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Basic Requirements

  1. In order to renew your license on active status, you must complete eight (8) hours of continuing education (CE) during each July 1 to June 10 license period.
    • For brokers who DO NOT HAVE BIC Eligible Status, four (4) of the required CE credit hours must be obtained by completing the General Update course prescribed by the Commission. The subject matter of this course will be changed by the Commission each license year.
    • For brokers who HAVE BIC Eligible Status, four (4) of the required CE credit hours must be obtained by completing the Broker-in-Charge Update (BICUP) course each license period.
    • The remaining four (4) CE credit hours may be obtained by taking a Commission approved elective course. Elective courses may address a wide variety of real estate topics.
  2. The maximum amount of CE credit awarded for any single course is four (4) hours.
    • Licensees must attend 90% of a CE course and comply with student participating standards in order to receive credit for the course.
  3. A person who is issued a broker license (either by examination or reinstatement) does NOT have to take continuing education courses during the license period in which the license is issued. However, they must satisfy the CE requirement prior to the second renewal of the license.

Active Status vs. Inactive Status

  1. In addition to any postlicensing requirements, in order to perform any brokerage service for others for a fee (including referrals for which you are compensated), your license must be on active status, which means you must obtain all required continued education each license period.
  2. If you do not plan to use your real estate license in the near future, you have the option to renew your license on inactive status. (Please refer to Postlicensing Requirements for information on how those requirements affect your active/inactive status.)
    • You may continue to renew your license on inactive status indefinitely without obtaining any continuing education. However, before you can activate your license, you will have to show that you have obtained some education. The amount of education required for license activation ranges from 0-68 credit hours, depending on how long the license has been inative.
    • If you plan for your license to be inactive only temporarily and you want to be able to activate the license in the future without delay, you should attempt to remain current with your continuing education.
  3. If you renew your license without satisfying the continuing education requirement, your license will automatically be placed on inactive status until you satisfy the CE requirement for license activation.

Courses Must Be Taken by June 10

Continuing education must be completed each annual license period between July 1 and June 10. It is very important to note that sponsors are not permitted to offer courses for CE credit between June 11 and June 30 of each year to allow time for sponsors to file reports with the Commission and for the Commission to process such reports. Thus, you will not be able to complete your CE requirement between June 11 and June 30 of each year.

Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

  1. Avoid the mad rush at the end of the license period (May and early June). You will have a better choice of elective courses and a better chance of finding space available in either the General Update or the Broker-in-Charge Update (BICUP), and the elective courses if you take your CE courses early. You will also avoid the possibility of an unexpected conflict (illness, death in family, business emergency, etc.) preventing you from acquiring the required education by June 10.
  2. Extensions of time to acquire CE while continuing on active status will be granted only in those instances where a licensee is unable to obtain CE in a timely manner due to an extreme hardship which existed for a substantial portion of the license period. Examples might include a member of the military stationed overseas or a licensee with an incapacitating illness for a substantial portion of the license period. You should submit the "CE Extension Request Form” (REC 7.18) to the Commission well in advance of the June 10 deadline for CE.

CE Credit Reporting

  1. It is important that you take your pocket card with you to each CE class. You will need to accurately record your correct license number on the official course completion report.
  2. If you take a Commission-approved CE course, the sponsor will report your course completion to the Commission. You should NOT send to the Commission the course completion certificate issued to you by the sponsor - keep this for your personal records.
  3. You can check/review your CE credits by going to the “Licensing”/Licensee Login" area of this Web site. (Please allow 15 days after completion of a course for it to be posted to your record.)

Carry-Over Credit

Only 4 elective credit hours may be carried forward to the next license period if no portion of the credit hours for the course were applied toward the CE requirement for the current license period. Thus, carry-over credit may be granted for extra elective courses taken, but not for extra hours in one course.

Equivalent Credit for Elective Courses

It is possible to obtain elective course equivalent credit for a course not approved by the Commission (e.g., an appraiser continuing education course) or for some real estate education activity such as developing an elective course or writing a text or scholarly article. Requests for equivalent credit must be submitted to the Commission by June 17 each year and must be accompanied by a nonrefundable evaluation fee. Licensees may request additional information on this subject from the Commission or submit the “CE Credit Request” Form (REC 7.13)

Please visit the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for more information on Continuing Education Requirements.

For NCREC Click Here
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