The Porch: How To Not Get a Late Fee When You Renew Your License

How to Escape the Division of Real Estate's !^**%@$ License Renewal Late Fee.

Hi, All:

I know some of you have been nicked by the Division for a late fee when renewing your license because your C.E. Credits aren’t showing up – even though you took the course by the end of the month (probably around the last week of the month) and the school even submitted your CE credits before the end of the month.

Bummer.

A couple of things have changed:

Licensees were formerly able to enter and adjust their own C.E. course records, but that access has been closed.

The Division implemented a new requirement that all our CE credits must show up by the first day of the month. "Show up" means you as a licensee and the Division can "see" the credits in the Division's License Management System … this online database:

Plus ... the Division has gone to a four day work week – so as far as I can determine, the Division doesn't update records on Fridays.

So, let's map it out ..here's a time line that shows you the ultimate safety in scheduling for obtaining your CE credits.

State law allows course providers ten days to submit your credits. Course providers vary in the amount of time they take…some take the entire ten days. My company ClassSar.com submits your credits within a few hours of completion.

Once your credits are submitted into the C.E. banking system, the Division of Real Estate can take up to almost a week to show them back to you under the License Management System. I’m not sure how long the Division actually takes--it's usually less than five days, but to be safe I’d plan on at least the four or five days shown in the timeline below.

This example chart is designed for a licensee with a renewal month of January, presuming the agent has waited until the last month to go get the credits.

Attend from the 1^st though the 15^th.
The course provider can take ten days to bank your credits.
Let the Division take five days or so to show your credits on the books (I know…I know…)

Shoot for a C.E. course target completion date of about the 15^th of the month to be safe. Avoid the Division’s late fee.