The annual period for renewal of your real estate license begins at midnight on May 15 and continues until June 30. The renewal fee is $45.00. Per Commission Rule 58A.0503, you must renew online at www.ncrec.gov. If you fail to renew on or before June 30, your license will EXPIRE.
To renew online, login to your record on the Commission’s website, www.ncrec.gov, on or after May 15. Your PIN (password) will be the last four digits of your Social Security number unless you have changed it. (A broker who does not have the ability to renew online may renew by calling the Commission’s office between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (919/875-3700)).
You may pay by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or PayPal account (new this year). A printable confirmation of renewal will appear on your screen when the process is completed.
While logged in, be sure to verify and update all contact information. The Real Estate License Law allows you to designate your email address in one of two ways: (1) PRIVATE, meaning it will be used exclusively for communication from the Commission to you; or (2) PUBLIC, meaning it will be provided upon request to the public, including CE course sponsors and others. You may provide both a private and/or public email address upon logging into your record.
All broker license records are updated on July 1 to reflect license status as of that date. The Commission’s website will be unavailable on July 1 and 2, due to the annual records maintenance process.
If your renewal fee has not been received by the Commission by June 30, your license will EXPIRE. To reinstate an expired license, you must pay a $55 fee between July 1 and December 31. Failure to reinstate the former license by December 31 will result in your having to file a new application and fee, and obtain a criminal background report. You will also be required to take additional education and/or pass the state license examination. Refer to the “Reinstate your License” page on the Commission’s website (www.ncrec.gov) for detailed information regarding the reinstatement process.
Be sure to renew your license even if you do not complete your continuing education by June 10. By doing so, your license will only be changed to Inactive status on July 1, rather than Expired.
Brokers-in-charge and BIC-eligible brokers must take the BICUP course and one elective by June 10. Failure to take the correct CE or timely renew the license will result in loss of BIC status and/or eligibility. A broker-in-charge who loses BIC status/eligibility must (1) return the license to active status; (2) meet the experience requirements for designation; (3) take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course before re-designation; and (4) send the Commission the BIC Declaration Form. Do NOT take the 12-hour BIC Course before your license is on active status!
Brokers-in-charge are also responsible for ensuring that licensees under their supervision have renewed their licenses and completed all necessary education to maintain active and current licenses.
This article came from the May 2016-Vol47-1 edition of the bulletin.
Reminder notices to renew your real estate license will arrive by email, if you receive your Real Estate Bulletin by email, or in your postal mailbox, if you receive the printed edition. Either way, you must renew your license between May 15 and June 30 to avoid notification in early July that you no longer have a license, as it is expired.
This year, the law requires that you renew online through the Commission’s website, www.ncrec.gov. (A broker who does not have the ability to renew online may renew by calling the Commission’s office between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (919/875-3700)).
Log in to your personal record using your personal identification number (PIN) on or after May 15 to complete the process. Your PIN will be the last four digits of your Social Security number unless you have changed it.
The license renewal fee is $45. When paying online, you may use Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Card. A confirmation of renewal to print will appear on your screen when the process is completed.
Review your email address or addresses while logged in. Real Estate License Law allows you to designate your email address in one of two ways: (1) PRIVATE, meaning it will not be disseminated to anyone and will be used exclusively for communication from the Commission to you; or (2) PUBLIC, meaning it will be provided upon request to the public, including CE course sponsors and others. You may provide both a private and/or public email address upon logging into your record.
All broker license records are updated on July 1 to reflect license status as of that date. If your renewal fee has not reached the Commission by June 30, your license will be expired as of July 1. (Because of the records updating procedure and annual maintenance, the Commission’s website typically is down on July 1 and 2.)
To reinstate an expired license, you must pay a $55 fee between July 1 and December 31. Failure to reinstate the former license by December 31 will result in your having to file a new application and fee, and obtain a criminal background report. You will also be required to take additional education and/or pass the state license examination.
Even if you miss your continuing education, you may still renew and thus keep your license. The deadline for CE is June 10; if incomplete after that date, your license will be renewed on “inactive” status so long as the renewal fee is timely paid.
