As set forth by the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, (USPAP), Standard Rule 2-2, an appraisal report can be categorized as either a Self-Contained Appraisal Report, a Summary Appraisal Report, or a Restricted Appraisal Report. An explanation of the types of reports is as follows:

A Self-Contained Appraisal Report contains the fullest extent possible and practical explanation of the data, reasoning, and analysis that were used to develop the opinion of value. It also includes thorough descriptions of the subject property, the property’s locale, the market for the property type, and the appraiser’s opinion of highest and best use. The underlying principle of this type of report is that a reader would be able to understand how the appraiser arrived at the value conclusion based on the information contained in the report itself. This type of appraisal report is best suited when there a multiple clients or intended users who will receive the report, or when the intended users have limited or no knowledge of the subject property and/or its environs.

A Summary Appraisal Report contains summary discussions of the data, reasoning, and analysis that were used to develop the opinion of value. It also includes summary descriptions of the subject property, the property’s locale, the market for the property type, and the appraiser’s opinion of highest and best use. The rationale behind a Summary Appraisal Report is that it provides the client and intended users a concise synopsis of how the appraiser arrived at a value conclusion without a great deal of detail. This type of report can be used when there are a limited number of intended users who have some knowledge of the real estate and its environs, and the intended use does not call for more than a summary of the information regarding the data, reasoning, and analysis in the report.

A Restricted Appraisal Report contains statements of the appraiser’s findings with virtually no explanation of the data, reasoning, and analysis that were used to develop the opinions of value. All of the data, reasoning, and analysis in support of the appraiser’s finding are retained in the appraiser’s work file. The Restricted Appraisal Report provides a minimal amount of information concerning the development of the opinion of value. This type of report can be used when the client is the only intended user of the conclusions, and when the intended use warrants restricted disclosure of the data, reasoning, and analysis used to develop the opinion of value.