- Scope Check: What This Cheat Sheet Covers
- The Exam at a Glance
- The Four Official Modules
- Fees and Cost Math
- Windows, Deadlines and Test-Day Rules
- Requirements Map: Where the Comprehensive Exam Fits
- Scores, Results and Critiques
- Calculator and Formula Readiness
- Sequencing the Four Modules
- After You Pass: Maintaining MAI
- Claims to Treat Carefully
- FAQ
- The comprehensive exam has four separately scheduled modules, each with 50 scored multiple-choice questions, and each must be passed individually.
- Each module costs USD 150, so four first attempts total USD 600; courses, dues and designation charges are separate.
- Testing windows are April 1-30, August 1-31 and November 1-30; course exams must be done six weeks before.
- The exam is closed book, with one cleared financial calculator allowed and two forms of ID required.
Scope Check: What This Cheat Sheet Covers
In this article, "AI" is shorthand for the MAI Designation from the Appraisal Institute, specifically the General Comprehensive Examination stage and the wider requirements surrounding it. It is not a state appraiser licensing exam, and the MAI mark is an official designation that should be written exactly as MAI. If you want the long-form version of any section below, the AI Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt goes deeper on preparation, and the AI Exam Domains 2026 guide unpacks each module in detail.
Think of this page as the single sheet you would tape above your desk: the facts that are verified against issuer documents, a few planning angles, and a clear list of claims you should not rely on. Everything is verified as of October 2026, and fees and windows can change, so confirm against the Appraisal Institute before you register.
The Exam at a Glance
| Item | Verified fact |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Appraisal Institute |
| Format | Four computer-delivered, multiple-choice modules |
| Scored questions | 50 per module; 200 in aggregate |
| Unscored items | May appear; no fixed public count |
| Testing provider | Pearson VUE Professional Testing Centers |
| Module 1 time | General Concepts: 210 minutes |
| Module 2 time | Cost Approach, H&BU, Feasibility: 210 minutes |
| Module 3 time | Income Capitalization Approach: 240 minutes |
| Module 4 time | Sales Comparison Approach: 240 minutes |
| Total seat time | 15 hours across four separate appointments |
| Passing rule | Every module passed individually; no numerical cut score published |
The 15-hour figure is simple arithmetic across the four allowances, not one continuous sitting. You book each module as its own appointment, so you can spread them across a window or across windows. A remote or adaptive version of this exact exam was not verified, so plan on a testing center.
The Four Official Modules
The four headings below reproduce the official module names from the Comprehensive Examination Guidebook. They are examination modules with topic outlines, not editorial study categories. The concepts listed under each are illustrative and explicitly non-exhaustive, so treat them as starting points rather than a syllabus guarantee.
Module 1: General Concepts
The broad foundation module. Expect questions that test professional judgment and the fundamentals that run through every other valuation approach.
- Core appraisal concepts and terminology used across all approaches
- Scope-of-work thinking and how assumptions affect conclusions
- Reconciliation logic: why one approach may carry more support than another
Module 2: Cost Approach, H&BU, Feasibility
Three related topics grouped into one module with a 210-minute allowance.
- Cost approach mechanics, including how depreciation and obsolescence are recognized
- Highest and best use analysis and the logic of testing uses in sequence
- Feasibility analysis and how it differs from a market value conclusion
Module 3: Income Capitalization Approach
The calculation-heavy module, with a 240-minute allowance and the only module where a basic formula list is provided.
- Direct capitalization and discounted cash flow concepts
- Rates, multipliers and cash flow construction
- Financial-calculator fluency under time pressure
Module 4: Sales Comparison Approach
The other 240-minute module, centered on market evidence and adjustment reasoning.
