The new URAR (Uniform Residential Appraisal Report) is one report that takes the place of the old appraisal forms for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and UAD 3.6 is the data standard it is delivered in. Lenders must use it for new reports submitted on or after November 2, 2026, with a temporary exception for some lenders that runs into 2027. Your judgment does not change. How the facts are captured and delivered does.
What is the new URAR?
It is the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs call it "a single data-driven, flexible, dynamic structure for appraisal reporting," and it replaces the separate report forms, including the condo, manufactured home, small residential income and exterior-only reports.
There are no form numbers anymore. In the GSEs' words, "the data that describes the subject property drives the appraisal report, not a form type or number." Update and completion work moves to two separate reports of their own: the Restricted Appraisal Update Report and the Completion Report.
What is UAD 3.6?
UAD stands for Uniform Appraisal Dataset: the standard set of data points, definitions and allowed answers that appraisals delivered to the GSEs must use. Version 3.6 is aligned to the MISMO 3.6 reference model, and the report travels as data through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP).
The GSEs name one problem it fixes: on the old forms, extra required data ended up in a free-form commentary addendum. In UAD 3.6 that data has a defined place of its own.
When do I have to use it?
For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the date that counts is when the lender submits your report to UCDP, not the loan application date or the report's effective date.
- November 2, 2026: UAD 3.6 is mandatory for new reports submitted to UCDP.
- Until May 19, 2027: lenders that requested and received a temporary exception may keep submitting UAD 2.6 reports, on terms that get worse after March 1, 2027.
- May 20, 2027: every new submission must be UAD 3.6.
The full 2027 timeline, date by date
How big is the new spec?
The GSEs publish the full data standard as Appendix A-1, the URAR Delivery Specification. We counted version 1.4, dated March 10, 2026, row by row.
| Number | What it counts |
|---|---|
| 3,349 | Rows in the delivery specification, including the XML container rows that hold the data together |
| 1,499 | Rows marked conditionally required: they must be in the file "when a defined condition exists" |
| 126 | Rows marked required: they must be in the file every time |
| 34 | Data points we count as the appraiser's licensed judgment: the opinion of value, condition and quality ratings, adjustments, weighting, highest and best use, and reconciliation |
The first three numbers come straight from the specification. The 34 is our own count, not a GSE number.
Read the big numbers with their labels. Conditionally required means an item applies only when its condition exists in your assignment, so no single report triggers all 1,499.
What changes for the appraiser?
- No form to pick. You describe the property, and the report follows the data.
- Fewer free-form addenda. Data that used to live in commentary now has its own defined place.
- Update and completion are separate reports. Each one is submitted in UAD 3.6 and tied to an existing UAD 3.6 URAR in UCDP.
- Your file is checked by machine first. When the lender submits, UCDP runs the published UAD compliance rules and returns a Submission Summary Report. How to read your SSR
What stays the same?
Everything that makes you the appraiser. The opinion of value, your condition and quality ratings, your adjustments, how you weigh the comparables, highest and best use, and your reconciliation are still yours to decide and support. USPAP still applies.
Guides in this section
Questions appraisers ask
Is the new URAR the same thing as UAD 3.6?
They go together. The new URAR is the report. UAD 3.6 is the data standard it is built on and delivered in. When a lender asks for a "UAD 3.6 report," they mean the new URAR delivered as UAD 3.6 data.
Do I still pick a different form for a condo or a 2- to 4-unit property?
No. The GSEs retired the form numbers. The data that describes the property decides what the report contains.
Does every report have to answer all 1,499 conditionally required items?
No. A conditionally required item must be in the file only when its condition exists in your assignment, so no single report triggers all of them.
Is the deadline still November 2, 2026?
Yes, for new reports submitted to UCDP. Lenders with a temporary exception can keep submitting UAD 2.6 reports until May 19, 2027. See the 2027 timeline.
Sources
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, UAD 3.6 Frequently Asked Questions (updated August 2026), questions 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 10, on Fannie Mae's UAD page
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Appendix A-1, UAD Delivery Specification for the URAR, version 1.4 (March 10, 2026), tab "UAD Delivery Spec 1.4" and the Column Description tab, on Fannie Mae's UAD page
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Functioning without Form Numbers, version 1.1 (June 10, 2025), on Fannie Mae's UAD page
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Temporary Policy Exception for Sellers Unable to Meet UAD 3.6 Mandate (September 30, 2026)