Is there free UAD 3.6 training available?

Yes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac published a free course called 'The Industry's Guide to the New URAR' - approximately 4 hours. They also offer a printable 4-page Inspection and Reporting Tips job aid for the field.

What new data do I need to collect during inspections for UAD 3.6?

Room-level documentation (dimensions, condition, materials per room), ceiling height for every room rounded to the nearest foot, energy efficiency features (HVAC, insulation, windows, solar), and disaster mitigation features.

UAD 3.6

UAD 3.6 Checklist for Appraisers

Picture this. It's a Thursday morning. You open your email and there's an AMC order with a note at the bottom you haven't seen before: "Please submit in UAD 3.6 format."

You stare at it. You've heard about this for months. You've watched a webinar. Maybe two. But right now, looking at this order, you're not sure you could actually produce a UAD 3.6 report if your career depended on it.

You're not alone. A survey of 300 appraisers found that while 68% have completed some UAD 3.6 training, only 26% feel well-prepared. (Opteon survey via Appraisal Buzz)

That gap between "I've seen a webinar" and "I'm confident I can do this" is where most of us are sitting right now. This checklist is designed to close it.

Not theory. Not an overview (I covered that in What Is UAD 3.6?). Just the practical steps, in order, with links to the specific resources. Print this or save it to your phone. Come back to it as you work through each section.

Part 1: Get Your Software Ready

Nothing else on this list matters if your report software can't produce a UAD 3.6 report. Start here.

Confirm your software supports UAD 3.6. Call your vendor or check their website. Not "I think it does" - actually verify.
Install the update now. Not next month. Not when you get your first UAD 3.6 order. Now. You want to be clicking through the new interface while nothing is due, not figuring it out under deadline pressure.
Spend 30 minutes in a blank UAD 3.6 report. Open one and just click around. Find where GLA lives. Find where condition ratings go. Find the new energy efficiency section. The layout is different from what you know, and the only way to build familiarity is to explore it before the clock is ticking.

Check your mobile companion. If you use TOTAL for Mobile or something similar for field data collection, make sure it's updated for UAD 3.6 requirements.

Here's where the major vendors stand as of March 2026:

TOTAL by a la mode released their "Launch Edition" in late January with features rolling out in phases through September. Their mobile app has been enhanced with conditional logic for field data collection. a la mode UAD 3.6 timeline | TOTAL UAD 3.6 User's Guide

ACI Sky Workbench is cloud-based and purpose-built for UAD 3.6, with automated compliance checks and MLS/public records integration. ACI UAD page

SFREP Appraise-It Pro was the first vendor to complete UAD 3.6 verification. The first live submission went through their software on November 14, 2025. They also publish printable field checklists that are useful regardless of what software you use.

ClickFORMS is in development with less public information available. Contact them directly.

For a deeper comparison, see What Your Software Is (and Isn't) Ready For with UAD 3.6.

Part 2: Get Yourself Trained

There's a difference between exposure and competence. You need competence. As one appraiser in the Opteon survey put it, this is "not a willingness problem - it's an enablement problem."

Take the free URAR training course. "The Industry's Guide to the New URAR" - approximately 4 hours, published by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, completely free. Best starting point available. Access it here.
Download and review the updated C&Q rating definitions. Condition and quality ratings are now split into interior and exterior with clearer guidance. C&Q inconsistencies are one of the most common revision triggers, so getting these right matters. Download the PDF.
Print the Inspection and Reporting Tips document. 4-page job aid from Fannie Mae. Print it. Put it in your inspection bag. Get it here.
Watch at least one live software demo. Seeing UAD 3.6 in your specific software is more valuable than reading about it. a la mode: TOTAL UAD 3.6 demo. SFREP: Unlocking UAD 3.6. Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae: Preparedness Webinar (29 min).
Consider a CE course. McKissock, the Appraisal Institute, and others offer 7-hour courses on UAD 3.6. If you need CE hours anyway, double up. (Fannie Mae training recommendations)

Part 3: Practice Before It's Real

This is the step most appraisers skip. It's also the most valuable one.