Brokers who are brokers-in-charge or brokers-in-charge eligible must take the Broker-in-Charge Update Course and one elective by June 10. Failure to take the correct CE or timely renew the license will result in loss of your BIC eligibility. Brokers-in-charge who lose BIC status or eligibility must (1) return the license to active status; (2) meet the experience requirements for designation; (3) take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course before re-designation; and (4) send the Commission the BIC Declaration Form. Do NOT take the 12-hour BIC Course before your license is on active status!
Brokers-in-charge are also responsible for ensuring that licensees under their supervision have renewed their licenses and completed their continuing education and postlicensing education, if applicable, to maintain an active license, i.e., one they may use.
This article came from the May 2015-Vol46-1 edition of the bulletin.
Reminder notices from the Real Estate Commission to renew your real estate license will reach you one of two ways: (1) if you elected to receive your Real Estate Bulletin by email, please look in your email “inbox” for your reminder or (2) if you are not receiving your Bulletin electronically, please look for it in your postal mailbox. It benefits you to act immediately when you receive your reminder to avoid a change in your license status on July 1. Simply go to www.ncrec.gov and log into your record to complete the renewal process.
There are two ways to renew your license: 1) for the most efficient way, go to the Commission’s Web site on or after May 15 and log into your record using your personal identification number (PIN). Your PIN has been set as the last four digits of your Social Security number unless you have changed it; or 2) return the blue and white postcard with your check so that it reaches the Commission office prior to the June 30 deadline. Please reference your license number on your check.
The license renewal fee is $45 and may be paid online using Visa, MasterCard or Discover Card. You will receive a confirmation of renewal to print when you finish.
While logging in to renew your license, take a moment to review your email address or addresses. NCGS 93A-4(b2) now allows you to designate your email address as PRIVATE, meaning it will not be disseminated to anyone and will be used exclusively for communication from the Commission to you, or PUBLIC, meaning it will be provided upon request to the public, including CE course sponsors and others. You may, of course, provide both a public and private email address. You may make this selection upon logging into your record.
The Commission updates all broker license records on July 1. Your record will be updated to reflect your status as expired if your renewal fee is not received by the deadline. (Because of the records updating procedure and annual maintenance, the Commission’s Web site will be down on July 1 and 2.)
Expired licenses may be reinstated with payment of a $55 fee (this fee includes your $45 license renewal) between July 1 and December 31. Failure to reinstate by December 31 will result in your having to file a new application and fee and obtain a background report. In addition you may be required to take additional education and/or pass the license examination.
You may renew your license even if your continuing education requirements are not complete. Keep in mind, however, that all CE – the mandatory eight hours consisting of the Update Course and one elective – must be completed by June 10 to retain your license on active status. If you have not completed your CE by June 10, your license will be renewed on “inactive” status.
If you are a broker-in-charge or broker-in-charge eligible, in addition to the Update, you must take the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review course by June 10. Otherwise, you will lose your BIC eligibility. Brokers-in-charge are also responsible for ensuring that licensees under their supervision have renewed their licenses and completed the proper continuing education.
Rule A. 0110 requires that a broker-in-charge who loses BIC status or eligibility must 1) first have a license on active status; 2) meet the experience requirements for designation; and 3) take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course before re-designation. (This course cannot be used as an elective to meet the requirement for active status.)
This article came from the May 2014-Vol45-1 edition of the bulletin.
Following is a summary of proposed rule changes to be effective July 1, 2014:
A .0104: Amend paragraph (d) of the rule governing agency agreements and disclosures to prohibit a broker who is also a party to a transaction from representing an opposing party in the same transaction; clarify circumstances under which a listing broker may purchase his/her client’s property.
A .0109: Amend the rule governing brokerage fees and compensation to prohibit a broker from accepting compensation from a vendor in exchange for recommending the vendor’s services to a party
A .0112: Amend the rule governing offers and sales contracts to incorporate minor technical changes.
