Renewing Your Texas Real Estate License:  
Frequently Asked Questions

As a real estate licensee in Texas, you must renew your license every two years by the end of the month in which your license was first issued.

Real estate agents (active or inactive) renewing for the first time must complete Sales Apprentice Education (SAE). SAE requirements include:

• A total of 270 qualifying real estate course hours*
• 4 hours of Legal Update I
• 4 hours of Legal Update II

If you've been made a supervisor or have sponsored one or more sales agents, you must also complete the 6-hour Broker Responsibility course.

*If you have already completed 180 hours of pre-license education, you must also complete 90-hours in SAE courses to reach this 270-hour requirement.

Real estate licensees who have renewed their license at least once must now complete 18 hours of Continuing Education (CE).

Active sales agents and individual brokers who do not sponsor sales agents need the following:

• 3 hours in a contract-related course
• 4 hours of Legal Update I
• 4 hours of Legal Update II
• 7 hours of elective CE

Individual brokers who sponsor sales agents and designated brokers renewing their license must complete:

• 3 hours in a contract-related course
• 4 hours of Legal Update I
• 4 hours of Legal Update II
• 6 hours of Broker Responsibility
• 1 hour of CE electives

It depends on your specific situation. If any of the following scenarios apply to you, then you must include the 6 hours of Broker Responsibility in your renewal education:

• If you served as the designated broker for a business entity that sponsors sales agents
• If a broker made you a supervisor of other sales agent license holders
• If you have sponsored one or more sales agents

In Texas, students can only get credit for completing a CE course once per renewal period. For example, taking the 4-hour Legal Update I course twice would not count for 8 CE hours during a renewal period.

This also applies to licenses renewed late or licensees who are returning their licenses to active status. Late renewals and reactivations may not include repeated CE courses for credit in the two years prior to the renewal or reactivation.

You cannot start your license renewal process until TREC sends a renewal notice in the mail. The notice usually comes about 90 days before your license expires.

To make sure there are no processing delays, TREC recommends completing your required CE at least 10 days before your expiration date.

If you have an active sales agent license and miss your CE deadline, you have two options:

1. Pay a $200 CE deferral fee, which grants you an additional 60 days past your expiration date to complete CE. Failure to complete your CE within this 60-day extension window will result in an additional $250 late reporting fee, bringing the total fee amount to $450.
2. Renew your license as inactive, which does not require any CE. This way, you only pay the renewal fee to renew. However, with an inactive status, you are prohibited from engaging in real estate activities.

If you choose to let your license become inactive, renewing it is simple. There is no CE requirement. You only pay the renewal fee.

If your license just expired and you forgot to finish your CE, don't worry! You can still renew your license up to six months after it expired, but there will be some fees involved (see "What Happens If I Miss My CE Deadline?").

If it's been more than six months since your license expired, but less than two years, you may apply for reinstatement of your license.

After two years, you must reapply and start the entire process over again — which includes retaking the exam, passing another background check, and completing the pre-license education.