Assessor Certification

​​​​Under state law (sec. 73.09, Wis. Stats.), each individual who completes assessment work must have an assessor certification from the State of Wisconsin. Certification helps ensure a minimum knowledge of those who complete assessment work.


Assessor trainingThinking about making a career change or pursuing a career in real estate assessment? Watch our video How to become an assessor to see how easy it can be to begin a career in property assessment.

Video: How to become an assessor (9:28 min.)


Five Levels of Assessor Certification in Wisconsin

  1. Assessment Technician
  2. Property Appraiser
  3. Assessor 1
  4. Assessor 2
  5. Assessor 3

Required Certification Level

Each town, village, and city has an assessor with a specific certification level depending on the property's complexity. See Chapter 2 of the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual for a list of assessor certification levels by municipality.
Certification level required is determined by the work:

  • Each certification level is authorized to complete specific types of assessment work
  • The assessment work is progressively more complex as the level of certification becomes higher
  • An individual certified at the higher level is allowed to perform work of any lower level certification. An exception is the Assessor 3 level. An Assessor 3 can only perform work associated with the Assessor 3 certification.
  • Assessor Certification is not required for clerical work.

Temporary Certification

Certification Exams

  1. Register for the exam at Pearson VUE
    1. On the right side of the web page, click "Sign in" or "Create account"
      (Note: If you do not have an account with Pearson VUE, you must create one before registering for an exam)
    2. Click "View Exams" and then select "Wisconsin Assessor Certification - DOR"
    3. Select the appropriate certification exam; then click "Schedule this Exam"
    4. You are asked for pre-licensing training information - this is not applicable to assessors. Leave both areas blank and click "Next."
    5. Select the appropriate test center; then select the date and time
    6. Click "Proceed to Checkout" to pay exam fee and confirm exam registration
  2. Study for the exam - materials
  3. Take the exam on scheduled date and time
  4. Apply for certification with a passing exam score

Continuing Education

Recertification

Annual Assessor Meetings

Educational/Reference Materials

Questions?

If you have questions, contact us at bapdor@wisconsin.gov.