Being a Realtor means regularly completing continuing education (CE) requirements set forth by your state’s licensing board. Luckily, you can complete your real estate continuing education hours online with quality course providers that offer programs for just about every agent and state.
We understand that you want to cross this off your list in 2022, but we promise you’ll gain some valuable knowledge in the process. We’re sharing five top online real estate continuing education providers for you to choose from—highlighting our favorite features and the states in which they operate.
Every State’s Continuing Education Requirements
Not sure about your state’s real estate continuing education requirements? Our handy tool below can help you determine how many CE hours you need, and how often you need them, and even suggest a quick class you can take today.
Alabama Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 15
Renewal Cycle: Every 24 months
Next Due Date: 9/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (risk management), 12 elective hours
Alaska Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 20
Renewal Cycle: Every 24 months
Next Due Date: 01/31/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requiremnts: 8 mandatory hours (core curriculum, identified by the Alaska Real Estate Commission each cycle), 12 elective hours
Arizona Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 24
Renewal Cycle: Every 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 18 mandatory hours (3 – agency law, 3 – contract law, 3 – commissioner’s standards, 3 – real estate legal issues, 3 – fair housing, 3 – disclosure), 6 elective hours
Arkansas Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 7
Renewal Cycle: Every 12 months
Next Due Date: 12/31/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 1 mandatory hour (safety training), 6 elective hours
California Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 45
Renewal Cycle: Every 48 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 26 mandatory hours (8 – required survey course covering a broad spectrum of topics, 18 – consumer protection), 19 elective hours
Colorado Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 24
Renewal Cycle: Every 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 mandatory hours (annual 4-hour commission update course every year), 12 elective hours
Connecticut Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 5/31/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (3 – CT Real Estate Law for Brokers and Salespersons, 3 – Understanding and Preventing Racial Bias in Real Estate), 6 elective hours
Delaware Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 21
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 4/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 18 mandatory hours (a survey course covering topics like agency and fair housing, professional standards, real estate documents, office management, legislative issues, and so on), 3 elective hours
Florida Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 14
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (courses deemed “essential” topics like Ethics and Business Practice), 8 elective hours
Georgia Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 36
Renewal Cycle: 48 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (license law), 33 elective hours
Hawaii Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 20
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 11/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (commission designated core course), 14 elective hours
Idaho Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (spread across 2 ID Commission core courses), 12 elective hours
Illinois Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 9/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (Illinois core curriculum), 8 elective hours
Indiana Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 36
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: 6/30/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: No mandatory hours, but 12 hours of CE must be completed every calendar year
Iowa Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 36
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 mandatory hours (8 – law, 4 – ethics), 24 elective hours; 12 hours for every 36-month cycle must be completed via live instruction
Kansas Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (Kansas-required core class), 9 elective hours
Kentucky Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 6
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 12/31/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (legal), 3 elective hours
Louisiana Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 12/31/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (topic to be determined each year by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission), 8 elective hours
Maine Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 21
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (Maine designated core course), 18 elective hours
Maryland Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 15
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 10.5 mandatory hours (3 – ethics, 3 – agency, 3 – legislative, 1.5 – fair housing), 4.5 elective hours
Massachusetts Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 elective hours
Michigan Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: 10/31/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (2 hours of CE covering legality topics) to be completed every year, 12 elective hours
Minnesota Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 15
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 6/30/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3.75 mandatory hours (Minnesota module course, topic to be determined each year), 11.25 elective hours
Mississippi Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 16
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 8 mandatory hours (2 – license law, 2 – contract law, 4 – agency law), 8 elective hours
Missouri Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 9/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (a core topic chosen every cycle by the Missouri Real Estate Commission), 9 elective hours
Montana Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 10/31/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 elective hours; note that there are special continuing education requirements for agents with their license less than two years
Nebraska Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 11/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (topic designated by the Nebraska Real Estate Association every cycle), 12 elective hours
Nevada Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 24
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 mandatory hours (various legal and ethics topics), 12 elective hours; note that at least 12 of the 24 hours must be taken through live instruction
