To sign or not to sign

Should trainees sign the report?  If they are relatively new to the industry the answer is probably not.  Remember Certification #11 which states "I have the knowledge and experience in appraising this type of property in this market."  By signing the report the appraisers are certifying they are competent.

Newly minted trainee appraisers likely cannot make this claim and thus should not be signing the report.  Many of us also work for clients that prohibit trainees from co-signing,  So, how do we properly document the trainee's involvement in the process so they can claim the experience?

USPAP (S.R. 2-3) requires that the name of each individual providing significant real property appraisal assistance be stated in the certification.  The work the trainee performed should also be described in the report as well.

Here is why: 

I have heard a common horror story from a few of my former students.  They had been working for three to four years gaining the requisite 2,000 to 2,500 hours of experience needed to upgrade their licenses.  They never co-signed the reports for the reasons described above.  When the Commerce Department reviewed their experience, they found their supervisor had not named them in the report (as required by USPAP) and thus these trainees were given NO credit for their hours.  They had to start over since nothing in the reports documented their involvement.

Also, as a parting gift, their supervisors were fined and sanctioned for sending out reports that did not conform to USPAP.