Beginning November 2, 2026, a major change is coming to the residential appraisal industry. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will require new appraisal reports submitted through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) to use the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6. While November 2 is the official mandate, some lenders are planning to begin requiring UAD 3.6 reports earlier, including during September. For appraisers, lenders, and appraisal management companies, this represents one of the most significant changes to residential appraisal reporting in many years.
As a practicing residential appraiser, I expect there will be some growing pains. The new UAD 3.6 report is substantially different from the appraisal forms we have used for years and requires considerably more detailed property information and data entry. Appraisers will have to learn new terminology, inspection requirements, reporting procedures, and software workflows while continuing to produce credible appraisal reports. Because of that learning curve, I would not be surprised to see appraisal turn times temporarily increase as the industry adjusts. I am somewhat nervous about the transition, and conversations with many of my appraisal colleagues suggest I am certainly not alone. There is still a great deal of uncertainty about what the first several months will look like in actual day-to-day appraisal practice.
One of the biggest frustrations among appraisers has been the readiness and efficiency of the software needed to complete these reports. Although the industry has known this change was coming, many appraisers feel that the software tools available to them have not matured quickly enough to allow adequate time to learn and develop an efficient workflow before lenders begin requiring UAD 3.6. The new reporting format also asks appraisers to collect and report significantly more property-specific data. Some of that information can provide useful context, while other requested data appears to have little direct impact on the appraiser’s analysis or final opinion of market value. From an appraiser’s perspective, at times the expanded requirements can feel as though our role is shifting beyond valuation and increasingly toward serving as a detailed property-data collector for the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).
Ultimately, UAD 3.6 may provide benefits through greater consistency, standardized property data, and more modern appraisal reporting. However, getting from the appraisal process we know today to that new system is going to require patience from appraisers, lenders, AMCs, real estate professionals, and borrowers alike. My goal will remain the same throughout the transition: provide a credible, well-supported opinion of value while delivering the best service possible to my clients. There will undoubtedly be a learning curve, and perhaps a few bumps along the way, but UAD 3.6 is coming—and the appraisal industry is about to enter a very different era of residential appraisal reporting.