New Hampshire Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 15
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (New Hampshire designated core course), 12 elective hours
New Jersey Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 12
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 5/31/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (2 – ethics, 1 – fair housing, 3 – remaining designated core topics), 6 elective hours
New Mexico Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 36
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 20 mandatory hours (12 – New Mexico Real Estate Council core course hours, 4 each year of CE period, 4 – ethics, 4 – core elective), 16 elective hours
New York Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 22.5
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (3 – fair housing, 1 – agency law), 18.5 elective hours
North Carolina Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 8
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 6/10/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (core requirement determined each cycle by the NC Real Estate Commission), 4 elective hours
North Dakota Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 9
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 11/15/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 9 elective hours
Ohio Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 30
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 9 mandatory hours (3 – core law, 3 – ethics, 3 – civil rights), 21 elective hours
Oklahoma Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 21
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (an hour on each of the following topics: broker relationships, code and rules, contracts and forms, fair housing, professional conduct, hot topic (determined by the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission each cycle)), 15 elective hours
Oregon Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 30
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (Oregon Law and Rule course), 27 elective hours
Pennsylvania Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 14
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 05/31/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3.5 mandatory hours (taken on the topics of Redlining, Steering, Implicit Bias, Diversity and the Fair Housing Act), 10.5 elective hours
Rhode Island Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 24
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 04/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (one hour each focusing on Law of Agency, Law of Contracts, Fair Housing, Lead Hazard Mitigation, and Rhode Island License Law and Ethics), 18 elective hours
South Carolina Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 10
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 6/30/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (Core Course), 6 elective hours
South Dakota Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 24
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 mandatory hours (a combination of hours from the following topics: Real Estate Contracts, Real Estate License Law, Fair Housing, Ethics, Environmental Issues, Antitrust, The American with Disabilities Act, or Brokerage Services), 12 elective hours. Please note: Real estate professionals who act as property managers or residential real estate rental managers have additional continuing education requirements.
Tennessee Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 16
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 6 mandatory hours (Tennessee Real Estate Council designated Core Course), 10 elective hours
Texas Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 11 mandatory hours (8 – Texas Real Estate Association Legal Update Courses, 3 – contract-related coursework), 7 elective hours
Utah Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 12 mandatory hours (3 – core course, 9 – designated approved topics, determined by the Utah Real Estate Commission every cycle), 6 elective hours
Vermont Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 16
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 05/31/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 4 mandatory hours (determined by the Vermont Real Estate Commission each cycle), 12 elective hours
Virginia Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 16
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 8 mandatory hours (3 – ethics, 2 – fair housing, 3 – split among the topics of emerging trends, real estate agency, and real estate contracts), 8 elective hours
Washington Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 30
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 3 mandatory hours (core course), 27 elective hours; please note that first year licensees have an additional 60 hours of continuing education required
West Virginia Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 7
Renewal Cycle: 12 months
Next Due Date: 6/30/2023
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 7 elective hours
Wisconsin Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 18
Renewal Cycle: 24 months
Next Due Date: 12/14/2024
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 18 mandatory hours (3-hour courses on 6 Wisconsin Real Estate Commission approved topics, determined each cycle)
Wyoming Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements
How Many Hours Required: 45
Renewal Cycle: 36 months
Next Due Date: Depends on your licensing date
Specific Fulfillment Requirements: 24 mandatory hours (determined each cycle by the Wyoming Real Estate Commission), 21 elective hours
5 Best Real Estate Continuing Education Providers for 2022
| Real Estate Continuing Education Providers | Best For |
|---|---|
| McKissock Learning | Realtors who want the best overall provider with great agent support and a wide variety of courses |
| Kaplan Real Estate Education | Agents who want video-integrated CE courses with an accessible instructor |
| 360training Agent Campus | Those prioritizing affordability and flexibility |
| Aceable Agent | Texas Realtors (more states to come) looking for mobile-friendly, interactive CE courses |
| The CE Shop | Agents who want the largest selection of CE courses on the market |
1. McKissock Learning: Best Overall Provider of Real Estate Continuing Education
Available in: Every state except West Virginia and Wisconsin
Typical price per hour of CE: $10 – $15
Packages or subscriptions available? Yes
McKissock Learning is our top pick for real estate continuing education because they offer a fantastic combination of class variety and excellent support for students.
Our Favorite McKissock Learning Features
- 48-state coverage: McKissock is a powerhouse in the real estate industry, enabling them to offer continuing education coverage to almost everyone.
