Appraisers can rehearse the UAD 3.6 report rules in a free daily game before they become mandatory

Residential appraisers who want practice with the new UAD 3.6 report rules before they become mandatory on November 2 have a free option. Tampa's Emboss LLC is launching Subject2, a daily browser game built on simulated appraisal orders, with a Caribbean cruise for the top-scoring licensed appraiser.

Key points

• UAD 3.6 is mandatory for every new appraisal report submitted to the GSEs' Uniform Collateral Data Portal on or after November 2, 2026, according to Freddie Mac.
• Season 1 of Subject2 runs from November 2, 2026, to January 3, 2027, and a player's season score is the total of their best three weeks of the nine.
• Playing is free and needs registration, but only an active appraiser license or trainee registration makes a player eligible to win.
• The winner picks a Caribbean cruise for two, a similar vacation package or cash; Emboss pays for the prize and has not said what it is worth.
• Subject2 is not affiliated with The Appraisal Foundation or the GSEs, and does not count as continuing education.

What changes on November 2?

The redesigned report becomes compulsory. From November 2, 2026, every new appraisal report submitted to UCDP must use UAD 3.6, Freddie Mac says. The single new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report replaces the familiar forms, including the 1004, the 1073 condo report, the 2055 exterior-only report and the 1025 small income property report. Appraisers who have filled in the old forms for years face a new structure on every job.

What is Subject2?

A short daily game that hands players mock appraisal orders and questions written to the UAD 3.6 rules. Emboss says each session takes under five minutes on a computer or phone. Players get two scored orders each weekday and can claim one more free order between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, and points reflect the dollar values and costs of a real appraisal business. A national Top 100 leaderboard ranks players.

The purpose of the game is to challenge the way software is often imposed on appraisers instead of being built around them,

— Brandon Selfors, founder, Emboss

Emboss, founded in Tampa in 2011, is also building GUNTER, an appraisal management platform for independent appraisers and some AMC clients.

Is it worth an appraiser's time before the deadline?

Our analysis: it is free practice, not training. Subject2 carries no continuing education credit and no endorsement from The Appraisal Foundation or the GSEs, so the authoritative guide to the new report is still the GSEs' own documentation. What it offers is repetition on the new rules in a few minutes a day, at the moment they become compulsory. The release does not say how many appraisers have signed up, how the questions were checked against the specification, or what the optional paid season pass costs; Emboss says buying it does not improve the odds of winning.

Appraisers haven't seen meaningful pay increases in more than two decades, yet they carry a substantial share of the risk in the transaction.

— Brandon Selfors, founder, Emboss

Frequently asked questions

When does UAD 3.6 become mandatory?

On November 2, 2026. From that date every new appraisal report submitted to UCDP must use UAD 3.6, according to Freddie Mac.

Who can win the Subject2 prize?

Anyone can register and play, but only players with an active appraiser license or trainee registration can win. No purchase is needed.

When does the season run and is it too late to join?

Season 1 runs from November 2, 2026, to January 3, 2027. Emboss says a player who joins by December 14 still has three full weeks to count toward the prize.

Does Subject2 count as continuing education?

No. Emboss says it is not a course, carries no continuing education credit and is not endorsed by The Appraisal Foundation or the GSEs.

Sources

• Emboss's announcement of Subject2's first season: press release from Emboss via HARO Newswire, 29 October 2026.
• UAD and Forms Redesign FAQs: Freddie Mac's page on the mandatory date and the forms UAD 3.6 replaces.
• Subject2 Official Game Rules: the game's season, prize and eligibility rules, published by Emboss.