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Real estate CE requirements by state

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State Cert Guide

Last checked Nov 13, 2026

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Verified states

Verified so far: 30 of 51 states

Real estate CE: rules by state
StateWhat the state saysLast checked
AlabamaTo renew an active Alabama real estate license, you complete 15 clock hours of continuing education (CE) every two years. The hours are due by September 30 of every even year. Brokers take a second mandatory course that salespersons don't. The Alabama Real Estate Commission prescribes the CE.
AlaskaA person who holds an Alaska real estate license completes 20 hours of continuing education (CE) before the license can be renewed. The hours must be ones the Commission approves. In each biennial licensing period, a licensee also finishes at least one of four core curricula. The Commission fills in the rest with rules.
ArizonaIf your Arizona real estate salesperson license is active, you renew it on time with twenty-four credit hours of continuing education (CE) from the last license period, or fewer if the commissioner prescribes. A designated broker needs thirty. An associate broker needs twenty-four, or thirty in some cases where a designated broker employs them. An inactive license needs none.
ArkansasAfter its first renewal, an active Arkansas real estate license needs seven hours of continuing education (CE) a year. A license on inactive status needs none to renew. For 2026, the Arkansas Real Estate Commission names a required topic and leaves the rest to electives.
CaliforniaAfter a first renewal, a California real estate licensee takes 45 hours of DRE-approved continuing education (CE) to renew. At least 18 hours must be in consumer protection. A first renewal has its own course list. A licensee who is 70 or older, with 30 continuous years in good standing, can ask to be excused from CE.
ColoradoAn active Colorado real estate broker completes 24 hours of continuing education (CE) in each three-year license cycle. Twelve of those hours are three different versions of the four-hour Annual Commission Update Course. A newly licensed broker owes no CE during the initial licensure period.
ConnecticutA Connecticut real estate salesperson who isn't exempt completes 12 continuing education (CE) credit hours between March 1, 2026 and February 28, 2028. One three-hour course is mandatory, and the other nine hours are electives. You can pass the 40-question Connecticut CE exam in the cycle instead.
District of ColumbiaAn active DC broker, salesperson or property manager license needs at least 15 hours of CE from the two years before it expires, unless this is the first renewal of a license granted by exam. Nine of the hours are mandated courses. A credit counts only if the Commission approved the program.
FloridaAfter your first renewal, an active Florida real estate license needs at least 14 classroom hours of continuing education (CE). You take them in each biennium of your license period. Florida may accept an approved distance learning course instead, hour for hour.
GeorgiaMost active Georgia real estate licensees take 36 hours of continuing education (CE) in each renewal period. At least three hours must be on license law. A broker needs at least 18 hours on broker topics, inside the 36. A license from before 1980 with fewer than six digits in its number is exempt.
HawaiiTo renew a Hawaii real estate license, a broker or salesperson shows proof of at least twenty hours of continuing education, or its equivalent as the Commission decides, from the two years before applying. A license renewed without the hours is placed on inactive status. A licensee with a current, unencumbered license in another state can ask for equivalency for the elective hours.
IllinoisUnless the Act exempts them, Illinois brokers complete 12 hours of continuing education per license term after their first term, and the 6-hour core course is part of them. A managing broker's CE also includes a 12-hour broker management course. You can take the core course in a classroom, in a live, interactive webinar, or online.
IndianaAn Indiana broker with an ACTIVE or UNASSIGNED license needs 12 hours of continuing education (CE) each year, unless post-licensing covers that year or you have a waiver. The CE year runs July 1st to June 30th. With an INACTIVE or REFERRAL license, you need no CE to renew. A managing broker puts at least 4 of the 12 hours on managing broker topics.
IowaTo renew an Iowa real estate license in active status, a salesperson or broker completes 36 hours of approved continuing education (CE) in each three-year term. That includes an eight-hour law update and a four-hour ethics course. Up to 18 extra hours carry to the next term. A newly licensed salesperson can't count the prelicense courses toward the first renewal.