- Instructor email support: Communicate directly and seamlessly with your instructor to ask questions, get clarification, and further your learning. If you are new to online learning, this is a very helpful tool.
- Live chat with other students: If you are the sort who learns as much from your peers as you do from the instruction, McKissock’s live student chat feature is perfect for you. Chat with other students in real time about your experience, your questions, and the parts of the material you find most helpful.
- Exportable notes: Using McKissock’s note-taking function, you can compile the notes you’ve taken during your course and export them later—perfect if you are learning things you want to apply to your business right away.
McKissock Learning offers a constantly growing library of continuing education options. Between their class variety, their instructor accessibility, and their platform features, this is a great choice for anyone looking for reliable real estate continuing education, year after year.
2. Kaplan Real Estate Education: Best for Agents Who Want Video on Demand
Available in: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, GA, IL, IA, KY, MI, MN, MO, NV, NM, NY, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI
Typical price per hour of CE: Around $15
Packages or subscriptions available? Yes
Kaplan has been a household name in test preparation and professional accreditation for over 30 years. They bring that experience and expertise to the real estate continuing education space with a tried-and-true instructional approach. Kaplan has great options for professionals who want a full-on video experience or prefer a more self-paced, text-based approach.
Our Favorite Kaplan Real Estate Education Features
- Course demos: Sometimes all you need is a chance to peek inside a course to tell if it is helpful for you, and Kaplan offers that with course demos on their most popular continuing education content.
- Instructor communication: Kaplan has always been known for its instructors, and it leverages that advantage by providing students direct email access to the course creators, as well as an option to schedule phone calls to discuss further questions.
- Real-world video content: Kaplan’s video content actually takes students out into the field to interview and interact with real agents who are dealing with real-world issues that revolve around the continuing education course. These videos aren’t just translations of the text-based courses—they go above and beyond.
- 24/7 technical support: If you’re having trouble accessing your continuing education material, Kaplan provides 24/7 phone and email support, which can come in handy if you’re racing the clock to finish and submit your CE requirements.
If you’re the sort of learner who likes to choose how you consume content and appreciates a free course demo before you buy, Kaplan is a great place to go for your real estate continuing education needs.
Visit Kaplan Real Estate Education
3. 360training Agent Campus: Best for Agents on a Budget
Available in: AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA
Typical price per hour of CE: As low as $7
Packages or subscriptions available? Yes
With 360training Agent Campus’ CE packages, you can fulfill your entire CE requirement for less than $10 an hour, a practically unbeatable price. We also really like how 360training has made the CE experience easy and flexible since you probably want to be out there building your real estate business, not taking classes.
Our Favorite 360training Features
- Ease of use: The 360training website and interface are clean, modern, and easy to use. The course offerings and packages are straightforward and the classes are easy to navigate. They even submit your course requirements to the appropriate state licensing board.
- Learners for life: 360training has over 3 million students and prides itself on serving “learners for life.” It’s constantly improving its content and adding animations, videos, downloads, quizzes, and instructor-led sections.
- Bargain pricing: Though most of the continuing education courses are priced competitively with the rest of the providers on our list, 360training also offers some seriously discounted options perfect for real estate agents on a budget or in need of a single course hour.
- Customer support: Not all online schools offer live support seven days a week, but 360training does. Problems or questions? They pride themselves on their quick response rates and accessibility.
If you’re looking for the lowest-priced real estate continuing education experience that is easy to use with strong customer service, 360training Agent Campus is a great option.
4. Aceable Agent: Best for Real Estate Agents in Texas
Available in: Texas
Typical price per hour of CE: $10 – $15
Packages or subscriptions available? Yes
OK, so we don’t normally call out state-specific providers in a list like this, but Aceable Agent’s offerings in Texas are good enough that they were worthy of placement on our best CE schools guide.
Aceable Agent is known as a prelicensing option for soon-to-be real estate agents in multiple states across the country. But this Austin-based company has taken the unique approach of coordinating directly with the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) to offer continuing education that meets the state’s specific standards every single year.
They’re working with other real estate commissions across the country and already have partnerships with Kaplan in Georgia and New York, so expect to see Aceable Agent options in other places soon too.
