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Real Estate Appraiser Invoice Template

An appraisal invoice bills one assignment: one property, one report, one client. For mortgage work that client is the lender or the appraisal management company (AMC) that ordered the report, not the borrower, although the lender may charge the borrower a reasonable fee to cover the cost. For private work, such as an estate, divorce or tax-appeal valuation, the client is whoever engaged you. Either way the invoice has to match the engagement: the order or file number, the subject property address, the property type, the assignment (for example a full interior inspection or an exterior-only report), the inspection and report delivery dates, and the fee the engagement letter set, with any agreed rush or trip charge on its own line. This template keeps those fields together. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line-item table and totals, plus the assignment fields below. Fill it in your browser and print it or save it as PDF.

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Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Client: lender, AMC or private client, as named in the engagement
  • Order, file or loan number from the client
  • Subject property address
  • Property type (single-family, condominium, 2-4 unit, land)
  • Assignment type and scope of work
  • Inspection date and effective date of value
  • Report delivery date
  • Appraisal fee as set in the engagement
  • Agreed rush, complexity or trip charges
  • Appraiser name and state licence or certification number

How to Create Your Real Estate Appraiser Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Use the terms in the engagement letter or the AMC's vendor agreement, and print the actual due date. Lender and AMC work is paid on the terms in the client's agreement, and the invoice needs their order number to be matched and paid. For private clients you set the terms yourself, for example payment at engagement or before the report is released; whichever you choose, put it in the engagement letter before you inspect. One federal rule shapes payment on mortgage work: under Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.42(c)), lenders and others in a covered transaction may not withhold or threaten to withhold timely payment because an appraiser does not value a property at a certain level, and may not make the appraiser's pay conditional on the loan closing. Your fee is earned for the appraisal, whatever the value and whether or not the loan closes.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Payers report fee appraisers' income like any other contractor's. In the United States, a business that pays a non-corporate appraiser $2,000 or more for services in 2026 generally reports it on Form 1099-NEC (the threshold was $600 for payments made before 2026), so lenders and AMCs ask for Form W-9 before the first payment. Whether an appraisal fee carries sales tax depends on your state, so check your state revenue department; if it does not, show tax as 0% rather than leaving the line blank. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice and copies your saved tax ID into new invoice PDFs; keep professional licence details in the notes if your client needs them on the invoice. General information, not tax or legal advice; last reviewed 28 October 2026.

Industry context (2026)

Two federal rules decide how mortgage appraisals are ordered and paid. Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.42 (eCFR, up to date as of 23 October 2026), applies to consumer credit secured by the consumer's principal dwelling. Paragraph (f) requires creditors and their agents to pay fee appraisers a customary and reasonable rate for the property's geographic market; a creditor is presumed to comply if its rate is reasonably related to recent rates for comparable work, adjusted for property type, scope of work, turnaround time and the appraiser's qualifications, experience and work quality, or if it relies on independent fee studies that exclude AMC-ordered appraisals. Paragraph (c) bars influencing the value through compensation, including withholding timely payment over a value and conditioning pay on the loan closing. Regulation B, 12 CFR 1002.14, requires creditors to give applicants a copy of the appraisal and lets them charge a reasonable fee to cover its cost. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Outlook Handbook, page modified 27 August 2026) counts about 68,400 property appraiser and assessor jobs in 2025, 15% self-employed, with a median annual wage of $67,960 in May 2025, and notes that federal law requires real estate appraisers to hold a state license or certification. Sources accessed 28 October 2026.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative fees, not market data). A certified residential appraiser accepts an order from an AMC for a purchase-loan appraisal of a single-family house at 14 Elm Street. The AMC's order sets the fee at $550 with a $100 rush charge for delivery within three business days. The appraiser inspects on 3 November 2026, delivers the report on 5 November, and sends invoice INV-0212 the same day: Line 1: appraisal, single-family, full interior inspection, AMC order 88214, 1 × $550.00. Line 2: rush delivery within 3 business days, per order, 1 × $100.00. Subtotal $650.00, tax 0% (appraisal services are not taxed in this appraiser's state), total $650.00, due net 30 per the vendor agreement on 5 December. Notes: 'Appraiser licence no. and state; inspection 3 Nov 2026; report delivered 5 Nov 2026.' Two weeks later the purchase falls through. The invoice does not change: the fee was for the appraisal, and Regulation Z does not allow payment to be conditioned on the loan closing. A month later the lender asks for a final inspection after repairs. That is a new assignment under a new order, billed on invoice INV-0219 at the fee the new order sets, referencing the original order 88214. A private client, such as an executor needing a date-of-death value, would get the same layout with the executor as client and the payment terms from your engagement letter.

