You've measured houses in the rain, in the snow and with a borrower's dog sitting on your laser. The tape and the laser don't care about UAD 3.6. What changes is how your numbers have to land in the report. Under UAD 2.6, ANSI Z765 lived in a sentence in your addendum and, when you couldn't follow it, a "GXX001" code in Additional Features. Under UAD 3.6, ANSI Z765 and GLA are built into the redesigned URAR: a Measurement Standard field, separate standard and nonstandard area fields, and below-grade rules the compliance engine checks. This post walks through the measuring rules, how they map to the new report, and how to keep your sketch and your report in agreement.
Key takeaways
- Fannie Mae has required ANSI Z765-2021 on most interior and exterior single-unit appraisals since April 1, 2022. UAD 3.6 makes the standard you used a required data point whenever a sketch is included.
- "GLA" becomes Finished Area Above Grade. Finished space that misses ANSI's ceiling or access rules goes in separate nonstandard fields.
- Under ANSI, partially below grade is below grade. A walkout lower level isn't GLA.
- Nonstandard areas must be reported even when they're 0.
- ANSI declarations belong in Sketch Commentary.
The ANSI Z765 basics
ANSI Z765-2021, "Square Footage: Method for Calculating," is published through Home Innovation Research Labs. Fannie Mae adopted it for appraisals with effective dates of April 1, 2022 or later on loans with interior and exterior inspections; the requirement is in Selling Guide B4-1.3-05. Fannie Mae's guidance at the time summarized the points appraisers need most:
| Rule | What it means in the field |
|---|---|
| Measure to the nearest inch or tenth of a foot | Exterior dimensions, recorded precisely |
| Report the final total to the nearest whole square foot | No decimals in the total |
| Stairs count on the floor they descend from | The staircase belongs to the upper level |
| Openings to the floor below aren't counted | A two-story foyer counts once, on the floor it's on |
| Finished area needs a ceiling of at least 7 feet | Lower ceilings mean the space isn't GLA |
| Sloped ceilings: at least half of the room's finished area must be 7 feet or higher, and nothing under 5 feet counts | Think Cape Cod second floors and finished attics |
| Any level partially or wholly below grade is below grade | A walkout or a raised ranch lower level isn't above grade |
The same guidance covered scope. ANSI applies to detached and attached single-unit houses, including townhouses and rowhouses, whatever the ownership type. It doesn't apply to apartment-style condos or co-ops, where Fannie Mae's interior-perimeter policy applies, and it doesn't apply to 2–4 unit dwellings. Accessory dwelling units are measured to ANSI. Outbuildings aren't, but they still need a software-generated footprint sketch with exterior dimensions.
Watch out: Your local MLS and assessor may not use ANSI. Fannie Mae's guidance is clear that you can't report the subject's area to local custom instead of ANSI. You can, and should, account for differences in how comps were measured in your analysis.
How ANSI shows up in the redesigned URAR
The Sketch section and the measurement standard
The redesigned URAR's Sketch section starts with a yes/no: Sketch or Floor Plan Provided. If yes, you must choose the Measurement Standard. Per the Appendix F-1 URAR Reference Guide, the choices are:
- ANSI (American National Standards Institute). Put any required ANSI declarations in Sketch Commentary.
- AMS (American Measurement Standard).
- Other (Describe). Use this when ANSI doesn't apply to the property type ("Not Applicable due to property type," for example low-, mid- and high-rise condos), or when state law requires a different standard. Enter the standard's name.
The compliance rules enforce it. UAD1676 is Fatal if you don't say whether a sketch is included. UAD1677 is Fatal if a sketch is included and no measurement standard is given. UAD1678 is Fatal if you choose Other without a description.
Sketch Commentary is where the explanation goes: required ANSI declarations, a state or local standard other than ANSI, or why no sketch was provided.
Area breakdown: standard vs. nonstandard
The 1004's single "Gross Living Area Above Grade" line becomes a set of fields in Unit Interior:
| Field (F-1 ID) | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Finished Above Grade (10.003) | Standard above-grade finished area: your GLA under ANSI |
| Finished Above Grade (Nonstandard) (10.004) | Above-grade finished area that misses ANSI ceiling height, or is reached through unfinished space |
| Unfinished Above Grade (10.005) | Above-grade unfinished area of the unit |
| Finished Below Grade (10.006) | Finished area fully or partially below grade |
| Finished Below Grade (Nonstandard) (10.007) | Below-grade finished area that misses ANSI ceiling height, or is reached through unfinished space |
| Unfinished Below Grade (10.008) | Below-grade unfinished area |
| Area Data Source (10.009) | Where the area came from: Physical Measurement, Plans and Specifications, Assessor Record, MLS, Three-Dimensional Scan and others |
The F-1 guide says to explain why an area is nonstandard in Unit Interior Commentary. And the compliance rules require the nonstandard fields even when they're empty: UAD1187 (above grade) and UAD1484 (below grade) are Fatal unless you provide the area, "even if the value is 0."
This is the cleanest answer UAD has ever had for the Cape Cod problem. Fannie Mae's 2022 guidance already suggested putting a half-story that fails the 7-foot test on a separate line in the grid with a market adjustment. UAD 3.6 gives that space a named field and a matching row in the Sales Comparison grid.
