Florida Post-Licensing vs. Continuing Education: Which One Do You Need?
New Florida licensees often ask whether the free 14-hour course counts toward their first renewal. It usually does not. Florida has two different education requirements after you pass the state exam: post-licensing education, which comes once, before your first renewal, and continuing education (CE), which comes before every renewal after that. Here is how to tell which one applies to you.
Post-licensing: the one-time requirement before your first renewal
Under Florida law, anyone who passes the sales associate or broker exam must complete a Commission-prescribed post-licensing course before the first renewal of that license. For sales associates the post-licensing course totals at least 45 classroom hours. For brokers it totals at least 60 classroom hours. These hours are set by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
Post-licensing is not the same as CE, and it is not counted as CE. DBPR notes that post-licensing hours may not appear on the online CE portal, so keep a copy of your completion certificate in case of an audit.
Continuing education: the 14 hours before every later renewal
Once your first renewal is behind you, each two-year renewal after that requires 14 hours of continuing education: 3 hours of Core Law, 3 hours of Ethics and Business Practices, and 8 hours of specialty education. This is the requirement our free online course covers.
See the full 14-hour breakdown
Quick comparison
| Post-licensing | 14-hour CE | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | New sales associates (45 hrs) and new brokers (60 hrs) | Licensees after their first renewal |
| When | Before the first renewal | Before every renewal after the first |
| Counts as CE? | No | Yes |
| Our free course covers it? | No | Yes |
What happens if you miss post-licensing
Missing the post-licensing deadline is far more serious than missing CE. If a sales associate does not complete post-licensing before the first renewal, the license becomes null and void. In practice that generally means starting over: completing the pre-licensing course again, applying again and passing the state exam again. Check your license status and deadline with DBPR well before your first renewal date.
How to check your hours with DBPR
Who is exempt
Florida exempts licensees who hold a four-year degree in real estate from an accredited institution from post-licensing education. DBPR also states that attorneys are not exempt from post-licensing education, even though they are exempt from pre-licensing.
Brokers: a new license, a new post-licensing requirement
If you move up from sales associate to broker, the broker license comes with its own 60-hour post-licensing requirement before the first broker renewal. After that, brokers complete the same 14-hour CE as sales associates.
Not sure which one you need?
Look at your license history. If you have never renewed this license, you most likely need post-licensing. If you have renewed at least once, you need the 14-hour CE, and you can take it free.
Enroll in the free 14-hour CE courseFAQ
Related resources
Source: Florida DBPR, Real Estate Commission education requirements (myfloridalicense.com).