Which party is responsible for identifying the intended use of an appraisal opinion?

• A. Client
• B. Appraiser
• C. Regulator
• D. Court

Answer: (B)

In USPAP, the party who must determine and state the purpose of the appraisal and who will rely on it is the appraiser. This responsibility is part of how the assignment is defined and carried out. By identifying the intended use and the users of the appraisal opinion, the appraiser sets the scope of work, chooses appropriate methods, and gathers the right data to produce credible conclusions. If the intended use isn’t clearly identified, the appraisal could be applied inappropriately, leading to misleading results, so the appraiser makes this determination up front and documents it in the report.

The client may initiate the engagement and can influence the context, but they do not determine the appraisal’s intended use for the report itself. Regulators or courts rely on the appraisal for a proceeding, but they do not assign the intended use within the assignment.