Question:

As a condition of engagement, I have been asked to disclose the name of the client for any prior appraisals I have completed on the subject property. Is making this disclosure a violation of USPAP?

Response:

A definitive answer cannot be provided without examining the circumstances.

The Confidentiality section of the ETHICS RULE states, in part:

An appraiser must protect the confidential nature of the appraiser-client relationship.

There are some situations in which the appraiser cannot disclose the name of a prior client and still protect the confidential nature of the appraiser-client relationship:

• A client may tell the appraiser to not disclose the fact that he or she appraised a particular property for that client. In that case, the name of the client becomes confidential information (as defined in USPAP) and it is clear that the appraiser cannot comply with the request for disclosure of the client’s name.

• There are other cases that simply require judgment on the part of the appraiser to determine whether disclosing the prior client’s name would or would not protect the confidential nature of the appraiser-client relationship.

An appraiser who is asked to identify the client in a prior assignment may be able to protect the confidential nature of the appraiser-client relationship by identifying the client by type rather than name. Identifying the client by type describes the client with a generalization (for example: financial institution or accountant). However, there may be circumstances in which disclosing the identity of the client by type would actually disclose the name of the client (for example: property owner, trustee). In such a case, naming the client “by type” would not be a solution.

If disclosure of the client’s identity is a condition of a potential new assignment, and the appraiser cannot disclose the client’s identity and still protect the confidential nature of the appraiser-client relationship, then the appraiser must turn down the new assignment.

An appraiser must consider the circumstances when forming a response to a request to disclose the name of the client from a prior assignment.