In 1989 the United States Congress amended the Federal Financial Institutions Council Act of 1978 (12 USC 332) to require that effective July 1, 1991, all states must have licensed and certified real estate appraisers in order to provide appraisals on federally related real estate transactions. Congressman Doug Barnard of Augusta, Georgia authored these amendments. That legislation created the Appraisal Subcommittee consisting of the designees of the heads of the Federal Financial Institutions regulatory agencies to, among other duties, monitor the requirements established by states for the certification and licensing of individuals who are qualified to perform appraisals in connection with federally related transactions. It also required the Appraisal Subcommittee to monitor and review the practices, procedures, activities, and organizational structure of the Appraisal Foundation. The Appraisal Foundation is a private group which the Act appears to require to set “minimum standards for real estate appraisals and qualifications for real estate appraisers” when they perform appraisals for use in federally related financial transactions. The legislation requires that each certified or licensed appraiser pay a registry fee of $25.00 for each year the appraiser holds an active license or certification. The Board collects that fee and transmits it to the federal government which uses it to defray the costs of the Appraisal Subcommittee and the Appraisal Foundation.

In response to that federal law and at the direction of the Georgia General Assembly, the Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council in 1989 studied whether and how Georgia should regulate real estate appraisers. On December 29, 1989, the Council recommended that Georgia regulate real estate appraisers through the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board with staff support for the Board to be supplied by the Georgia Real Estate Commission. The General Assembly then adopted the Real Estate Appraiser Licensing and Certification Act. The legislature based the new Act on an amalgamation on several “model” acts; the recommendations of the Council; and a wide range of views and recommendations from many appraisal industry trade organizations, regulatory bodies, and consumer groups. The Board began its formal operations on July 1, 1990.

The Appraisal Act required (effective July 1, 1991) anyone conducting real estate appraisals in Georgia to obtain state registration, licensure, or certification before undertaking appraisal work. It granted to the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board final authority within federal and state guidelines (1) to establish standards for real state appraisals, (2) to set qualifications for real estate appraisers, and (3) to discipline real estate appraisers. The new legislation required the Real Estate Commission to supply staff support for the Board.