Below grade, the ANSI way
Each level in the Unit Interior's level-and-room table is tagged Above Grade, Partially Below Grade or Fully Below Grade. The F-1 guide's notes are direct: when ANSI is the applicable standard, both fully and partially below grade area is counted in Below Grade Finished Area or Below Grade Finished Area (Nonstandard).
That catches people in markets full of raised ranches, split-levels and walkouts. The lower level with full-size windows, a slider to the backyard and a finished family room is still below grade under ANSI if any portion of its walls is below ground level. Report it as below grade, describe it well, and use the Below Grade Finish Compared to Above field (Superior, Similar or Inferior) to tell the reader how it stacks up against the main living area. For each below-grade level, you also report the exterior access.
Noncontinuous finished area
Finished space that isn't part of any unit and can't be reached from inside the dwelling (the office over a detached garage, a finished room reached only from outside) is reported in Dwelling Exterior as noncontinuous finished area, not in the unit's area breakdown. ADUs are their own units with their own Unit Interior.
What happened to GXX001?
Under UAD 2.6, if you couldn't follow ANSI, Fannie Mae asked you to put "GXX001-" at the start of the Additional Features field and explain why. The classic example was a berm home with all of its area below grade. Fannie Mae also said the code isn't an opt-out for appraisers who'd rather measure another way.
The redesigned URAR has no Additional Features catch-all. The structure carries that information instead: the Measurement Standard field, Other with a description where it applies, ANSI declarations and explanations in Sketch Commentary, and the standard and nonstandard area fields. Check the current Selling Guide and your lender's overlays for any property that doesn't fit ANSI cleanly.
Keeping your sketch and your report in agreement
Most GLA problems aren't measuring errors. They're transcription errors: a sketch says 1,862 and the report says 1,826. Or the sketch was updated after a re-measure and the grid wasn't. Under UAD 3.6, with more area fields, there are more places for that to happen.
A few habits that help:
- One source of truth. The report's area fields should come from the sketch, not be typed separately.
- Label every area by type as you draw. Standard, nonstandard, unfinished, garage, above or below grade. If the sketch knows, the report can know.
- Draw each floor separately. Stairs on the floor they descend from, openings to below excluded.
- Draw outbuildings as their own sketches. They need their own footprint with exterior dimensions.
- Write the declaration once. Keep a standard ANSI declaration in your comment library and adjust it per property.
- Fill the zeros. Nonstandard above and below: 0 if there isn't any.
Carat's sketch calculates area to ANSI Z765, handles multiple floors and outbuildings, and fills GLA into the report automatically. The sketch also becomes an exhibit in the report. Its readiness checks flag a missing measurement standard or empty nonstandard fields while you work, with a link to the field. You still measure, you still decide what counts, and you sign. Pricing is $99 a month per appraiser, unlimited reports.
Comps measured differently
Your subject is ANSI. Your comps came from the MLS, the assessor or a builder's brochure, each with its own idea of square feet. Fannie Mae's guidance acknowledged this and left it to the appraiser: through research and local knowledge, decide whether a comp's reported area should be adjusted. The requirement to report the subject to ANSI doesn't change.
UAD 3.6 gives you better tools for that. The comp grid has the same standard and nonstandard, above and below grade rows as the subject, so you can show where a comp's area actually sits. If you've appraised a comp before, your own past report is often the most reliable measurement you have. That's one reason to bring your archive into your new software. See your past reports are a data set.
Where to go next
- How the new report is laid out compared to the old one: the redesigned URAR vs. the Form 1004.
- The sketch and area rules in context with the rest: the 728 UAD 3.6 compliance rules.
- The whole change: the complete UAD 3.6 guide.
If you want to draw a sketch and watch the area flow into a redesigned URAR, start an Carat account.
Frequently asked questions
Is ANSI Z765 required under UAD 3.6?
Fannie Mae has required ANSI Z765-2021 for measuring and reporting square footage on most single-unit appraisals with interior and exterior inspections since April 1, 2022. UAD 3.6 adds a Measurement Standard field to the report where you state whether you used ANSI, AMS or another standard.
What is nonstandard finished area in UAD 3.6?
Finished area with direct interior access that doesn't meet the ANSI ceiling height requirements, or that is reached only through unfinished space such as an unfinished hallway, room or staircase. It is reported separately above and below grade, with the reason in Unit Interior commentary.
Is a walkout basement above grade under ANSI?
No. Under ANSI, any level that is partially below grade is counted as below grade, including a walkout. The UAD 3.6 reference guide says partially below grade area is reported in the below grade finished area fields when ANSI is the applicable standard.
Does ANSI Z765 apply to condos and 2–4 unit properties?
Fannie Mae's guidance says ANSI is not used for apartment-style condos or co-ops, and it does not apply to 2–4 unit dwellings. Townhouse-style and other attached houses follow ANSI. In UAD 3.6, choose Other and enter Not Applicable due to property type when ANSI doesn't apply.
What ceiling height counts as GLA under ANSI?
Finished area generally needs a ceiling height of at least 7 feet. In a room with a sloped ceiling, at least half the finished area must be 7 feet or higher, and no portion under 5 feet is counted.