Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board - New Rule to Regulate Signatures

Effective as of December 20, 2011, there is a new Rule that updates signature requirements on an appraisal report and certification. This new rule, 61J1-7.0065 Signatures on Appraisal Report and Certification, was adopted by the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board (FREAB) to comply with a recent amendment to Chapter 475, Part II. The amendment, adding 475.614(2) requires the FREAB to adopt to include requirements for protecting the security of an appraiser’s signature and prohibiting practices that may discredit the use of an appraiser’s signature to authenticate the work performed by the appraiser.

Here's the way it reads:

61J1-7.0065 Signatures on Appraisal Report and Certification.



(1) Each appraiser signing a certification of an appraisal report must sign the certification with the name that the licensee has registered with the Department. A signature may be represented by a handwritten mark or a digitized image controlled by a personal identification number, password, or other security feature. A facsimile signature may be either affixed by hand or electronically by computer software. An appraiser shall at all times maintain direct control of the appraiser’s signature.

(2) An appraiser shall develop and maintain a written method by which his or her signature shall be affixed, for its security protection and the prohibition of practices that might discredit its use.

(3) An appraiser shall not grant blanket authority to another to affix the appraiser’s signature to an appraisal report or other work performed by the appraiser. Any grant of permission to another to affix an appraiser’s signature to an appraisal report or other work performed by the appraiser shall meet the following requirements:

(a) Be in writing;

(b) Extend only to one specific appraisal report; and

(c) Be maintained in the appraiser’s work file.

Rulemaking Authority 475.614 FS. Law Implemented 475.613(2), 475.614 FS. History–New 12-4-06, Amended 12-20-11.

It might be wise to keep this rule in mind and ready for quick reference when some folks (like those mentioned in THIS post) attempt to require you to upload a copy of your digital signature.