Will FHA and VA Adopt UAD 3.6?

For years the appraisal industry has known this moment was coming. The transition from legacy forms to a truly data driven appraisal standard is no longer theoretical. With UAD 3.6 now live for the GSEs, the next question everyone is asking is simple. What happens with FHA and VA.

The short answer is that both agencies are moving in the same direction, even if they are moving at different speeds.

FHA has already made its intentions clear. The agency has publicly confirmed that it will adopt the UAD 3.6 framework and redesigned appraisal report. Early adoption is expected to begin in 2026 with a defined transition window where both legacy reporting and UAD 3.6 submissions will be accepted. Based on how FHA has handled prior appraisal modernization efforts, a full requirement shortly after that transition window closes is the most realistic outcome. Appraisers working FHA assignments should assume that UAD 3.6 competency will be required, not optional, well before the end of 2026.

VA has not published a formal mandate or deadline yet. That has led some to believe adoption is far off. I do not believe that is the case. The redesigned UAD 3.6 data structure already accounts for VA specific requirements, including items tied to livability, safety and minimum property standards. Historically the VA does not rush announcements, but once alignment begins it moves quickly. Given the scale of the GSE rollout and FHAs public commitment, a VA pilot or guidance announcement in late 2026 followed by broader use in 2027 is a very realistic projection.

What matters most is not just that FHA and VA are adopting UAD 3.6. It is how deeply the new data points align with what these agencies already care about.

UAD 3.6 introduces structured fields that directly map to FHA and VA risk concerns. Condition and quality are no longer buried in narrative text. They are standardized and machine readable. Health and safety observations are no longer implied. They are explicitly captured. Site characteristics, external influences and property access details are broken into discrete data points rather than free form commentary.

For FHA this means clearer visibility into minimum property requirements and repair conditions without interpretation gaps. For VA it means better consistency around livability standards and property eligibility. The data that underwriters and reviewers have always wanted is now surfaced cleanly and consistently.

This is why UAD 3.6 is not just a form change. It is a behavioral change. It pushes the industry away from writing around issues and toward clearly reporting them. That shift benefits agencies, lenders and appraisers alike.

At Aivre we built our platform specifically for this moment. We did not retrofit legacy software to survive UAD 3.6. We designed from the ground up to operate natively inside it. That matters when FHA and VA data requirements become non negotiable. It matters when structured data replaces narrative workarounds. And it matters when speed and compliance can no longer be traded against each other.

If you are waiting for a final FHA or VA mandate before preparing, you are already behind. The smartest move right now is to get comfortable working in UAD 3.6 before it becomes unavoidable.

I invite you to visit Aivre.com and schedule a demo. Whether you are onboarding for the first time or planning your transition away from legacy tools, now is the time to prepare for where the industry is going, not where it has been.

By Jake Lew

Co-Founder & CEO