Complete a mock UAD 3.6 report. Pick a property you've already appraised. Open a blank UAD 3.6 report in your updated software. Work through the entire thing.

You'll discover three things. First, where everything lives in the new interface - the muscle memory from years of 1004s won't help you, so you need to build new habits. Second, what data you don't have from your original inspection - that gap becomes your updated field checklist. Third, how long it actually takes - a real number instead of an industry estimate.

One early tester described the experience as "far easier than anticipated." (SFREP) The fear is almost always worse than the reality. But you have to sit down and do it to discover that.

Identify your personal data gaps. After the mock report, write down every field where you had to guess or leave blank. That list is the foundation for Part 4.

Part 4: Update How You Inspect

UAD 3.6 requires more data from the field. If you show up to inspections with your current process, you'll end up calling homeowners to ask about ceiling heights and insulation types.

Add room-level documentation to your inspection checklist. Dimensions, condition, and materials for each room. This is the biggest data expansion.
Measure ceiling heights. Rounded to the nearest foot, required for every room. Add this to your routine now.
Capture energy features. HVAC type, insulation quality, window performance, solar panels. Some of this you'll need to ask the homeowner about.
Document disaster mitigation. Storm shutters, roof strapping, foundation reinforcement, fire-resistant materials. Dedicated section now.
Plan your photo sequence by section. Photos must be organized by topic - site, exterior, interior, additional structures.
Bring a field checklist. SFREP published a printable field data collection guide that works regardless of your software.

One more practical suggestion: send homeowners a pre-inspection survey. They know when the roof was replaced, what the countertops are made of, and whether the HVAC was upgraded. Collecting this before you arrive saves 15-30 minutes on-site and ensures you have room-level details that are hard to gather during a single walkthrough. This is exactly why we built Homeowner Walkthrough Surveys into Appraiser Machine - a branded survey link goes to the homeowner, they fill it out with photos from their phone, and you arrive with data instead of guesswork.

Part 5: Before You Hit Submit

UAD 3.6 includes a pre-submission validation API that lets software check your report against compliance rules before it reaches UCDP. Use it.

Run your software's built-in validation. It should flag missing required fields and data inconsistencies.
Check your C&Q rating consistency. Interior and exterior are rated separately now. Make sure ratings align with descriptions.
Fill out the "Additional Properties Analyzed But Not Used" table. Document comps you considered but rejected, and why. This preemptively answers the "why didn't you use this sale?" question.
Verify your photo package. Photos organized by section, properly tagged, included in the ZIP package.

Part 6: Business Conversations

Ask your AMCs and lenders when they'll start requiring UAD 3.6. Some already are. Knowing their timeline helps you plan.
Adjust your fee schedule. Reports take longer now. At least initially. For more on this, see whether UAD 3.6 will actually get you paid more.
Consider diversifying your client base. Non-lender work is completely untouched by UAD 3.6, and it typically pays double what AMCs offer. See UAD 3.6 Doesn't Apply to Your Most Profitable Work.

The Timeline

Now through June: Update software. Complete training. Practice with mock reports. Update your inspection workflow.

July through October: Submit real UAD 3.6 reports during the dual-format period. Work through the learning curve while UAD 2.6 is still available.

November 2, 2026: Mandatory. You should have several completed UAD 3.6 reports behind you by this point.

You have eight months. That's enough. But only if you start working through this list now.

All Official Resources in One Place

Bookmark these. They're the primary sources from the organizations that created UAD 3.6:

Related Articles:

Jon Barrett

Jon Barrett is the founder of Appraiser Machine and has spent over a decade working with independent appraisers. He's built 300+ appraiser websites, co-led a national appraiser mastermind group, and talked with hundreds of appraisers about what's actually working in their practices. He built Appraiser Machine because the operations side of running an appraisal practice was still stuck in spreadsheets and duct tape - and appraisers deserved better.