If you’ve closed a conventional loan lately, you’ve probably heard the term UAD 3.6 floating around. Here’s the short version. Starting November 2, 2026, every new appraisal submitted to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac has to use the new format. The mandate follows each report’s initial submission date to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal. Submit a UAD 2.6 report after that date and it bounces back as a failed submission. The old forms, including the 1004, 1073, and 1025, are gone. One dynamic report now takes their place, adjusting itself to the property and the assignment.
That part is simple. What’s less simple is how ready everyone actually is for it, and that’s the part worth walking through, because the readiness gap is where the real friction shows up for you and your clients.
Where the Industry Actually Stands
The GSEs are ready. Everyone downstream is still catching up.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s own systems have been accepting UAD 3.6 submissions since broad production opened in January 2026, so the finish line hasn’t moved. But readiness gets thinner the further you get from the GSEs themselves.
On the appraiser side, a survey of 300 appraisers found 68% had completed some form of training. Only 26% felt well prepared for the actual transition, and 60% expected to need direct support once they were in it. A separate survey of 900 appraisers found 84% plan to support UAD 3.6, but 63% anticipate longer turn times and 52% expect fee increases. That gap between training completed and confidence felt is the story of this whole rollout. People have watched the webinars, but very few have run real files through it yet.
Software is a mixed bag too. A handful of vendors show up most often in appraiser discussions of who’s actually ready: AIVRE, TOTAL/a la mode through Cotality, ACI Sky Workbench, and Reggora Forms. Verified status has been changing on a near weekly basis, though, so what’s true today may not be true in a month.
And on the lender side, ordering volume is still surprisingly light. One of the largest originators in the country reported ordering only six appraisals in the new format so far. That’s despite writing roughly 6 to 7% of all U.S. residential mortgages. At a large industry event this spring, organizers expected reports on hundreds of UAD 3.6 files nationwide. The actual count at that point was a handful.
Bottom line: the deadline isn’t moving, but a large share of the ecosystem, from software vendors to LOS integrations to appraisers, is still mid-transition.
The Defects, Damages, and Deficiencies Change
This is a piece that doesn’t get talked about enough, and it’s a real driver of the added inspection time. Under UAD 2.6, an appraiser calling out something affecting safety, soundness, or structural integrity of a property usually did it in narrative comments or an addendum. It was there, but it could be easy to miss if you weren’t reading closely.
Under UAD 3.6, defects, damages, and deficiencies get their own structured section. It splits into six categories: site, dwelling exterior, unit interior, outbuilding, vehicle storage, and subject property amenities. For each item, the appraiser identifies the specific feature and its location. Next comes a description of the issue and a note on whether it affects soundness or structural integrity. The appraiser then recommends an action and attaches a supporting photo captioned as an observed deficiency. Everything rolls back up into the Reconciliation section. Anything requiring action also shows up again in the report Summary, so underwriters can spot a repair condition without digging through pages of narrative.
For agents, this is genuinely useful to know ahead of an inspection. If your seller has made updates, having the dates, materials, and any permit information ready helps the appraiser document it accurately. If a defect exists and the seller doesn’t have details, the appraiser still has to document whatever the form requires. Those fields aren’t optional the way narrative commentary sometimes felt.
How Long Is This Going to Take?
Expect turnaround to stretch during the first several months. Industry estimates put the early learning curve at 25 to 50% more time per report. A report that used to take six hours might run seven and a half to nine hours at first. Most appraisers should work back to normal speed within three to six months of regular use, typically around report number 10 to 15. At that point, the new workflow becomes routine instead of something they think through step by step.
One more wrinkle worth knowing: not every appraisal you touch this fall and winter will even be on UAD 3.6. FHA, VA, and USDA loans are on their own separate adoption timelines and may still run on legacy 2.6 for a while yet. Non-lending appraisals, things like divorce, estate, or tax appeal work, often run on GPAR (General Purpose Appraisal Report) forms instead. The UAD timeline doesn’t touch them at all. If you’re an agent working a transaction, ask what format the appraiser is using when you set the appointment. It can affect how long the inspection itself takes. But regardless of which form applies, build more time into your appraisal contingency this fall. That part doesn’t change based on the form.
How Much Extra Is This Going to Cost?
Here’s the honest answer: nobody in the industry can give you a hard number yet, and anyone who claims otherwise is guessing. What we do know is the direction. In these surveys, 52% to 64% of appraisers expect to raise fees for 3.6 assignments. Longer inspections and the added time to enter a much larger dataset are driving that. Only a small share, around 2.6%, say they won’t be adjusting fees at all.
Our advice to both lenders and agents: ask for the fee in writing at the start of the assignment, not at the closing table. Expect some fee movement this fall. It’s normal. A surprise on the Closing Disclosure is not something anyone needs right now.
Tips for Lenders
- Confirm your panel’s software status directly, not secondhand. Vendor approval lists change often. Check Fannie Mae’s Integrated Vendor List or Freddie Mac’s Software Providers List rather than assuming last month’s answer still holds.
- Check your LOS integration timeline now. Encompass, MeridianLink, and Empower integrations still have gaps industry wide, and this isn’t a plug and play switch.
- Build a buffer into turn time SLAs for files ordered through the end of the year. Don’t hold appraisers to pre-3.6 benchmarks.
- Order early. Waiting until inspection results come back before starting the next step of the file is going to cost you more time than it used to.
- Disclose fee changes to borrowers up front. It protects the relationship and keeps closings on schedule.
Tips for Realtors
- Ask what form the appraiser is using when you set the appointment: UAD 3.6, legacy UAD 2.6, or a non-lender GPAR form for private-side work. It affects how long the inspection takes and helps you set expectations with your client.
- Build extra days into your appraisal contingency on contracts written this fall, no matter which form applies. Where you’d normally write 14 or 21 days, have the conversation about a longer window before you’re stuck renegotiating a date.
- Prepare your sellers for a longer, more detailed inspection. The appraiser isn’t being difficult. They’re documenting room level detail and any defects, damages, or deficiencies in a structured format the old form never required.
- Have update information ready if it exists. Dates, materials, and any permit documentation for renovations help the appraiser document accurately instead of having to note it as unknown.
- Don’t panic over an unfamiliar looking report. The format has changed dramatically, but the underlying opinion of value hasn’t. If something looks off, ask your appraiser to walk you through it rather than assuming it’s wrong.
- Loop your lender in early if you’re worried about timing on a specific closing date. A heads up beats a scramble later.
For more background on the market this is all playing out in, see our recent posts on the Kansas City housing market at a crossroads and Kansas City’s 24-year housing affordability trend.
Where We Stand at MacDonnell Appraisals
We didn’t wait for November to start learning this system. Our team has been running practice inspections and draft reports in the new format for weeks, working through real scenarios so the learning curve happens now instead of on your client’s file later this fall. If you’ve got questions about how UAD 3.6 might affect a specific transaction, or you just want a straight answer instead of a guess, reach out anytime.