A .0114: Rephrase Question #24 on the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement to inquire whether, based upon the seller’s knowledge, the property is in violation of any local zoning ordinances, restrictive covenants, building code requirements, or other land-use restrictions, and eliminate the reference to notice from a government agency about those restrictions.
A. 0117: Amend Paragraph (f) of the rule governing accounting for trust money to incorporate minor technical changes.
A .0118: Amend the rule governing the handling of trust money belonging to owners’ associations to incorporate minor technical changes.
A .0404: Amend the rule prohibiting cheating and certain other misconduct in connection with the licensing examination to add violations of various examination instructions as rule violations and to add dismissal from an examination, invalidation of examination score and forfeiture of examination and application fees as possible consequences in addition to denial of a real estate license and disciplinary action if an applicant becomes licensed prior to the discovery of the violation.
A .0502: Amend Paragraphs (a) and (d) governing the licensing of business entities to incorporate minor technical changes.
A .1709: Amend the rule governing brokers’ requests for extensions of time within which to complete CE to clarify that a request for extension must be made by a licensee on active status and submitted not later than June 10.
A .1808: Amend the rule governing the handling of trust monies by a non-resident commercial broker to incorporate minor technical changes.
C .0209: Amend the rule governing private real estate school enrollment procedures to require that the mandatory student enrollment contract for post-licensing courses include a description of the provisions in Rules C .0302(c) and A .1904(a)(3) prohibiting schools from knowingly allowing postlicensing students to enroll in two courses simultaneously if the student would be in class for more than 21 hours in a seven-day period and authorizing the Commission to deny or withdraw postlicensing credit as to a student participating in simultaneous courses exceeding 21 hours in seven days.
C .0309(a): Amend the rule to allow school officials’ signatures on course completion certificates to be provided electronically rather than only by signature or signature stamp in a color other than black.
E .0304: Amend the rule governing the criteria for elective course approval to provide that where a proposed new course has been reviewed by the Commission twice and found unsatisfactory after both reviews, any subsequent submission will be treated as an initial application requiring the payment of a $100 course application fee.
E .0408: Amend rule on changes in CE sponsor ownership to be consistent with proposed new rule clarifying G.S. 93A-35(c) on changes in private real estate school ownership.
This article came from the October 2013-Vol44-2 edition of the bulletin.
Changes to Commission rules relating to trust account management, broker price opinions, the real estate license renewal fee, the license activation form, and fees relating to timeshares became effective April 1.
Two additional rules changes relating to brokers-in-charge and the Real Estate Education and Recovery Fund are effective May 1.
Trust Accounts – The former single rule, A. 0107, was repealed and rewritten into three new rules (See this issue of the Real Estate Bulletin, page 6.)
Broker Price Opinions – These rules replace the temporary rules implementing License Law changes and are effective October 1, 2012. (See the October 2012 Real Estate Bulletin.)
Real estate license fee – The fee has been raised from $40 to $45. A decline in Commission revenues resulting from the decline in licensees necessitated the increase. The Commission cut operating expenses and increased efficiencies to maintain current operations without a fee increase for more than 10 years.
License activation form – Electronic filing of notifications of supervision and requests for license activation requiring only the broker or broker-in-charge’s signature are now permitted. The rule was also amended to add satisfaction of postlicensing education deficiency as one of the requirements for license activation.
Timeshare fees – The rules permit changes in various registration and renewal fees.
Effective May 1, 2013
Broker-in-Charge (BIC) – Major revisions eliminate the 10-day period for the filing of a BIC declaration; clarify that the Commission designates a BIC after eligibility is determined; clarify the delivery address requirements for a broker-in-charge of multiple firms at the same office; eliminate the requirement that a BIC provide statements to the Commission about work performed by a broker under the BIC’s supervision; and require a former BIC to take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course when BIC status is terminated.
Real Estate Education and Recovery Fund – Updates references to “Real Estate Recovery Fund” to reflect its current statutory name and establishes factors to be considered by the Commission when consolidating cases.
