Ohio Real Estate Licensure Renewal Essentials
The Ohio real estate license renewal occurs at various time intervals based upon the status of your license. For example, as a real estate salesperson, you must obtain your 20 hours of continuing education every 3 years. These 20 hours are generally due before the last day of your birth month, 3 years after the issuance of your most recent renewal.
However, if you do not renew your Ohio real estate license by the last day of your birth month, you can still renew it if it is within 90 days of the expiration date. To renew your license within the 90-day grace period, you must complete the 20 hours of continuing education and pay a late renewal penalty fee (typically around $50).
If your license has been expired for more than 90 days, it will be subject to reinstatement. A reinstatement requires that a late renewal penalty fee be paid along with any additional required fees. In addition, the license holder must complete 40 hours of continuing education and retake the licensed exam (for salesperson or broker) during the 90 day period listed above. Further, the late penalty fees are doubled if an applicant has previously failed to renew. In other words, if you fail to renew and you get 2 notices , it essentially doubles the renewal fee.
If your Ohio real estate license has been expired for more than 2 years, then you have essentially lost your license. As no reinstatement process exists, if you wish to obtain a real estate license again, you must start from the beginning by taking pre-licensing education classes and basic examinations.
If you simply lose your job or elect not to practice real estate in Ohio in order to obtain a different license (such as an attorney), you should consider putting your Ohio real estate license on inactive status. The inactive status is considered an inactive license, but it means that you do not need to obtain the 20 hours of continuing education every 3 years and no fees or penalties will be assessed. However, if you are employed as real estate agent, the inactive status does not prevent you from practicing real estate business.
Bear in mind that the inactive status is not available for individuals holding a Ohio Broker License. If you are a broker and you change the status of your license to inactive, you must cancel the license. Further, this cancels all of the broker’s licensees under the broker’s authority at the same time.
Continuing Education Hours Required
The requirements for continuing education (CE) vary based on the license type. Real estate salespersons must complete a minimum of 30 hours of CE every three years, while certified brokers must continue their education for a minimum of 20 hours every three years. These continuing education hours must be obtained through approved courses and providers through the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing (DRPL) to receive credit towards the mandatory CE.
Of the minimum hours needed, a certain number of hours must be completed in specific areas: At least 1 hour dedicated to federal and state laws and rules; and at least 2 hours in core subjects (i.e. fair housing, ethics, etc.) must be completed at least once every two years. Any non-Ohio real estate continuing education course cannot be accepted for CE credit in Ohio.
A formerly approved course that is now expired to be taken again and count towards CE requirements. CE requirements do not apply to non-resident licensees.
If a licensee holds multiple licenses, CE may only be applied once towards license renewal. If the lapse period for the licensee is from July 1 to December 31, all required continuing education must be completed by June 30 of the year in which the deadline falls. A licensee must complete 30 hours of continuing education by September 30 of the 3rd year prior to the renewal year. If the lapse period for the licensee is from January 1 to June 30, all required CE hours must be completed by December 31 of the year in which the deadline falls.
A licensee whose lapse period ends on September 30 in a particular year has an additional 30 hours of continuing education that will count towards the next renewal cycle. In this way, a licensee may end up completing 60 hours of continuing education in a 12-month time period. Completion of the CE hours must be reported to the DRPL by the licensee by September 15.
Core Courses and Subject Matter
The following shall be required for continuing education requirements:
(B) At least three hours of the core coursework shall include:
- (1) The subject matter of federal, state, and local civil rights laws, which shall include, but not be limited to, topics relating to race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, handicap, or military status as protected classes;
- (2) The subject matter of federal law, state law, and NAR codes and standards regulating the behavior of licensees;
- (3) Current trends in Ohio license law, including, but not limited to:
(a) The regulation of persons or activities for which a license is not required;
(b) The scope of practice for brokers and employees;
(c) Remedial measures for civil violations;
(d) Prohibitions against illegal practices, including, but not limited to:
(i) Unlicensed activity;
(ii) Unethical practices;
(iii) Conviction of a felony crime;
(iv) Mortgage fraud or related conduct;
(v) Failure to disclose interests.
(4) Best practices in safe transaction practices, which shall include, but not be limited to, topics relating to when trust account deposits are due and payable, communications with and on behalf of clients, security of personal information, requests by clients to review, sign, or initial documents, and measures to prevent wire fraud;
(5) The subject matter of current best practices within the real estate industry.
