An estate agent working in the Annecy area once wrote to me asking which serious training courses she should look at to become a property valuation expert. The question comes up regularly, from agents, from clerks in notaires’ offices (a notaire is a French civil-law notary) or from lawyers. This article takes up the answer I gave her in 2021, updated: what the title covers, the certification routes, the continuing training requirement and a few readings to start with.
A profession with no entry regulation, but protected titles
The activity of property valuation expert is not subject to any specific entry regulation in France. Anyone may call himself a property expert, which explains the variety of practices and the importance of voluntary certification.
Two titles, on the other hand, are protected by the Law of 29 June 1971 on court experts. Persons registered on a list may only refer to their status under the designation “expert approved by the Cour de cassation” (expert agréé par la Cour de cassation) or “expert registered with the … Court of Appeal” (expert près la cour d’appel de…) (article 3). Use of these designations by a person who is not registered, or of a designation likely to cause confusion, is a criminal offence (article 4). In French one therefore says “expert près la Cour d’appel de RENNES”, not “auprès de”, and the term “expert agréé” is reserved for the national list.
The conditions for registration are set by the Decree of 23 December 2004: sufficient professional experience in the speciality, training in expert work, no criminal conviction (article 2). Initial registration on a Court of Appeal list is probationary, for three years; re-registration is then for five years. Property valuations fall under heading C.18 of the national nomenclature set by the Order of 5 December 2022.
Registered on a list or not, the property valuation expert must hold professional indemnity insurance (Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière, the French property valuation charter, 6th edition, November 2025, Title I, § 2.3). It is a simple test of the seriousness of a colleague, or of one’s own practice.
Aim for a recognised certification: REV and TRV
In my view, the most useful objective is TEGOVA’s Recognised European Valuer (REV) certification, recognised at European level and by a large part of the property profession, estate agencies and notaires’ offices included. TEGOVA created the REV programme in 2008 and the TEGOVA Residential Valuer (TRV) programme, dedicated to residential property, in 2014 (Charter, Title I, § 1.2.2). The European Valuation Standards, the EVS 2025, devote an entire standard to the valuer’s qualification (EVS 3).
These certifications are obtained through a TEGOVA member association. When I went through this route, six French organisations offered it: the Chambre des experts immobiliers de France (CEIF-FNAIM), the Institut français de l’expertise immobilière (IFEI), the Conseil supérieur du notariat (CSN), the Confédération des experts fonciers, AFREXIM and SNPI. It is worth comparing what they offer, their prerequisites and their cost, as these vary with your profile: an estate agent will not necessarily turn to the same network as a notaire’s clerk.
For my part, I followed the course with the support of the CSN: four valuation modules (two on residential property, two on commercial premises), then twenty full reports of around fifty pages each to produce within two years, three of which were examined in more detail by the panel. Depending on your initial level of education, a longer or shorter professional experience is required.
Continuing training, the condition for keeping the title
Certification is not acquired once and for all. The Charter requires the valuer to keep his technical, economic, legal, tax and accounting knowledge permanently up to date, and to follow compulsory continuing training of at least twenty hours a year (Title I, § 1.2.1). The EVS state the same requirement (EVS 3, § 4.4).
The principle also applies to experts registered on the court lists. The 2004 Decree provides that the application for re-registration is accompanied by material showing the knowledge acquired of the guiding principles of trial and the rules of procedure, as well as the training followed (article 10), and that the expert declares each year the training followed in the past year (article 23). The judges pay attention to it.
Many courses are now available remotely, at a reasonable price. To sort through them, I look first at the quality of the speaker: academic, judge, expert approved by the Cour de cassation, recognised practitioner in the speciality.
Some reading to start with
While you choose the association that will support you, three readings seem useful to me.
- Expertise immobilière, guide pratique, by Polignac, Monceau, Cussac and Lesieur, published by Eyrolles (in French). Complete, simple, effective: very good for adopting the method and the reflexes.
- The Charte de l’expertise en évaluation immobilière, whose 6th edition dates from November 2025. It defines the bases of value, the methods, the expert’s duties and the content of reports.
- TEGOVA’s European Valuation Standards 2025, in particular EVS 1 (market value), EVS 4 (the valuation process and letter of engagement) and EVS 5 (the report).
Finally, reading valuation reports, including those found annexed to court decisions, is invaluable: it shows what you already do well and what you can improve.
What makes an expert credible
Beyond titles, credibility rests on a few habits: visiting the property, since the valuation of a building requires an inspection (Charter, Title II, § 9.2.1); writing a letter of engagement before starting (Title II, § 9.1); supporting every figure with evidence; separating facts from opinions; expressing reservations when a piece of data could not be verified; and declining an assignment where a conflict of interest exists (Title I, § 4.1.3). These habits are built over time, and initial training mainly serves to establish them.
Further reading
The way I conduct an assignment, from the letter of engagement to the report, is described on the Method page. On the same theme: the independence of the court expert and what a valuation report contains.
What next
Does this question arise in your case?
Describe your situation in three questions. I reply by email or by phone to tell you which report answers it, in what timeframe and at what price.
Free quote, by email or by phone. No commitment before the quote is accepted. Fees are never linked to the value of the property (Charte de l’expertise, Title I, §2.1).
