TREC has special rules if you are attempting to re-activate an expired or inactive license. Please see the TREC web site for more details.

As a Texas licensee, you will need one of two types of ongoing education: SAE or MCE. Salesperson Annual Education, or SAE, is required for newer licensees, while Mandatory Continuing Education, or MCE, is required for everyone else. Here's a quick discussion of how you can meet the educational requirements under SAE and MCE.

SAE Requirements

You must meet all of your SAE requirements before the deadline date on your renewal notice that TREC mailed to your Broker. SAE credit must be submitted annually when you renew your salesperson license.

Figuring out what SAE you need is a little tricky because TREC changed the rules. If you got your license before January 1, 2006, you will be subject to the old rules. If you got your license on January 1, 2006, or later, you a subject to the new rules. Go to TREC's site for more information, or read below for a brief summary of the rules:

Licensed BEFORE January 1, 2006:

A salesperson is required to complete a total of 270 hours of CORE education by the end of their third year of licensure. Of these, 180 hours must be completed prior to applying for a salesperson license. The remaining 90 hours must be completed within the 3 years following licensing. During this 3 year SAE period, a salesperson may not take more than 30 hours per year or repeat any courses.

Licensed on or AFTER Jan 1, 2006:

A salesperson must take 270 of CORE courses by the end of the first year of lincensure. Of these, 210 hours must be completed prior to applying for a salesperson license, while the remaining 60 hours must be completed by the first year of licensure. This 60 hours constitutes the licensee's sole SAE requirement. After this requirement is fulfilled he or she will need MCE every two years.

If you are subject to TREC's SAE rules, please see our Elective Core SAE Courses.

MCE Requirements

After you satisfy the initial TREC SAE requirements, you are simply required to take 15 hours of manadatory continuing education, MCE, every 2 years. Nine (9) hours of the MCE is "elective" while 6 hours is rquired. You earn the 6 required hours by taking TREC's own standard 3 hour legal update course, and 3 hour ethics update course. These two courses were written for TREC by the Texas Real Estate Research Center, at Texas A&M. All providers are required to offer these exact same courses without alteration. If you need some or all of your MCE please see our MCE Courses and Course Packages.

There are 3 steps to follow before you can take the State exam to become a Texas licensed Broker.

Step 1:  To be eligible to apply for a Texas real estate Broker License, you must be a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien, eighteen (18) years of age or older and a legal resident of Texas. (If the applicant is a resident of another state, the applicant must be licensed by that state as a real estate broker.)

Step 2:  You must also furnish TREC with satisfactory evidence of successfully completing the following:

• 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;
• 270 classroom hours of CORE courses. (Note: This requirement was met when you completed your pre-license and SAE education requirements.)
• An additional 630 classroom hours in Related courses (Note: all of our MCE courses qualify as Related Courses. And, any of our CORE courses qualify towards these additional hours. However that CORE courses may not be repeated within a three-year term.)

Step 3:  You must obtain a letter from TREC attesting to satisfaction of all education requirements prior to filing your application for your broker's license. To obtain an evaluation of your education, submit the form "Request for Evaluation of Education" along with any applicable fees, and copies of your transcripts or educational certificates. Keep the originals for your personal files and send photocopies to TREC. See TREC's website for additional details on filing your broker's application.

If you need to accumulate additional hours for your broker's license please see our Broker's Education Courses.

There are 3 essential pre-license steps to follow before you can apply to get your Real Estate Salesperson license:

Step 1: To be eligible, an individual must be a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien, eighteen (18) years of age or older and a legal resident of Texas.

Step 2: You must first obtain a letter from the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) attesting to satisfaction of all pre-license education requirements. Successful completion shall be presented to TREC via credit transcript or certificate. (DO NOT submit your original documents. Keep the originals for your files and send photocopies only.) You must have your education documents evaluated BEFORE you can submit your Salesperson License Application.

What is the required Pre-License Education?
You must successfully complete the following:

• Principles of Real Estate CORE course (60 hours)
• Law of Agency CORE course (30 hours)
• Law of Contracts CORE course (30 hours)
• One additional CORE course (30 hours)
• Plus, another 60 hours in either acceptable CORE courses or in Related courses. (Note: Some of these related courses may be satisfied with a transcript of your college courses. All additional course hours necessary can be taken from First American. All of our MCE courses qualify as Related Courses.)

To sum up: the pre-license education above amounts to 150 hours in CORE courses and 60 hours in Related courses. Thus, the total required is 210 hours.
Submit your pre-license education for evaluation by TREC using the Request for Evaluation of Education documents form.

Step 3. Complete and submit your application to TREC, along with any applicable fees. If everything is in order TREC will send you directions on how to take the State Salesperson exam. You may need to fulfill other requirements to receive your license. Go to the TREC website to be sure.