Providers of Approved Continuing Education
To be approved education providers must meet certain criteria as established by the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing. In general, the education provider registration requirements are as follows:
Education providers must be located in the United States or a U.S. territory, such as Puerto Rico or Guam. Education providers must submit a written application to the division that includes general information, such as the name and address of the organization; the name of the person who will distribute information to registrants; information on who is responsible for instructor selection, evaluation, and acceptance of courses; and the name of the organization where records are to be maintained. Out of state real estate continuing education courses must be similar in content to law, ethics, and agency courses offered by the Ohio Real Estate Commission to its own licensees. Professors in college level courses must provide PE Glass exams. The exams must be in mental examination format. For example, a course comprised of a high number of questions requiring only recall of facts would be appropriate for a final exam. In contrast, a course requiring the application of knowledge to varied factual situations requires a higher level of examination. Education providers must have a defined procedure for screening instructors who teach mandated topics. The screening procedures must be in written format. Employers, partners and licensees within related fields may be considered for instructor positions to teach the courses they would otherwise be able to take if they were not exempted as a result of their licenses. Education providers are responsible for evaluating and selecting accurately qualified persons as instructors. Education providers can offer courses through the internet. Instructors of internet based courses must be evaluated through either peer review or feedback from participants. In addition, the education provider must ensure participants have full comprehension of all course material.
Exemptions and Extensions
Ohio REALTORS® and other bona fide real estate salespersons are not required to complete continuing education while serving on active duty in the United States armed forces, including the Merchant Marine and the commissioned service of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). However , for those veterans and service personnel preparing to reenter the real estate business, or those who suffered combat related injuries, the Ohio Division of Real Estate may grant extensions to the continuing education. In addition, the Commission may grant waivers of the CE requirements for those who are 70 years of age or older, for those who teach real estate courses, and for those who are ill or disabled.
Failure to Comply With License Requirements
Failing to complete the required continuing education can lead to some pretty significant fines and penalties: How much am I fined if I am late in completing my CE requirements? A $50 late fee will be assessed to your account. Leave yourself plenty of time to take care of the required CE credits. The Commission does not excuse a licensee from meeting the deadline due to failure to schedule classes, wait for a class to be offered, being new to the profession, etc. What happens after I miss the January 15 deadline? If your hours are not complete by the January 15 deadline, you must ceases active practice and renew your license as "inactive" prior to April 1. Failure to complete the hours or renew inactive before April 1, results in no license. What if I earn my last hours on or after January 16? In the event you accrue your final required hours on or after January 16, you must renew as inactive with the Commission. There are two exceptions to the consequences discussed above (but do not confuse these with the exemptions discussed above). First of all, if you are a new licensee, then you have an extension until October 1 after your first year of licensure. Also, if you were licensed in the middle of the two-year cycle preceding January 15, 2019, then you have until July 1, 2019 to complete your requirement. So, if you want to sit back and wait until the last minute to get compliant, you can probably pull it off one year out every two.
Upcoming Changes in the Requirements
Making every effort to stay abreast of changes in Ohio pre-license education and continuing education requirements is a valuable best practice for real estate professionals. Not only do the requirements change over time, but the state inevitably issues updates and guidance, some of them highly specific to individual circumstances. The best way to start is to review the division of real estate and professional standard’s website periodically. There’s a ton of information available through the main Ohio Department of Commerce website, but it can be quite difficult to locate and identifying the most helpful sections sometimes takes time. The continuing education section has a lot of useful information about the rules that might affect your situation specifically and contact information to call to ask questions. The division publishes a newsletter that also has updates. Direct e-mail subscription to the newsletter is a great idea, as are print subscriptions, which can be signed up for at a reasonable cost per issue. Of course , the Website publishes all administrative code updates as well, so it’s wise to browse through each one. If this is not something you will educate yourself about regularly, consider selecting a colleague or appointee to do this for you. This can help avoid bad situations by ensuring that no important compliance deadlines are missed. Although we are licensed real estate agents, our firm provides more in-depth compliance work and will not be legally able to advise you on future changes so it is important to consult a local attorney and/or keep your own continuing legal education current for this purpose. Again, reminder e-mail subscriptions are a great way to do this. On call to our office with compliance questions? Keep in mind that although we have agents who may be able to assist, other professionals may not be able to give you the best possible advice. In addition, depending on the exact nature of your inquiry, we may need to refer you to another professional entirely for assistance.