UAD 3.6 Appraisal Changes: What Real Estate Agents Need to Know Before November 2, 2026

Last updated: September 2026

For the better part of two decades, nearly every appraisal that crossed your desk looked the same: a Fannie Mae Form 1004, a few pages of checkboxes and a grid of comparable sales. That form is being retired.

On November 2, 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will require every new appraisal submitted for a conventional loan to use the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, built on a data standard called UAD 3.6. It is the largest change to appraisal reporting in decades, and it lands in the middle of your fall and winter closings.

Here is what is changing, what is not, and how to keep your transactions moving during the transition.

What is UAD 3.6?

UAD 3.6 is the updated Uniform Appraisal Dataset, the standardized set of data points appraisers use to describe a property. Paired with the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, it replaces the separate legacy appraisal forms with one dynamic report that adapts to the property being appraised. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require it for appraisals submitted on or after November 2, 2026.

Key terms

• ADU — Accessory Dwelling Unit
• ANSI — American National Standards Institute
• GLA — Gross Living Area
• UAD — Uniform Appraisal Dataset
• UAD 2.6 — “Legacy” Format
• UAD 3.6 — New Format (Replaces separate appraisal forms)
• URAR — Uniform Residential Appraisal Report
• UCDP — Uniform Collateral Data Portal

The UAD 3.6 timeline

The changeover began more than a year ago:

One nuance worth knowing: The deadline follows the date the appraisal is submitted to the UCDP, not the appraisal’s effective date or your contract date. A file appraised in late October but submitted in November needs the new format.

What actually changes in the appraisal report

• One report instead of many forms. The 1004, the 1073 for condos, the 1025 for two-to-four units, the 2055 and the rest are consolidated into a single dynamic URAR that expands or contracts based on property type and assignment.
• More property detail. Room-level data, accessory dwelling units, outbuildings, site characteristics, and energy and sustainability features now have dedicated fields.
• Tighter condition and quality definitions. The C and Q ratings your clients ask about have updated, more specific definitions.
• “Gross living area” goes away. GLA is retired as a term. Following the ANSI standard, the new report breaks a home into four separate area categories: Finished Area Above Grade, Finished Area Below Grade, Unfinished Area Above Grade and Unfinished Area Below Grade. A finished walkout basement is no longer squeezed into a single living-area figure or dropped from it; it is reported on its own line.
• A document that looks different. The report is generated from structured data and organized into sections—site, improvements, additional structures, sales comparison approach, rental analysis—and its length varies by property. Expect it to feel unfamiliar the first few times you open one.

What UAD 3.6 does not change

The appraiser’s job is the same. UAD 3.6 changes how appraisal information is collected, organized and delivered—not how value is determined. Comparable sales, market analysis and the appraiser’s independent opinion of value all work the way they always have.

Your appraisal contingency language does not change either; neither does the playbook when a number comes in under contract price.

Which loans this affects

• Conventional loans (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac): required for appraisals submitted on or after November 2, 2026.
• FHA: FHA is adopting UAD 3.6 and opened optional submission in 2026 but has not set a mandatory date. Legacy reports are still accepted. (Keep in mind that FHA and conventional appraisals differ in other ways, too.)
• VA and USDA: no adoption dates announced yet.
• Jumbo, portfolio and non-agency loans: follow each investor’s own requirements.
• Non-lending appraisals—estate, divorce, tax appeal—are not affected at all.

So, for a limited time this fall, two appraisals on your desk in the same week may look nothing alike. That is the transition working—not a mistake.

What it means for your transactions this fall

Appraisers are learning new software, entering more data per assignment and rebuilding workflows around the new format. Much of the industry expects turn times to increase during the first weeks after the mandate, and appraisal fees may move in some markets.

A few practical adjustments:

• Build extra days into appraisal contingencies on contracts written in late October and November.
• Confirm early that the appraisal has been ordered. Timing matters more than usual right now.
• Tell clients in advance that the report will look different. (A repeat buyer will notice immediately.)
• Do not read a longer report as a problem report. Length reflects property complexity and the new format, not a red flag on the file.

How to prep your buyers and sellers

• Rethink the square footage conversation. There is no longer one headline living-area number to point at. The report gives four figures, and none of them is guaranteed to match the total on the MLS sheet or the county record. Set that expectation before the appraisal rather than defending it after.
• Be precise about finished basements. Finished below-grade space now has its own reporting category, clearly separated from finished above-grade area. Sellers who have been counting a finished lower level in total square footage should hear that early.
• Call out ADUs, additions and outbuildings. These have their own fields now, and the appraiser needs accurate detail on each.
• Have a list of improvements ready. Dates and scope of recent updates feed directly into the condition rating.

Compass Mortgage is ready for the changeover

We have tracked the UAD 3.6 rollout since the early-adopter phase, and our appraisal partners are already submitting in the new format. If you have a transaction that straddles the November 2 date or a client with an unusual property type, talk to us before the contract is written.

Explore partnering with Compass Mortgage or call us at (877) 635-9795 to walk through your pipeline with one of our loan officers. And when your buyer is ready to compete, Get Committed® gives them a fully underwritten loan commitment even before they make an offer.

FAQs: UAD 3.6 and the new appraisal report

Sources: Fannie Mae Uniform Appraisal Dataset resources; Freddie Mac UAD Redesign Implementation Timeline fact sheet; FHA INFO 2025-42.