- Selecting and verifying comparable data
- Adjustment logic and unit-of-comparison thinking
- Reasoning about how much weight comparable evidence deserves
Fees and Cost Math
Exam fees are candidate-only and per module. There is no separate member and nonmember exam tariff published. Here is the arithmetic that belongs on your budget sheet:
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive exam, per module | USD 150 |
| Four modules, first attempts | USD 600 (by arithmetic) |
| Experience application | USD 300 |
| Designation application | USD 100 |
| Demonstration of Knowledge: traditional report or research project | USD 350 |
| Demonstration of Knowledge: General Capstone Program | USD 1,850 |
| Demonstration of Knowledge: thesis/dissertation or peer-reviewed publication | USD 150 |
Course tuition, materials, membership dues and designation charges sit on top of these figures, and no single all-in total was verified. A retake of one module is a fresh USD 150 by the same per-module logic, which is one reason a module-by-module plan beats rushing all four. For a fuller breakdown, see the AI Certification Cost 2026 pricing guide. The fee table also lists a variable-price residential package, but that is a different scope and is not a substitute for General Capstone pricing.
Windows, Deadlines and Test-Day Rules
The three testing windows
- April 1-30
- August 1-31
- November 1-30
Modules can be taken in any order, subject to testing-center availability. The current Comprehensive Examination Overview, updated October 5, 2026, says required course examinations must be completed at least six weeks before the window you select. The older guidebook uses softer "should" language, but the current overview's deadline is the one to plan around. Find the full scheduling picture in AI Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Closed-book conditions
- No notes, books or financial tables.
- One financial calculator at a time; memory must be cleared before and after testing.
- Calculator manuals are prohibited.
- Two valid forms of identification are required.
- An optional embedded spreadsheet is available but is not graded.
Requirements Map: Where the Comprehensive Exam Fits
One of the most common sources of confusion is mixing up the stages of MAI. These are distinct, and they should not be blurred together:
- Standard-route prerequisites: Certified General Real Property Appraiser status or an accepted equivalent; a bachelor's or higher degree if not already a Certified General appraiser; Standards education, Fair Housing and AI Business Practices and Ethics; and passing the Advanced Income Capitalization, Advanced Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use, Advanced Concepts & Case Studies, and Quantitative Analysis examinations.
- Comprehensive-exam access: General Candidate for Designation status and completed required education.
- Comprehensive modules: the four modules covered on this page.
- General Demonstration of Knowledge: a separate requirement with its own fee options (see above).
- Full designation: 4,500 specialized experience hours over at least 36 months within 10 years, plus the MAI designated membership application.
The experience hours are part of full designation, but they are not represented as a separately verified prerequisite for scheduling every module. Alternative pathways and substitutions are described in the Experience Credit Candidate Guidebook (effective January 1, 2025) and the Candidate for Designation Policy Manual (effective April 17, 2026), and no single compulsory training-hour total was verified for every route. The Excel diagnostic given before the designation education courses, and the exception for candidates challenging all four course examinations, belong to the course stage and are separate from comprehensive-exam conditions. For eligibility detail, read AI Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Scores, Results and Critiques
Each module has a specific passing score, but no numerical cut score is published, and the exam is not graded on a curve. That is why you will see candidate forum anecdotes but no authoritative percentage to chase. Our AI Passing Score 2026 article covers what can and cannot be said about scoring.
Results are normally accessible five to ten business days after the testing window ends. That means a module you sit early in a window is not necessarily scored for you immediately, which affects how you plan a retake.
Key Takeaway
Comprehensive-exam critiques identify tested subject categories and missed-question counts. The guidebook recommends using them to target re-exam study and to compare weak areas against your prerequisite-course critiques. Treat a critique as a map of where to spend your next study hours, not just a score report.
Pass-rate figures are a related trap. No verified pass-rate statistic is available here, and vendor estimates or forum stories are not outcome data. The AI Pass Rate 2026 article explains what the available information does and does not support, and How Hard Is the AI Exam? discusses difficulty without inventing numbers.
Calculator and Formula Readiness
The Income Capitalization module is the only one that provides a basic formula list, and it is described as basic. Do not assume formulas you have not memorized will be supplied in the other modules. Build a personal checklist of the relationships you must produce from memory, then drill them with your exam calculator until the keystrokes are automatic.