This article came from the May 2013-Vol44-1 edition of the bulletin.
The familiar blue and white postcard reminding you to renew your real estate license may already have reached your mailbox, or your reminder email may have arrived in your inbox. Either way, the reminder is your “cue” to visit the Commission’s Web site, www.ncrec.gov, login, and renew your license.
We encourage you to renew early to avoid any oversight which will cause a change in your status on June 30 to expired. The license renewal fee is $45, a $5 increase, and the first increase in more than 10 years.
There are two ways to renew your license: 1) go to the Commission’s Web site on or after May 15 and log into your record using your personal identification number (PIN). Your PIN has been set as the last four digits of your Social Security Number unless you have changed it; or 2) return the blue and white postcard with your check so that it reaches the Commission office prior to the June 30 deadline. Please reference your license number on your check.
Because the June 30 deadline falls on Sunday this year, if mailing your renewal, please allow enough time so that it is received in plenty of time.
The quickest, most efficient way to renew is online using your Visa, MasterCard or Discover card. You will receive an immediate confirmation which you may print out for your records.
The Commission staff updates all licensee records on July 1. If your renewal was not received by the deadline, your record will be updated to reflect your status as expired. You are reminded that no licensee may perform any act or service which requires a real estate license (including the listing, selling, leasing or showing of real estate) while a license is on an expired status.
If you fail to renew by the June 30 deadline, you may reinstate your license by paying a $55 reinstatement fee between July 1 and December 31. Failure to reinstate by December 31 will result in your having to file a new application and fee and obtain a background report. In addition, you may be required to take additional education or pass the license examination.
You may renew prior to completing your continuing education requirements. However, to maintain active status, you must complete eight hours of continuing education consisting of the mandatory Update and one elective by June 10 of each license period.
If you are a broker-in-charge or broker-in-charge eligible, in addition to the Update, you must take the Broker-in-Charge Annual Review course (BICAR) annually. Otherwise, you will lose your BIC eligibility. Brokers-in-charge are also responsible for ensuring that licensees under their supervision have renewed their licenses and completed the proper continuing education.
Changes in Rule A. 0110 require that a broker-in-charge who loses designation or eligibility must 1) first have a license on active status; 2) meet the experience requirements for designation; and, 3) take the 12-hour Broker-in-Charge Course before re-designation. (This course cannot be used as an elective to meet the requirement for active status.)
This article came from the May 2013-Vol44-1 edition of the bulletin.
Watch your mail for that familiar blue and white postcard with the Commission seal! That’s your reminder to renew your North Carolina real estate license.
The annual renewal period begins May 15, with online access at the Commission Web site, www.ncrec.gov, available beginning on that date, and ending June 30. Your renewal must be received by the Commission (not just deposited in the mail) by June 30. The fee remains $40, one of the lowest in the nation.
If your renewal is not physically received by June 30, your license status will automatically be changed from active or inactive to expired, effective July 1. You cannot engage in real estate brokerage with an expired license.
Between July 1 and December 31, you may reinstate your license by paying a $55 reinstatement fee. After December 31, a new application, background report and fee are required. You may also be required to take additional education or pass the license examination in order to reinstate.
Keep in mind that this year, June 30 falls on a Saturday. The Commission office will be closed on that date. We will, however, pick up mail at the post office and any renewals from that collection will be considered as having been received by the deadline.
When you renew online – by far, the fastest, most efficient method – log in with your license number and personal identification number (PIN). The last four digits of your Social Security number will be your PIN unless you have changed it.
A confirmation screen appears when you have completed your renewal correctly online. Print it for your records. While online, check your Commission record to update your fax, email and residence addresses, if needed.
You may renew prior to completing your continuing education requirements, however, brokers on active status must complete eight hours of continuing education, including the four-hour Update Course. If you are a broker-in-charge, you must also take the four-hour BICAR Course, which will serve as your elective. Keep in mind that your continuing education credits for recently completed education may not be reflected in your online record or on the address label of this Bulletin which is prepared as much as two or more weeks in advance of your receipt in the mail.
