Letters to Licensees
Concerning Changes in License Law
Letters explaining
the law changes were mailed to all licensees on February 1. The texts of those
letters are reproduced below on pages 8 through 11. Please visit the Commission
website, www.ncrec.state.nc.us, for more
information about the changes in the Real Estate License Law and Commission
rules.
Broker-In-Charge
• According
to our records, you are currently designated broker-in-charge of a real estate
office. The Real Estate Commission wants
to make you aware of Real Estate License Law amendments effective April 1,
2006. Beginning April 1, persons wishing
to become brokers-in-charge must:
o possess
two years full-time (or equivalent part-time) experience as a broker and/or
salesperson within the previous five years (or have equivalent
education/experience); and
o complete
the Commission’s Broker-In-Charge Course
consisting of 12 hours of classoom
instruction.
• Also, all
brokers-in-charge, regardless of when they became a broker-in-charge, must
complete a four classroom-hour Broker-In-Charge Annual Review Course each license period
which will count as their continuing education elective course for the
year. This course will be available
beginning July 1, 2006. Course content
will change each year. You also must
continue to take the Real
Estate Update continuing
education course each license period.
• If
you have already taken your Broker-In-Charge Course (four classroom hours
now, 12 hours after April 1) or you take it within 120 days following your
designation as broker-in-charge, and you remain broker-in-charge without any
break in service, you will only be affected by the new
continuing education requirement.
• However, if you are not designated a
broker-in-charge on April 1 or if there is any period of time after April 1
when for
any reason you are not designated a broker-in-charge, you will be
required to satisfy the new education and experience requirements if you wish
to again become a broker-in-charge. [Note: If after April 1, you terminate as
broker-in-charge of one office/firm and, AT THE SAME TIME, designate yourself
broker-in-charge of a different office/firm, this will not be considered to be
a break in service.]
RESIDENT
Resident Salespersons with Active Licenses Issued
Before October 1, 2005
• The Real Estate License
Law was recently amended to help improve professional standards within the real
estate industry. Under the revised law,
your salesperson license will be converted to a broker license on April 1. However, you should be aware that salesperson
licenses converted to broker licenses will be on “provisional” status. This means you must still be supervised by a
broker-in-charge. Also, you will have
two years to complete a Broker Transition Course or demonstrate a certain amount of real estate experience to avoid
having your license placed on inactive status on April 1, 2008.
• The
Broker
Transition Course will be offered by continuing education
course providers throughout the state after April 1. It will consist of 24 hours of classroom
instruction, HAVE NO END-OF-COURSE EXAM, and will count as your continuing
education elective course for the license period in which you take it (but you
must still take the Update Course if
you were licensed as a salesperson prior to July 1, 2005).
• You can skip the Broker Transition Course if/when you certify to
us you have acquired at least four years full-time (or equivalent part-time)
experience as a real estate broker and/or salesperson within the previous six
years. “Full-time” means at least 40
hours per week. “Experience” includes
any activity requiring a real estate license (listing, sales, property
management, etc.). Experience acquired
between April 1, 2006 and April 1, 2008 may count toward the four years. Beginning in April, you may access our
website at www.ncrec.state.nc.us for instructions on how to certify your real
estate experience.
• When you complete the Broker Transition Course (or certify you possess
the required real estate experience), we will remove your license from “provisional” status. But if you have not completed the course (or
certified you possess the required real estate experience) by April 1, 2008, your “provisional”
broker license will be placed on inactive status and you must then complete 90
classroom hours of education to remove the “provisional” status and activate
your license.
Resident Salespersons with Active
Licenses Issued on or After October 1, 2005
• The
Real Estate License Law was recently amended to help improve professional standards
within the real estate industry. Under
the revised law, your salesperson license will be converted to a broker license
on April 1. However, you should be aware
that salesperson licenses converted to broker licenses will be on “provisional”
status. This means you must still be
supervised by a broker-in-charge. Also,
to avoid cancellation of your license, you must complete three postlicensing real estate courses (at least one per year) by
April 1, 2009.
• The three Commission-approved postlicensing
courses will be offered by schools after April 1 and each will consist of at
least 30 hours of classroom instruction (including a course exam). You may take them in any order, but you must
complete your first course by April 1, 2007, your second course by April 1,
2008, and your third by April 1, 2009.
If you prefer, you may take all three courses during the first year
after April 1, 2006.
