Over the past 24 years, I have completed six DRE renewals totaling 270 hours across two real estate broker licenses: personal and corporate. That is a fancy, self-congratulatory way of saying I can take a test.
As a side note: when guessing, eliminate the answers you know are wrong first. It greatly improves your odds of guessing the right answer.
Every four years, the state reminds real estate professionals—and mortgage licensees every year, yes, I have those too—that our licenses depend on staying current. Oh, and ethics. Yes, that too.
Continuing Education
Broadly speaking, continuing education is any learning adults pursue after formal schooling. It includes career training, professional certifications, license renewals, and personal enrichment. One CEU equals ten hours of structured participation. In practical terms, you keep learning because the work keeps changing.
Real Estate CE
Real estate continuing education is mandatory coursework required to keep a license active. Property law changes. Agency rules change. Disclosure requirements change. Fair housing law changes. The state needs to know you have at least looked at the updates.
In California, agents and brokers renew every four years and must complete 45 hours of state-approved CE before renewal. You cannot cram it all at once, either; the DRE limits how much coursework you can complete in a single day. By the way, the newer online courses will kick you out of a timed class if they think you are not paying attention.
The curriculum focuses on the parts of the business where people are most likely to be harmed: ethics, agency, trust fund handling, risk management, and fair housing. California also requires a two-hour implicit bias course and a fair housing module with role play. The message is not subtle. The state wants you to know how to handle money, represent clients, and avoid discrimination and they want to make sure we all know they get very tetchy about those types of violations.
You can take CE through approved providers, including the California Association of Realtors,( which I was pleasantly surprised to find offers free continuing education) classes through OnlineEd, The CE Shop, and my alma mater, Allied Schools. I prefer all online but the classes are offered over multiple learning styles.
Does Any of This Count as College Credit?
The short answer is sometimes yes, but usually no for continuing education.
Real estate coursework taken through a California community college can count as college credit if it is offered as a credit-bearing class. Courses at City College of San Francisco and Sacramento City College are listed as degree-applicable and are part of formal academic programs.
License renewal CE is different. It is approved by the DRE, not for a degree, and generally will not transfer as academic credit.
But It Can
What many people miss is that community colleges can grant Credit for Prior Learning for an active real estate license. If you hold a California salesperson or broker license, you may be able to bypass foundational classes and move faster toward a Real Estate Certificate or associate degree without paying tuition for those credits. This can happen through license review, credit by examination, or portfolio assessment.
Bay Area colleges, including Contra Costa College, Merritt College, City College of San Francisco, and the Peralta district, offer CPL pathways Peralta CPL Contra Costa College Real Estate. If you plan to enroll, ask the counseling or CPL office what your license qualifies you for.
The 70/30 Rule
I was talking to an agent in my office about my upcoming CE requirement and she let me know that agents over 70 with a license in good standing 30 years plus are no longer required to do continuing education; something to work towards.
The Bottom Line
Continuing education is the price of staying sharp enough to keep working.
The rules change more often than people realize, and the public depends on us to know the difference between old habits and current law. CE is not the fun part of the business, but it helps keep the whole thing honest.
This article and many more are available on my blog: www.americasells.com/blog
