Policies Established by the Minnesota State Board of Assessors

• Accredited Minnesota Assessor: Beginning July 1, 2022, any assessor who does not achieve their AMA after 5 years of obtaining their CMA will have an inactive license status.
  • Upgrading from CMA or CMA IQ to AMA within a four-year cycle: submit an AMA application and payment.
  • Upgrading from CMA or CMA IQ to AMA after the start of the four-year cycle 
    • Complete all continuing education requirements for the previous four-year cycle
    • Submit an AMA application and payment
  • Upgrading from CMA or CMA IQ to AMA after not being licensed for five years or more
    • Complete and pass the exam for Assessment Laws and Procedures (ALP)
    • Complete all continuing education requirements for the previous four-year cycle
    • Submit an AMA application and payment
• Professional Designations: Education equivalent to assessor education requirements
  • MAI or CAE: A current MAI from the Appraisal Institute or CAE from IAAO is equal to
    • Residential Appraisal Principles
    • Residential Appraisal Procedures
    • Two income courses
    • Residential Form Appraisal Report
    • Residential Narrative
    • Income Narrative
  • SRA, AAS, or MAS: A current SRA from the Appraisal Institute or AAS or MAS from IAAO is equal to
    • Residential Appraisal Principles
    • Residential Procedures
    • Residential Demonstration Narrative
  • RES: A current RES from IAAO is equal to
    • Residential Appraisal Principles
    • Residential Appraisal Procedures
    • Mass Appraisal Basics
    • One income course
    • Residential Demonstration Narrative
• Fee Appraiser License: Education equivalent to assessor requirements as described below. All fee appraiser licenses, except Trainee, qualify for one year of assessment experience
  • Trainee, Licensed Residential, or Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser is equal to
    • Residential Appraisal Principles
    • Residential Procedures
  • Certified General Real Property Appraiser is equal to
    • Residential Appraisal Principles
    • Residential Appraisal Procedures

    • Two income courses

      All Certified General Real Property Appraisers qualify for the Temporary license.

• Real Estate Degree: A four-year Real Estate degree is equal to
  • Residential Appraisal Principles
  • Residential Appraisal Procedures
  • Residential Demonstration Narrative
• Refunds: Licensing fees are non-refundable.
• License Renewals: License fees paid via check will have an effective date of July 1 if postmarked date is on or prior to June 30. A reinstatement fee must be paid if the postmarked date is July 1 or after.
• Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor Oral Interview: All SAMA requirements must be completed, including the 5-year experience requirement, before an oral interview can be scheduled.

• Assessment Laws and Procedures (ALP) must have been taken within the previous five years when applying for an initial assessor license

• Courses: All courses must be approved by the board. When requesting course approval, sponsoring organizations must provide a completed Course Approval Request Form, course description, and outline including a timeline for each topic. Sponsoring organizations must provide a completion certificate to attendees. Licensure courses must be at least 15 or 30 hours including an exam).

  An exam proctor must be a disinterested third party with no conflict of interest. Proctors must verify students' identification and have a board-approved affidavit on file stating that each student received no outside assistance.

• Form/Narrative Reports must be resubmitted for grading within 2 years of the date of rejection. Failure to resubmit within 2 years will require the assessor to rewrite the entire report with a different subject.
• Management and Leadership Courses
  • To qualify as required management and leadership education, post-secondary education must be a 4-year degree with a major or minor in a business management field from an accredited college or university, or a professional certificate program in leadership or management with at least 30 hours of instruction.
  • Any post-secondary degree or professional certificate submitted for approval must have been received within 8 years of applying for SAMA licensure.
  • Any management or leadership course submitted for approval must have a minimum of 15 hours of instruction to be considered.
  • An exam may or may not be included in management and leadership courses.
• Property-Type Specific courses must have been taken within the previous 8 years of applying for AMA licensure.

• Breaks: Continuing education hours are not granted for lunch breaks. One 15-minute break in the morning and one 15-hour break in the afternoon may be included in the hour count for continuing education.
• Challenge Exams: Continuing education hours are not granted for course challenge exams.
• Exams are not required by the board for continuing education courses. If an exam is taken, exam time will be included in the continuing education hours.
• Hours: One hour of continuing education is equivalent to one continuing education hour (CEH). CEHs are granted in half-hour increments.
• CEH License Level: The level of licensure held at the beginning of the four-year licensing cycle will determine the required CEHs for that four-year cycle.
• Board Approval is required for all courses seeking CEHs for attendees. When requesting course approval, sponsoring organizations must provide a completed Course Approval Request Form, course description, and outline including a timeline for each topic. Sponsoring organizations must provide a completion certificate to attendees. 

• Assessment Experience - one calendar year of assessment experience is required for the CMA license

  For some individuals who do not physically view properties for property tax purposes, there is no time limit when they need an initial license. They can apply for a license at any time. The board will review those applications on a case-by-case basis and may also develop criteria to determine whether the experience is sufficient for one year of experience for a CMA license.

• Initial License - the following may qualify as assessment experience
  • Technical/clerical assessment-related experience
  • Appraisal experience that exceeds 6 months
  • Actual assessment experience - 1-3 years' experience is given based on actual exposure time
• Reciprocity - one year of assessment experience in another state is equivalent to one year of assessment experience in Minnesota - verification of past employment is required
• Timeline - all experience used for an initial assessor license must have occurred within 10 years of the application date

The Minnesota House of Representatives addresses the area of Minnesota state law that determines whether a person may hold specific combinations of elected or appointed public positions at the same time.

The State Board of Assessors compiled a list of compatibility of offices for elected or appointed positions for county and local assessors.