The Easy Way to Renew your Texas Real Estate License

Other Texas Real Estate Schools just give you classes. The Texas Institute of Real Estate gives you flexible options to renew your Texas real estate license. Choose from online courses, correspondence courses, and live classes – whatever suits your schedule. We will show you how to renew or get a Texas real estate license the easy way.

Steps to Renew your Texas Real Estate License

1. Find the Deadline for Filing the Renewal

Your sponsoring broker will receive a renewal notice about 90 days before your renewal filing deadline. All paperwork for SAE renewals must be filled in and submitted to TREC 10 business days before the deadline date printed on your renewal notice.

2. Fulfill the Education Requirements

Sign up for classes with us at the Texas Institute of Real Estate!

SAE REQUIREMENTS (Typically Your First 3 Years)
People licensed BEFORE January 2006  have 3 years to complete 270 hours of Salesperson Annual Education (SAE), 180 hours of which must be core real estate courses. All 30-hour courses of AIRE are core. The remaining 90 hours may in related real estate courses.

People filing an application on or AFTER January 1, 2006 have one year of licensure to complete a total of 270* classroom hours to fulfill their initial SAE licensure requirements. Additional courses will count toward their Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) requirements.

*Included in the 270 classroom hours are 210 hours for pre-licensure requirements (60 hours in Principles of Real Estate; 30 hours in Law of Agency; 30 hours in Law of Contracts; 30 additional core hours; and 60 related or core hours). By the end of the first year, a  salesperson is also required to take an additional 60 hours in core real estate courses for sales annual education before the end of the first year.

Select – Live SAE, Online SAE, or Correspondence SAE

Mandatory Continuing Education Requirements

Everyone who is an active sales agent not subject to Salesperson Annual Education (SAE) requirements must complete Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) to renew an active real estate license. The MCE requirement is 15 classroom (clock) hours of TREC-approved MCE courses. A minimum of six of those hours must be in TREC-required legal topics. In order for a licensee to receive credit for a course, it must have been approved for MCE when the course was offered. You may not repeat a course for credit during the same license period. MCE course providers are given 10 days to submit proof of the course completed.

MCE course providers must also notify TREC when a licensee has finished an MCE course. For MCE credit for the courses listed below, you must forward your documentation to TREC:

• Core real estate course
• Out of state continuing education course
• A course approved by the State Bar of Texas for MCLE participatory credit

Select – Online MCE or Live MCE

To get credit for a core real estate course, the core course has to be approved by TREC for MCE requirements. If a sales agent takes a core real estate course in order to fulfill elective MCE requirements, he or she is responsible for filing the course completion certificate with TREC and must complete the other 6 MCE ethics and legal course hours.

Licensees in Texas who hold a real estate license in another state and have finished continuing education in order to renew their out of state license can submit those courses for MCE credit. An MCE Credit Request for an Out of State Course form and the course completion certificate should accompany each request for credit.

Sales agents can apply to TREC to receive credit for real estate courses that are a minimum of 1 hour long and are approved by the State Bar of Texas for MCLE participatory credit. To request credit, use the MCE Credit Request for State Bar Courses form and include the course completion documentation.

For an active license to be renewed, the necessary MCE hours must be taken before the license expires. Otherwise, the licensee will be charged a $200 penalty fee in addition to needing to complete the required MCE hours. the licensee will be subject to disciplinary action. Failure to pay the fee and complete the required hours within 60 days of the expiration date of the license being renewed will result in disciplinary action.

3. Send in Your Renewal Form and Renewal Fees

The “Application for Renewal of Active (or Inactive) Salesperson License” form will be sent to you approximately 90 days before the renewal filing deadline. There are three ways to renew and pay:

• Renew and pay by credit card online here on the TREC website, OR

• Mail in the top portion of your renewal notice  along with a check for the correct amount, OR

• Pay in person at the TREC headquarters, M-F, 8am-5pm (click for map). (Bring the renewal form and a check.)