The Michigan Board of Real Estate Appraisers was created in 1991, under Article 26 of Public Act 299 of 1980, as amended, to license and regulate the services of real estate appraisers in Michigan. This law was enacted as the result of federal legislation, Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, which required states to license real estate appraisers.

The Bureau of Commercial Services and the board currently oversee the practice of approximately 6,011 limited real estate appraisers, state licensed appraisers, certified general appraisers and certified residential appraisers.

Article 26 defines a real estate appraiser as an individual engaged in, or offering to engage in, the development and communication of appraisals of real property. An Appraisal is defined as an opinion, conclusion, or analysis relating to the value of real property.

Any person who issues an evaluation, opinion, conclusion, or analysis relating to the value of real property must be licensed as a limited appraiser, state licensed real estae appraiser, certified residential appraiser or certified general real estate appraiser. Licensing is not required for:

• A market analysis performed by a person licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson solely for the purpose of assisting a customer or potential customer in determining the potential sale, purchase, or listing price of real property or the rental rate of real property as long as a fee or any other valuable consideration is not charged for the analysis
• An assessment of the value of real property performed on behalf of a local unit of government authorized to impose property taxes when performed by a certified assessor, or an individual employed in an assessing capacity
• A market analysis of real property for a fee when performed by a licensed broker or associate broker which does not involve a federally related transaction