Our Favorite Aceable Agent Features
- Uniquely mobile-friendly: Just like their prelicensing product, Aceable Agent offers continuing education options that not only work on mobile devices, they’re designed for mobile devices. Yes, they also look great on desktop too, but if you’re licensed in Texas and want to knock out your CE on your commute every day, this is the place to do it.
- Endorsed by the TREC: All of the content on Aceable Agent is endorsed as CE-friendly by the Texas Real Estate Commission, ensuring that none of your hard work will go to waste.
- Interactive content: Aceable Agent’s mantra for continuing education is “no more boring PDFs,” and they live that ideal with interactive content, great videos, and easy-to-digest formats, especially for mobile users.
- Great prices: The fact that you can knock out your entire CE requirement for less than $90 is amazing and something Texans won’t find anywhere else.
If you’re a real estate professional in Texas, you should definitely check out Aceable Agent. Their partnership with the TREC makes them a great choice for agents and brokers alike, and their package deal for all 18 hours of your CE can’t be beat.
5. The CE Shop: Best for Agents Looking for Variety in Their Continuing Education Topics
Available in: Every state except Maine
Typical price per hour of CE: $10 – $15
Packages or subscriptions available? Yes
The CE Shop offers the largest selection of real estate continuing education topics and classes of any provider on our list, giving real estate agents lots of interesting ways to fulfill their requirements and learn something in the process.
Our Favorite CE Shop Features
- Offline study options: Most online platforms require you to have a screen open if you want to learn and complete your CE hours. Though you need to log on to fulfill your requirements, The CE Shop offers study material you can print and review offline to supplement your learning.
- Built-in assessments: Though it might seem basic, a lot of continuing education platforms forget to do one thing: check to see what you’ve learned. Since most of the classes you take for continuing education don’t require a passing grade in order to get credit, they will often leave out the step of testing your knowledge. Assessments are critical to spot-checking your learning. The CE Shop does them well.
- Pick up where you left off: The CE Shop’s platform is specifically designed to allow you to take your classes in bite-sized chunks, pausing part-way through, and picking up where you left off. While most providers will allow you to pause and restart lessons at chapter breaks, The CE Shop allows you to do so on any page, regardless of how far you’ve gotten through a particular section.
- Volume discounts: For those real estate agents with licenses in multiple states, The CE Shop offers a discount for continuing education courses if you’re going to be buying for more than one state.
If you live in California, Texas, Florida, or any state that requires a lot of continuing education, access to bulk discounts, a variety of CE classes, and an easy-to-use dashboard is critical. The CE Shop checks all these boxes and will meet all of your continuing education needs as a Realtor.
Real Estate Continuing Education FAQs
Still got a few questions about your CE? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about real estate continuing education.
How many hours of continuing education do real estate agents need?
It depends on the state you’re in. Every state has different requirements in order to maintain your license. If you haven’t done so already, check out our state-by-state resource above, where we’ve compiled the real estate continuing education requirements for every state.
Why do real estate agents need continuing education?
Just like any profession, real estate agents need to maintain their skills through formal training. After all, as a real estate agent, you are in charge of shepherding someone through the most important financial moments of their life, so it’s important that your knowledge of things like contracts, real estate law, negotiation, and other industry skills stay current and relevant.
How do I check my CE credits for real estate?
Some states have a database that you can check to see how many continuing education credits you’ve accumulated and how many you’ve got left to pursue. If you’re in a state like that, most likely that database is going to be on the licensing and regulatory affairs website.
However, many states work within the honor system for CE—not requiring you to report your hours, but instead, to keep a record of what you’ve done so that you can provide evidence of completion in the event you get audited for CE. The best way to do this is to pick a single provider of CE and stick with them so that they keep track of your records for you.
Is real estate continuing education tax deductible?
Yes! Continuing education is a professional expense and is absolutely tax-deductible. Make sure to keep careful records of what courses you take and how much you’ve spent in the event that the IRS wants more information from you.
Bringing It All Together
Your continuing education doesn’t have to be boring or unproductive. Use this time to learn about your business, educate yourself on the issues that are most important to your clients, and do it on your own schedule with the convenience of an online continuing education provider.
Curious about leveling up your real estate license? We’ve got a great guide on some of the top real estate designations to consider, plus a handy comparison of all the differences between real estate agents and brokers if you think you might be ready to think about a broker’s license.
Add comment