We cover 15 ready-made rule sets — the standards, lender guides, federal regulations, state licensing rules, and the major professional-organization standards. Most are for residential appraisal; a couple reach beyond it (HUD multifamily and federal land acquisition). Each one is written from public source material (USPAP and the professional-org codes are our reading of the standards) and kept up to date as the rules behind them change.
The individual rules — their exact wording, what each one checks, and when it applies — are available only through the paid API and inside the North Star app. What's on this page is the bigger picture: which sources we cover, what each set applies to, and how many rules are in each.
Reviewed by a working appraiser. Our team writes each rule from public regulatory text, and Justin Moriarty — an active appraiser licensed in both Washington and Oregon — reviews the rule sets to make sure they check the right thing, are rated at the right level, ask only for information the appraiser actually has, and cite the right source. The Washington and Oregon sets carry his documented sign-off (last review: May 29, 2026). Enterprise customers can get the review detail for each set through the API access agreement.
Rule sets are grouped by where they come from. For each set, we publicly show:
The individual rules — their exact wording, what each one checks, and the conditions behind them — are available only through the paid API and inside the app. See the API-access section below.
Core standards that apply to every assignment, whatever the loan type. · 2 rule sets · 33 rules
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
Ethics, Record Keeping, Competency, Scope of Work, and Standards 1–4 (Real Property development + reporting; Review development + reporting). Structural interpretation of the standards — citations are surface-level since the standards text itself is copyrighted.
American National Standards Institute — measurement standard
The measurement standard Fannie Mae made mandatory for every conventional appraisal in 2022. Covers GLA presence, ANSI method declaration, above-grade-only-in-GLA, garage exclusion, below-grade reporting.
Rule sets that apply based on the loan type the appraisal supports. · 6 rule sets · 159 rules
Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1 + B4-2 + B2-3
Conventional-loan property assessment and eligibility — unacceptable practices, report forms + exhibits, appraisal age + use, appraisal report assessment, project standards (condo / PUD / co-op), and special property eligibility (leasehold, community land trust).
Freddie Mac Topic 5600 + 5701
Only the rules where Freddie's language MATERIALLY differs from Fannie. Citation-only overlaps with Fannie are not duplicated — they'd just double-fire on the same conventional appraisal. Covers ACE / ACE+PDR appraisal alternatives, single-wide manufactured ineligibility, manufactured-on-leasehold prior approval, and Freddie's higher project-standards thresholds (75% presale vs Fannie's 50%; 25% single-entity vs Fannie's 20%).
HUD Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, Section II.D
The FHA appraisal surface — appraiser qualifications, approaches and certifications, property conditions (foundation, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, lead paint), report form and photos, sales comparison, and site requirements (legal access, utilities, FEMA flood zone).
VA Lender's Handbook, Chapters 10–16
VA-specific appraisal requirements — panel eligibility, certifications, Notice of Value (NOV), property conditions, sales comparison, and tidewater / reconsideration-of-value (ROV) processes.
USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program — Chapter 12
USDA Section 502 Guaranteed Loan appraisal requirements — rural-area eligibility, water and wastewater (private well testing, no cisterns, shared-well caps), site access, construction + repairs (IECC certification, three-option inspection / warranty), flood, and condo agency approval.
HUD Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide 4430.G, Chapter 7
Multifamily-insured property appraisal — Section 220 / 221(d)(4) / 223(f) / 207. Income-approach-led valuation, MAI / state-general appraiser tier required, NOI / cap rate / vacancy / expense ratio / replacement reserves disclosure, rent roll, market-rent analysis, Phase I ESA, and section-specific eligibility (urban renewal / new construction Davis-Bacon / 3-year operating history).
Federal rules — banking, consumer protection, flood hazard, and federal land purchases. · 4 rule sets · 55 rules
12 CFR Part 34 + 12 CFR 1026.42 + Interagency Guidelines
12 CFR Part 34 federally-related-transaction threshold rules (de-minimis exemption, commercial-over-$500K certification, residential-over-$400K credentialed, complex-residential thresholds), 12 CFR 1026.42 Regulation Z appraisal-independence rules (no coercion, customary compensation, conflict-of-interest disclosure), and the Interagency Guidelines on real-estate appraisal practice (engagement-letter requirements, independent selection, interior inspection, reviewer qualifications).
15 USC §1639h / 12 CFR §1026.35(c)
Title XIV higher-risk mortgage-loan appraisal requirements. Written appraisal required, state-licensed appraiser, physical interior visit (no desktop / drive-by), free copy to consumer ≥3 business days before closing, the property-flip rule second-appraisal requirement (90-day / 180-day windows), and §1473 AMC state-board registration.
44 CFR Parts 60 + 65 + 70, 42 USC §4012a
NFIP minimum floodplain-management standards, mandatory-purchase rule, LOMA / LOMR documentation, Substantial Improvement 50% rule, V-zone construction requirements, floodway prohibition on new construction, manufactured-home SFHA anchoring, and Repetitive Loss property disclosure.
Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions + 49 CFR Part 24
Federal-government appraisal standard for eminent domain, voluntary federal-agency purchase, and regulatory takings. All six UASFLA standards (federal-acquisition intended use, federally-modified market value, larger parcel identification, HBU before-and-after on partial takings, project-influence exclusion, going-concern separation), plus URA implementation rules (minimum-offer floor, owner-accompaniment, review-appraiser independence, federal-acquisition appraiser qualification).
