To open a new real estate appraisal school, the applicant must submit the  Appraisal School Application to the Board. A cashiers check or money order for $95 payable to the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board must accompany the application. In addition to the name and address of the school or person offering appraisal course(s), the application must include as detailed in section 539-3-02 of the Rules & Regulations:

• a detailed proposal of records management for retaining at least 5 years records which will reflect the attendance and all scores earned by a student on all graded exercises & examinations;
• if subject to the Nonpublic Post Secondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990, O.C.G.A. 20-3-250.1 et. seq., a copy of the current certificate issued by the Nonpublic Post Secondary Education Commission;
• a list of all directors and owners of the school including their names and addresses. If the owner(s) are a partnership or corporation, then a list of all directors and owners of the parent entity;
• a statement of the school’s make-up policy, if any;
• a statement of the school’s entrance qualifications for students;
• a statement that if can make available to its students materials the Board may require for use in a particular course or courses and that it has video or audio equipment available to present Board required material;
• a statement that it will conduct residence course in classroom style facilities;
• a statement that the school will comply with all related provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that the school will not discriminate in its fees, enrollment, or completion policies on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status, or disability;
• a detailed outline of courses to be offered in the first year of the school’s approval with hours to be spend on each subject area to be covered in the course(s) and all planned classroom and homework exercises;
• a bibliography of all texts and reference materials for use in the course(s);
• a comprehensive description of the measures and standards it will employ to evaluate student performance in order to determine whether a student successfully completes a course and copies of all final examinations for classification courses together with proposed answers;
• learning objectives of each instructional hour of the course(s);
• a list of proposed instructors;
• a schedule of planned offerings of the course(s) for the first calendar year for which the school seeks approval including the date, time and place of any offering;
• the fee schedule planned for the course offering(s) during the first year;
• a copy of the Notice to Students required by  Rule 539-2-09;
• the name of a school director and/or coordinator who shall be responsible for certifying student completion of all courses covered under chapter 539-2;
• independent-study, computer-based courses only – a description and documentation of the method by which each element of mastery is to be accomplished or a copy of the certificate from the International Distance Education Certification Center (IDECC) for each computer-based course;and
• Copy of the Georgia Crime Information Report (GCIC) on the director’s criminal history no more than 60 days old.

The Board shall approve, disapprove or request further information on all applications for instructor approval within 60 days of the receipt of a completed application. Upon approval, the Board issues a number to the school which is designated as the school code. The school code must be on all records certifying students in approved courses. The Board requires the code on renewal applications and other communications between the school and the Board.

The Board approves schools through December 31st of each year. A school renews its approval by December 31st of each year. Prior to renewal, the Board provides a renewal application for each school renewing in December. Each school may renew online through the online services section of this site or by returning the paper application with the appropriate fee. The renewal fee for a school is $70.00 for online renewals and $95.00 for paper renewals.

If your school approval has lapsed, you can apply for reinstatement with the  Appraisal School Approval Reinstatement Form.