shall adopt regulations for licensure that shall meet, at a minimum, the requirements and standards established by the Appraisal Foundation and the federal financial institutions regulatory agencies acting pursuant to Section 1112 of the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (Public Law 101-73). The director shall, by regulation, require the application for a real estate appraiser license to include the applicant’s social security number or individual taxpayer identification number.

(d) In evaluating the experience of any applicant for a license, regardless of the number of hours required of that applicant, the director shall apply the same standards to the experience of all applicants.

(e)(1) Beginning January 1, 2023, in addition to the requirements set forth in this section, an applicant for licensure shall complete at least one hour of instruction in cultural competency.

(2) For purposes of this section, “cultural competency” means understanding and applying cultural and ethnic data to the process of providing services that includes, but is not limited to, information on the appropriate services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities, ethnic communities, and religious communities.

(f) No license shall be issued to an applicant who is less than 18 years of age.

(g) The cost of any educational course required by this section shall not be borne by any client served by a licensee.