State appraiser-licensing rules that apply based on the assignment's main state. · 2 rule sets · 128 rules
RCW 18.140 + WAC 308-125 (practitioner) · RCW 18.310 (AMC) · RCW 36.70A (GMA / Critical Areas) · RCW 84.33 + 84.34 + 84.40 + 84.41 (tax + current use) · WA-hazards + RCW 64 (disclosures)
Four layers of Washington coverage. Practitioner conduct (RCW 18.140 + WAC 308-125): credential active, license-number-in-report, fair-housing attestation, federal-evaluation disclaimer, audit acknowledgment, signed-and-dated reports, 28 CE hours including 7-hour USPAP + bias / fair-housing course, workfile 5-year retention + 2-year post-litigation, supervisor 3-year good standing + coinspection log. WA AMC statute (RCW 18.310): license active, rotation policy, QC review, fee separation, surety bond. Property overlays (Growth Management Act Critical Areas + Urban Growth Areas, Current Use deferrals under RCW 84.34 Open Space / Farm and Agricultural / Timber, Designated Forest Land under RCW 84.33, HBU legally-permissible test): land-use constraints that materially shape highest-and-best-use. Tax-assessment dependencies (RCW 84.40 True and Fair Value, RCW 84.41 revaluation vintage): so assessor data is properly weighted. Hazard zones (DNR wildfire, tsunami inundation for coastal counties, seismic / URM, EPA radon, Ecology UST registry, wetlands Critical Areas). Seller-disclosure overlay (RCW 64.06 Form 17 lead paint + mold, RCW 64.44 methamphetamine contamination). Reviewed and SME-approved 2026-05-29 by Justin Moriarty, an active licensed appraiser in BOTH Washington AND Oregon.
ORS 674 + OAR 161 (practitioner) · OAR 660 + ORS 195 (land use) · ORS 308 (tax assessment) · OR-hazards + ORS 105 (disclosures)
Four layers of Oregon coverage. Practitioner conduct (ORS 674 + OAR 161): credential renewal, felony-conviction disclosure, AMC statutory bond + license + controlling-officer disclosure + appraiser-payment timeliness + rotation policy + QC review + fee separation, license / fee / contact status, CE cycle including bias and fair-housing, workfile 5-year retention + litigation extension, supervisor 3-year tenure + trainee cap + co-inspection log, USPAP edition referenced + matches report date, signed-and-dated reports, reciprocity for out-of-state practice. Property overlays (Goal-3 EFU zoning, Goal-4 Forest Land deferral, Goal-14 Urban Growth Boundary, Measure 49 claims, HBU legally-permissible test): land-use constraints that materially shape highest-and-best-use analysis and value conclusion on real Oregon parcels. ORS 308 tax-assessment dependencies (Real Market Value vs Maximum Assessed Value distinction, Measure 50 Changed-Property Ratio, RMV definition cited for tax-appeal assignments). Hazard zones (ODF wildfire under SB 762, DOGAMI tsunami inundation for coastal counties, Cascadia seismic / URM, EPA radon, DEQ underground storage tank registry, DSL wetlands inventory). Seller-disclosure overlay (ORS 105.464 lead paint + mold, ORS 105.460 radon test-result disclosure under HB 4061). Reviewed and SME-approved 2026-05-29 by Justin Moriarty, an active licensed appraiser in BOTH Washington AND Oregon.
Standards from the three major appraisal organizations; they apply only when the appraiser is a member. · 1 rule set · 32 rules
Appraisal Institute + ASA + ASFMRA
Member-compliance rules for the three major appraisal organizations. Appraisal Institute Code of Professional Ethics (5 canons + designation use, peer review, CE, disciplinary disclosure). American Society of Appraisers Code of Ethics + POPPACOE for the Real Property discipline. ASFMRA standards specific to agricultural / rural appraisal (soil productivity, water rights, rural valuation methods).
The overview above is the public face of the rule sets. Behind it sit the 407 individual rules — their exact wording, what each one checks, when it applies, how serious it is, and the source it cites. Access to that detail is paid.
How you reach the individual rules:
The rule sets belong to Athena Systems. We put a lot of expert time into writing, reviewing, and maintaining each rule against the regulations behind it, and that work is what sets the product apart. These pages describe what we cover; the detail lives behind the paywall.
Interested in API access? Email hello@athenadecisionsystems.com and we'll walk you through what's available and what it costs.
Every rule starts as a written rule based on a published regulation. Our appraisal expert (Justin Moriarty — an active appraiser licensed in both Washington and Oregon) reviews and approves each addition, and we confirm the rule only asks for information the appraiser actually provides before it goes live.
Once approved, the rule joins the live rule set. Every shareable record created from then on points to the exact set of rules in force at the time — so anyone holding an older record can confirm it against the rules that applied when the check was run, not against today's rules.
We welcome your feedback on how serious a rule is, how it's worded, or when it applies — email rules@athenadecisionsystems.com with the rule and your reasoning. We track every rule change, and when a rule is retired we announce it ahead of time with the date the change takes effect.
North Star covers Washington and Oregon appraisers today. Sign up to browse all 407 rules for free — you pay only when you run a check.
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