KansasIf your Kansas broker or salesperson license is not deactivated, you need at least 12 hours of continuing education (CE) each renewal period. The Commission must approve each course. Only hours you finish after the license was issued, and inside that period, count.
MaineTo renew an active Maine license, an associate broker, broker or designated broker completes 21 clock hours of approved continuing education (CE) within the 2 years before applying. Three of those hours are the mandatory core course. Agency and company licenses are exempt. Hours earned for one renewal can't be reused for the next.
MarylandTo renew a Maryland real estate license, you complete at least 15 clock hours of continuing education (CE) in the preceding two-year term. The subjects differ for a salesperson with an initial license and for a licensee with a renewal certificate.
MassachusettsMassachusetts real estate brokers and salespersons need 12 hours of continuing education (CE) to renew. Each time you renew, you certify to the Board that you did them. The hours must be in the Board's curriculum.
MichiganIn each 3-year cycle, a Michigan real estate licensee must complete at least 18 clock hours of continuing education (CE), according to the state's salesperson licensing guide. Each year of the cycle needs at least 2 hours on real estate laws, rules and court cases and at least 1 hour on fair housing. The guide says to finish the CE before you start the online renewal.
MinnesotaMinnesota real estate salespersons and brokers need 30 hours of continuing education (CE) in their first license period. Then they need 30 in each 24-month period. Each license year, 3.75 or 7.5 of the hours are module training. If you work only in commercial real estate and file a verification of that, the module rules don't apply to you.
New JerseyTo renew a New Jersey real estate license, a broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson completes 12 continuing education (CE) credit hours per license term, unless an exception applies. At least six of the 12 must be in core topics. A salesperson first licensed in the second year of the term doesn't need CE to renew at the end of it.
New YorkA New York real estate licensee takes at least twenty-two and one-half hours of continuing education (CE) before each renewal. The hours must fall in the two years before it. They include cultural competency, fair housing, ethics and implicit bias. New York law lets the state approve distance learning courses if providers demonstrate they can monitor and verify who takes part.
North CarolinaTo keep an active North Carolina real estate license, you take eight hours of continuing education (CE) each year. Provisional brokers and non-BIC brokers take the General Update course plus one Commission-approved elective. Brokers-in-charge and BIC-eligible brokers should take the BICUP course plus one Commission-approved elective instead.
North DakotaTo renew a North Dakota real estate license, a broker or salesperson completes twelve hours of approved CE, unless exempt. The period is the twelve months before the renewal deadline. A salesperson who took the ninety-hour licensing course skips CE at the first renewal; for a broker the skip is narrower.
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania real estate brokers and salespersons complete 14 hours of Commission-approved CE in each two-year license period. Licenses expire May 31 of every even-numbered year. If you are a new salesperson renewing for the first time, you take a specific set of mandatory courses for new licensees.
South CarolinaUnless an exemption or waiver applies, a broker or associate renewing an active South Carolina license completes ten hours of continuing education (CE) every two years, at least four in mandated topics. For a broker-in-charge, four hours must be in advanced topics for brokers-in-charge. An inactive license is exempt, and so is an associate who completes a post-licensing course, for that period.
TennesseeA Tennessee affiliate broker first licensed on or after July 1, 1980 needs at least 16 hours of continuing education (CE) to renew, unless the license was retired the whole two-year license period. You take the hours in that period. A pre-license course does not count as CE.
TexasTo renew a Texas real estate license you take continuing education (CE). Sales agents at a first renewal and some brokers with an old exemption are treated differently. The statute sets a floor of 15 classroom hours. The Texas Real Estate Commission sets the exact number by rule.
VirginiaAn active Virginia broker completes at least 24 hours of continuing education (CE) each licensing term. An active salesperson completes at least 16 at subsequent renewals. Inactive brokers and salespersons don't need CE to renew.
WisconsinWisconsin real estate licensees must do 18 hours of continuing education (CE) in the 2025-2026 biennium. Twelve are required and six are electives. The 2027-2028 biennium also sets 18 hours.

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