Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® REALTOR® Education - Real Estate licensing requirements for Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC

Licensing Renewal Requirements

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

An applicant for renewal of any REAL ESTATE BROKER OR PROPERTY MANAGER license expiring on February 28, 2009 or REAL ESTATE SALESPERSONS license expiring on August 31, 2009, must submit proof of completing 15 hours of approved continuing education credit in the following subjects:

DC Fair Housing and Predatory Lending Update 3 hours

DC Legislative and Landlord-Tenant Rights 3 hours

DC Ethics Update 3 hours

General Electives 6 hours

For clarification, please note that under the DC real estate licensure law:

THESE GUIDELINES APPLY TO ACTIVELY LICENSED DC AGENTS.

If you are a new salesperson licensee who received your DC real estate license between 9-1-07 and 8-31-09, then you are exempt from taking CE courses, if this is your first license renewal. This statement does not necessarily apply to licensees who are on Inactive or apply for Reinstatement, and who make their licenses Active.
If you are exempt from taking CEs, you may take courses if you want, in order to benefit your education of the real estate field.
If you take CE courses during this 2007-2009 licensing cycle, the courses will not carry over to the next cycle.
The current license renewal cycle for DC Salespersons began on 9-1-07 and ends on 8-31-09. The current license renewal cycle for DC Brokers and Property Managers began on 3-01-07 and ends on 2-28-09.
The CE requirements for the 2007-2009 license renewal cycle are(9 hours mandated) DC Fair Housing and Predatory Lending; DC Legislative Update, Rent Control and Landlord-Tenant Housing Rights; and DC Ethics Update; and 6 hours of approved general electives.
The school and the courses must be first approved by the DC Board of Real Estate. GCAAR is DC-approved.

For more information, please contact the DC Board of Real Estate at 202.442.4400.

MARYLAND

Maryland Continuing Education Requirements Starting 10/2/2008

All licensees are required to complete at least 15 clock hours of continuing education instruction, if the licensee renews the license on or after October 2, 2008.

To renew a 2-year license, the schedule below shows the number of hours and course content required based on expiration date, length of licensure, and type of services provided.

If your license expires between 10/2/06 and 10/1/08, hours needed are:

Residential - less than 10 years	15 hours which must include 3 legislative, 1.5 fair housing, 3 ethics
Residential - at least 10 years	9 hours which must include 3 legislative, 1.5 fair housing, 3 ethics
Commercial - less than 10 years	15 hours which must include 3 legislative & 3 ethics
Commercial - at least 10 years	9 hours which must include 3 legislative & 3 ethics

If you renew your license on or after 10/2/08, hours needed are:

Residential	15 hours which must include 3 legislative, 1.5 fair housing, 3 ethics
Commercial	15 hours which must include 3 legislative & 3 ethics
EXCEPTION: A licensee shall complete at least 7.5 clock hours of continuing education instruction if the licensee: possesses a graduate degree in law from an accredited law school; or possesses a graduate degree in real estate from an accredited college or university.

Legislative topic, fair housing topic, and ethics topic are REQUIRED Maryland courses. The ethics course must include MD Code of Ethics, Flipping, and Predatory Lending.

Out of State Licensees:

A licensee holding a license from another state must complete at least 15-clock hours of continuing education instruction during each 2-year license term and may substitute clock hours of continuing education instruction earned in another state, if those clock hours:

are approved as real estate continuing education in that state; and
meet the distribution requirements of Maryland law
the commission shall grant the substitution of clock hours only if the other state permits the substitution of clock hours of continuing education instruction approved by the commission for a licensee of this state.

VIRGINIA

For new Virginia licensees who have earned their license since January 1, 2004: New legislation from the Virginia General Assembly's 2003 Session created a 30-hour education requirement for new licensees to complete within their first two years after receiving a license. To see a complete list of what coursework you must complete, please click here.

License renewal: An applicant for renewal of license expiring on or after July 1, 2004, must complete a total of 16 hours (increased from the previous 8 hour requirement) per two-year licensing cycle as follows:

Eight (8) hours must be in the areas of:
Ethics and standards of conduct
Legal updates and emerging trends
Real estate agency
Real estate contracts
Fair housing [must have a minimum of two (2) hours of fair housing that include an update on current cases and administrative decisions under fair housing laws]

The remaining eight (8) hours are elective.
The Board will accept up to 8 hours of continuing education completed out-of-state as long as the certificate states that the course has been approved for continuing education by that state’s real estate board/commission and the agent/broker has a current license in that state. The 8 hours will be applied to the real estate related category only.