UAD 3.6 and the New Scope of Work: Understanding the 3 Inspection Levels
You open your first UAD 3.6 report in TOTAL. You're looking for the familiar form selection - 1004, 2055, whatever the assignment calls for. It's not there. There's no form dropdown. Instead, there's a field that says "Scope of Inspection" with three options you've never selected before.
That moment of confusion is coming for a lot of appraisers. And it's worth understanding before it happens during a live assignment.
Under the old system, scope of work was baked into the form number. A 1004 meant you did a full interior and exterior inspection. A 2055 meant exterior-only. If someone ordered a desktop appraisal, that was yet another form. The form itself told everyone what level of inspection you performed.
Under UAD 3.6, form numbers don't exist anymore. There's one report. So how does everyone know what kind of inspection you did?
The answer is a new three-level scope of inspection framework. It's not complicated, but it is different from how you've been thinking about scope for the last 15 years. And as one appraiser on AppraisersForum noted when discussing the changes, getting the certification right matters - you're explicitly attesting to the level of work you performed, and that attestation is more visible in the structured format than it ever was on a form number.
The Old Way vs. the New Way
Under UAD 2.6, scope was implicit in the form:
1004/70 meant full interior and exterior inspection. 2055 meant exterior-only. Desktop products had their own forms and requirements.
Under UAD 3.6, scope is explicit in the report. You select from three defined inspection levels, and the report adapts based on your selection. The form doesn't change - the same dynamic URAR is used for all three levels. What changes is which sections are active, what data is required, and what you certify. (Fannie Mae Appraiser Update)
The shift is subtle but important: scope used to be defined by the form you chose. Now it's defined by a certification you make within a single form.
Level 1: Full Interior & Exterior
This is the equivalent of what you've been doing on a standard 1004. You physically visit the property, inspect the interior and exterior, take photos, measure or verify the floor plan, and document everything.
Under UAD 3.6, the data requirements for a full interior inspection are more extensive than they were under the old 1004. You're documenting room-level detail (dimensions, condition, materials per room), ceiling heights, energy features, disaster mitigation items, and all the new structured data fields. (For the full breakdown of what's changed, see How UAD 3.6 Changes Appraisal Reports.)
When you select this level, you're certifying that you personally performed a complete interior and exterior inspection of the subject property. That certification carries the same professional and legal weight it always has - you're attesting under USPAP that you inspected the property as described.
For most residential lender work, this will continue to be the default scope level.
Level 2: Exterior Only
This replaces what used to be the 2055 form. You physically visit the property and inspect the exterior and site, but you do not enter or inspect the interior.
Under UAD 3.6, when you select Exterior Only, the report's interior sections adjust accordingly. You won't be expected to provide room-level interior detail, interior condition ratings, or interior photos - because you didn't go inside.
What you still do: inspect and photograph the exterior, document site characteristics, assess exterior condition and quality, and complete the valuation analysis using available data for interior characteristics (which typically comes from public records, MLS data, or prior appraisals).
The key difference from the old system: under the 2055, the form itself was designed for exterior-only work. Under UAD 3.6, you're using the same report as a full interior inspection - just with a different scope selection. The report adapts, but the underlying structure is the same.
Level 3: Desktop
This is the most significant conceptual shift. Desktop appraisals existed before UAD 3.6, but they were less formalized. Under the new framework, Desktop is a defined scope level with clear parameters.
A Desktop appraisal means you did not physically visit the property. Your analysis is based on available data - public records, MLS information, prior appraisals, aerial imagery, and other sources you can access without being on-site.
When you select Desktop, the report adjusts to reflect that no physical inspection occurred. Photo requirements are different (you're sourcing photos from available resources, not taking them yourself). Interior documentation relies on available data rather than personal observation.
The certification for a Desktop appraisal is meaningfully different from the other two levels. You're attesting that you did NOT physically inspect the property and that your analysis is based on available data sources. The scope, and its limitations, are transparent in the report.
Desktop appraisals have specific eligibility requirements from the GSEs that determine when they're acceptable. Not every assignment qualifies for desktop scope - that's determined by the lender and the GSE guidelines, not by appraiser preference.
How This Changes Your Workflow
Before your first UAD 3.6 order, confirm the scope with the lender. Under the old system, the form number told you the scope. Under UAD 3.6, you need to know which inspection level the lender is requesting before you begin. This should be in the order or engagement letter, but if it's not, ask.
Know your certification language for each level. You're signing a certification statement that describes the scope of inspection you performed. The language is different for each level. Review the certification wording for all three levels before you encounter them in a live order. You don't want to be reading your certification statement for the first time while a report is due Friday.
Understand how the report adapts. When you select a scope level, certain sections appear or disappear, and certain fields become required or optional. Spend time in your report software exploring what each level looks like. Open a blank report, select Full Interior, and note what's active. Then switch to Exterior Only and see what changes. Then Desktop. Ten minutes of exploration prevents confusion during live work.
The Certification Matters More Than You Think
I want to emphasize something that the appraisers I work with have flagged as a concern.
Under the old system, scope was somewhat automatic. You filled out a 1004, which implied full interior inspection. You didn't think about scope as a separate decision - it was embedded in the form choice.
Under UAD 3.6, scope is an explicit selection you make and a certification you sign. That's a more deliberate act. You're actively choosing and attesting to the level of inspection you performed.
This means scope mismatches - certifying to a level of inspection you didn't actually perform - are more visible and more clearly documented. If you certify a Full Interior inspection but your report lacks interior observations that would only come from physically being inside the property, that inconsistency is detectable.
For most appraisers doing standard full interior inspections, this changes nothing about your actual work. You were already going inside, inspecting everything, and documenting it. The certification formalizes what you were already doing.
But it's worth understanding the framework, especially if you're asked to do an Exterior Only or Desktop scope that you haven't done before. Know what each certification means before you sign it.
The Practical Summary
The three-level framework isn't complicated once you understand the concept:
Full Interior & Exterior: You went inside and inspected everything. Maximum data collection. This is most of your work.
Exterior Only: You visited the property but didn't go inside. Interior data comes from available records. Report adjusts accordingly.
Desktop: You didn't visit at all. Everything is sourced from available data. Clear limitations documented.
The same report is used for all three. The scope level you select determines what's active, what's required, and what you certify. Learn all three in your software before your first live order, even if you expect to do Full Interior inspections 90% of the time.
For the full preparation steps, see the UAD 3.6 Checklist. For the complete side-by-side comparison of old vs. new, see UAD 3.6 vs Current UAD.
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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.