- Confirm your calculator is permitted and that you know how to clear its memory.
- Do not rely on a manual; manuals are prohibited.
- Practice present value, future value, payment and rate keystrokes until you can do them without hesitation.
- Treat the embedded spreadsheet as a convenience only. It is not graded, so your answers must still be entered on the exam screen.
Sequencing the Four Modules
Because modules may be taken in any order, sequencing is a strategic choice. The plan below is editorial advice, not an official recommendation, and it is built around the module differences rather than any invented weighting. Adjust it to your own work history.
General Concepts first
- The vocabulary and reasoning here support the other three modules.
- Use your prerequisite-course critiques to find soft spots early.
Sales Comparison Approach
- Often feels most familiar to practicing appraisers, so it can build momentum.
- Keep drilling adjustment reasoning with timed sets.
Cost Approach, H&BU, Feasibility
- Three topics in one 210-minute module; give each its own review pass.
- Separate highest and best use logic from feasibility logic so they do not blur.
Income Capitalization last or in its own window
- Calculation-heavy and 240 minutes long, so protect enough calculator practice time.
- Clear calculator memory as part of every rehearsal.
If you are coming back after a long break from studying, consider taking one or two modules in a window rather than all four, and use the critique from any module you do not pass to shape the next window's plan. Remember the six-week course-exam deadline when you pick a window.
After You Pass: Maintaining MAI
Passing the comprehensive modules is not a stand-alone certificate with an unconditional expiration. You maintain the designation through designated membership, which means annual dues and applicable Appraisal Institute continuing education.
- Continuing education runs in five-year cycles.
- Cycles beginning or renewing on or after July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2030 or later, require 100 hours, including Standards, Fair Housing and AI Business Practices and Ethics.
- Legacy points cycles ending in 2025-2029 remain under the points system; required-status designated members need 500 points, while recommended-status members have different obligations.
- Applicable CE failures can affect membership and your right to use the designation.
No universal all-in renewal fee was verified, so budget for dues and CE separately and check your own status. For the career side of the decision, the ROI analysis and the salary guide discuss what can be said responsibly. No current MAI-specific salary figure or causal pay premium was adopted as verified, so be wary of any page that quotes one with certainty.
Claims to Treat Carefully
MAI is a niche search topic, and the public results are a mixed bag. Some pages blend MAI details with state Certified General licensing logistics, which is a different path. Some free practice pages state their own item counts, passing thresholds, fees or percentage outlines that conflict with or are not supported by current issuer documents. Forum threads and Reddit posts are useful for hearing how other candidates prepared, but they are anecdotes, not policy and not representative outcome surveys.
Independent preparation sellers and workshops do exist, and candidates often mention them in forums. Whether a given provider's schedule or materials are current is something you should confirm directly, since a retrieved public schedule is not proof of a current class. Official sample questions, where available, are format examples rather than actual current exam items or a promise of passing. For more on how the designation compares with others, the introductory articles What Is AI Certification? and AI Certification are good starting points. Comparisons with credentials such as SRA, CCIM or MRICS require credential-specific checks, and no automatic equivalency should be assumed.
FAQ
Each of the four modules has 50 scored multiple-choice questions, for 200 scored questions in aggregate. Unscored items may also appear, with no fixed public count.
USD 150 per module, so USD 600 for four first attempts. Course tuition, materials, membership dues, application fees and the Demonstration of Knowledge are separate.
The four modules are separately scheduled appointments totaling 15 hours of allowed time, not one continuous sitting. Availability depends on the testing center and the window you choose.
Each module has a specific passing score, but no numerical cut score is published, and the exam is not graded on a curve. Every module must be passed individually.
Notes, books and financial tables are prohibited. You may use one financial calculator at a time with memory cleared before and after testing, and you must present two valid forms of identification.
Keep this sheet handy, verify the dates and fees on the Appraisal Institute's pages before you book, and use the AI Exam Prep practice questions to rehearse under the same closed-book, calculator-limited conditions you will face on test day.