“The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice were developed in 1986 and 1987 by an ad hoc committee made up of representatives from nine of the leading appraisal organizations in the United States and Canada. The Appraisal Foundation copyrighted USPAP in 1987. By January 1989, when the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) of The Appraisal Foundation was established, USPAP had been adopted by the Foundation’s eight regular member organizations. USPAP is now recognized throughout the United States as the accepted standards of appraisal practice.
“Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), commonly known as the Savings and Loan Bailout Bill, requires the Federal Reserve Board and other federal agencies to issue regulations to protect federal financial and public policy interests in real estate [and in 1992 personal property] transactions requiring the services of an appraiser. Federal law, in Title XI, recognized the USPAP as the generally accepted standards of appraisal practice and identified the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation as the authority for promulgation of those standards (Re.: Sec. 1110, Title XI).
“Although Title XI did not establish The Appraisal Foundation and its Appraisal Standards or Appraiser Qualifications Boards as government entities, it did establish the mechanism by which public trust in the USPAP is evidenced. This mechanism is similar to the way in which generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are recognized and made public by oversight exercised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).” [Student Manual USPAP, p. A-2. The Appraisal Foundation, Copyright© 2002.]
USPAP is amended annually as court decisions affect various aspects of the appraisal profession. Member appraisers of The American Society of Appraisers are required to re-take the USPAP course every five years in order to maintain accreditation.