Appraisal Disclosure Requirements: Notice, Delivery, and Waivers

Federal law sets specific appraisal disclosure requirements for mortgage lenders under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B. Your lender must notify you within three business days of receiving your application that you have the right to receive copies of every appraisal and written valuation developed in connection with the loan, and it must then deliver those copies to you free of charge, either promptly on completion or at least three business days before closing, whichever happens first.¹ The obligation applies whether your loan is approved, denied, or never closes at all.

The Notice Within Three Business Days of Application

Before the appraisal itself ever changes hands, the lender owes you a separate written notice explaining the right. Regulation B requires the creditor to mail or deliver this notice no later than three business days after receiving your application for a first-lien mortgage on a dwelling.¹ If a loan wasn’t originally structured as first-lien residential credit but the lender later decides it will be, the three-day clock starts on the day of that determination.

The notice and the appraisal copy are two different obligations on two different clocks. Getting the notice on time does not satisfy the delivery deadline, and delivering the appraisal early does not excuse a missing notice.

Which Valuations Are Covered

The rule reaches every written valuation the lender develops in connection with your application, not just the traditional narrative appraisal report. CFPB commentary specifically identifies reports generated by automated valuation models and broker price opinions among the covered documents.¹ If the lender ordered it and used it in the credit decision, you’re entitled to a copy.

When the lender obtains more than one valuation, you get all of them. That includes situations where a lender pairs an automated model with a full appraisal, or orders a second appraisal after questioning the first. You are entitled to every report, not only the one the lender relied on.

When the Copies Must Arrive

The delivery rule has two prongs, and the lender must meet whichever comes first: promptly upon completion of each valuation, or at least three business days before consummation of the loan.¹ If your appraisal is finished a month before closing, you should have it in hand within days of completion. Handing it over at the closing table doesn’t comply.

Electronic delivery through email or a secure portal is permitted only if you have affirmatively consented to receive electronic disclosures under the E-SIGN Act.² Without that consent, the lender has to use physical mail or hand delivery.

Waiving the Three-Day Advance Window

You can waive the requirement that copies reach you three business days before closing, and the Regulation B waiver is more straightforward than borrowers often hear. It does not require a “bona fide personal financial emergency” or a specially formatted written statement. That standard belongs to the right-of-rescission waiver under Regulation Z, which is a different rule.

Under Regulation B, two forms of waiver work:

An affirmative oral or written statement waiving the timing, given to the lender at least three business days before closing.
An affirmative oral or written statement given within three business days of closing, but only when the waiver covers a revised appraisal that contains nothing beyond clerical changes from a version you already received three or more business days before closing. Clerical changes are those that don’t affect the estimated value or the methodology used to reach it.

A valid waiver removes the advance-delivery window. It does not remove the obligation to deliver the copy: the lender must still give you the appraisal at or before closing.³

No Fee for the Copy

The lender cannot charge you for providing copies of appraisals and other written valuations. Regulation B prohibits it outright.¹ The lender may still pass on a reasonable fee for the appraisal service itself, meaning the appraiser’s work. You pay for the appraisal; the copy is free.

Extra Rules for Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans

If your mortgage qualifies as a “higher-priced mortgage loan” under Regulation Z (interest rate exceeding certain thresholds above the average prime offer rate), a second layer of appraisal disclosure sits on top of Regulation B.

Within three business days of receiving your application, the lender must mail or deliver this specific notice: “We may order an appraisal to determine the property’s value and charge you for this appraisal. We will give you a copy of any appraisal, even if your loan does not close. You can pay for an additional appraisal for your own use at your own cost.”⁴

Two appraisals from two different appraisers are required before closing when the transaction looks like a property flip:

The seller owned the property 90 days or less and the purchase price exceeds the seller’s acquisition price by more than 10 percent.
The seller owned the property 91 to 180 days and the purchase price exceeds the seller’s acquisition price by more than 20 percent.

The second appraisal must analyze the difference between the seller’s acquisition price and your purchase price, changes in market conditions, and any improvements to the property. You can be charged for only one of the two appraisals, and you must receive copies of both, at no charge, no later than three business days before closing.⁴

If the Loan Doesn’t Close

Your right to the appraisal survives a collapsed deal. Whether you withdraw the application, the lender denies it, or the transaction falls apart for another reason, the lender still owes you every completed valuation. Copies are due promptly upon completion. If you previously waived the prompt-delivery timing, the lender must deliver no later than 30 days after determining the loan won’t close.³ The same 30-day backstop applies to the two appraisals required for higher-priced flip transactions.⁴

Where the Rule Doesn’t Reach

A few transactions fall outside these disclosure duties. Loans to business entities such as a corporation financing an investment property, when secured by a dwelling other than the borrower’s principal residence, generally aren’t covered.¹ Business-purpose credit taking a dwelling only as additional collateral for a commercial line can also fall outside the rule, because the loan’s purpose controls, not the property type. For post-closing valuations tied to a loan modification or a home equity line, the timing rules may differ, though the underlying duty to give you the copy generally still holds for residential first-lien transactions.

If the Lender Doesn’t Comply

A lender that misses these disclosure duties is exposed to liability under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. You can recover actual damages for financial harm caused by the violation, plus punitive damages of up to $10,000 in an individual action.⁵ Class action punitive damages are capped at the lesser of $500,000 or one percent of the creditor’s net worth. Courts weigh the frequency and persistence of failures, whether they were intentional, the lender’s resources, and the number of borrowers affected. A winning plaintiff also recovers attorney’s fees and costs.

The statute of limitations runs five years from the violation, with a one-year extension available when a government enforcement action is already underway.⁵ Lenders have a narrow defense for good-faith reliance on an official CFPB rule, regulation, or interpretation that was later changed. Outside that safe harbor, the penalties apply whether the failure was accidental or deliberate.

If you never received a required notice or copy, start by putting the request in writing to your loan officer and the lender’s compliance department, keeping proof of the date sent. You can also file a complaint with the CFPB. Those steps document the violation and preserve your options if you need to pursue damages.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1002 – Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Valuations
4
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.35 – Requirements for Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1691e – Civil Liability