Advanced Personal Property Appraisal Course (APPA)

The APPA is an advanced three-part program in personal property appraising. The program is especially appropriate for those who currently practice or who are interested in practicing personal property appraising. While the program is applicable to jewelry appraisal, it teaches all aspects of personal property appraising:

• APPA I includes topics on ethics, values, authentication and confidentiality;
• APPA II includes report writing, insurance, warranties, bailment, contracts and disputes;
• APPA III chapters address estate settlements, trusts, tax liability, criminal and civil litigations, sales and barter, and divorce, resolving any doubt about how to render an appropriate appraisal in the context of its assigned use and controlling law.

APPA students submit the program lessons to the American Gem Society (AGS) for grading via U.S. Mail or fax. Upon successful completion of all three parts and the proctored final exam, an Advanced Personal Property Appraisal Certificate will be awarded.

The APPA course was developed by Cos Altobelli, and researched and written by William Hoefer with support from specialists on the AGS Appraisals Committee. While the AGS underwrote it, the program is available to all appraisers and is intended to increase professionalism among the broad appraisal community.

The APPA course fee is $795 and is administered as an online PDF.