• When you complete the
three postlicensing courses, we will remove your
license from “provisional” status. If
you fail to complete the required course(s) by the April 1 deadlines in 2007 or
2008, your (provisional) broker license will be placed on inactive status until
you have completed the missed course(s).
And if you have not completed all three postlicensing
courses by April
1, 2009, your
license will be cancelled and you must reapply if you wish to have it reinstated. Depending on how long your license remains
“cancelled”, you may have to complete even more education and/or retake the
license examination to reinstate your license.
Resident Salespersons with Inactive
Licenses Issued Before October 1, 2005
• The
Real Estate License Law was recently amended to help improve professional
standards within the real estate industry.
Under the revised law, your inactive salesperson license will be
converted to an inactive broker license on April 1. However, you should be aware that salesperson
licenses converted to broker licenses will be on “provisional” status. This means that if you activate your
provisional broker license, you must still be supervised by a
broker-in-charge. You must complete a Broker
Transition Course or demonstrate a certain amount of real
estate experience by April 1, 2008 to terminate the “provisional” status and
retain the right to activate your license by merely satisfying the continuing
education requirement for the current and preceding license period.
• The
Broker
Transition Course will be offered by continuing education
course providers throughout the state after April 1. It will consist of 24 hours of classroom
instruction and HAVE NO END-OF-COURSE EXAM.
You will receive continuing education elective course credit for the
license period, but you may still need to complete additional continuing
education to activate your license.
• You
can skip the Broker Transition Course
if/when you certify to us you have acquired at least four years full-time (or
equivalent part-time) experience as a real estate broker and/or salesperson
within the previous six years.
“Full-time” means at least 40 hours per week. “Experience” includes any activity requiring
a real estate license (listing, sales, property management, etc.). Experience acquired between April, 2006 and
April 1, 2008 may count toward the four years.
Beginning in April, you may access our website at www.ncrec.state.nc.us
for instructions on how to certify your real estate experience.
• When
you complete the Broker Transition Course
(or certify you possess the required real estate experience), we will remove
your license from “provisional” status.
But if you have not completed the course (or certified you possess the
required real estate experience) by April 1, 2008,
you must complete 90 classroom hours of education to remove the “provisional”
status and activate your license. Because
your license was issued before October 1, 2005, you can keep it on inactive
status indefinitely so long as you renew it each year.
Resident Salespersons with Inactive
Licenses Issued on or After October 1, 2005
• The
Real Estate License Law was recently amended to help improve professional
standards within the real estate industry.
Under the revised law, your inactive salesperson license will be
converted to an inactive broker license on April 1. However, you should be aware that salesperson
licenses converted to broker licenses will be on “provisional” status. This means that if you activate your license,
you must still be supervised by a broker-in-charge. Also, to avoid cancellation of your license,
you must complete three postlicensing real estate
courses (at least one per year) by April 1, 2009.
• The
three Commission-approved postlicensing courses will
be offered by schools after April 1 and each will consist of at least 30 hours
of classroom instruction (including a course exam). You may take them in any order. If you wish to activate your license after
April 1, 2007, you must have completed at least one course, and after April 1,
2008, at least two courses (in addition to your required continuing education). When you complete all three postlicensing courses, we will remove your license from
“provisional” status.
• If
you have not completed the three postlicensing
courses by April 1, 2009, your license will be cancelled
and you must reapply if you wish to have it reinstated. Depending on how long your license remains
“cancelled”, you may have to complete even more education and/or retake the
license examination to reinstate your license.
NONRESIDENT
Nonresident
Salespersons with Active Licenses Issued Before October 1, 2005
• The Real Estate License Law was recently
amended to help improve professional standards within the real estate
industry. Under the revised law, your
salesperson license will be converted to a broker license on April 1. However,
you should be aware that salesperson licenses converted to broker licenses will
be issued on “provisional” status. This means you must still be supervised by a
broker-in-charge. Also, you will have
two years to complete a Broker Transition Course or demonstrate a certain amount of real estate experience to avoid
having your license placed on inactive status on April 1, 2008.
• The Broker Transition Course will be offered by continuing education course providers
throughout
• You can skip the Broker Transition Course if/when you certify to
us you have acquired at least four years full-time (or equivalent part-time)
experience as a real estate broker and/or salesperson within the previous six
years. “Full-time” means at least 40 hours per week. “Experience” includes any activity requiring
a real estate license (listing, sales, property management, etc.). Beginning in
April, you may access our website at www.ncrec.state.nc.us for instructions on how
to certify your real estate experience.
