# Virginia HB170: Real estate appraisers; ed. requirements for licensure, fair housing and appraisal bias course.

Virginia HB170, Real estate appraisers; ed. requirements for licensure, fair housing and appraisal bias course., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Alex Q. Askew (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0081)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB170-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB170
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Real estate appraisers; ed. requirements for licensure, fair housing and appraisal bias course.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-06
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0081)
- Sponsor: Alex Q. Askew (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 9 (267 yes, 54 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Real estate appraisers; educational requirements for licensure; fair housing and appraisal bias course. Requires, in addition to successfully completing an examination, applicants for licensure as a certified residential real estate appraiser or a certified general real estate appraiser to also successfully complete a fair housing and appraisal bias education course administered or approved by the Real Estate Appraiser Board prior to licensure, the specifics of which are provided in the bill.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Appraiser licenses stay accepted by banks: benefit, medium. The Real Estate Appraiser Board must set rules that meet federal standards. This keeps Virginia appraiser and appraisal management company licenses recognized by federal bank regulators. It protects your ability to work with banks and other federally regulated lenders.
- New exams and bias training for appraisers: cost, low. Certified residential and certified general applicants must pass a Board-approved exam before licensure. The Board can set different exam rules and may require licensed residential appraisers to pass an exam before initial licensure or renewing an initial license. All applicants must complete at le…
- Stronger licensing rules for appraisers: cost, low. The Board sets education and experience as conditions for a license. It also sets rules for supervision, enforces professional standards, and handles referrals of improper conduct. The Board may set different requirements for licensed residential, certified residential, and certified general apprai…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Alex Q. Askew (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Senate amendment agreed to by House | pass | 66 | 32 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | General Laws and Technology Amendment agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendment | pass | 36 | 3 | 1 |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment | pass | 14 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 81 | 18 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Reported from General Laws with substitute | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (36)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0081) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 81 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-01: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB170) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB170ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate amendment agreed to by House (66-Y 32-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate with amendment (36-Y 3-N 1-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: General Laws and Technology Amendment agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Engrossed by Senate as amended (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment (14-Y 1-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Read third time and passed House (81-Y 18-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-01-30: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read second time (House)
- 2026-01-30: Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar (House)
- 2026-01-29: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB170) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Committee substitute printed 26105954D-H1 (House)
- 2026-01-27: Reported from General Laws with substitute (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-22: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-22: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection (House)
- 2026-01-06: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-06: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102831D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216304.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216303.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212224.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212223.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203760.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1196394.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191812.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-01-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098411.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098410.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094425.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094583.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094424.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094582.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082711.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082709.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216304.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216303.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212224.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212223.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203760.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1196394.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191812.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098411.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1098410.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094425.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094583.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094424.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094582.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082711.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082709.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB170-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).