Common mistakes to avoid

Invoicing the borrower on a lender assignment

The lender or AMC is your client and pays you; the borrower reimburses the lender. Sending your invoice to the borrower confuses the payment and can breach your engagement.

No order number

AMCs and lenders handle many orders at once. Without their order or file number, the invoice cannot be matched and is paid late or not at all.

Adding charges that were not agreed

A rush, complexity or trip fee belongs on the invoice only if it was agreed when you accepted the order. Raise it before you accept, not after you deliver.

Treating the fee as payable only if the loan closes

Your fee is for the appraisal. Regulation Z does not allow payment on covered transactions to be conditioned on the loan closing, so do not write 'payable at closing' on a lender or AMC invoice.

Putting the value on the invoice

The opinion of value belongs in the report delivered to your client. Keep the invoice to the assignment, the dates and the fee.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Put the client's order or file number in the first lines of the invoice. AMCs and lenders match invoices to orders, and an invoice without one is the one that waits.
  • 2Invoice the fee as one line for the appraisal. Inspection, data research, analysis and the report are all part of the appraisal service, so split them only if your engagement priced them separately.
  • 3Add rush, complexity or trip charges only when they were agreed before you accepted the assignment, and name the reason ('Rush: report within 3 business days per order').
  • 4Leave the opinion of value off the invoice. It belongs in the report, and the invoice may pass through more hands than the report does.
  • 5Bill a reinspection or a completion report as a new line or a new invoice referencing the original order, not as a change to the first invoice.
  • 6Send a W-9 with your first invoice to a new lender or AMC so the first payment is not held for paperwork.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays for a home appraisal?

On a mortgage, the lender or its AMC orders the appraisal and pays the appraiser. Regulation B (12 CFR 1002.14) lets a creditor charge the applicant a reasonable fee to reimburse the cost of the appraisal, and requires the creditor to give the applicant a copy of it. So the appraiser invoices the lender or AMC, not the borrower.

What is the customary and reasonable fee rule for appraisers?

Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.42(f), requires the creditor and its agents, including AMCs, to pay fee appraisers at a rate that is customary and reasonable for comparable appraisal services in the property's geographic market. It applies to consumer credit secured by the borrower's principal dwelling. It does not set a fee; it sets how lenders and AMCs must determine what they pay.

Should an appraiser invoice the AMC or the lender?

Invoice whoever engaged you. If an AMC placed the order, its vendor agreement sets how and when you invoice it, and the AMC pays you. If a lender ordered directly, invoice the lender. Use their order or file number either way.

Can an appraiser get paid if the loan does not close?

Yes. Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.42(c), gives conditioning an appraiser's compensation on the loan closing as an example of prohibited influence on the valuation, and the same goes for withholding timely payment because of the value reported. The fee is for the appraisal itself.

What should a real estate appraisal invoice include?

Your name, business details and licence or certification number, the client and its order number, an invoice number and date, the subject property address and type, the assignment type, the inspection and report delivery dates, the agreed fee and any agreed extra charges, the total, the due date and how to pay.

Can I make an appraisal invoice in InvoiceQuickly?

Yes. Type or say the assignment, for example 'Invoice Northgate AMC, order 88214, interior appraisal 14 Elm Street, $550, rush fee $100', and InvoiceQuickly drafts an editable invoice you review before saving. It is not appraisal software: it has no order management or report forms. Free covers 5 invoices, 5 clients and 3 AI drafts; Pro is $9 a month for unlimited invoices, email delivery and reminders.