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Texas State Requirements

Education Requirements

Salesperson Licensing Requirements

Before applying for a real estate Salesperson License, an individual must first furnish the Commission satisfactory evidence of successfully completing the following education:

  1. Principles of Real Estate core real estate course [60 classroom hours]
  2. Law of Agency core real estate course (30 classroom hours)
  3. Law of Contracts core real estate course (30 classroom hours)
  4. An additional core real estate course (30 classroom hours)
  5. Another four semester (60 classroom) hours in core courses or in related courses acceptable to the Commission.

Salesperson is required to have completed a total of 18 semester (270 classroom) hours of education, at least 14 semester (210 classroom) hours of which must be in core real estate courses, by the end of their first year of licensure. On the chart below, one can see that 150 of those classroom hours in core real estate courses are to have been completed before the application for the Salesperson license is made (and may be filed along with the application). Please note that this means only 4 additional semester (60 classroom) hours in core real estate courses are required to be filed during the first year as a licensed Salesperson. These hours are known as SAE, or Salesperson Annual Education. These 60 additional classroom hours in core real estate for the SAE must be submitted and on the TREC system by the end of the first year of licensure.

Accumulated Hours Required for Real Estate Salespersons Applying On or After January 1, 2006

With Application,

150 hours (60 in Principles of Real Estate, 30 in Law of Agency, 30 in Law of Contracts, 30 any other core real estate)

60 hours maximum related or other Core Classroom hours

210 total hours

Once licensed, the salesperson must then complete an additional 60 core real estate classroom hours during the first year of licensure, for the totals seen below:

At 1st renewal (end of first year)
210 hours of Core Classroom hours
60 hours maximum related or other Core Classroom hours
270 total hours

Note: Should the hours be completed PRIOR to the first renewal, the licensee will have satisfied the SAE requirements, and will then be under Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) requirements.

Broker Licensing Requirements

To be eligible to apply for a real estate Broker License, an individual must first furnish the Commission satisfactory evidence of successfully completing the following:

  1. Not less than two (2) years active experience in Texas as a licensed real estate salesperson or broker during the 96 month period immediately preceding the filing of the application;

    or
    If licensed as a broker in another state, not less than two (2) years active experience as a licensed real estate salesperson or broker during the 36 month period immediately preceding the filing of the application.

  2. 270 classroom hours of core real estate courses and 630 hours in related courses.

Continuing Education Requirements

Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) refers to the Real Estate License Act's continuing education requirement (§1101.455) of 15 classroom hours (6 hours of which are the approved Legal & Ethics courses) to be completed during each two-year renewal period.

Reciprocity:

Education And Licensure In Another State

License Reciprocity Statement

Texas does not have reciprocity with any other states with regard to real estate licensure. A Texas broker may share a commission with a foreign licensee so long as the foreign licensee does not engage in activities requiring a license in Texas. All negotiations conducted within Texas must be handled by a Texas broker.

Becoming Licensed in Texas

To become licensed in the state of Texas, an out of state licensee must meet all current Texas licensing requirements, which can be found through the side menu to the left. An applicant may not have to take the national portion of the licensing examination if the applicant maintains a license equivalent to the license being applied for and has already passed a comparable national examination that is accredited by a nationally recognized real estate regulator association such as ARELLO.

Reporting

Student Reporting Requirements

Within ten days following the completion of other than an alternative delivery method course or correspondence course, a school shall provide the commission with a class roster in a format approved by the commission. For an alternative delivery method course or correspondence course, a school shall provide a roster of those students completing the course within 10 days after the end of the month in which the student completed the course. The listing of students must be numbered and in alphabetical order, with each student's last name shown first, and must show after each student's name the final grade of either passed, failed, incomplete, or dropped, in language or symbols that can be correlated with these categories. The school shall explain any other grade concisely but clearly. The school shall list all instructors used in the course on the roster.

Case Management Procedures For Continuing Education

If the school cancels a course, the school shall fully refund all fees collected from students or, at the student's option, the school may credit the student for another course. The school shall inform the commission when a student requests a refund because of a withdrawal due to the student's dissatisfaction with the quality of the course.

A school shall issue to the students successfully completing a course of instruction an official certificate which reflects the school's name, branch, course title, course numbers, and the number of classroom hours (or other recognized educational unit) involved in the course. All core course certificates must show the statutory core course title or other identification as prescribed by the commission. Certificates also must show the date of issuance and be signed by an official of the school, or if the certificate is computer printed, the school logo may be substituted for the signature.

A school shall maintain records of each student enrolled in any course for a minimum of five years.