If you have not completed your continuing education, you must do so by June 10. There are no continuing education classes between June 11 and 30. Brokers-in-charge should be certain that any agents under their supervision have completed their continuing education and renewed their licenses.
This article came from the May 2012-Vol43-1 edition of the bulletin.
It’s time to renew your real estate license. The Commission’s Web site, www.ncrec.gov, begins accepting online renewals – the fastest, most convenient way to renew – on Sunday, May 15.
The annual fee remains at $40, one of the lowest in the nation. You may charge your renewal with MasterCard, Visa or Discover.
On the Web site, go to Renew/Reinstate and enter your license number and PIN (personal identification number). Your PIN – unless you have changed it – will be the last four digits of your Social Security number, which you have already provided the Commission.
A confirmation will display upon acceptance of your renewal and you may print and retain it for your records.
While on the Web site, update your email, fax and residence addresses, if needed, and check your continuing education and postlicensing credit information to be certain they are correct. (Allow 15 days after completing CE for credits to be posted; the CE credits displayed on the label of this Real Estate Bulletin are those posted as of April 29.)
If you choose to wait, remember, your renewal must be received by us on or before Thursday, June 30 (EDT). Miss that deadline and your license will expire effective July 1 and you must pay a $55 fee to reinstate it before December 31. After that date, a new application, background report, and fee are required. You may also be required to complete additional education or pass the license examination at the time of reinstatement.
The annual continuing education requirement is eight hours, four of which are the mandatory, annual Update Course. The deadline for completing CE is June 10, after which no classes are available until after June 30. Incomplete CE affects the status of your license – changing it from “active” to “inactive” on July 1.
Brokers-in-charge are reminded of the annual BICAR requirement.
Once your license is “inactive”, you cannot engage in brokerage activity until you take all required CE and submit the necessary paperwork.
So, be sure to take your CE and renew your license on time!
This article came from the May 2011-Vol42-1 edition of the bulletin.
Following are changes in Commission rules that become effective July 1, 2010:
• Amend question #15 on the Residential Property Disclosure Form for home sellers to disclose whether their properties are affected by commercial, industrial, or military noise, odor, smoke, etc.;
• Allow postponement and completion of continuing education, Broker-in-Charge, and postlicensing courses, and the payment of license renewal fees for brokers and renewal of licensure/approval for brokers and instructors who are members of the United States armed forces serving in combat or in presidentially-declared disaster areas; and
• Clarify when and under what circumstances students in the Broker-in-Charge Course and in all continuing education courses may be absent during the scheduled classroom hours and still receive continuing education credit for attending the course.
This article came from the May 2010-Vol41-1 edition of the bulletin.
Are you a qualifying broker and/or broker-in-charge? Just a few minutes on the Commission’s Web site, www.ncrec.gov, will save you many hours of catch-up and correction and spare you a significant negative impact on your business during this license renewal period.
Qualifying brokers are responsible for the firm’s license along with their own. Brokers-in-charge must see that all agents associated with the firm have renewed between May 15 and June 30 and have completed their CE by June 10.
Your failure as a qualifying broker to renew your own license or timely complete CE will result in your firm’s license being placed on inactive status. Because an inactive firm cannot have agents associated with it, all agents’ records will be changed to reflect their home addresses and no firm affiliation. All provisional brokers will be placed on inactive status.
Brokers-in-charge can easily and quickly ascertain the status of each associated agent through the “BIC Only” tab on the Commission Web site. Log in with your license number and PIN (the last four digits of your Social Security number) to view and print the following:
• Your personal information.
• All licensees shown in the Commission’s records as being affiliated with you or under your supervision.
• The “level” of their licenses – “PB” (Provisional Broker), or “B” (Broker).
• The renewal date of each license; and
• Licensees’ continuing education and postlicensing credits.
As a broker-in-charge, you want to avoid having a supervised agent conducting real estate brokerage with an expired or inactive license, as it may result in your being subject to possible disciplinary action.
This article came from the May 2010-Vol41-1 edition of the bulletin.