Two mortgage brokers asked me recently what I think of the new appraisal form. I gave them both the same two answers. Turn times will slow down at first, until appraisers get used to the form and update how they work. And the new layout is better for the public. It is easier to read than the forms it replaces.
On September 30, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered lenders that cannot meet the UAD 3.6 mandate a temporary exception. Until May 19, 2027, the form on your next file depends on which lender is on it.
What the UAD 3.6 mandate requires
UAD 3.6 is the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It retires the 1004 and the rest of the legacy forms and replaces them with one report that adapts to the property. Lenders have been allowed to use it since January 26, 2026. The UAD 3.6 mandate makes it the required format on November 2, 2026.
The date runs on submission. Every appraisal a lender submits to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac through UCDP, their appraisal portal, on or after November 2 has to be UAD 3.6. The order date does not decide it, and neither does the effective date of the appraisal.
A legacy report ordered in October and submitted November 1 is fine. The same report submitted November 5 is fine only for a lender that holds the new exception. For any other lender, a legacy report submitted on or after November 2 is out of compliance with the GSE guides, and the file needs a UAD 3.6 report.
For mortgage brokers: the exception is lender by lender
Only lenders that sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can request an exception to the UAD 3.6 mandate, and they request it from each GSE they sell to. An aggregator that buys loans from other lenders has to make sure all of them are submitting UAD 3.6, or request the exception itself. As a broker, you do not request anything. Your wholesale lenders do, or the aggregators above them, and each one decides for itself. Two of your lenders can be ordering different formats in the same week.
For a lender that holds the exception, the GSE dates run like this:
- Through February 28, 2027, new UAD 2.6 (legacy) and UAD 3.6 reports are both accepted.
- From March 1 to May 19, 2027, UAD 2.6 reports are still accepted, but they get a collateral risk score of 999 in Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter and 99 in Freddie Mac’s Loan Collateral Advisor, and the loan loses collateral rep and warranty relief on value. The GSEs strongly encourage lenders to be on UAD 3.6 before March 1.
- From May 20, 2027, new submissions must be UAD 3.6. A UAD 2.6 report already submitted can still be resubmitted through June 27.
- On June 28, 2027, UAD 2.6 is retired.
The same dates, with links to the GSE documents, are on the page I keep current for agents: UAD 3.6 sample reports and the agent checklist.
Three questions for each wholesale lender now:
- Are you ordering UAD 3.6 today, or still legacy?
- If legacy, have you requested the exception from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or both?
- On a file with the appraisal landing in late October, will the report be submitted before November 2?
All of this is the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rule. For FHA, VA, or USDA loans, ask the lender which timeline applies. Estate, divorce, and tax appeal appraisals never go to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so the mandate does not touch them. I wrote about how those reports differ from a lender report in Estate Appraisal vs Lender Appraisal.
Why I expect turn times to slow at first
Appraisers are learning a new form and updating how their offices work. That takes time on the first reports, and I expect it to ease as appraisers get used to the form.
Brokers, leave room for the appraisal in the timeline you give a borrower in the first weeks after November 2. Agents, build some room into the appraisal contingency when the buyer’s lender is ordering UAD 3.6.
The new report asks for things the MLS does not carry: the year the furnace, water heater, or roof was replaced, what was updated and when, and whether the work was permitted. Listing agents, have that ready when the appraiser calls. The listing checklist on my UAD 3.6 page lays it out by section, and you can fill it in on screen and send it ahead.
The new report is easier to read
I think the new layout is better for the public. The legacy forms pack a lot into small boxes and send you to an addendum for the explanations. The UAD 3.6 report opens with a Summary page: the opinion of value, whether it is As Is or subject to something, the effective date, the quality and condition ratings, and a table of any defects the appraiser flagged as needing action, with a cost to repair when the appraiser provides one. After that, the report is organized by topic, with the photos and comments in the section they belong to.
That defects table is the first thing I would read on either side of a deal. If it has entries, the value is not As Is, and the lender will likely want those items addressed before closing.
If you have not opened one yet, the GSEs published sample reports, and three of them (a single-family house with an ADU, a condo, and a 2-to-4 unit) are linked on my UAD 3.6 page. Read the single-family sample before your first live report and the real one will look familiar.
Questions about a specific file
If you are a broker or an agent with a deal where the format or the timing is unclear, call me at 720-432-0474. If your office wants a short presentation on reading the new report, ask.
Charles E. Volk, SRA, is a Colorado Certified Residential Appraiser with 24 years of residential experience across Denver Metro and Boulder County, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. VolkHaus Appraisals works with community banks and credit unions on lender assignments, and directly with estate attorneys, CPAs, fiduciaries, and private clients. Colin O’Connor, our Senior Appraiser and a Certified Residential Appraiser, handles assignments alongside him.