UAD 3.6 Basement Fields: Fixing the Below Grade Hard Stop
Published October 5, 2026
If the SSR on your report shows a fatal finding on a below grade field, the fix is usually one number. UAD 3.6 does not have the old basement square footage and percent finished boxes. It reports below grade area as separate measures, and it wants them even when the answer is 0.
What triggers it
For the subject dwelling, three rules are Fatal:
UAD1189: provide the Finished Below Grade area, even if the value is 0.UAD1190: provide the Unfinished Below Grade area, even if the value is 0.UAD1484: provide the Finished Below Grade (Nonstandard) area, even if the value is 0.
The same applies to an accessory dwelling unit that is part of the real property. For each sales comparable, UAD1483 (finished below grade) and UAD1776 (unfinished below grade) are Fatal too. UAD1777 is a Warning: if the subject has nonstandard finished area below grade, give it for the comparable as well.
Two more rules sit next to these. UAD1141 needs a Grade Level Type (Above Grade, Fully Below Grade, Partially Below Grade) for each level. UAD1139 needs the exterior access type, such as walk-out or walk-up, when the below grade level has exterior access. Both are Fatal.
What UCDP does
Only lenders and their agents can submit to UCDP. Appraisers cannot register. So findings reach you through the lender or AMC, from the Submission Summary Report (SSR). In the published compliance rules, a Fatal finding makes the submission status Not Successful, and a Warning does not stop a Successful status. To get to Successful, every fatal finding has to be resolved, which usually means correcting the data and sending a new file.
How to fix it
- Open the area or levels section in your appraisal software.
- Enter 0 in every below grade area field that does not apply. A blank is not the same as 0.
- Do the same for every sales comparable.
- Check that each level has a grade level type.
- Regenerate the ZIP and send the corrected report back to your client.
Rules quoted from Appendix H-1, URAR Compliance Rules v1.5.
Check the whole file, not just this field. The SpreadRun UAD 3.6 validator runs the delivery specification checks and 585 of the 728 published URAR compliance rules on your XML or ZIP and lists every finding with its rule ID and location. $1.00 per completed report from prepaid credits, with a free test on the page. Check a report
A PASS is not UCDP acceptance. UCDP also runs the rules the validator does not, GSE proprietary checks and its own system checks.
More UAD 3.6 fixes
- Free UAD 3.6 pre-submission checklist
- UAD 3.6 Fatal Findings Explained: What Stops a Report in UCDP
- UCDP Not Successful: What It Means and How to Fix It
- UAD 3.6 Warning vs Fatal Findings: Which Ones Stop a Report
- UAD 3.6 View and Location Codes: Why UCDP Flags Them
- UAD 3.6 Sales Concessions: What UCDP Checks and What It Cannot
- UAD 3.6 Subject Address Errors in UCDP: What Gets Flagged
- UCDP Not Successful vs Rejected: What Each Status Means
- UAD 3.6 Requirements: The 2026 Guide
Sources: UCDP General User Guide (February 2026), UCDP FAQ, and the URAR Delivery Specification (Appendix A-1) and Compliance Rules (Appendix H-1) on the Uniform Appraisal Dataset page. SpreadRun is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This is general information, not legal advice.