• We will remove your license from “provisional” status when you
either □ complete the Broker Transition Course, or □
complete equivalent course(s) in another state, or □ certify you possess the
required real estate experience, or □ certify you have obtained a broker license in another state. But if you have not
done so by April
1, 2008,
your “provisional” broker license will be placed on inactive status and you
must then complete 90 classroom hours of education to remove the “provisional”
status and activate your license.
Nonresident
Salespersons with Active Licenses Issued on or After October 1, 2005
• The Real Estate License
Law was recently amended to help improve professional standards within the real
estate industry. Under the revised law, your salesperson license will be
converted to a broker license on April 1. However, you should be aware that
salesperson licenses converted to broker licenses will be issued on
“provisional” status. This means you
must still be supervised by a broker-in-charge.
Also, to avoid cancellation of your license, you must complete three postlicensing real estate courses (at least one per year) by April 1, 2009.
• The three
Commission-approved postlicensing courses will be
offered by schools throughout
• We will remove your
license from “provisional” status when you either □ complete our three postlicensing courses, or □ complete equivalent courses in another state, or □ certify you possess the
required real estate experience, or □ certify you have obtained a broker license in another state. But if you fail to
complete the required education by the April 1 deadlines in 2007 or 2008, your
provisional broker license will be placed on inactive status until you have
completed the missed education. And if you have not completed the three postlicensing courses or equivalent education by April 1, 2009, your license will be cancelled and you must reapply if
you wish to have it reinstated (which may require taking our license
examination and/or meeting other requirements, depending on your particular
circumstances).
Nonresident
Salespersons with Inactive Licenses Issued Before October 1, 2005
• The Real Estate License Law was recently amended to help improve professional
standards within the real estate industry.
Under the revised law, your inactive salesperson license will be
converted to an inactive broker license on April 1. However, you should be
aware that salesperson licenses converted to broker licenses will be on
“provisional” status. This means that if
you activate your provisional broker license, you must still be supervised by a
broker-in-charge. Also, you will have
two years to complete a Broker Transition Course or
demonstrate a certain amount of real estate experience by April 1, 2008 to
terminate the “provisional” status and retain the right to activate your
license by merely taking four continuing education courses.
• The
Broker
Transition Course will be offered throughout
• You
can skip the Broker Transition Course
if/when you certify to us you have acquired at least four years full-time (or
equivalent part-time) experience as a real estate broker and/or salesperson
within the previous six years.
“Full-time” means at least 40 hours per week. “Experience” includes any activity requiring
a real estate license (listing, sales, property management, etc.). Beginning in
April, you may access our website at www.ncrec.state.nc.us
for instructions on how to certify your real estate experience.
• We
will remove your license from “provisional” status when you either □
complete the Broker Transition Course, or □ complete equivalent courses in another
state, or □
certify you possess the required real estate experience, or □ certify
you have obtained a broker license in another state. But
if you have not done so by April 1, 2008,
you must then complete 90 classroom hours of education to remove the
“provisional” status and activate your license. Because your license was issued
before October 1, 2005, you can keep it on inactive status indefinitely so long
as you renew it each year.
Nonresident
Salespersons with Inactive Licenses Issued on or After October 1, 2005
• The Real Estate License Law was recently amended to help improve
professional standards within the real estate industry. Under the revised law, your inactive salesperson
license will be converted to an inactive broker license on April 1. However,
you should be aware that salesperson licenses converted to broker licenses will
be issued on “provisional” status. This means that if you activate your
provisional broker license, you must still be supervised by a broker-in-charge.
Also, to avoid cancellation of your license, you must complete three postlicensing real estate courses (at least one per year) by
April 1, 2009.
• The
three Commission-approved postlicensing courses will
be offered by schools throughout
• Recognizing
it may be difficult for nonresidents to take the broker postlicensing
courses in North Carolina, you have this option -- you may instead each year
take at least 30 classroom hours of education (postlicensing,
broker prelicensing or continuing education) approved by the
licensing agency in your resident state. To receive credit, salesperson postlicensing and broker prelicensing
courses must have been completed within three years prior to your seeking
credit for them. Continuing education courses must have been completed during
the same one-year period in which you are seeking credit and must be in
addition to any courses required to satisfy your state’s continuing education
requirement. Beginning in April, you may
access our website at www.ncrec.state.nc.us for
instructions on how to report your education taken in another state.
• We
will remove your license from “provisional” status when you either □
complete our three postlicensing courses,
or □
complete equivalent courses in another state, or □ certify
you have obtained a broker license in another state.